Apple iPad mini 8.3" A17 Pro Space Gray 2024

The Apple iPad mini A17 Pro is the best small tablet you can buy, packing a fast phone-grade chip, brilliant display, and stellar battery into a 297-gram frame. It excels at reading, entertainment, and digital art with the Apple Pencil Pro, though the 60Hz screen and high max price sting a bit. For anyone who values pocketability above all else, it's a no-brainer.

Apple's updated iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip is basically a shrunken-down powerhouse for people who want a tablet that won't weigh down a bag. It packs the same chip found in the iPhone 15 Pro models into an 8.3-inch, 297-gram frame that feels almost impossibly light. If you're hunting for the best small tablet for reading, casual gaming, and sketching, this thing is still the only real option worth considering. The price is all over the map, though, with renewed 128GB cellular models dipping as low as $380 and fully loaded 512GB Wi-Fi+5G units climbing over $1,300.

That 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is a joy for ebooks, comics, and streaming, even if it sticks with a 60Hz refresh rate. Colors pop thanks to P3 wide gamut and True Tone, and the ultralow reflectivity helps outdoors. The front camera does center stage for video calls, Touch ID lives in the power button, and iPadOS runs smooth. It's not trying to be a laptop, and that's exactly what makes it so good at being an iPad mini.

Apple's push into AI is here too, with the chip being 'built for Apple Intelligence,' but at launch those features are still rolling out. For now, you're getting a tablet with strong connectivity (Wi-Fi 6E, 5G, Bluetooth 5.3), a 19Wh battery that our tests show is near the top of the class, and full support for the Apple Pencil Pro. It scores highest in reading (84.5) and entertainment (78.6), while productivity sits lower at 71.4. That feels honest; the mini is a companion device, not a desk warrior.

We ran the A17 Pro through our tablet database, and it lands around the 60th percentile for CPU power. That's middle-of-the-pack compared to every tablet out there, but inside this tiny chassis it feels much quicker than the number suggests. The 8GB of RAM is about average too (66th percentile), but the 512GB storage model we tested sits at the 93rd percentile, so you won't run out of space for apps, offline movies, or a mountain of Procreate projects. Battery life is stellar, placing at the 94th percentile, thanks to that efficient chip and modest screen resolution.

In real-world use, the mini handles everything from Apple Arcade titles at high settings to 4K video streams without breaking a sweat. The GPU isn't chart-topping, but you can comfortably play demanding games like Genshin Impact at respectable frame rates. The 60Hz screen can feel a little dated if you're used to ProMotion on an iPhone, but the compact size makes the lack of buttery scrolling less noticeable than on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro. For digital art, the Apple Pencil Pro's low latency and hover features work brilliantly, turning this into the best pocketable sketchbook you can buy.

The iPad mini A17 Pro's pricing spans a wild range. You can snag a renewed 128GB Wi-Fi+Cellular model from Amazon for $380, which is an absolute steal for a tablet with this chip and screen quality. At the other end, a new 512GB Wi-Fi+5G unit will set you back $1,305, and that's a lot of money for a device that still uses a 60Hz display and can't fully replace a laptop. For most people, the 128GB Wi-Fi only model at around $499 hits the sweet spot. Compared to the iPad Air with an M1 chip and larger display, you sacrifice screen real estate and ProMotion but gain unmatched portability. If you can find it under $500, it's a solid deal; above that, you're paying a premium for the petite size.

The iPad mini's biggest 'competitor' is Samsung's Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, but that's a completely different animal. The Ultra is a massive 14.6-inch productivity beast with an AMOLED screen and an S Pen, built for multitasking and drawing on a grand scale. It's over twice the weight and price, and useless for one-handed reading. The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro offers a similarly fast Snapdragon chip in a larger 12.4-inch body at a lower cost, but Android tablets still lack the tight Apple Pencil integration and polished app library for creatives. Lenovo's Idea Tab Pro tries to hit a budget note, but its screen and performance can't match the mini's fluidity.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is a full Windows 11 PC in a tablet form, ideal if you must run desktop apps, but it's heavier, more expensive, and overkill for the casual media and reading crowd. And the HotWAV R9 Ultra 5G is a rugged outdoor slate, not a sleek media tablet. Put simply, nobody else makes a premium compact tablet. The iPad mini owns this niche; if you want a device that slips into a coat pocket and lets you read, draw, and game anywhere, nothing else comes close.

Skip the iPad mini if you need a big canvas for drawing, heavy multitasking, or a genuine laptop replacement. Artists who require maximum stroke real estate will feel cramped, and spreadsheet warriors will tire of zooming and scrolling. Anyone spoiled by ProMotion on a newer iPhone will notice the 60Hz panel immediately. And if you're shopping on a tight budget, the 9th-gen iPad gives you a larger screen and solid performance for less money. This is a device for people who specifically want the smallest possible Apple tablet, not the best value per inch.

If you've been waiting for a small tablet that doesn't compromise on power, the iPad mini A17 Pro is the one. It's tailor-made for people who read voraciously, take handwritten notes on the go, or want a gaming device that won't give them wrist fatigue. The combination of that gorgeous 8.3-inch display, all-day battery, and Apple Pencil Pro support is genuinely hard to beat. Just know what you're not getting: a laptop replacement, a buttery 120Hz refresh rate, or a budget price for the top configurations.

For students, travelers, or anyone who loves a tiny tablet that can still handle Photoshop Express and Apple Arcade, this is an easy recommendation. If your workflow revolves around spreadsheets, video editing, or a giant canvas, look at the iPad Air or a Surface. But for pure portable delight, the iPad mini remains the king of its tiny hill.