I really enjoy my new mini 6. I use it to annotate lecture slide PDF/PPT files for my university courses, as well as general productivity stuff like email and calendar. I also like it because as noted by many its a great size for mobile gaming as well as astronomy apps which i use with my telescope often. Also wifi streaming of spectrum cable tv on a stand i bought. It does a lot of really cool stuff and is my 1st ipad actually.
The form factor is near ideal. The only improvement i cold think of is shrinking the bezels for a slightly larger overall screen, or perhaps simply increasing the size marginally. MY next device up is a 15' MBP so its a large leap and I dont need an iPad that can replace a laptop as im 100% laptop oriented when it comes to school/business work. I need a device that can run the softwares of my 15' (ie office) but not neccesarily be the content creator, but for example hooking up to a projector to play a presentation instead of having to bring the MBP.
I am disappointed that there is no phone app (I have the 5g model). When I bought it, I thought it would be like the 5g watch which you could use for calls even when not within bluetooth. Funny enough I find the ipad mini more enjoyable to carry than my 13 pro as its far less dense and thinner. And as akward as it looks, you can in fact hold it like a phone pretty easily. I would sell my iPhone 13 Pro if I didnt need it for my watch and ipad mini because i almost never use it anymore.
The fact that the ipad mini doesnt have calculator is odd. It seems like a petty omission because it would be a great calculator size for folks who like large buttons or flipped even a scientific calculator. Also the omission of the weather app. I get not wanting to cannibalize iPhone sales but thats taken care of my not including the phone, so why do even more?
I think the iPad mini will become the future foldable iPhone form factor. Sleek, less dense, and very versatile.