 |  |
|---|---|
| iPad Air | iPad Mini |
| BUY NOW | BUY NOW |
| PROS | PROS |
| Brilliant-looking laminated screen. Cheapest Smart Keyboard iPad. Fast charges via Lightning-to-USB-C. | Perfect size to tote around. Works with the Apple Pencil. Surprisingly powerful specs. |
| CONS | CONS |
| Uses the 1st Gen Apple Pencil. Traditional design doesn’t wow. Two speakers instead of four. | Unchanged, bezel-heavy design. Uses the older Apple Pencil. Costs more than the iPad 9.7. |
DESIGN
| iPad Air | iPad Mini | |
| Dimensions | 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.24 inches (248.9 x 172.7 x 6.1 mm) | 8 x 5.3 x 0.24 inches (203.2 x 134.6 x 6.1 mm) |
| Weight | 464.0 g | 308.2 g |
| Materials | Back: Aluminum | Back: Aluminum |
| Biometrics | Fingerprint (touch) | Fingerprint (touch) |
| Colors | Gold, Gray, Silver | Gold, Gray, Silver |
Apple iPad Air:
The design of this device looks very similar to previous iPads. The form factor here is also same as well. There is also smart connector on the left as well which could be used to connect the keyboard.
Unlike the iPad Pro, it doesn’t have four speakers. It only has got two speakers which are on the bottom of the device. On the top of the device we get to see a headphone jack, a power button, and there is also microphone as well. On the right side of the device we get to see volume buttons only.
There is also a touch ID which is fast and reliable but it also feels a little out of trend now a days. Overall, the design of this device is almost the same as previous devices but it still gives nice and premium feeling and even the form factor is nice as well.
Apple iPad Mini:
The design of this device is the same as the previous iPad Mini’s, I mean exactly the same. If you put iPad Mini 2012 edition and iPad Mini 2019 edition, you will not find any difference other than the color of the device.
The form factor of the device is the same as before, the bezels are same, headphone jack, even the camera placements are same as well. Also the body is also made of aluminium.
DISPLAY
| iPad Air | iPad Mini | |
| Size | 10.5 inches | 7.9 inches |
| Resolution | 2224 x 1668 pixels, 4:3 ratio, 265 PPI | 2048 x 1536 pixels, 4:3 ratio, 324 PPI |
| Technology | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Screen-to-body | 79.41 % | 70.65 % |
| Features | Pressure-sensitive, Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor | Pressure-sensitive, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor |
Apple iPad Air:
This is a 10.5-inch and it also has retina display, P3 color gamut, and the screen is laminated as well. By laminated, it means that there is no gap between the pixels and the glass. It improves the user experience and also it gives a very nice modernize feeling on this device.
However, the display is not edge to edge, it do have some bezels on the top and the bottom of the screen. It makes sense as we also need to hold the device with both hands and if the display is edge to edge then it would get a little difficult to hold device properly.
Apple iPad Mini:
Here, we get to see 7.9-inch screen. Because it is such a small screen, it is easy to carry it in one hand. The bezels here are little too thick which gives it a little out dated look.
However, the screen is really bright and it’s also a fully laminated screen. It also has got retina display which basically means that using the device with Apple pencil.
There is also P3 color gamut which shows more shades of color and there is also true tone technology as well. Basically the true tone technology adjusts the white balance to match the environment. Overall the display is really good.
HARDWARE & PERFORMANCE
| iPad Air | iPad Mini | |
| System chip | Apple A12 Bionic APL1W81 | Apple A12 Bionic APL1W81 |
| Processor | Octa-core, 2490 MHz, Vortex and Tempest, 64-bit, 7 nm | Octa-core, 2490 MHz, Vortex and Tempest, 64-bit, 7 nm |
| GPU | Apple 4-core GPU | Apple 4-core GPU |
| RAM | 3GB LPDDR4 | 3GB |
| Internal storage | 256GB | 256GB |
| OS | iPadOS (13.x) | iPadOS (13.x) |
Apple iPad Air:
As I mentioned before, that there are only two speakers on this device but they are still sufficient enough and the audio is loud enough. So you should not have any problems using these speakers.
Talking about the performance of the device, I would say that it has a Powerful A12 processor in it which makes it a really great device for almost all the heavy task like gaming, video editing and things like that.
This is a latest processor offered by Apple and it’s also one of the powerful processor in the market. And the same processor is used in iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.
Overall, this device is really good if you want to play high-end games like PUBG, doing video editing and even multitasking experience is really great on this device.
Apple iPad Mini:
This device also has the A12 Bionic chip in it which makes this device almost as same as the iPad Air. This device has two storage options which is 64 GB and 256 GB. The performance of this device is the same as it also A12 Bionic processor. I played some heavy games, did some video editing and all that stuff which makes this device the same in terms of performance comparing with iPad Air.
CAMERA & BATTERY
| iPad Air | iPad Mini | |
| Rear | Single camera | Single camera |
| Main camera | 8 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor) | 8 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor) |
| Video recording | 1920×1080 (Full HD) (120 fps) | 1920×1080 (Full HD) (120 fps) |
| Front | 7 MP (HDR) | 7 MP (HDR) |
| Battery Capacity | 8134 mAh | 5058 mAh |
| Type | Li – Ion, Not user replaceable | Li – Polymer, Not user replaceable |
Apple iPad Air:
The back camera on this device is a 8 MP shooter and it’s fine according to Apple’s standard but don’t expect too great quality images as the colors are bad and also it’s not that important, I mean who buys iPad just to take images and also iPads/tablets are not made for taking images.
However, the selfie camera is actually good and it is a 7 MP shooter. This camera is better than other iPads in the market and you will love it to do Facetime or video calling.
The battery life on this device is really good. In my battery test, it lasted for 10 hours which is really good and in my battery test I put a HD video on loop on medium brightness. If you do run out of battery then you also have fast charging with lightning to USB-C cable and it should charge this device in 2.5 hours.
Apple iPad Mini:
The back camera on the iPad Mini has got 8MP camera and it is also not that great as well. The cameras on this device are also usable.
The battery life of this device is also the same as the iPad Air. It also lasts for 10 hours and even the previous iPad Mini also had nice battery life which is really great. It also didn’t lose any power while in the stand by mode which is really great for this device. And just like the iPad Air it also supports fast charging and it charges from 0 to 100% in just 2.5 hours.
WHICH ONE YOU SHOULD BUY?
If I want to buy one of the device which would it be? Well, for me the choice is really simple and that is Apple Mini as I am not that big of a iPad or tablet user and it is almost the same device as the iPad Air.
The iPad Air is bit expensive in comparison with iPad Mini. So as I mentioned there is not too much of the difference in both the device’s. Both display’s are great and bright enough, the battery life is enough to last for atleast two days without any problems, both of them are made of aluminium body and biggest thing for me is the performance which is the same on both the devices.
So, for me iPad Mini is the best choice. But if you want to have iPad Air and there is no budget problem then you should definitely go for it.
