SpecEagle review · Apple

Apple iPad mini 4 review: A 2015 iPad mini refresh with A8 and laminated display.

SpecEagle Editorial·Sep 2015·$399
Overall
58/100
Class rank
#9 of 42
Tier
Mid-range
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

A slim mini refresh.

iPad mini 4 brought the mini up to 6.1 mm thin with the A8 chip and 2 GB RAM — a polished but not-radical refresh.

01Display

70/100

70/100 puts it above the 66-point average for mid-range phones of 2015.

TypeRetina LCD, laminated
Size7.9 inches
Resolution2,048 × 1,536 px

02Camera

56/100

56/100 trails the 59-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2015.

Main8 MP, f/2.4
Selfie1.2 MP

03Performance

60/100

60/100 puts it above the 56-point average for mid-range phones of 2015.

ChipsetApple A8
RAM2 GB
Storage16 / 64 / 128 GB

04Battery

78/100

At 78/100 this is one of the strongest battery showings among mid-range phones of 2015 — 13 points above the cohort average.

Capacity5,124 mAh
WiredLightning

05Build

78/100

At 78/100 this is one of the strongest build showings among mid-range phones of 2015 — 11 points above the cohort average.

06Value

64/100

64/100 puts it above the 59-point average for mid-range phones of 2015.

What works
  • 6.1 mm thin matching iPad Air 2.
  • A8 with 2 GB RAM was a meaningful jump.
  • Laminated screen with anti-reflective coating.
  • 3.5 mm jack survives.
What doesn't
  • Lightning, not USB-C.
  • No Apple Pencil support.
  • 16 GB base.
  • 1.2 MP front camera.
Cross-shop it against
Honor 8
$400 · score 70/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 42-phone cohort of mid-range devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .