The iPad Mini and iPad Air are totally different iPads designed for different uses , but what ’s the difference between them ?
Rather than focusing just on the latest generation of iPad Mini and iPad Air , we ’re going to discuss the range on the whole to see which is better for your needs disregarding of the genesis of machine you ’re after .
If you ’re queer , we ’ve afford the same treatment to theiPad and iPad Mini , and theiPad and iPad Airtoo .
Price
When it comes to price , the iPad Mini has always been the cheesy choice , likely down to its humble display and somewhat imperfect processing power than its iPad Air counterpart . However , the toll of both tablet has varied wildly over the past few yr , going from relatively low-priced tablets to something altogether more premium .
TheiPad Mini 5 , for example , launched with an RRP of £ 399/$399 , while theiPad Air 3launched at £ 80/$100 more at £ 479/$499 . But with the more recent models cavort a significant redesign and new features , the price has risen quite precipitously . TheiPad Mini 6now costs £ 569/$499 while theiPad Air 5will place you back £ 669/$599 .
Neither of these are quite as low-priced as earlier coevals or even the £ 369/$329iPad 9 , but the iPad mini remains a slightly more affordable alternative to the premium iPad Air .
Design and screen
The most obvious difference between the iPad Mini and iPad Air is size ; as the name suggest , the iPad Mini is a smaller rendering of the iPad , while the iPad Air has billow in size in recent year , growing from its original 9.7 - inch show in other generations to a 10.9 - inch panel with the latest iPad Air 5 .
Early versions of the iPad Air frisk a like figure to the entry - stratum iPad , staring with big bezels and a Home button , but it was redesigned to more closely resemble the iPad Pro mountain range with the iPad Air 4 . This saw the bezels shrink importantly , the Home push disappear and the use of a much more insurance premium design , and the design has remained consistent since .
The iPad Mini ’s display size has remained consistent through most genesis , with the first five iteration of the iPad Mini sport the same 7.9 - column inch display and a look not dissimilar to the entry - level iPad . That all transfer with the redesigned iPad Mini 6 , however , sport an updated invention mirroring that of the iPad Air , and a big 8.3 - inch projection screen to match . But despite the larger display , the pad of paper ’s overall dimension largely resemble those of its predecessors .
This makes the iPad Mini the most portable iPad in the collection , with its small dimension do it easy to slip one’s mind into a bag or even a large sac , and it ’s easy to utilize one - reach too . The iPad Air , conversely , is the better tablet for split - covert multitasking and gambling , with a much larger showing than its Mini pal .
Processing power
In term of processing power , the iPad Air generally has more graphical oomph than the iPad Mini . That ’s just as true with the newer model as elder models in the scope , with the iPad Mini unremarkably sitting between the groundwork iPad and the iPad Air in damage of price , and performance reflect this .
Take the previous - gen iPad Air 4 and iPad Mini 5 for example ; the former sport the A14 Bionic while the latter sportswoman the A12 Bionic , giving the iPad Air a two - genesis Pb in the processing department . That wo n’t be that detectable in day - to - day employment , but it could make all the difference when running mainframe - athirst apps like LumaFusion Pro or Procreate .
More recent generations of iPad Mini and iPad Air have seen that interruption grow even larger . Despite the iPad Mini get an overhaul in its sixth generation to resemble the iPad Air , processing force remained elusive . To the iPad Mini ’s credit , the A15 Bionic was the same as that of the flagship iPhone 13 , but it ca n’t quite compete with the iPad Air 5 ’s Apple M1 chipset .
The Apple M1 chipset is the same found not only in early version of Apple’siPad Pro , but theMacBook AirandiMac 24too . So while the iPad Mini tends to offer great performance , the iPad Air always seems to best it .
Accessory support
While the two lozenge may disport the same overall intention , appurtenance support is one key area they disagree .
The iPad Air , like the new iPad 10 , offers financial support for the secondly - gen Apple Pencil , allowing it to break down to the side of the twist when not in use , as well as its own Magic Keyboard , Apple ’s premium keyboard and trackpad system . meld , these change state the iPad Air into a amply - fledge work equipment with a majuscule typewriting experience and a handy stylus for bill - pickings or originative work .
Admittedly that ’s only the case with the iPad Air 4 and 5 , with the iPad Air 3 oblation only first - gen Apple Pencil financial backing . There are , however , keyboard paging available for the earliest generations in situation of the snazzy Magic Keyboard of the latest models .
On the other deal , the latest iPad Mini only gas documentation for the second - gen Apple Pencil with no consecrated Magic Keyboard for the little - screen pad of paper . That ’s likely down to the dimensions of the pad and the fact that the keyboard would need to be pretty cramped – and that would n’t be slap-up for the typing experience .
run back to older versions of the iPad Mini , support wanes even more , with the iPad Mini 5 offering support for the first - gen Apple Pencil but not much else .
you could still connect a received Bluetooth keyboard to the iPad Mini , but it ’s not the all - in - one experience the Magic Keyboard offers .
Software
When it comes to software , both the iPad Mini and iPad Air endure the same edition of iPadOS with annual updates further improving the experience on offer . That mean that you’re able to break open - screen multitask , apply the same apps , or even use the lozenge as a second showing when connected to a Mac , though whether that experience will be near on a small or orotund screenland will depend on what you ’re doing .
However , the latest iPad Air 5 has a trick up its sleeve in the form of supporting outside monitors , allowing you to run different apps on different showing – the only non - pro iPad to extend the functionality . It ’s essentially down to the upgrade Apple M1 within the latest iPad Air , which Apple deems brawny enough to power the experience .
Though you could mirror your show on the iPad Mini and older version of the iPad Air , only the iPad Air 5 and iPad Pro ambit will let you use a 2nd showing independently .
