If your phone feels too small but most tablets feel too big, Apple’s latest iPad Mini functions as a nice in-between. Thankfully, if you’ve been waiting for a discount, the base model with Wi-Fi and 128GB of storage is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $399 ($100 off), which is $50 shy of its best price to date and the cheapest it’s been since the holidays. If you need more storage, you can also grab the 256GB model at Amazon and Best Buy starting at $499, which nearly matches its all-time low.
At 8.3 inches, the iPad Mini is Apple’s most portable tablet. It’s only slightly heavier than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which makes it especially comfortable to hold for long periods, particularly if you’re someone who likes to read a lot. It also runs on Apple’s A17 Pro chip, which, while older, is still snappy enough to use the newer multitasking system in iPadOS 26 to keep multiple apps open while researching or taking notes. It’s also fast enough for light gaming, watching Netflix, video chatting with loved ones, and even some light image editing.
The latest Mini also has a few other things going for it, even if the outdated camera placement leaves something to be desired. It’s still the cheapest iPad that supports the Apple Pencil Pro, which gives you access to advanced tools not available with the USB-C Apple Pencil, from pressure sensitivity to double-tap tool switching. It’s also the most affordable way to access Apple Intelligence, which, so far, includes features like ChatGPT integration, custom emoji, and the ability to rewrite or summarize text across apps. None of it is must-have at this point, but since when is a little futureproofing such a bad thing?
