The new iPad mini starts at $699 and the 11-inch iPad Air at $749, according to Apple’s iPad mini and iPad Air store pages. That $50 gap holds at every storage tier the two share. Yet the cheaper tablet has the better screen, the brighter panel and the only IP67 rating in the pair.
So what does the extra $50 for the Air buy you? A bigger screen, the M4 chip, 12GB of memory Apple lists on its spec page and a proper keyboard. We pulled every number below from Apple’s iPad compare page and the spec sheets for both models.
iPad mini vs iPad Air specs and prices side by side from Apple’s pages
| Spec | iPad mini (A20 Pro) | iPad Air 11-inch (M4) | iPad Air 13-inch (M4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (Wi-Fi) | $699 | $749 | $949 |
| Starting price (Cellular) | $849 | $899 | $1,099 |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 128GB to 1TB | 128GB to 1TB |
| Chip | A20 Pro, up to 6-core CPU, 7-core GPU | M4, 8-core CPU, 9-core GPU | M4, 8-core CPU, 9-core GPU |
| Memory | Not listed | 12GB | 12GB |
| Display | 8.5-inch OLED Super Retina XDR, 326 ppi | 10.86-inch LED-backlit Liquid Retina, 264 ppi | 12.9-inch LED-backlit Liquid Retina, 264 ppi |
| Brightness | 600 nits SDR, 1,200 nits HDR peak | 500 nits | 600 nits |
| Contrast | 2,000,000:1 | Not listed | Not listed |
| Water and dust | IP67 | Not listed | Not listed |
| Apple Pencil | Pencil Pro, Pencil (USB-C) | Pencil Pro, Pencil (USB-C) | Pencil Pro, Pencil (USB-C) |
| Keyboard | Bluetooth keyboards | Magic Keyboard for iPad Air | Magic Keyboard for iPad Air |
| Weight (Wi-Fi) | 0.56 lb (255 g) | 1.02 lb (464 g) | 1.36 lb (616 g) |
| Battery | 18.9 Wh, up to 10 hours | 28.93 Wh, up to 10 hours | 36.59 Wh, up to 10 hours |
| External display | Up to 4K at 60Hz | Up to 6K at 60Hz | Up to 6K at 60Hz |
Neither spec page lists ProMotion, so you don’t get a 120Hz screen on either tablet. We covered why Apple left 120Hz off the OLED iPad mini when it launched. If smooth scrolling is your top priority, both of these are the wrong iPad.
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The iPad mini has the better screen even though it costs $50 less
This is the odd part of Apple’s lineup right now. The iPad mini moved to OLED with this update, and Apple’s announcement says its 1,200-nit HDR peak is more than double the previous mini. The Air still uses an LED-backlit IPS panel at 500 nits on the 11-inch model. You get deeper blacks, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and sharper text at 326 pixels per inch on the mini.
The mini also carries an IP67 rating, good for up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes in Apple’s lab testing. Apple’s Air spec page lists no water resistance rating at all. If you read in the bath or take a tablet to the beach, that difference alone settles it.
Then there’s weight. At 255 grams, the Wi-Fi mini weighs a little over half of the 11-inch Air’s 464 grams. You notice that fast when you hold a tablet in one hand on the couch.
The iPad Air wins on screen size, memory, storage and keyboard support
The Air’s advantages all point toward work. Apple lists 12GB of unified memory for the M4 Air and doesn’t list a figure for the mini. The Air goes up to 1TB, while the mini stops at 512GB. And only the Air works with the Magic Keyboard for iPad Air through its Smart Connector. On the mini, your keyboard options are Bluetooth models.
The bigger screen helps more than the specs suggest. Split View with two apps on an 8.5-inch display gets cramped fast, and the 13-inch Air gives you real room for a document next to a browser. The Air also drives an external display at up to 6K, compared with 4K on the mini.
Battery life is a draw on paper. Apple rates all three models at up to 10 hours of web browsing or video on Wi-Fi, despite the mini’s much smaller 18.9 Wh battery. For the full mini price list, including nano-texture and Cellular models up to $1,249, see our OLED iPad mini price breakdown.
Buy the iPad mini if you hold it, buy the iPad Air if you type on it
- Buy the iPad mini ($699) if you mostly read, watch video, take handwritten notes with Apple Pencil Pro or play games. You get the better OLED screen, IP67 protection and a tablet at just over half the weight of the Air, and you save $50.
- Buy the 11-inch iPad Air ($749) if you want a laptop stand-in. The Magic Keyboard support, M4 chip and 12GB of memory make it the better tool for writing, spreadsheets and Stage Manager.
- Buy the 13-inch iPad Air ($949) if you draw, edit photos or run two apps side by side all day. The extra screen area is worth more than the OLED panel for that kind of work.
One storage tip: the 128GB base model fills up quickly with offline video and games. On both tablets, the next tier costs $100 more, which takes the mini to $799 and the 11-inch Air to $849.
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