Here’s seven reasons why, if you love mobile gaming, you need to pick up an iPad mini.
1. It’s an Inexpensive Option
The iPad mini retails at $499. That’s a great price for an updated device packing small bezels, the A15 Bionic processor, and a sleek design.
The Wi-Fi-only iPad mini is a great device to use while you’re at home or when you’re somewhere with a good connection, but if you really want to take your game anywhere, you can step up to the cellular-enabled iPad mini. Starting at $649, you’ll be paying a premium over the base model, but having built-in 5G connectivity for less than the price of a base iPhone 13 is a hard deal to pass up.
2. It’s Super Lightweight and Portable
There’s a reason so many people use folios and keyboard cases with their iPads. iPads are big, and they’re heavy. Nothing can break your immersion like having your gaming session interrupted by sore hands and aching arms. To really get the most out of your mobile gaming experience, you need to find a balance between device size and comfort.
Thankfully, the iPad mini is one of the lightest tablets on the market. Tipping the scales at only 10.3 oz, it’s a true featherweight. That’s not even much heavier than the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which weighs in at 8.5 oz.
While Apple’s other tablets, like the iPad Air and iPad Pro, sport bigger screens, they are much, much heavier, both weighing in at around 16.9 oz. Even tablets that are similarly sized to the iPad mini like the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite are still much heavier than the mini.
3. It’s Got Great Battery Life
Because the iPad mini is so much larger than a phone, it means there’s enough space to pack a monster battery into the body. The iPad mini features a 5,124 milliampere hour battery. To put that into perspective the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which packs an absolutely massive battery for a phone, only has a 4,352 milliampere hour battery.
Having that big battery in the iPad mini means it can deliver up to 10 hours of mixed use performance, meaning you’ll have more than enough battery life to power almost any gaming session.
4. You’ve Got the Entire App Store to Play With
When people think about mobile gaming, most people’s mind goes straight to the Apple App Store.
While the mobile gaming craze may have started with simple titles like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, today, the App Store also features many console and cross-platform games that have released on mobile devices. Being an iPad means the mini has access to a huge library of titles and games to choose from.
Even better, having the A15 Bionic chip inside the iPad mini means it can handle even the most graphically intensive games. That means whether you’re playing demanding games like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile, the iPad mini can keep up without skipping a beat.
5. You’ll Get Access to iPad-Only Games
Not only does the iPad mini have access to the App Store, but it also has access to a host of games that you can’t play on the iPhone. Games like Divinity: Original Sin 2 are on the App Store, but you’ll need an iPad or Mac to be able to download and play them.
There’s also tons of games that are just experienced better on the iPad mini’s bigger screen. Firaxis brought Civilization VI to mobile devices all the way back in 2017, and while it’s an impressive feat, trying to play Civ on a phone screen can feel more like an exercise in futility than a great gaming experience.
Choosing an iPad mini over a phone means you can not only get access to a wide selection of games, but also get a better experience while playing.
6. Stadia Lets You Turn It Into a Mobile Console
Launched in 2019, Google Stadia was one of the first attempts to bring cloud gaming to the masses. Stadia lets you play console and PC games on almost any device that’s hooked up to the internet.
While games traditionally run off the device they’re being played on, Stadia’s game streaming technology runs your game on a PC at their datacenter, instead of directly on your device. Stadia’s servers can then stream that content directly to you over the internet, a lot like watching a video on YouTube.
Even though the iPad mini’s A15 Bionic is a beast, it still doesn’t have enough juice to run gaming’s biggest titles. Being able to stream games instead of running them directly on the device means being able to play games on an iPad that you previously would have needed a console or powerful gaming PC to run.
Getting started with Stadia on the iPad mini is as simple as signing up with the service and connecting a Bluetooth controller. Meaning you’re just a few steps away from a console gaming experience in the palm of your hand.
7. Xbox Cloud Gaming Lets You Play Triple-A Games Anywhere
Like Stadia, Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly known as XCloud) is Microsoft’s answer to game streaming. One of the things people love about Xbox Cloud Gaming is having access to an absolutely massive library of games. With just one subscription, you’ll be able to play a huge library of games anywhere.
While subscription services can be great, sometimes their content libraries are full of more misses than hits. Netflix, are you listening? Thankfully with Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can access any game that’s a part of Xbox Game Pass. That means being able to play triple-A titles and Xbox exclusives like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, and Mass Effect Andromeda.
The iPad mini Rocks
The iPad mini takes what makes phones great for gaming, and steps it up a notch.
Picking up an iPad mini means you’ll get a super light and portable device that also has the horsepower to handle some of the App Store’s biggest games. Better yet, pairing the iPad mini with a controller and connecting to Stadia or Xbox Cloud Gaming can turn this little tablet into a gaming console you can take anywhere.
If you’re ready to take your mobile gaming experience to the next level, pick up an iPad mini.
