iPad Mini 5 Review: Is the Device Worth It for its Price and Performance?

For a while, the iPad Mini 5 was thought to have been benched by Apple since its predecessor came out five years ago. However, since the franchise still has an active market despite the Cupertino-based company having newer models, they decided to create a fifth entry.

While the iPad Mini 5 leaves a lot of room for improvements, it still packs a punch under the hood. It has the A12 Bionic hardware, contains 64 GB and 256 GB worth of storage, and runs on 3 GB of RAM. The problem is that the device looks similar to its predecessor, so much so that if you swap one for the other, it’s difficult to tell the difference right away.

Then there’s also the company’s decision to have the iPad Mini 5 support the first-generation Apple Pencil instead of the far superior second-gen. But all things considered, the device does perform well for its price.

It’s fast, responsive, and can keep up with the latest games currently on the market. The iPad Mini 5 is essentially just the smaller version of the new iPad Air. Both devices can perform for 10 hours before it needs to be plugged in.

And speaking of which, the iPad Mini has been outfitted with a Lightning port on the bottom rather than giving it the USB-C seen in iPad Pros. Apple told The Verge that their decision on this front is rooted in the idea of separating the iPad Mini 5 with the Pro since the USB-C is a Pro feature.

As for its price, the iPad Mini 5 has been tagged with a price point of $400 for the 64GB version with only Wi-Fi capabilities. The 256GB variant that has Wi-Fi and Cellular features are pricier as it costs $640. Overall, the iPad Mini 2019 is a decent device. Not too flashy but can handle the basic necessities one would need for an iPad. And it’s small to boot so carrying it around isn’t much of a hassle.