Apple’s efforts to make the iPad as thin as possible mean that their fragile aluminum frames have been known to bend easily. But the new iPad mini holds up surprisingly well in a brutal bend test.
Unlike its larger siblings, the fifth-generation slate remains perfectly intact when shaped to look like a banana.
The new iPad Pro lineup has become notorious for bending easily. In fact, some say that received their iPad Pro bent right out of the box. But it’s unlikely 2019 iPad mini adopters will suffer the same.
Apple’s newest tablet is much more durable, thanks to its smaller form factor.
iPad mini 5 takes a beating
We’ve already seen what’s inside the new iPad mini. But the torture doesn’t stop there. Zack Nelson of the JerryRigEverything channel on YouTube has now gotten his hands on the device, which means it has just taken a battering for our amusement.
Nelson put the iPad mini through the usual stress tests. He scratched its screen, carved a picture into its aluminum casing, and held a naked flame to its glass. None of those could kill the device.
Then came the dreaded bend test. Nelson used as much force as possible to fold the iPad mini, but unlike larger models, it held up surprisingly well. It did bend, but its glass remained intact. And, more incredibly, it continued to function perfectly normally.
If you need an iPad that’s incredibly durable, then, it looks like the new iPad mini is the one to go for. Even if you throw it inside a bag without a case, it looks like it’s going to hold up pretty well indeed.
2019 iPad mini available now
The new iPad mini is available now, with prices starting at $399. It packs Apple’s latest A12 Bionic processor, 3GB of RAM, True Tone technology, and the sharpest display of any iPad.
It’s also the first iPad mini to offer Apple Pencil support.
