iPad mini Advice on iPad mini vs iPad air for gift

[Lotharseven]

Hi all,

I’m looking for advice about which iPad to get for my wife’s bday. Her use case is mostly consumption and light photo editing/organization/reading. She’s not a power user or gamer. The iPad Air is probably overkill and I honestly think the form factor of the mini would be plus since she has been doing all of this on her iPhone 13 mini. She will switch to our M1 13” Air when she has to organize/delete a lot of photos. My main concerns are talk of the screen not bright enough and poor optimization of scaling icons/text/apps. I have an M1 13” iPad Pro myself and couldn’t see going smaller than 11” but most everyone raves about the portability of the mini. Also, we’re close to 60 years old if that factors into any thoughts.

Thanks

 

[vanilla_prison]

I would honestly go with the 11” Air. I just bought my wife one as a “retirement” gift (tomorrow is her last day of work, she’s going to be a SAHM) and she loves it. She does photo editing and junk journaling, reads books, plays simple little games, and other minor uses. The 11” is the perfect size where it’s not too big like the 13” models, but also no too small. It’s still incredibly portable, and gives you enough screen real estate to do what you want with it. I think she would be very happy with the Air.

 

[shakopeemn]

I have an M1 13” iPad Pro myself and couldn’t see going smaller than 11” but most everyone raves about the portability of the mini. Also, we’re close to 60 years old if that factors into any thoughts.

Similar circumstance in our home, my spouse uses a 10" iPad as her daily goto. I have a hard enough time adjusting to that model. At our age I would not go mini for either of us. I do think the 11" Air would be ideal in that it's much easier to handle than a 13" and a bit larger display than a basic iPad.

Best.

 

[Lotharseven]

Thanks for the replies. It seems like you get a lot more in the air for not that much more $. It feels like the mini should be $399.

 

[vanilla_prison]

Thanks for the replies. It seems like you get a lot more in the air for not that much more $. It feels like the mini should be $399.

The mini’s only claim to fame is that it’s ultra portable and the screen has the highest PPI of any iPad. Other than that, the Air is a better choice. Bigger screen, better processor (which means you can do things like extended monitor), and better accessories. It’ll last her for years

 

[wilberforce]

I have a mini and an 11”. There are very few usage cases where the mini is better; you almost need to have a special situation where the small size is essential and trumps everything else. I used it mounted on the dash for off-road navigation. In all other cases I find the mini is a nuisance to use. For some reason text often seems smaller and harder to read than on a phone.
One possible good use for a mini is as a book reader. But really, a Kindle is better for this.
I am trading in my mini for another 11”

 

[TechRunner]

As someone who owns a Mini 7, I say go for the Air. I purchased the Mini for a very specific use, as a high-powered Kindle that allows me to read books but also allows me to do minor tablet "stuff" when needed. I love the portability of it and use it as an ebook reader about 80% of the time. It is fine for the other 20% of things I do with it (watching parts of MLB games, scrolling through photos, etc.), but if I didn't have such a one-dimensional use for it, I would definitely have an 11" tablet as it seems like it would be the sweet spot for me.