Everyone Needs an iPad Mini — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00There's a version of the iPad that Apple
2. 0:02has been trying to sell you for the last
3. 0:05several years. It has a keyboard, it has
4. 0:07a trackpad, it sits on your desk at an
5. 0:09angle and runs productivity apps that
6. 0:11are supposed to make you question
7. 0:13whether you even need a laptop anymore
8. 0:15at all. And Apple has put a lot of
9. 0:17energy into that pitch. The iPad Pro
10. 0:20ads, the Magic Keyboard, the whole
11. 0:22positioning around it really just being
12. 0:24a computer replacement. And look, I
13. 0:26mean, I bought it. Literally, I have an
14. 0:27iPad Pro. I made a whole video in
15. 0:29January talking about how I'm currently
16. 0:30using my iPad Pro setup, basically going
17. 0:32against everything Apple's trying to
18. 0:34sell you with the iPad Pro and instead
19. 0:35just using it as the tablet I think it's
20. 0:37meant to be. And so, if you watched that
21. 0:39video, well, you know where I landed.
22. 0:40And I think the reason why using the
23. 0:42iPad Pro like that, just as, you know, a
24. 0:44typical tablet, the reason it felt like
25. 0:45such a big deal is because, well, I was
26. 0:47using it wrong. And well, the reason I
27. 0:50had spent years using it that way is
28. 0:52because Apple was trying to sell it in
29. 0:55that way. But, the iPad Mini, well, it
30. 0:59never got that memo. And I think because
31. 1:01of that, it's the best thing that really
32. 1:03ever happened to it. And in 2026, the
33. 1:05iPad Mini to me is the best iPad there
34. 1:08is. Here's something to kind of think
35. 1:10about. When Steve Jobs introduced the
36. 1:12original iPad back in 2010, he described
37. 1:14it as this device that needed to do
38. 1:16better than a laptop and better than a
39. 1:18smartphone at very specific tasks. He
40. 1:21listed them out, you know, like
41. 1:22browsing, email, photos, video, music,
42. 1:25games, books, the internet, all that
43. 1:26type of stuff. And that was kind of the
44. 1:28whole pitch. It wasn't a computer
45. 1:30replacement, not a productivity machine,
46. 1:32just the best possible device at those
47. 1:35specific things. And well, if you read
48. 1:37that list today, it sounds almost
49. 1:39exactly like a description of what the
50. 1:41iPad Mini is in 2026. The Pro and the
51. 1:45Air, they spent the last decade
52. 1:47basically chasing a completely different
53. 1:49idea of what a tablet should be, but the
54. 1:51Mini just kept being the thing that Jobs
55. 1:54actually originally described. And
56. 1:56somewhere along the way, that started to
57. 1:59kind of feel neglected. And I've been
58. 2:00using the iPad Mini 7 pretty heavily
59. 2:03since it came out in late 2024. It's
60. 2:05been out for a little while now. And the
61. 2:06way I describe it to someone who just
62. 2:08hasn't used one before is pretty simple.
63. 2:11It's like your phone, but with a screen
64. 2:13that is actually big enough to breathe.
65. 2:16And that that's kind of it. That's the
66. 2:17whole pitch with the iPad Mini. It's
67. 2:19not, you know, docking into a keyboard.
68. 2:21It's not running spreadsheets on it,
69. 2:22even though you can do all those things.
70. 2:24I'm just on the couch reading something,
71. 2:25watching something. I'm browsing the
72. 2:27web. I'm in bed before going to sleep
73. 2:30scrolling through whatever. I take it on
74. 2:32trips and it fits in my bag without even
75. 2:33noticing it. It's the thing I reach for
76. 2:35when I want a screen, but I don't want
77. 2:37the weight of a, you know, decision
78. 2:40about what I'm going to do with it. I
79. 2:41just want something that works. There's
80. 2:43something like genuinely freeing about a
81. 2:45device that's just a screen that you can
82. 2:47do whatever you want with. And I think
83. 2:49that's the identity crisis that the rest
84. 2:52of the iPad lineup has never really been
85. 2:54able to shake. Because the Pro and the
86. 2:56Air are stuck in this uncomfortable
87. 2:59middle ground where they're too powerful
88. 3:01to just feel like a casual device. And
89. 3:03they're not quite powerful enough, or at
90. 3:05least the software and positioning of it
91. 3:07isn't correct to fully replace the
92. 3:10laptop that most people actually wanted
93. 3:12to do. So, they just exist in this
94. 3:13awkward space, which is what I've talked
95. 3:15about in the past a ton. They have to
96. 3:17justify the keyboard and case. They have
97. 3:19to justify the price. They have to
98. 3:21justify why you're not just using a
99. 3:23MacBook, especially now that we have
100. 3:24something like the MacBook Neo out for
101. 3:26such an affordable price. I've had that
102. 3:27conversation with myself more than I'd
103. 3:29like to admit. The Mini, though, skips
104. 3:31all of that entirely. Not just by being
105. 3:34better, but by being honest about what
106. 3:36it actually is. It's It's just a tablet.
107. 3:38A genuinely great tablet. And in a
108. 3:41lineup that has spent, you know, years
109. 3:44having kind of an identity crisis, that
110. 3:46clarity is actually kind of remarkable.
111. 3:48Because, well, now the the Mini is the
112. 3:51perfect kind of go everywhere device for
113. 3:53me. And it kind of always has been. The
114. 3:55only thing I change about it is, you
115. 3:57know, having just a better way to like
116. 3:58set it down and actually use it, which
117. 3:59that actually is the perfect setup for
118. 4:01today's sponsor, MOFT. This is the MOFT
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120. 4:05packs everything into one. You get a
121. 4:07folio, you get protection, you get a
122. 4:09stand with 20 plus different angles, and
123. 4:10you get that all in a super slim design
124. 4:12that just makes sense for an iPad Mini.
125. 4:14And one of the big upgrades here is the
126. 4:17added protection. MOFT reinforced the
127. 4:19corners, which are obviously some of the
128. 4:21most vulnerable parts of an iPad. You
129. 4:23got you got the screen and you got the
130. 4:24corners. Other than that, it pretty much
131. 4:25is pretty resilient. So, it feels a lot
132. 4:27safer throwing this into a bag or
133. 4:29carrying it around day-to-day while
134. 4:31staying pretty slim still. It's pretty
135. 4:33sleek. But the real reason why I think
136. 4:34this is actually super useful is because
137. 4:36it's using MOFT's, you know, standout
138. 4:37origami style design, which is really
139. 4:39what MOFT is known for. It transforms
140. 4:41depending on what you're doing. So,
141. 4:43instead of carrying a separate stand or
142. 4:44trying to prop it up in some way, this
143. 4:46just folds into the position you need
144. 4:48for really whatever you're doing. One
145. 4:50mode I really like is the floating
146. 4:52creation mode. It gives you a lower,
147. 4:53more comfortable angle for like writing
148. 4:55or sketching or planning or really
149. 4:57anything else you're doing on the iPad
150. 4:58Mini specifically. And it makes it feel
151. 5:00a lot more like intentional, I guess,
152. 5:02when you're actually trying to get
153. 5:03something done instead of just holding
154. 5:05it in your hand or laying it flat on a
155. 5:07desk. But then also, if I'm just like
156. 5:08consuming content or using it more
157. 5:10casually, then I can switch it to this
158. 5:12upright mode in, you know, just a
159. 5:14second. It just folds over. And it
160. 5:15really adapts fast, which is nice. So,
161. 5:17the same iPad Mini can go from, you
162. 5:19know, just a little creative tool super
163. 5:21clean viewing setup without really any
164. 5:23other accessories. It's all built into
165. 5:24the case. So, if you use your iPad Mini
166. 5:26for more than just like casual
167. 5:28scrolling, this is definitely one of
168. 5:30those accessories that make it more
169. 5:32versatile without actually taking away,
170. 5:34you know, kind of the mini feeling and
171. 5:36the greatness of it. Another option you
172. 5:37can add here is this modular magnetic
173. 5:39Apple Pencil Holder. You clip it on to
174. 5:41the case itself, which is nice, and it
175. 5:43holds everything very sturdy. So, when
176. 5:45you're throwing it into a bag, it
177. 5:47doesn't fall off. You're never going to
178. 5:48lose your Apple Pencil again. It's a
179. 5:50small detail, but when you add it here,
180. 5:52it really does help. But, MOFT has
181. 5:54different iPad setups depending on what
182. 5:56you are using, but if you want to check
183. 5:57out the Dynamic Folio or just find the
184. 5:59right setup for you, well, the link is
185. 6:01down in the description.
186. 6:03Okay, but talking about the iPad, here's
187. 6:05where it gets interesting because the
188. 6:07thing I keep coming back to with the
189. 6:09iPad Mini is that the Mini didn't earn
190. 6:11this position by being like the most
191. 6:13impressive device Apple makes. I mean,
192. 6:15the A17 Pro chip that's inside, I mean,
193. 6:17it is genuinely powerful. It's the same
194. 6:19chip that was in the iPhone 15 Pro. So,
195. 6:21you know, it's a few years old, but it
196. 6:22has like all the modern things. It's got
197. 6:24Apple Intelligence support, which at the
198. 6:25moment doesn't really matter at all, but
199. 6:27theoretically at WWDC, that should
200. 6:29matter with all these, you know, rumors
201. 6:31of Apple Intelligence updates. I'll
202. 6:32believe it when I see it, but you know,
203. 6:33could be. And so, the chipset is great
204. 6:35and it's fast in use and all that, but
205. 6:37nobody is really buying the iPad Mini
206. 6:38because of the chip, whereas some of the
207. 6:41other iPads, they might actually be
208. 6:42doing that. But, really, they're using
209. 6:43it because of what it feels like to use.
210. 6:45The experience of picking this thing up,
211. 6:48the size, the weight, the way it just
212. 6:50fits in your hand without you really
213. 6:51even thinking about it, that is the
214. 6:54product. That's like the whole pitch.
215. 6:56The chip and the power of it is just
216. 6:58like proof that it can keep up. And
217. 7:00there's something about that
218. 7:02relationship that when I use this, even
219. 7:04in 2026 after all these years, I just
220. 7:06find it genuinely interesting compared
221. 7:08to how people, and myself, use like the
222. 7:10Pro, for example. I mean, Pro owners
223. 7:12think about their iPad. They think about
224. 7:14whether they're going to be getting
225. 7:15enough out of it, whether the keyboard
226. 7:17setup is right, whether they should have
227. 7:19just used a MacBook for this. There's
228. 7:21this like constant, and I'll speak for
229. 7:23myself here at least, there's this
230. 7:24constant low-level negotiation happening
231. 7:27with the device. Whereas Mini owners,
232. 7:29myself included, just kind of pick it up
233. 7:31and I've never once thought about it
234. 7:32while I'm using it. And that quality,
235. 7:35being the best device you don't really
236. 7:36ever have to think about, is actually
237. 7:38kind of rare in technology. And I don't
238. 7:40think Apple even intended it, which is
239. 7:43just funny man, it just happened. Now,
240. 7:45that said in my use it is not perfect at
241. 7:47all. One thing that genuinely bothers me
242. 7:49with this current model and you're not
243. 7:51going to be surprised to hear because
244. 7:52most other people have the same
245. 7:53complaint is the display. The display is
246. 7:56just behind. It's not like in a
247. 7:58catastrophic way, not in a way that
248. 8:00completely ruins the experience, but if
249. 8:02you've ever spent time with any display
250. 8:04that's better like the OLED iPad Pros or
251. 8:06a MacBook Pro and really most phones
252. 8:08these days the liquid retina panel in
253. 8:10the mini it just makes you feel the gap
254. 8:13that is there. The blacks aren't as
255. 8:15deep, the contrast isn't as punchy and
256. 8:17for me the biggest thing is that in a
257. 8:19world of 120 hertz displays this 60
258. 8:22hertz panel is just very noticeable and
259. 8:25on a device that you're using primarily
260. 8:27for like content consumption, well, the
261. 8:29display is kind of the whole ballgame
262. 8:31here and so I want that to be as good as
263. 8:32it can be. But that actually is kind of
264. 8:34the perfect setup for what I want to end
265. 8:35this with, which is what's coming for
266. 8:37the iPad mini because the iPad mini 8 is
267. 8:39still expected later this year at some
268. 8:41point and if rumors land anywhere close
269. 8:44to what we're hearing right now, well,
270. 8:45it's going to be a pretty significant
271. 8:46update and the biggest one being the
272. 8:48display. In fact, it's going to be an
273. 8:50OLED display likely bumped up to around
274. 8:528.5 inches. We're going to have a newer
275. 8:54chip, of course, improved water
276. 8:56resistance, which is not something we
277. 8:57see too much on an iPad and that's not a
278. 9:00minor refresh. I mean, OLED on this
279. 9:02device is exactly what I want. And
280. 9:04honestly on a device that is almost
281. 9:06exclusively used for consuming content
282. 9:08or reading or something like that this
283. 9:09is a big deal. It changes the thing that
284. 9:12you stare at all day, which means it
285. 9:14changes in a way that matters the most.
286. 9:16Now, there is an expected price bump to
287. 9:18around $599, which that is a little bit
288. 9:21annoying, but hey, if that means we get
289. 9:22an OLED display, then I think that is
290. 9:24probably worth it. Just thinking about
291. 9:26what that jump was for the Pros, seeing
292. 9:28that on the iPad mini, ooh, that's going
293. 9:30to be nice. So, here's kind of where I
294. 9:32land when I think about the iPad mini
295. 9:34right now in 2026. I'm not going to tell
296. 9:35you that the current iPad Mini 7 is a
297. 9:38bad product because, well, it isn't. If
298. 9:40you need one now, like for a very
299. 9:42specific purposes, the experience still
300. 9:44is genuinely great. I use it all the
301. 9:45time every single day pretty much, and
302. 9:47it has plenty of runway left in its life
303. 9:49cycle just with future updates and all
304. 9:52that. But, I am excited about what is
305. 9:55coming in a way that I'm really not
306. 9:56excited about a lot of other Apple
307. 9:58updates. The iPad Mini 8 feels like it
308. 10:00could really be a version of this device
309. 10:03that finally matches the experience to
310. 10:06the promise. This like perfect little
311. 10:08tablet that also happens to have one of
312. 10:09the best screens Apple makes. That
313. 10:11combination doesn't really exist right
314. 10:13now, and I think that's actually the
315. 10:14most interesting thing about the iPad
316. 10:16Mini as a product as a whole. It found
317. 10:18this niche, this identity by accident,
318. 10:21by just kind of being left out of
319. 10:23Apple's bigger ambitions with tablets.
320. 10:26It happened long enough for it to just
321. 10:28kind of settle into being exactly what a
322. 10:29tablet should be. I mean, Steve Jobs
323. 10:31described this device in 2010. Apple
324. 10:35spent next 15 years trying to build
325. 10:37something different, and while the Mini
326. 10:39just quietly kept being the thing he
327. 10:41talked about up on that stage. The rest
328. 10:43of the lineup is still trying to figure
329. 10:45all this out, but the Mini figured it
330. 10:47out years ago, and it's just kind of
331. 10:49waiting for the hardware to catch up
332. 10:50with the idea. And, well, I think it's
333. 10:52finally almost there.