The new iPad mini 8 has a chip on its shoulder. It's almost like it's saying to the iPhone Duo, "Anything you can do, I can do better."
The iPad mini 8 (from $699) has a bigger display than the Duo (8.5 vs 7.6 inches); it supports the latest Apple Pencil Pro (that magnetically attaches to the side); and you get the same A20 Pro chip for serious power.
Of course, the iPad mini 8 doesn't fold, but I played with it for about 30 minutes and I think it makes a serious case for carrying a separate phone and small tablet. It could easily make our best tablet list, but we still have to do our full round of testing. Here are my first impressions.
iPad mini 8: Bigger OLED display, thinner design
The iPad mini 8 makes an awesome first impression with its OLED display, which is a first for the iPad mini.
This panel is 8.5 inches, larger than the 8.3-inch panel on the previous iPad mini 7. You also get 24% smaller bezels, so the iPad mini 8 gives you more real estate without ballooning the design.
In fact, at 5.4mm and and 255 grams, the iPad mini 8 is thinner and lighter than the iPad mini 7 (6.3 mm, 293 grams). That's pretty impressive given the new iPad has a larger display.
The iPad mini is also IP67 rated against water and dust.
A better display than iPhone Duo?
The iPad mini 8's 8.5-inch display isn't just bigger than the iPhone Duo's 7.6-inch panel. It looks more colorful in person, and it offered better black levels side by side when watching a trailer for 'Ted Lasso.'
However, the iPhone Duo's main display gets brighter at up to 3,000 nits compared to 1,200 for the iPad mini.
The iPad minis I played around with had a nano-texture finish, but that costs a pretty penny. You need to get a 256GB or 512GB model, so you'll need to pay at least $899.
A20 Pro power, and what you can do with it
The iPad mini 8 packs the same A20 Pro chip as the iPhone 18 Pro series and iPhone Duo, and it packs a pretty big punch.
When playing Petit Planet, this tablet offered smooth and detailed graphics as I panned around a large world.
Working in Pixelmator Pro, I could apply complex edits with ease using either touch or Apple Pencil. And in the Shapr3D app, I manipulated a complex 3D model of a skateboard and added different colors to the parts on the fly. There was no lag.
Front camera where it's supposed to be
Apple has done the right thing by moving the 12MP Center Stage camera to the long side of the device, making it easier to hold video calls in landscape mode. This is especially welcome because the Smart Folio accessory props up the device in this mode.
I didn't get a chance to check out the improved sound yet. The iPad mini has what's called an Acoustic Display. The woofers are paired through the display to give you more bass, and there's custom tweeters hidden between the glass and aluminum enclosure. The result should be boomier bass and clearer highs.
The back camera is a 12MP wide lens, so you get only a single shooter. There's no ultrawide like you have on the iPhone Duo. But the images I captured in the hands-on area with the iPad mini 8 were reasonably crisp.
is the iPad mini worth $100 more?
Yes, the iPad mini 8 is $100 more than the iPad mini 7, but I think the upgrades are worth it. You get a bigger and better OLED display and faster performance in a thinner and lighter design.
As for the iPad mini vs iPhone Duo comparisons, the new iPad mini starts at $699 and when you add an iPhone 18 Pro Max that brings you to $2,000. That's the same price as an iPhone Duo.
So it's really up to you if you want to carry one device or two for this sort of versatility. I prefer the iPad mini's bigger and richer display and support for the latest Apple Pencil — and the fact that you can dock it to the device. But the iPhone Duo is still a great choice if you want to fit a mini tablet in your pocket.
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