Apple's New iPad mini Is Thinner, Lighter, and Maybe More Useful for Filmmakers Now?

As always, Apple will do its thing. If it’s not beefing up its computers and smartphones, the company is slimming things down and making them more portable. Often, Apple does both at the same time.

And that’s what appears to be the case with this new iPad mini, which has gotten perhaps its biggest update ever, as it will feature a new OLED display in an even thinner and lighter design. It will also be faster, more powerful, and more resistant to water and dust.

But will it be more helpful for filmmakers and their pre-pro and on-set management needs? Or even in the edit? Let’s take a look at what the new iPad mini offers.

The New Apple iPad Mini is Here

Set to deliver, as the company claims, a huge leap in performance with its A20 Pro chip and durability, the iPad mini's larger 8.5-inch OLED display will deliver higher contrast and more than 2x higher peak brightness than the previous-generation iPad mini.

“iPad mini is beloved for its fantastic portability, performance, and display by a wide range of users, from creators and small business owners to doctors, field service workers, and gamers. With a remarkably thinner and lighter design, a stunning new OLED display, the incredibly powerful A20 Pro, and water and dust resistance, the new iPad mini is a huge leap forward for users who love having the full iPad experience in the palm of their hand.” - Dave Pakula, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Engineering.

The A20 Pro will supercharge AI usability with Neural Accelerators in each GPU core and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. This latest iPad mini model will also feature a 12MP Center Stage front camera on the landscape edge, perfect for video calls or recording film and content, plus an innovative Acoustic Display for an even better audio experience.

The iPad mini will also feature faster wireless and cellular connectivity, fast-charge support, and seems designed specifically to add portability and ease of use.

Could it be Helpful for Filmmakers?

While we’d all love an extra tablet for day-to-day life, whether the iPad mini could serve filmmakers, videographers, or content creators today depends on the creative holding it.

Of course, any camera, whether that's an ARRI ALEXA or an iPhone (or, in this case, an iPad mini), can be used for the right video projects. But if we’re being honest, most of the appeal of a more affordable, more versatile iPad mini is in pre-pro and on-set management.

Several apps can turn iPads into monitors, and it should be even more useful on location and for stressful doc work thanks to its battery and brightness improvements.

Price and Availability

Whether it be for pre-pro, management, as a backup monitor, or as a remote video editing station using Final Cut Pro for iPad, if this new model seems appealing to you for any of the above, then that might be the answer for you.

If you’d like to find out more about the full package, including pricing for different storage and connectivity options, here are the full specs and purchase options.

• Apple A20 Pro Chip
• 8.5" OLED Super Retina XDR Display
• 2316 x 1512 Resolution (326 ppi)
• 128GB Storage
• Wi-Fi 7 | Bluetooth 6
• Front 12MP Center Stage Camera
• Rear 12MP Wide Camera
• Supports Apple Pencil Pro & Pencil
• Acoustic Display | IP67 Rating
• iPadOS

Apple 8.5" iPad mini (OLED, Standard Glass, 128GB, Wi-Fi Only, Midnight)

OLED has finally come to the Apple 8.5" iPad mini. Now featuring an 8.5" Super Retina XDR OLED touchscreen, the iPad mini delivers vivid, accurate colors, 1,200 nits of peak HDR brightness, and a near-infinite contrast ratio.