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The iPad mini is an ideal companion for avid readers, but Amazon’s Paperwhite ebook reader is still a good proposition for bookworms. It all depends on how much you read.
Apple’s iPad range is effectively the standard that other tablet computing devices have to beat. For normal tablets, it’s a tall order to rival the iPad in most areas, but there are some tasks where a specialist device could fare well.
One such area is ebooks, as there are still a number of ebook readers on the market. While iPads could be used to read the same content via apps, dedicated hardware like Amazon’s Kindle range are built specifically with reading in mind, and as such, offer a different experience.
Given the highly pocketable nature of the iPad mini, here’s how Apple’s smallest iPad fares against Amazon’s main Kindle Paperwhite.
iPad mini vs Kindle Paperwhite – Physical Details
The latest iPad mini has received a considerable upgrade in its appearance and functionality, but still remains the smallest in Apple’s current catalog. Even with a new larger screen, the aluminum enclosure is still an extremely compact 7.69 inches by 5.3 inches, and just 0.25 inches thick.
As an ebook reader, you would expect the Kindle Paperwhite to have a fairly large screen on the front, and to a point, it does. With reasonably small bezels to the sides and top, there is a bit of a chin towards the base of the unit.
It has a smaller footprint than the iPad mini at 6.9 inches by 4.9 inches, making it the same size as a small book. Despite being simpler in terms of technology, Amazon still managed to make the Paperwhite thicker than the iPad at 0.32 inches.
The small size and the plastic housing certainly help the Kindle save weight, with its 0.45-pound mass considerably undercutting the iPad mini’s 0.65 pounds.
Video
Compared: iPad mini vs Kindle Paperwhite
Malcolm Owen | Nov 15, 2021
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AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content.
The iPad mini is an ideal companion for avid readers, but Amazon’s Paperwhite ebook reader is still a good proposition for bookworms. It all depends on how much you read.
Apple’s iPad range is effectively the standard that other tablet computing devices have to beat. For normal tablets, it’s a tall order to rival the iPad in most areas, but there are some tasks where a specialist device could fare well.
One such area is ebooks, as there are still a number of ebook readers on the market. While iPads could be used to read the same content via apps, dedicated hardware like Amazon’s Kindle range are built specifically with reading in mind, and as such, offer a different experience.
Given the highly pocketable nature of the iPad mini, here’s how Apple’s smallest iPad fares against Amazon’s main Kindle Paperwhite.https://www.youtube.com/embed/Grzn9hkkAok
Specifications
| iPad mini 6 | Kindle Paperwhite | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (starting) | $499 | $139.99 |
| Dimensions (inches) | 7.69 x 5.3 x 0.25 | 6.9 x 4.9 x 0.32 |
| Weight (pounds) Wi-Fi only | 0.65 | 0.45 |
| Storage | 64GB, 256GB | 8GB |
| Display Tyoe | 8.3-inch Liquid Retina with True Tone, 500 nits brightness | 6.8-inch Paperwhite glare-free with 16-level grayscale |
| Resolution | 2266 x 1488 at 326ppi | 300ppi |
| Connectivity | 5G (sub-6 GHz), Gigabit LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5 | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
| Battery | Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 weeks (35 hours total usage) |
| Rear camera | 12MP Wide, f/1.8 aperture, 5x digital zoom | – |
| Front camera | 12MP Ultra Wide, f/2.4 aperture | – |
| Connector | USB-C | USB-C |
| Stylus Support | Apple Pencil (Gen 2) | – |
| Audio | Two speaker audio landscape mode | Bluetooth to headphones |
| Biometric Security | Touch ID | – |
| Water resistance | – | IPX8 |
| Colors | Space Gray, Pink, Purple, Starlight | Black |
iPad mini vs Kindle Paperwhite – Physical Details
The latest iPad mini has received a considerable upgrade in its appearance and functionality, but still remains the smallest in Apple’s current catalog. Even with a new larger screen, the aluminum enclosure is still an extremely compact 7.69 inches by 5.3 inches, and just 0.25 inches thick.
The new iPad mini 6
As an ebook reader, you would expect the Kindle Paperwhite to have a fairly large screen on the front, and to a point, it does. With reasonably small bezels to the sides and top, there is a bit of a chin towards the base of the unit.
It has a smaller footprint than the iPad mini at 6.9 inches by 4.9 inches, making it the same size as a small book. Despite being simpler in terms of technology, Amazon still managed to make the Paperwhite thicker than the iPad at 0.32 inches.
The small size and the plastic housing certainly help the Kindle save weight, with its 0.45-pound mass considerably undercutting the iPad mini’s 0.65 pounds.
iPad mini vs Kindle Paperwhite – Display
The iPad mini has an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, with a resolution of 2,266 by 1,488 and a pixel density of 326ppi. The IPS panel also includes Wide color (P3) support, and a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating to go with its multi-touch support.
Of benefit to readers is the antireflective coating, boasting 1.8% reflectivity, as well as its 500 nits of brightness. There’s also TrueTone, where the colors of the display shift to match changes in environmental lighting, so an on-screen image looks the same under different lighting.
There’s also stylus support with the second-generation Apple Pencil.
Things are considerably different for the Kindle Paperwhite’s display, due to it being an ebook reader, not a tablet. We’re talking about a device that prioritizes readability and battery life, and the screen certainly reflects that.
The 6.8-inch Paperwhite e-ink (also referred to as e-paper) display is decently sized, if not as big as the iPad mini, but the Kindle also has a considerable chin towards the base. Amazon doesn’t say what its resolution is, but that it is a 300ppi display, which is a little below the iPad mini, but still perfectly readable.
Further drilling home the point is that the display doesn’t offer colors at all. Instead, it has 16 levels of greyscale at its disposal, which is good enough for text, less for images.
As an e-ink display used to display text, the refresh rate can be extremely low, primarily with it just showing a page from a book and only changing when the user turns the page, or interacts with the user interface in some way. It’s simply not capable of animations or playing back video with a sufficient framerate, but then again, the display’s not really intended for that.
Amazon’s aim to make it as readable as paper means it’s a glare-free display, and one that can be read clearly in sunlight. It does include a 17-LED lighting system for night-time reading, with its color temperature adjustable to make it warmer or cooler, though it’s not built to be exceedingly bright.
An up-scale model of the Paperwhite called the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition adds in an auto-adjusting light facility, which changes based on the lighting conditions in your local area.
The Paperwhite does use a touchscreen display, which is handy for navigating menus, buying content, and for changing pages when reading a book. There are also gestures like swipes and pinching to change the font size to go along with the tapping.
iPad mini vs Kindle Paperwhite – Capacity
Apple offers the iPad mini in 64GB and 256GB capacities, which is used to hold practically all of a user’s digital life. This includes apps, documents, images, videos, and ebooks, of course.
The Kindle Paperwhite is sold with 8GB of storage, which is enough to hold “thousands of books,” according to Amazon. This may seem insanely small compared to the iPad mini’s lowest-capacity model, but it makes sense.
The small file sizes of primarily-text ebooks certainly means you can load it up with tons of content without worrying too much about storage. Since you’re not going to use it to store photographs or videos, or even apps, the worst you’d be using the storage for would be an Audible book.
Those who demand more storage could opt for the Paperwhite Signature Edition, which gives you 32GB of capacity.
iPad mini vs Kindle Paperwhite – Battery Life
There’s a considerable difference in how Apple and Amazon define the battery capabilities of their respective devices.
Apple says the iPad mini’s battery can last for up to 10 hours of web-surfing over Wi-Fi or watching video, though that dips down to 9 hours when using cellular connectivity.
According to Amazon, the Paperwhite can last for up to ten weeks on a single charge, “based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off.” That works out to be 35 hours of total usage spread across a ten-week period, though it doesn’t account for power drain while on standby.
That’s even before you consider that the claimed battery life doesn’t include Wi-Fi. Obviously, this would be a massive drain on the Paperwhite if used in such a way, but you’re not going to realistically surf the web for hours on end on the thing.
Amazon also says it can be charged in 5 hours from a computer using USB, though it can also achieve maximum charge in 2.5 hours using a 9W USB power adapter.
The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition also adds in wireless charging, a feature neither the standard Paperwhite nor the iPad mini possess.
