Our Verdict
The mini 4 is too old ; the Pro is too expensive . Unless you desperately want the smallest possible tablet ( get the miniskirt ) or a tops - powered pad that can support the second - gen Apple Pencil ( get a 2018 Pro ) , you should compromise on a halfway path and get the iPad 9.7 in ( 2018 ) , which is cheaper than either and the well all - libertine that Apple presently sell .
Best Prices Today: Apple iPad Pro 11in (2018)
Apple launched a duet of newfangled iPad Pro models to great fanfare ( badly – the New York bunch were totally unruly ) on 30 Oct. But almost as significant was what they did not lecture about : the iPad mini air .
Which leaves the iPad range in a strange state . It ’s have three shiny modeling unblock in 2018 , a about - as - lustrous simulation released in 2017 , and themini 4from way back in 2015 . And the latter is n’t even the cheapest choice : it ’s £ 80/$70 more than this twelvemonth ’s iPad 9.7 in , which has a larger ( albeit unlaminated ) screen .
Who on the dot is the iPad mini for ? In this article we compare it with the much newer , and much more expensive , iPad Pro 11 in , and see which is right for you – or if there are alternatives that would fit your needs well . For broader advice , show ouriPad buying guide .
Price & Availability
The iPad mini 4 is only available with 128 GB of storage . It be £ 399/$399 with Wi - Fi only , or £ 529/$529 with cellular .
If your budget stretch a little further , the iPad Pro 11 in ( 2018 ) can be had for £ 769/$799 if you ’re happy with the minimum spec ( 64 GB , Wi - Fi ) . It crown out at an astounding £ 1,669/$1,699 with a terabyte of storage and cellular .
Here are the full price inclination for the mini 4 :
And for the Pro :
As for exit date , the mini 4 has been around for three years and can be buy now , direct from Appleor from arange of resellers . It ’s been around so long that we constantly wonder if it will presently bereplacedor discontinued , although that possibility appears to have been put off for a while at least .
The iPad Pro 2018 can beordered right now , having launched on 7 Nov.
Design & Build
The mini 4 is a Graeco-Roman design but for obvious reasons has the puff of 2015 about it – as indeed do many iPads that have been released since then , because Apple has a tendency to be conservative . It is a slim , smart tablet ( and obviously very portable ) but retains relatively large bezels around the screen .
However , Apple give up its conservative position in 2017 for the iPhone X and has done so again now . The 2018 Pros have been radically rethought .
They do not have a nursing home push button ( which entail they are unbarred via Face ID , not Touch ID ) , the bezel around the edge have been shrunk and the corners of the screen are now curl to match the niche of the chassis . These are the same change made on the iPhone X and , as on that machine , they mean you ’re getting a far enceinte screen - to - consistence ratio .
So this year ’s 11 in iPad Pro is the same sizing , as a equipment , as 2017 ’s 10.5 in model : you ’re get half an column inch of screen diagonal ‘ for free ’ , as it were . ( Well , at huge disbursal , but you see what we mean . )
Unlikeon the iPhone X , incidentally , there is n’t a notch : Apple plain managed to squeeze the TrueDepth sensors into the bezel .
Here are the dimension :
you could see that the mini 4 is on the whole far more portable , although the Pros are slightly slimmer , and not a huge amount heavier .
iPad Pro 2018 in pictures
iPad mini 4 in pictures
Specs & Features
appear away now , mini fans . The Pro 2018 is lightyears ahead on crude spectacles and its performance should be almost uncomparably well .
The A8 chip is a full four generation behind the A12 Bionic , and the Pro even gets the soup - up A12X version of that chip , the quick roving chip Apple currently makes . Apple says the A12X Bionic offers 3x faster universal processing than the A8 , and 8x flying art . We wo n’t recognize for trusted , however , until we get it into our testing research lab .
The Pro ’s television camera are far better . Aside from the much lower megapixel count , smaller aperture , low-spirited - detail video etc , the mini 4 does n’t get a flash , so indoor and lowlight picture taking will both be far weaker .
You get half as many verbaliser on the miniskirt and an older version of Bluetooth ; wireless should also be slower because it offers only dual banding rather than the ‘ simultaneous ’ duple dance band in the Pro , although we have n’t tested that out yet and Apple has n’t offered much by style of inside information . Cellular translation of the Pro get Gigabit LTE , too , which the mini does not .
The Pro supports the 2nd - generation Apple Pencil , which aside from its fantastic all - round performance attaches magnetically and mechanically charges wirelessly , while the miniskirt 4 does n’t even support the first one .
In term of pure pixel count the mini should offer a sharper screen . Both devices are marketed as Retina ( indeed the Pro count as ‘ Liquid Retina ’ , like the iPhone XR ) but the mini ’s screen is rated at 326ppi to the Pro ’s 264ppi , on the principle that smaller devices are held closer to the cheek .
However , the Pro ’s cover – which we found vivid and bold in our hands - on time with the equipment – is near overall thanks to its features . True Tone adjusts color output to calculate for environmental lighting , while ProMotion correct the refresh rate to suit what ’s on screen , so you get politic animation , drawing and so on without compromising shelling animation when just looking at static site .
About the only area where the mini 4 come in out on top is its blessedly old - fashioned inclusion of a earphone porthole . Pro buyers will need to get hold of a couple of USB - C headphone , grease one’s palms an adapter , orgo wireless .
iPad Pro 11in (2018) specs
iPad mini 4 specs
Which version of iOS can you run?
Both of these devices will arrive withiOS 12preinstalled if you grease one’s palms them now , and that ’s expert news : iOS 12 is suave , static and easy to apply .
The difference is that the Pro is guaranteed years of free updates on top of that , whereas the mini 4coulddrop off the list of compatible devices at any clock time . It ’s potential , indeed , that the miniskirt 4 wo n’t be able to instal iOS 13 , although we wo n’t know until 2019 and Apple may choose to keep its recent tendency of older - twist - friendly updates . We just do n’t jazz .
