I recently bought the new iPad mini and an Apple Pencil as a useful accompaniment to events. The idea of having a notebook-sized tablet to record and write notes on appealed to me on a professional level – and that’s before you even get to my long-neglected FTL addiction, unfed since I sold my third-generation iPad. I love it, but you certainly pay a premium for Apple tablets. The iPad mini starts at £399 for the 64GB version, and goes all the way up to £669 if you want 256GB storage and 4G. That’s what makes Amazon’s latest discount so appealing. Right now, you can buy the WiFi 256GB iPad mini for £429.97 – a saving of £119.03 off its regular £549 RRP. The fact that it’s the 256GB version is important: unlike their Android rivals, neither the iPad nor the iPhone have had expandable storage via microSD, which means the capacity you have on purchase is all you’ll ever have. And apps are getting bigger: it doesn’t take too many to fill a 64GB iPad, as I’ve already begun to discover. One other thing: the iPad mini on sale is only the somewhat ostentatious gold model, which looks closer to rose gold at a glance. The others are still full price, unfortunately. Even if you’re not a fan, this can be fixed with a case, of course: I bought this one because of its Apple Pencil holster, and I’m pretty happy with it. Apple Pencil sold separately. So yes, it’s still an expensive tablet, but it is a brilliant one: nicely sized, with a great screen and an unsurprisingly zippy processor that makes everything feel super smooth. As Jon wrote in his review: “it’s hard to criticise the iPad mini too much when it’s so superior to its rivals at this size. Despite its slightly old-fashioned appearance, it’s still a great tablet. It’s fast, has a wonderful display and is neat and pocketable. I predict that it will sell by the bucketload.”
Buy now from Amazon
