A couple of months back I got a new iPad Mini from Xcite and posted a review about it. I spoke about how it would most likely replace my 12.9″ iPad Pro for traveling because of it’s small form factor, and since that post, I’ve actually done just that. I’ve taken my iPad Mini on three trips so far and here is a quick followup review.
Firstly, as I had predicted, the size of the iPad Mini is perfect for traveling. It’s light so it doesn’t add much weight to my backpack, and it’s small enough to fit on the plane’s dropdown table even when not fully extended. I wish I had a photo but I also managed to fit it right next to my food tray, I just had it angled on a corner so I could eat and watch my shows at the same time. The battery life has also been great, unless you’re on a long-haul 16-hour flight from Dubai to LA, you’re not going to need to charge the iPad Mini for the whole trip.
I did come across a downside though and that’s the storage space. I have the 64GB version which I thought would be more than enough for storing shows and movies for my flights but that’s not the case. Well, I also like to take a lot more shows and movies than there is time to watch because I like to have options. So for a two-hour trip I’d like to have around 20 hours worth of content to watch and I can just choose what I want. I mix it up with different genres as well as durations, so some 20min shows, some longer 50min ones, some comedy, some drama etc. But now I’m traveling to London tomorrow and I don’t have enough space to carry the ratio of content to trip duration (In my case it’s like 10:1 I guess 😅). So far this is the content I have downloaded for my trip:
Amazon Video
The Outlaws – 6 Episodes
Apple TV+
CODA – Movie
Severance – 1 Episode
Slow Horses – 1 Episode
The Afterparty – 4 Episodes
HBO MAX
Julia – 3 Episodes
Raised by Wolves – 4 Episodes
Netflix
Indian Matchmaking – 4 Episodes
Formula 1: Drive to Survive – 3 Episodes
Cobra Kai – 6 Episodes
Space Force – 6 Episodes
The Tinder Swindler – Movie
Kate – Movie
Murderville – 6 Episodes
Paramount+
Star Trek: Picard – 4 Episodes
Mayor of Kingstown – 4 Episodes
Showtime
American Rust – 4 Episodes
Not sure if you think that’s a lot or not but for a 6+ hour trip that’s not enough content for me to pick and choose from. In addition to the above, I have around 21 magazines downloaded and I just tried downloading one more and it’s telling me I don’t have enough space. So unlike what I originally stated in my review, 64GB actually isn’t enough and I’d now recommend the 256GB version instead. Other than that, the iPad Mini is the perfect media companion on flights. Here is a link to my previous review.
11 replies on “iPad Mini 2021 Followup Review”
Apple could’ve easily included a micro sd card slot on all of their tablets. It’s not about saving physical space inside a device of this form factor.
They didn’t include an SD slot because 90% of the people wouldn’t use it. I wouldn’t want an SD slot in my mini, I just wish I had gotten the 256gb version instead.
True. You could use a type-c 256gb flash drive in your case, although that would be something extra you need to carry while traveling.
oh I wonder if that would work? don’t think netflix or HBO is gonna give me option to save to SD card
Yeah, I don’t think those apps let you save on external storage but it may be worth checking. And separately downloading content via torrents to the drive and then connecting it to the iPad mini should work.
Fyi, Spotify and Netflix on Android let me save to SD card.
I have a USB-C SD card reader, will try it tonight
I just plug in a USB with ‘downloaded’ content and the video apps play them natively. Great for longer trips when the built in space isn’t enough – you definetely need more than 64GB as soon as you start adding a couple of games.
out of courtesy Mark, Do you recommend I buy iMac from their website then ship it to Kuwait or via giant or xcite?
You need to make the calculations since its all about the price. When I got my iMac I got it from Apple US because they had just come out and I had preordered. Not sure what the price difference is now or if its worth shipping.
Can I ask how you’ve signed up to HBO from Kuwait? Do you need a US billing address/card?