What is the difference between an iPhone and the new iPad mini?
They both have Apple's flagship A15 Bionic chip.
They both support 5G and, according to Apple, both fit in your pocket.
So if you like the bigger screen and the smaller price tag, is there anything stopping you
from loading up the iPad mini's SIM card tray and ditching the iPhone?
This might just be the future.
Hello? Hey!
Using this new iPad mini as a phone is a pretty compelling idea.
It is a decidedly two-handed device, not unlike a Pro Max iPhone.
But unlike the iPhone, you get a USB-C port for universal charging, video output, and more.
And unlike the iPhone, you can use Apple's clever second-gen pencil with its magnetic
attachment and inductive charging. I really like holding this.
I know this sounds weird, but I've been trying to figure this out. But I feel like Dr. Phil, Ellen, or Oprah, when holding this in landscape, you get an
iPad! You get an iPad! You get an iPad!
And when I tilt it into portrait, it feels like one of those daytime or notebook things.
I'm left-handed. Because it has iPadOS, it's just more powerful than an iPhone.
You can just do and see more all at the same time.
The only difference from any other iPad is that everything is smaller, sometimes ridiculously
so. But it works well. I found myself running three apps at the same time and even using Scribble more, though
Scribble can be really irritating. Like the latest iPhones, this iPad mini has been blessed with Apple's A15 chip.
It even gets the full 5 GPU cores from the iPhone 13 Pro.
But it has been detuned slightly, running at 2.9GHz as opposed to the iPhone's 3.2.
What I suspect is happening here is that Apple doesn't want the smaller, less expensive
iPad mini to outperform last year's iPad Air.
And iPhones, perhaps. The mini's Geekbench scores are slightly higher than the Air, but the iPhone 13 Pro
scores are even higher. In my Lightroom RAW Photo Export Test, though, the mini, and the Air for that matter, are
slightly faster if only because the iPhone heats up quick and throttles.
So keep your phone cool. But perhaps the most intriguing thing about using an iPad mini with cellular as a phone
is that it's cheaper than an iPhone 13 by about $100.
These both support the race to 5G, and the faster speeds I'm getting at the office now,
a whole 30 megabits per second, so why not try it out?
While an iPad can make or take phone calls, it's through Apple's Continuity Technology,
which requires an iPhone to be on the same Wi-Fi network as the iPad.
Meanwhile, a cellular Apple Watch just needs an iPhone to be on anywhere.
Oh my God, it's so windy. Let me get in here.
Drak, it's locked.
This is entirely an OS limitation, and let me just put in this SIM card to show you how.
In an iPhone, it has a phone number and unlimited talk and text and some data.
On an iPad, it's data only, even though there doesn't appear to be anything in the hardware
preventing this. There is a workaround, though you'll need to download an app.
Google Voice is a good free option, or there's Microsoft Skype, which will cost you about
six and a bit dollars a month. Here in Canada, these apps aren't available, so I had to settle with an app called TextNow,
which is a free, ad-supported app within app payments that provides a phone number for
you to receive and make phone calls and SMS messages, though my number is from Prince
George, which is five hours away and long distance.
The iPad isn't really a handset.
It doesn't have a vibrate function.
And when you get a call, you're answering in speakerphone if you don't have any headphones
connected.
I mean, this works. Anyone who dials this new number will reach me, and I'm notified of any SMS messages people
send to the number as well.
Going out with this iPad did feel weird. Because it's so big, you're more conscious of it.
I had to fit it in my hoodie pocket, and when I took it out to scan for Starbucks points,
I felt super conspicuous. Though, speaking of Starbucks, it reminds me of another obstacle to consider if you were
thinking about using this as your primary mobile device, apps.
iPads have the most and best tablet apps, but consider that Facebook has famously forbidden
Instagram and WhatsApp from developing ones, though in fairness, Snapchat doesn't have
one available either. Still, if these jarring apps aren't available on iPad, it doesn't bode well for any of the
mobile apps you can't live without, like a calculator or a weather app.
Even if you were able to use Instagram, it's worth knowing the cameras aren't as good
as the ones found on the iPhone. The back camera is about the equivalent of an iPhone 8, 10R, but for an iPad, it does
feature a quad LED flash for dark spaces.
No night mode, though. While holding this up to take pictures is less ridiculous than a giant iPad, you're
much better off using an iPhone if you've got a modern one.
But there's still a major upgrade to the mini's front-facing camera.
It now matches the iPad Pro with a 12 megapixel sensor in ultra-wide lens that enables center
stage, something you can't get on any iPhone.
This is especially good for the larger screen of the iPad.
But back to that iPad as a phone thing. The economics are not as enticing as you might have thought.
An iPad phone plan is about $10 to $30 a month if you're adding it to an existing phone
plan. But if you're going solo, it's about the same as a phone plan.
And you're going to need gigabytes and gigabytes of data to be able to keep up with desktop
websites and 5G speeds whenever and wherever you get them.
So let's just say that, yes, you can use this as a phone if you live in the right place
and are willing to live with the compromises. I'm not.
But what about the iPad mini as a tablet? Well, despite the unimpressive speakers, I like it a lot.
But my biggest hang-up is with the price. At $499, it's a full $100 more than the previous generation iPad mini.
And unlike the iPhone 13, there's no increase in storage.
Base storage is still only 64 gigabytes. This price increase matches the one the iPad Air got last year, which makes me think that
the rounded corners of the liquid redness screen, the wireless pencil charging, and
USB-C port must be expensive. As an already niche device, I think the iPad mini will win the hearts of those who love
the smaller form factor, though the price increase will be a hard pill to swallow.
But I think the hope for all of us comes in the future.
And that feature is with folding phones. Just look at the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
It folds out into essentially this.
I think that those who are hoping to use the iPad mini as a phone are really just waiting
for a folding iPhone. And after using this for a while, so am I.
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Now, if you're on Team iPad mini, give this video a like.
And if you're one of the people who's actually tried to use an iPad with a cellular connection
as your phone for calling and texting, comment below.
I'm curious how you did it. What it was like.