iPad Mini 7 Review: Jelly Effect, Keyboard & A17 Pro

With the iPad Mini 7, Apple has finally released a new version of their small tablet, which I have been using intensively every day since then. The main new feature is the A17 Pro chip, but they’ve actually improved the display as well.

For my review, I compared it to the iPad Mini 6 and Lenovo Legion Tab, which is the only Android competitor. I also tested three keyboard covers, one of which is surprisingly good. More on that later, we’ll start with the new processor.

Hardware & Performance

I hoped Apple would go for the M2 and I even expected it, because in the past, the Mini was often just a smaller version of the iPad Air. But no, they are using the same A17 Pro processor that we already know from the iPhone 15 Pro now.

It’s nice that it comes with 8GB of RAM instead of the 4GB of its predecessor. This makes it ready for Apple Intelligence. When you buy it, you can also choose between 128GB, 256GB and 512GB of internal storage. And there’s a version with 5G.

In my Geekbench 6 benchmark comparison, you can immediately see that the processor performance is only slightly better than its predecessor. The graphics performance has improved significantly, but it’s still significantly weaker than the M2 in the iPad Air.

And as far as processor and graphics performance are concerned, the iPad Mini 7 has nothing to fear from the Android side at all. The Lenovo Legion Tab is currently the fastest 8-inch Android tablet on the market and is clearly inferior to the iPad Mini.

This is also the case in the 3D Mark benchmark, even though the difference here is not quite as huge.

Game Test

Well, the graphics performance of the small tablet is not as strong as that of the iPad Air and Pro, but you can still play all games at the highest graphics settings. For instance, Assassin’s Creed Mirage runs almost as smoothly and looks almost as pretty as on the Pro. I say almost as smoothly, because I noticed minimal stutters from time to time. To avoid them altogether, you have to lower the graphics a bit.

In general, I think the iPad Mini is a great gaming tablet because it’s so handy. I also played Age of Empires Mobile for quite a while. It’s not as cool as the original from my Windows ME days, but it’s still fun on the Mini.

I was also able to edit photos well in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, but that was also possible with its predecessor. I had edited a lot of photos for a very long time with the iPad Mini 6. It’s nice to take a small, light tablet with you when you travel.

Display: Jelly Scrolling?

The screen is the same as on its predecessor. We get an 8.3-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2266 x 1488 pixels, which is very sharp, and it’s 500 nits bright. It supports True Tone, which means that white adapts to the ambient light.

With the iPad Mini 6, I had discovered a jelly or rolling shutter effect that many testers hadn’t noticed at the beginning. Later, others have seen it too of course, and now almost everyone is talking about it. I really used the iPad Mini 6 a lot and in the end it bothered me a lot.

I wish Apple would go for 120Hz on the iPad Mini 7. But no, it’s still a 60Hz panel and the jelly effect can still be seen. So it’s still there, but they’ve actually managed to make it much less visible.

I created a test graphic in Photoshop to compare the jelly effect between the iPad Mini 6, iPad Mini 7 and Lenovo Legion Tab. The latter supports 144Hz. Sure, the 144Hz display is by far the best in this respect. But the effect has actually been greatly reduced on the iPad Mini 7, so I no longer see it as a major problem.

Apart from that, the display is great. Sure, I would have liked an OLED, but since Samsung stopped building 8-inch premium tablets, the iPad Mini 7 is the best 8-inch tablet on the market. And Apple doesn’t have to try very hard, because there is almost no competition.

Speakers

There are a total of four speaker slots on the sides, but there are only two speakers with true stereo separation. The sound quality is not as good as on many larger tablets. But for an 8-inch device, the sound is great. You’ll be able to watch YouTube and Netflix just fine.

Apple Pencil Pro

If you upgrade from the iPad Mini 6 to the 7, you’ll need to buy a new stylus. The Pencil 2 is no longer supported. Instead, it only works with the brand new Apple Pencil Pro and the USB C Pencil. The latter is not pressure-sensitive and is charged via USB C instead of induction.

The Pencil Pro works almost the same way as the Pencil 2 and is just as well designed. The only new feature is that the tablet now supports the hover feature and the squeeze gesture. So you can see a small dot when you hover the pencil over something now. And when you squeeze the pencil, a toolbar opens in many apps.

I think the Mini is great for handwritten notes. It’s a good replacement for a typical A5 notebook. I really enjoy writing by hand with it. You can draw just as well, of course, but many artists prefer a larger device for that.

Design & Build Quality

The design of the iPad Mini 7 has remained the same, so it’s compatible with the same accessories as the previous generation. Well, except for the stylus. It’s available in space gray, blue, violet, and polar star. The colors are all slightly saturated only. I have the blue version.

Typically Apple, we get a high-quality aluminum body that is beautifully crafted. The transitions from metal to glass are really nice, like on a premium device. It’s 6.3mm thick and weighs 293g.

A Touch ID fingerprint reader is built into the power button, which looks and works the same as on the Air. FaceID is not supported.

In fact, the mini is still the only Apple tablet where the front camera is not on the long side, but on the short one. So if you hold the tablet in landscape orientation during Skype and Zoom, you won’t be in the center. Otherwise, the quality of the 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera is good.

The same applies to the 12-megapixel main camera with LED flash on the back. Sure, an iPhone takes significantly better photos. But for a small tablet, the quality is good.

On one of the short sides, there is a USB C 3 port, which now supports 10 Gbit/s and you can even connect an external monitor. I think that’s great, even if it’s only mirrored and you can’t expand the screen. Unfortunately, the Stage Manager is not supported like on the Air or Pro.

Nevertheless – if you connect a keyboard, mouse and monitor, you could kind of replace a desktop pc. At least a bit.

Keyboard Covers

Let’s get to the keyboards. Unfortunately, Apple does not offer an official one for the Mini. However, you can connect almost any Bluetooth and USB keyboard, including old desktop keyboards and mice.

You can buy lots of keyboard covers from third parties. A few years ago, I bought 10 of them and they were all very disappointing. But now, there are actually some relatively good ones. I tested three of them with the iPad Mini 7.

The first is called Hou FY-8 is really good in many ways. It’s a magnetic keyboard cover that has a nice design and a surprisingly good keyboard. Sure, it’s a bit smaller due to the small screen, but after getting used to it, it’s quite good. That is the case with the US layout. But with the German layout I got, they misplaced the period and comma key and it’s almost unusable.

I also tried the Earto keyboard, which has a hard case. There is a rotating mechanism here, similar to some 2-in-1 Windows convertibles. The cover feels somewhat cheap and the touchpad is just okay. But the keyboard is actually quite good.

My new favorite keyboard for the iPad Mini 7 however, is the Hou Mate-8 keyboard case. It’s similar to the first one I mentioned here just that the tablet has a proper cover that protects it from all sides and has a build-in kickstand. The keyboard is also good for German users like me but that shouldn’t be a problem at all if you’re from the US or UK.

Again, you’ll have to get used to the smaller layout, but that’s not that difficult. This keyboard is charged using USB C and since it’s a Bluetooth keyboard that can be detached, you can also use it while it’s detached.

Software

A few words about the software. The iPad Mini 7 is running iPadOS 18 which is the latest version. At some point, Apple Itelligence should also run, but not yet. It’s not available in Germany where I’m based.

What’s great about Apple is that they always provide updates for a very long time. Often 5 years and often even longer.

Another huge advantage is the large number of apps that are optimized for tablets and run great. These includes Lightroom, which I find much more pleasant on an iPad than on Android. Even if the features themselves are the same. But for iPadOS there is also Photoshop, Affinity Photo and Designer, and you can even edit videos quite professionally with DaVinci Resolve.

Battery Life

In my battery test, the iPad Mini 7 lasted a rather weak 5.5 hours. I always let an HD YouTube video play in an endless loop at maximum brightness. It’s a bit disappointing that iPads tend to have a short battery life.

iPad Mini 7 Review: My Final Verdict

The iPad Mini 7 isn’t perfect. It only has a 60Hz display, no M processor and no OLED. Nevertheless, it is exactly like its predecessor was before it, currently the best 8-inch tablet on the market. This is because, on the one hand, it is a solid tablet, but, above all, there is no stronger competitor with Android.

In Europe and Asia, the Lenovo Legion Tab has been available for a while. It supports 144Hz and the performance and many features are very good for an Android tablet. But the processor and graphics performance is better with Apple and the software is significantly better at the same time.

Compared to its predecessor, Apple has improved performance, significantly reduced the jelly effect, added 8GB of RAM, and added support for external monitors. I think the iPad Mini 7 is a great tablet, especially if you are looking for a small device for on the go. It’s a great e-book reader, a good notebook, and has enough power to play demanding games and edit photos and videos.