iPad mini 7 Review: 5 Key Things To Consider

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I'm slightly bias because I already love the iPad mini's form factor, but the iPad mini 7 is my favourite iPad. It isn't hugely different from the iPad mini 6 but the faster A17 Pro chip makes this a worthwhile upgrade, unless you really can't live without a 120Hz display.

The Good

1. Punchy processing power
2. Great build quality
3. Genuinely all-day battery life

The Not So Good

1. No 120Hz display
2. Should be $50 cheaper

• User Ratings (14 Votes)
  5.3

Need-to-knows

• Perfect for note-taking and on-the-go tasks
• A17 Pro chip is a handy upgrade that gives the iPad mini 7 more than enough power
• Lack of Pro-Motion display is annoying if you’re used to other devices that have it
• All in all, not a major upgrade over the iPad mini 6, but still worth it

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This is going to be my final review of the iPad mini 7. I think you’ve all had your fill of this stuff now, and for any lingering, confused buyers, I hope I can offer one last batch of guidance to help you either make the right purchase or save yourself some money.

I haven’t fallen out of love with the iPad mini; I still firmly believe it’s the best iPad Apple has ever made. Unfortunately, my usage of it has waned because I’m a tech reviewer and suffer from tech fatigue. I’ve gone back to using a physical notepad for note-taking and my to-do list, and I’ve discovered that tablets are the least useful solution outside of the studio to get stuff done or entertain myself.

I’ve got a laptop and phone for that stuff.

That aside, I’ve owned the iPad mini 7 since it was launched last October, and I’ve identified five things you need to know before buying one. Equally, if you’ve bought one already, you might find this list interesting (or comforting).

The basics

Let’s quickly confirm the specs and the pricing for the new iPad mini. It’s running the A17 Pro chip, which is the same chip that powers the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. There’s also 8GB of RAM to play with, which is double the amount of memory in the previous generation.

The 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is the same one from the iPad mini 6, and TouchID on the power button remains. There are new colours, as you might expect – Space Grey, purple, blue, and Starlight, and support for the Apple Pencil Pro.

There are three storage sizes to choose from. Thankfully, 64GB is no longer an option – the new iPad mini starts with 128GB of RAM for £499 / $499, and you can upgrade to 256GB (£599 / $599), or a brand new 512GB tier (£799 / $799).

The camera system is the same single-lens camera system as the iPad mini 6, although with one tweak, which I’ll explain later.

1. You need to figure out a use case for it

Hold onto your trousers – I’m about to vacuum all of the iPad-buying joy from the room.

Before you commit to buying an iPad mini 7, you need to identify a use case for it. And “I need a new iPad and quite fancy the little one” doesn’t cut it, I’m afraid.

I’ve gone all schoolteacherish on yo’ ass because I’m the perfect example of someone who didn’t need the iPad mini 7 – if you remove the fact that I’m a tech YouTuber and the iPad mini is one of the biggest products I cover, which means I can’t not own one. The point being, my limited use case for the iPad mini now has rendered it a fairly daft addition to my ‘tech stack’.

My iPad mini’s sole purpose is to act as a display for my script bullet points while filming YouTube videos in my studio. That’s it. My iPhone can do the same thing, as can my MacBook Pro – and my iPad Pro.

To avoid falling into the same trap, I’d advise identifying your requirement for the iPad mini 7. It could be industry- or hobby-specific, or it could be the fact that it’s the perfect size note-taking device, which will also nail the ability to entertain you on regular plane journeys without taking up acres of space in your backpack. It needs to be that specific, I’m afraid.

If you just “want one”, I’d think twice. iPads are brilliant at luring you into a false sense of requirement, only to turn themselves into an expensive, dust-gathering tech ornament six months later.

2. Jelly scrolling doesn’t matter

This is the last time I will ever mention jelly scrolling on the internet because it bores me to tears.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, jelly scrolling takes place on certain displays when you scroll up and down on text-heavy content. The effect is best described as ‘waving text’ as it makes its way up and down the display. On the iPad mini, it’s only noticeable when holding the device in portrait orientation. There’s a technical reason for this, obviously, but I’d rather eat my own eyeballs than research it.

The problem is that there are 87,209 Reddit threads about jelly scrolling on the iPad mini, full of feather-spitting anti-Apple people who claim that jelly scrolling is ‘criminal’. You’ll encounter lots of these threads while researching the iPad mini 7, or Googling the weird wavy effect you’ve spotted on your new purchase.

There are two things to bear in mind here, and I speak from personal experience. Firstly, the jelly scrolling effect on the iPad mini 7 is marginally less pronounced than it was on the iPad mini 6. The second is that you only notice it if you go looking for it.

And that means it doesn’t matter. At all.

3. The lack of ProMotion IS a problem (for some)

ProMotion is Apple’s marketing term for a display that’s capable of automatically adjusting its refresh rate from 1 to 120Hz, depending on what you’re doing with the device. That’s the worst technical explanation for ProMotion on the internet, but I don’t care.

Every new Android phone has at least a 90Hz refresh rate, although 120Hz dynamic refresh rates are close to becoming the standard. Except in Apple Land, where such screen technology is reserved for devices labelled ‘Pro’. This has left us in the slightly awks position where the iPad mini, despite remaining a relatively expensive tablet, only has a 60Hz display.

This puts it at odds with every other Android tablet I’ve tried in the same price bracket, but, more importantly, makes the iPad mini 7 feel slower than it actually is. Which is utterly annoying.

The iPad mini 7 is no slouch at all – it’s a super capable, fast device with plenty of performance headroom for anyone who wants to get fruity with it. But if you’ve been using a ProMotion-equipped device and switch to the iPad mini 7, it feels ancient – or, at the very least, like you’ve accidentally left battery saving mode on.

There’s an argument to say that this doesn’t matter for people who have no experience of high refresh rate displays, but I’m afraid that crowd is reducing in number – fast.

There has been lots of talk (including from yours truly) about the need for an iPad mini Pro, with the addition of ProMotion cited as a leading reason for its existence. But that’s making excuses for Apple; in reality, the iPad mini just needs to be modernised. It should have a 120Hz display at its base level.

I can no longer defend Apple on this. I’ve done so for far too long, and I apologise if that has irked you in the past (I know it has pissed a fair few people off).

4. It’s missing a vital Apple accessory

I’ll keep this brief because I am monumentally boring about it.

We need a mini Magic Keyboard for the iPad mini.

That would increase my use of it tenfold.

5. Apple Intelligence isn’t a selling point

I’m one of the biggest Apple fans you’ll meet.

No, really – I bought AirPods Max. Twice.

But, just like the ProMotion situation, I can’t defend Tim and co. on Apple Intelligence, I’m afraid. It has left such a sour taste in my mouth.

I used to work in sales and marketing and if there’s one thing I was always taught and by which I lived consistently, it was that you can’t make shit up. If you’re trying to sell something, it needs to exist and do the things you promise it’ll do. If it doesn’t, you lose all credibility – immediately, and quite rightly.

At the time of writing, we’re a couple of weeks away from WWDC 2025, and I’m excited to see what Apple announces during what is, arguably, a challenging time for Tim Cook’s company.

What I’m confident they won’t do, however, is provide any kind of concrete reassurance (in the form of real demos or beta software we can actually try ourselves) that the fancier Apple Intelligence features revealed a year ago are anywhere close to completion.

You know what I’m talking about – the next generation of Siri, which is contextually aware of minute details about your personal life. “When is mum’s flight arriving?” you ask, before it reveals it’s at 6PM next Wednesday at Heathrow Terminal 5, having waded through emails, text messages, and flight databases to find the answer – in milliseconds.

You still can’t do that, and Apple even had to pull an iPhone advert that suggested we could. It’s a bit of a mess, but Apple intelligence is still plastered everywhere during the iPad mini 7 buying process.

Apple’s greatest tablet might give you access to Apple Intelligence, but please don’t let that sway your buying decision. You’ll regret it.

The iPad mini’s one saving grace

You’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m going to conclude this long-term review of the iPad mini 7 by saying that it’s no longer worth buying – but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

It’s still a no-brainer for a great many people, and most of those people won’t care about the above. They just want an iPad mini. And they’ll be super happy with the iPad mini 7.

The iPad mini’s one saving grace is the fact that there’s no alternative. It has no competition. Anywhere. And I don’t think that’ll ever change.

I’m sure there are Android-based tablets that are the same size as the iPad mini (in fact, I know there are – I held one made by Lenovo a couple of weeks ago). But can you name one? If you’re considering an iPad mini, have you even bothered to look at what else there is on the other side of the fence?

Of course you haven’t – it’s pointless. The iPad mini is peerless.

Wrapping up – Is the iPad mini the best iPad?

Yes, it is.

There’s one very simple reason for this – its usefulness is far easier to grasp than that of regular-sized – or super-sized – iPads.

The iPad mini is the only iPad I’ve owned over the last few years which I still use nearly every single day. As noted earlier, its use cases have dwindled somewhat, and now reside almost solely in the realm of video production (not as a camera, obviously). Its size and speed mean I can always rely on it to help me through an a-roll shoot by keeping my mind focused on what I need to say next.

I still wholeheartedly recommend the iPad mini 7, but if you’re going to buy one, you must take into consideration the things I’ve listed above. Mainly, what will you actually use it for?

The next iPad mini needs to be a significant upgrade, and it shouldn’t need the ‘Pro’ moniker. The big question is: how long will we have to wait?

Answering your questions

I received a huge number of questions about the iPad mini 7 during my reaction video on YouTube . Thankfully, most of them were the same, which enabled us to compile the five most common questions.

Let’s get them answered!

1. Is Apple slowly ridding itself of the iPad Mini?

My answer: No. We wouldn’t have the seventh generation today if they were. Equally, they’ve attached Apple Intelligence to the marketing campaign for it, which is a good sign that the iPad mini has an exciting future ahead of it.

2. Will the iPad Mini 7 support the Apple Pencil 2?

My answer: Nope. You have to choose between the Apple Pencil Pro and the USB-C Apple Pencil.

3. Is the iPad Mini 7 worth upgrading from the Mini 6?

My answer: If your battery is dying – yes. If you want Apple Intelligence – yes. Otherwise, no. It is, however, a massive upgrade from the fifth-generation iPad mini.

4. Have they fixed the jelly scrolling on the iPad mini 7?

My answer: It’s still there, only less so. I think. Although it has never really bothered me; if you just use the iPad mini as intended, you don’t notice it.

5. Can the iPad Mini 7 be used with Stage Manager and external displays?

My answer: No. You can mirror the display, but there’s no option to extend the display or use Stage Manager (although I’ve never understood why you’d want to use the latter on such a small display).