New iPad mini, new Smart Cover. This time, Apple ditched the aluminum hinge on the larger iPad Smart Cover, and we’re glad they did. While we enjoyed the metal-on-metal click when snapping on the old Smart Cover, this new one absolutely cannot ever leave tiny scratches on the screen or the edge of the iPad itself, no matter how carelessly you treat it.
It still folds into a triangle for propping up in landscape mode, either low to the table for typing on the keyboard, or tilted closer to vertical for watching movies or videochatting. It’s still pretty useless for standing up the iPad mini in portrait orientation, but since the iPad mini is so light and easy to hold, we don’t mind so much.
Unlike the big Smart Cover, there’s no leather option, at least not as we went to press. You can choose a pink, light or dark gray, bright green, blue, and (Product) RED.
The bottom line. Apple’s magnetic snap-on case isn’t the only option in town, just the only one we’ve tested so far. It works well, but we’re more excited about fold-up cases that can prop the iPad up in other ways, like Moshi’s VersaCover.
iPad mini Smart Cover
iPad mini
No exposed metal.
No leather (yet?). Shouldn’t it be a few bucks cheaper than the larger version?
