Apple iPad mini 8.3" A17 Pro Starlight 2024

The iPad mini A17 Pro packs an impressive amount of power and endurance into a tiny frame. It’s perfect for reading, note-taking, and travel, with battery life that outlasts almost every other tablet we’ve tested. The 60Hz screen and no expandable storage are the main trade-offs for that portability. At $499 and up, it’s a premium pick, but if a small high-quality tablet is what you’re after, there’s really nothing else like it.

The iPad mini has always occupied a weird but wonderful corner of Apple’s lineup. It’s too small to be a laptop replacement and too big to be a phone, but for a certain kind of person, it’s the perfect device. With the A17 Pro chip, this latest version gets a real shot of speed and, for the first time in a mini, support for Apple Intelligence features. Our database shows it sits in the 98th percentile for social proof, meaning owners absolutely love it, and we can see why.

This is the tablet you grab when you’re heading out the door for a coffee shop, a flight, or just a morning of reading in the park. At 295 grams and just 8.3 inches, it disappears into a small bag or even a large jacket pocket. The Liquid Retina display is crisp at 326 ppi, and with True Tone and P3 wide color, text looks sharp and colors pop. It’s an obvious match for ebooks, note-taking with the Apple Pencil Pro, and casual streaming.

But let’s be real: not everyone needs a tablet this small. The 60Hz refresh rate feels dated when your phone probably has 120Hz, and the lack of expandable storage means you’re stuck with what you buy upfront. Still, for the travel-loving, always-reading, note-scribbling crowd, the iPad mini A17 Pro is a compelling little machine that punches well above its weight class.

Don’t let the “mini” name fool you. The A17 Pro is the same chip that powered the iPhone 15 Pro, and it brings a noticeable snappiness to everything from app launches to editing photos. In our testing against a broad tablet database, the CPU lands right around the 60th percentile, which puts it solidly in the “about average” territory for tablets overall, but when you consider the size and thermal constraints, it’s impressive. Multitasking with Slide Over and Split View is smooth, and even light gaming like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty: Mobile runs without a hitch.

That said, this isn’t an M-series chip, so don’t expect it to chew through 4K video exports or heavy 3D rendering like an iPad Pro. The GPU sits similarly in the 61st percentile, so it’s capable but not a powerhouse. Real-world use matches the numbers: everyday tasks feel instant, and you’ll rarely see a stutter during normal use. For the target audience, the A17 Pro is more than enough, but if you’re a creative pro who lives in Procreate with dozens of layers, you’ll notice the ceiling.

Apple positions the iPad mini as a premium compact, and the price reflects that. Officially, the base 128GB Wi-Fi model costs $499, but across vendors we’ve seen prices swing from $330 all the way to $799 depending on configuration and sales. The sweet spot is the 256GB model, which often dips below $600 at third-party retailers, and that’s the one we’d recommend. You get enough room for apps, a few movies, and some games without immediately hitting the storage wall.

Compared to Android alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+, which can be had for half the price, the iPad mini looks expensive. But you’re paying for the ecosystem, the build quality, and access to features like Apple Intelligence and Pencil Pro. If you just want a cheap screen for streaming, look elsewhere. But if you value a seamless Apple experience in a portable size, the mini delivers a lot for the money, especially on sale.

There aren’t many direct competitors in the high-end small tablet space, and that’s where the iPad mini shines. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is a completely different beast: enormous, more powerful, and far less portable. It’s for someone who wants a laptop replacement, not a one-handed reading slate. Similarly, the Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition runs full Windows and targets productivity, making the mini look like a toy in comparison, but it’s also over a pound heavier and costs more.

On the Android side, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro and Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro both offer larger screens and strong specs at competitive prices, but they’re not pocketable. If you specifically need an 8-inch tablet that runs a polished OS with a massive app library, the mini is practically in a class of its own. The closest rival might be the Lenovo Legion Tab (8.8 inches with a 144Hz display), but it leans more toward gaming and lacks the software polish and long-term update commitment you get from Apple. For reading, note-taking, and general media, the iPad mini remains the one to beat.

If your daily workload involves heavy multitasking, spreadsheets, or writing long documents, the iPad mini’s 8.3-inch screen will frustrate you. The cramped keyboard experience and limited Split View real estate make it a poor choice for business users, which our scoring clearly reflects. You’d be much happier with an iPad Air or the 11-inch iPad Pro, which give you more screen and the M-series chip for real work.

Budget buyers should look elsewhere, too. The $499 starting price is a lot for a tablet that doesn’t come with a keyboard or pencil, and Android alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE or Lenovo Tab P12 offer larger displays for less money. And if you demand a 120Hz ProMotion display, you won’t find it here; the 60Hz panel is a noticeable step back from the buttery smoothness of modern iPhones and iPad Pros.

If you’ve been waiting for a small tablet that can keep up with modern apps and AI features, the iPad mini A17 Pro is your answer. It’s ideal for students who want a digital notebook with Pencil Pro, voracious readers who want a premium e-reader that can also stream video, and anyone who travels light but still wants a screen larger than a phone. The battery life alone is a game-changer; many owners report going days between charges, which lines up with our database showing it ranked higher than 94% of tablets.

On the flip side, if you plan to do serious multitasking, spreadsheet work, or any sort of desktop-class productivity, this isn’t the tablet for you. The screen is just too small, and iPadOS’s windowing can feel cramped. Business users scored it a 62.3 out of 100 in our metrics, the weakest area by far. But for its intended purpose, a portable companion that excels at reading, writing, and light media, the mini is a joy to use.