The 6th generation of the iPad mini is, without question, the darling of the Apple tech crowd.
Recently I listened to yet another podcast discussing the iPad mini. All of the comments were positive, with not a single negative point coming up.
Many Apple tech enthusiasts seem to be using the iPad mini as their only iPad now. According to them, it has no flaws.
I, however, recently sold my iPad mini after many months of attempting to like it and find a use for it.
Despite Trying, I Almost Never Used my iPad Mini
From Old iPad Mini to New iPad Mini
I had an old iPad mini that I kept in the bottom of the patrol bag I took along when doing community patrol shifts as a Sheriff’s Posse member. Instead of having to carry around binders with reference material, I was able to scan everything and save it to my iPad mini.
Almost the only time I ever used the old iPad mini was when I needed to look up a reference. Otherwise, it sat in the bottom of the patrol bag.
When the 6th generation iPad mini was released, I was enchanted. It was fast, had support for the Apple Pencil, had an improved screen, and had Touch ID. The initial reviews were glowing, and I bought one at my local Apple Store.
I Found I Wasn’t Using My iPad Mini Primarily Because It Was Too Small
I thought I would use it all the time, and that it would replace many of the functions of my 11” iPad Pro. Unfortunately, after a very quick initial honeymoon period, I found I wasn’t using it much.
The font was just too small for my older eyes. I do a lot of work on Craft and MindNode on the iPad — the screen on the iPad Mini was too small to function well for me. I had to squint or constantly zoom in and out to comfortably read the type.
I read 15 Readwise highlights every morning as a part of my morning routine. On the iPad mini, the graphical presentation of each highlight was too small to comfortably read.
I tried changing the screen settings to make the font larger, but that didn’t fix the problem. Many apps don’t recognize the system screen settings.
Using the accessibility settings made everything too big (on a very small screen) and made it difficult to navigate.
Occasionally I would use it when I desired a smaller form for reading than my 11” iPad Pro. I took it with me to read while waiting at a doctor’s office, and occasionally used it to read on my living room sofa.
I Didn’t Use It Enough To Justify Keeping It When The 11” iPad Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Filled My Needs
I found that for most of my purposes for using an iPad, the screen was way too small to comfortably function.
I could read for shorter periods of time, such as waiting at a doctor’s office, from my iPhone 14 Pro. I had my iPhone with me anyway, and it fits easily in my pocket when not using it.
Most of the time I used my 11” iPad Pro for reading on the Kindle app. The 11” iPad isn’t so large that it was bulky and heavy to hold (like a 12.5 iPad Pro). When sitting on my sofa I have Ibeani Tablet Cushions designed to comfortably cradle an iPad, so I don’t even have to hold it.
The 11” iPad Pro is an excellent size for working in Craft and MindNode. It is also good for surfing the web and watching videos. My iPad mini was inadequate for all those functions.
After Trying for Months To Love It, I Finally Sold my iPad Mini on eBay
My iPad mini sold relatively quickly on eBay for just a few dollars less than my asking price. There’s obviously a strong market for it.
Tech Reviewers and Ageism
I understand that most tech writers and podcasters are relative youngsters. They likely have near-perfect vision and they’re not sensitive to the issues older users have with very small print.
However, I do wish reviewers would at least consider that tech is used by us older folks, and that it’s typical for eyesight issues to increase with age. Even if they noted this issue in their otherwise glowing reviews, it would be helpful to an older audience, which I find is largely ignored.