A few weeks ago, while enjoying some much-needed downtime on the weekend in the middle of Techtober, a handful of rumors hit my social feed that had me excited. A new iPad Mini refresh — the first in two years — wasperhaps just days away, just in time for upcoming travel plans that would trap me on a plane for endless hours. Now, don’t get me wrong. I like my iPad Air as much as anyone else does — frankly, I prefer it even over most of thebest Android tablets on the markettoday, thanks in large part to a handful of iPad-enhanced apps on the App Store still missing from the Play Store — but something smaller seems perfect for fitting into what I use a tablet for.
Unfortunately, those rumors turned out to be false. Instead, Apple announced aconfusing “low-end” stylusin a press release, before hosting an awkward, infomercial-esque late night announcement focused entirely on Macs. That iPad Mini refresh is nowseemingly set for some time in early 2024, leaving this year without a new Apple-branded slate for the first time since 2010. Meanwhile, instead of blowing $500 — or more — on a new tablet, I relied on theOnePlus Openfor my tablet-sized needs while at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, reading off interview questions during mypodcast with Chris Patrickor typing up notes during various technical deep-dives.
But throughout that entire trip, I couldn’t stop thinking about the seventh-geniPad Minithat wasn’t. It didn’t help that the person sitting in the row ahead of me on my plane from Buffalo to Dallas used one for streaming, nor that I saw the current sixth-gen model scattered around the audience during my time at the conference. It seemed like the universe was telling me,beggingme, to consider a smaller tablet form factor for getting work done. I’m just not sure the market is there with a solution.
The death of the small Android tablet
Let’s set aside the iPad Mini for a moment — thisisan Android site after all. If I want a sub-9" Android tablet, the market simply isn’t there to meet me. A cursory glance at Best Buy reveals just two options:Samsung’s low-end Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, andAmazon’s even slower Fire HD 8. Forget premium options — you can’t even find anything that earns the term “midrange.” If you want a smaller tablet that doesn’t run like molasses, it’s Apple or nothing.
It’s not like the Android tablet ecosystem is in a great place to begin with, of course. Samsung holds its dominant position, thanks largely in part to theGalaxy Tab S9 range. But those slatesstartat 11-inches, and only grow larger from there. I’m sure there’s a market for 15-inch tablets worthy of replacing your laptop, but I’m definitely not part of it.
Meanwhile, Google only just rejoined the tablet race this year, and — surprise, surprise — thePixel Tabletisn’t particularly tiny, either, although… maybe it was supposed to be? A teardown over the summer revealed aton of empty space in the Pixel Tablet’s shell, so much so that it’s impossible to imagine this device isn’t some kind of retrofitted gadget salvaged from the Google graveyard. Was it supposed to be asmaller slate reminiscent of the Nexus 7? Was it supposed to be a smart display before Google remembered that Assistant doesn’t make any money? Realistically, who could say?
And really, every other smaller competitor starts at 10-inches or more. Lenovo, OnePlus, and Microsoft all line store shelves with various slates, all of which seem destined to try — and, for most, fail — to replace a dedicated laptop. It seemed like the concept of a tablet as an armchair device, the very thing Steve Jobs sold the first-gen iPad as in 2010, is long dead. If you’re buying a tablet now, manufacturers want you to use it for productivity first and foremost.
Foldables just don’t cut it
Of course, there’s another reason small tablets have all but disappeared from the market. If phone screens pushing 7 inches weren’t enough, companies like Samsung and Google wouldloveto point me totheir lineup of foldables. TheGalaxy Z Fold 5andPixel Foldboth expand into 7.6-inch screens that, in some ways, offer the experience anyone shopping for smaller tablets is looking for. The pitch is simple: why settle for two devices when you can combine them into one?
Only, I’m not sure Iwantthat experience. In a post-OnePlus Open world, I’m more sold than ever on the concept of large foldables, but there are obvious downsides to combining my phone and small tablet into a single gadget. For one thing, the square aspect ratios of any foldable make a big impact on how apps and other media are presented. The OnePlus Open’s 7.83-inch display might only sound half an inch smaller than the iPad Mini’s 8.3-inch on paper, but when you compare them side-by-side, you’re shown a very different reality.
Put simply, the iPad’s taller screen makes it ideal for content consumption, a space I find foldables really don’t excel at. Those square designs put a ton of space along the top and bottom of the screen when you’re watching movies or YouTube videos, leading to an experience that, frankly, isn’t much more immersive than your average phablet-sized smartphone. Factor in the added fragility and cost of these devices, and it’s easy to see why I’d rather have the two categories co-exist as separate entities.
Out of options
Even with Apple dragging its feet on what sounds like an inevitable, albeit delayed, refresh, it’s clear this company remains the only manufacturer interested in developing a reasonably powerful tablet in this size. It’s particularly frustrating, because many of the shortcomings on display with the iPad Mini — including its 60Hz display and, naturally,some of the annoyances of iPadOS— could be easily solved by Samsung or Google. But as much as Android remains the OS of choice above all else, there’s simply no option that fits what I’m looking for.
Really, the spell small tablets have cast on me eludes me to a certain extent — it’s possible I’d regret buying what is undoubtedly an overpriced slate compared to other options on the market. But a lighter, more portable slate that acts as a dedicated consumption device without all of the noise of an always-connected smartphone just sounds right to me. Unfortunately, much like my want for smaller, pocket-friendly phones, I have a feeling I’m an outlier no OEM plans to address anytime soon.
Apple iPad Mini (6th Gen, 2021)
The iPad Mini might be the last small tablet you’ll find on the market today. With an 8.3-inch display, it’s perfect for anyone looking for something a little more portable than 11-inch (or larger) slates. Just make sure you may deal with iPadOS before you pull the trigger.
Google Pixel Tablet
Google marks a return to big-screen devices with the Pixel Tablet. It’s a competent iPad competitor that pulls double-duty as a smart home device, thanks to its included speaker dock. That said, it can’t quite measure up to dedicated smart displays.
