One Week with the New iPad mini A17 Pro
From a photographer/writer point of view
Probably my favorite thing to do on an iPad mini is read - The New York Times, USA Today, Apple News, and books, I really love it for books. When I’m on a plane, I watch downloaded Netflix shows. And, of course, I look at my pictures on it.
But now, thanks to USB-C, a robust processor, an updated operating system, and more RAM, I can work on the iPad too. Pairing an Apple Magic Keyboard allows me to write articles and answer emails. With the Apple Pencil Pro, I can precisely edit my pictures in Photos, Lightroom, or RAW Power.
I’ve been testing the A17 Pro Model for a week now, and it’s been fun. I’ve pushed the limits of how many things I could connect to it at once via a USB-C dock. After the iOS 18.1 update, I tested Clean Up in Photos and was impressed with how seamless the results were. The iPad served time as a second monitor for my Mac mini. Everything worked.
Even though it’s powerful, it’s still only an 8” tablet. Less screen real estate might be too tight for some folks, but I’m fine. On the plus side, the mini fits everywhere!
If you’re interested in the details of my testing, I have two things for you. First, my article titled, How to Set Up the New iPad mini for Photographers (free link), then this week’s TDS Podcast, The iPad mini A17 Pro - Nimble Powerhouse for Photographers.
Not only do I cover recommendations for configuration, but I’ve included my favorite accessories for this tablet too.
All of this new-found purpose hasn’t taken away any fun. I’m still reading with it on the couch at night.
You can’t work all of the time.
So this mini pad is only good for Apple products?
I fully understand your excitement. But I'm surprised you've held back to upgrade to the iPad mini 6 already three years ago when it was released and have enjoyed the benefits of USB-C when using card readers or SSDs since. It basically has the same features as the 7 though with slower CPU/GPU and and a bit slower USB-C transfer speeds.
That's what I've did and I hesitate to upgrade now again for the little improvements I'd get with the Mini 7 over my 6.