iPad Mini Cases

The Mini is the tablet people carry in a coat pocket or a small bag, usually for reading. That is a harder life than a Pro gets at a desk, and it is why the folios here are cut close to the body rather than loose.

The 7.9 inch Mini and the later 8.3 inch body take different cases. Check which one you have before choosing.

The older Mini has a home button and rounded edges. The newer one has flat sides and no home button. They are a few millimetres apart and take different cases.

Settings, then General, then About confirms it in a few seconds.

The cover folds all the way back, so the tablet sits in one hand the way a paperback does. Leather helps there more than on any other size, because full-grain has enough grip that the Mini does not slide out of a loose hold.

Suede lining inside, stitched edges, and a patina that builds fastest on the corner you hold.

A Mini in a leather folio still goes in a coat pocket and most handbags. The cover adds a couple of millimetres, which is the difference between a tablet you take and one you leave at home.

Full-grain cowhide with a suede lining. A dry cloth for dust, no heat, and a little leather cream once or twice a year if the surface feels dry.

Engraving is available for 18.90 dollars on the product page.

The Mini fits in a coat pocket, so it lives a different life from a full size iPad and needs a different case.

• The folio is cut close to the body, because adding bulk to a Mini defeats the reason for owning one.
• The cover folds flat behind the tablet for one handed reading, which is how most Minis are used.
• The pencil strip on the side stays clear on the generations that support it.

People tend to buy a Mini case for reading and for flying rather than for desk work. If that is you, the flat fold matters more than the stand angle, and it is worth confirming a case does it properly before you order.

A last practical note. The Mini is the iPad most likely to be read in bed, and a folio that will not fold flat behind the tablet makes that awkward. Ours does, which sounds like a small thing until you have spent an hour holding the other kind.