Costing just above $300 in its most basic version (the most expensive one costs $559), this iPad has a very attractive price tag for its features. It has a 9.7″ Retina display and comes with a 64-bit A9 chip that ensures a fluid performance and enough computing power for demanding games and other applications. Overall, its features and performance are equivalent to those of other tablets that cost at least $100 more.
This tablet uses a 64-bit A9 chip and 2GB RAM, which ensure fluidity when gaming, watching media, or even doing some light multimedia creation tasks (in GarageBand, for example). Evidently, it doesn’t perform as well as the iPad Pro, but it’s very noticeable that it’s more powerful than the previous iPad Air 2.
The 2048x1536 display, with a 264 ppi pixel density, handles content reproduction quite well. Despite missing some importante features, such as True Tone technology or anti-reflective coating, it’s still a good screen that creates a pleasant experience, creating vivid and rich images. However, it’s noticeable that it’s not as good as the displays of the iPad Pro or of the iPad Air 2 from the previous generation.
The iPad 2017’s camera is quite decent. It’s 8 MP sensor and good color reproduction capabilities allow for some good photo-taking. Still, it’s not as good as the iPad Pro’s 12 MP camera.
The iPad 2017's battery lasts up to 10 hours (while doing tasks equivalent to regular internet browsing, watching videos or listening to music). It's a lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 8,800 mAh, which represents a great improvement from the iPad Air 2's battery, which only had 7.340 mAh.
32GB and 128GB are the only storage options available, with no possibility of expansion (via SD cards, for example). This means there’s a huge gap between the lowest option, which will feel like not enough for lots of people, and the highest one, which has too much space for those same users. A 64GB version would probably be more balanced and the most suitable for the majority of users.
This iPad's battery takes around 4 hours to completely charge, which can feel like too long in many situations where you don't have that kind of time to spare.
This iPad's big high-resolution display, along with the Apple Pen, and efficient computing power (due to the A10X Fusion chip) makes it all work fluidly and with no hiccups, even when displaying and processing demanding graphics, making this tablet a serious and reliable professional tool.
This iPad can be used with the Apple Pencil (sold separately for $99), a digital stylus that can be used to navigate, hand write or draw. The Pencil is very precise and responsive, features that are extremely convenient for designers or illustrators. It's also pressure sensitive and very comfortable to manipulate.
This device is quite expensive, especially the more premium versions, whose price is closer to a laptop price than to a tablet price. Before getting this, users should really consider if it's worth it.
Due to its size, this tablet is not the most manageable, or even portable, tablet. It comes in two sizes: 10.5'' and 12.9''. These can easily feel too big for users who like a tablet for its portability and versatility.
This iPad mini's fully laminated display has impressive quality, giving the impression that you can actually touch icons and content. It's a Retina display, with resolutions of 2048 x 1536 at 326 ppi.
This iPad's battery lasts quite long, especially when compared to previous iPad mini versions. It can sustain up to 10 hours of internet browsing, video watching videos or music listening, due to its 19.1 watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery.
This iPad has a very good camera, being perfect for anyone who likes to take pictures with their tablet. It has an 8 MP camera, which is the same that equips its higher-end brother iPad.