the new iPad Mini 5 (2016) review:

Apple iPad Mini 4 review:

several years ago, I was in love with the iPad Mini. It had a 7.9-inch high-res Retina display and it wasn't much larger than a Kindle. It could handle my everyday work and was small enough to sneak along with me wherever I went. It was the perfect travel gadget. It made me wonder why I ever needed a larger iPad at all.

Now, of course, I wonder whether I even need an iPad at all, since phones are larger and laptops have gotten more versatile. But the iPad Mini 4 has caught my eye again and I've used it constantly. I like it. But I don't know if it's my favorite iPad anymore.

2014's iPad Mini 3 wasn't really an update; it was, quite literally, just a 2013iPad Mini 2 with the addition of a Touch ID home button for fingerprint identification. The Mini 4 is the iPad I wanted last year: it has an upgraded A8 processor, better cameras, and a more vivid, color-rich Retina display, and on top of all that it's a bit thinner and lighter. It also supports split-screen apps, the coolest part of iOS 9 -- the Mini 4 joins the iPad Air 2 and the upcoming iPad Pro as the only iPads that can do it.

iPad Mini 4 to the right of iPad Air 2: Similar features, but Air 2 still has a slightly better processor.

n a lot of ways, the Mini 4 is like a shrunken iPad Air 2. But it'll cost you close to the territory of one: $399, £319, AU$569 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model, $499, £399, AU$699 for the 64GB version, and $599, £479, AU$829, for 128GB.

To add LTE support -- for using cellular data when there's no Wi-Fi to be found -- add $130 (or £100, AU$160) at each price point, and adjust your cellphone billing plan accordingly. My review version is the 64GB $629 model with Verizon LTE service.

It's also worth pointing out that -- at each storage capacity -- you're saving $100 over that larger Air 2, Apple's 2014 9.7-inch model which remains in the lineup. But it begs the question: If you're spending this much on a tablet, why not get the larger, faster iPad Air 2? (With that model already seeing someimpressive holiday discounts, the question is even more relevant.)

The reverse is also true. Apple's 2013 iPad Mini 2 remains on the market, with a reduced list price of $269 (16GB) and $319 (32GB) -- £219, AU$369 or £259, AU$429, respectively -- and already seen on sale for as little as $199. Yes, it's not as zippy as the Mini 4, and it lacks the newer model's Touch ID fingerprint reader.