Apple iPad mini 7.9" 4th Generation 2015, A8, 2GB, 128GB, Silver

A charming little tablet that's way past its prime. Great for reading and light browsing if you get a good refurb unit, but the ancient chip and RAM will frustrate anyone expecting more.

The A8 chip here is old. Like, really old. It sits in the 4th percentile for CPU and 7th for GPU in our database, which means nearly every other tablet we track runs circles around it. But here's the surprise: for basic stuff like reading, streaming, and FaceTime, it still chugs along fine. The 2GB of RAM is the real bottleneck. Open more than a few tabs or switch between apps and you'll feel it stutter. The 7.9-inch Retina display holds up better than the internals, with solid brightness and that anti-reflective coating doing real work outdoors.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE absolutely destroys this thing on performance, battery, and software support, but it costs way more. The Xiaomi Pad 7 is similarly in a different league spec-wise. The real competition for the mini 4 is the Lenovo Idea Tab Plus, which gives you a bigger, newer screen and better internals for not much more money. And if you're considering this for any kind of productivity, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is the obvious upgrade, though it's a completely different form factor and price class. For pure reading and portability, the mini 4 still has a niche, but it's a shrinking one.

Prices swing from USD 100 to USD 300 depending on the vendor, which is a huge spread for the same refurbished tablet. At the low end, it's a decent deal for a dedicated reader or kid's first tablet. At the high end, you're getting fleeced. Best Buy's certified refurbished listings tend to sit at the pricier end but come with a better return policy. Newegg has the cheaper Grade A units, but you're rolling the dice on condition. If you can snag one under USD 150, it's a fair buy. Above that, save your money.

The iPad mini 4 is a weird one in 2025. It's a 2015 tablet with a 2014 phone chip, yet people still buy these refurbished units because the size is just right and the price has finally dropped to impulse territory. The one thing to know: this is a reading and light browsing machine, not a workhorse. If you go in expecting that, you'll probably be happy. If you expect it to keep up with a modern iPad, you'll be disappointed fast.

If you want to do any real work, edit photos, play modern games, or run current apps smoothly, this isn't it. Go get a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE or a Lenovo Idea Tab Plus instead. If you need Apple specifically, save up for a newer iPad. The mini 4 is a reading companion, not a daily driver.

Buy it only if you find a clean unit under USD 150 and you want a compact reader or a simple media tablet for a kid. The size is genuinely great, and the screen punches above its weight. But the A8 chip and 2GB of RAM mean this thing is on borrowed time. For anything more than light use, spend a bit more and get something newer. The mini 4 is a nostalgia pick, not a smart long-term investment.