Thanks for the replies, like most of you mentioned mini 4 is a perfect secondary iPad in a household that already has an iPad Pro. However the A8 processor is really the deal breaker here especially for $300. I think I'm gonna wait for it to drop another $100 or get the iPad 2017 for around $250.
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iPad mini Are iPad mini 4 worth buying?
- Thread starter kevjen888
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Honestly Kevjen, you need to ask yourself what will it be used for. I have taken my air 2 on all my business trips and I have a life proof nuud protecting it. It's light and nimble. If purely for sentimental reasons, just get it and be happy that you have it. Me personally, I wouldn't waste my money on another ipad when you have what you need (unless the need is there for another ipad). But that's just my opinion.
If I already had an iPad Pro and my only use for it was at home, I would not buy another one, normal or mini. If for some reason I needed a spare iPad again for home use only, I would buy the normal iPad. However, if I needed an iPad on the road, that would definitely be the cellular iPad mini 4.
As long as you don't cancel your service. After ETF and activation/upgrade fee, it's just as expensive as full retail price. Might actually be more expensive.
There's no activation/upgrade fee and I don't see myself ever leaving Verizon. I already have an iPad on my account, so I would just cancel that one and add this one. I'm wondering if I should wait til the fall to see if any new minis are announced.
That makes no sense. There isn't a huge performance difference between the mini 4, which is like an Air 2, and the 2017 iPad. And as far as iOS supportability goes, RAM is the bigger factor. The mini 4 should remain supported just as long as the Air 2, Pro 9.7, and 2017 iPad because they all four have 2GB RAM.
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I can't predict the future, but I wouldn't expect a better price on the mini 4 until the next generation of iPads are released in 2018. If ever.
Also, I was daily using an A7 1GB iPad (Air 1) until last week when I got my new Pro 10.5. And it was perfectly fine for everything except maybe certain games. I only replaced it because it was 16GB, and I couldn't stomach that any more. Otherwise I'd have been fine holding onto it another year or two even. I expect the mini 4 to perform great for at least 2-3 more years, and okayish even 4 years from now.
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I'm not sure why people keep mentioning this wrong info.
The last three iOS releases have all been SoC limited.
iOS 9 = support for A5 and newer
iOS 10 = support for A6 and newer
iOS 11 = support for A7 and newer
Today, there's no way I would suggest anyone buy iPad mini 4 when support for A8 will obviously end with iOS 12. The 9.7" iPad (2017) and iPad Pro will be receiving more iOS updates for sure.
IOS 11 cuts off A6 because of 64 bit. Therefore I think it is NOT obvious, that support for A8 will end with iOS12. I rather see A7 like the A5, that it will be supported quite long.
So how do you explain iOS 9 and iOS 10?
I'm not sure what you mean by "see A7 like the A5, that it will be supported quite long." It was nothing special.
The A5 received Apple's standard 4 year support. It was released in 2011 and supported through 2015 (iOS 9).
The A7 also received Apple's standard 4 year support. It was released in 2013 and is getting support through 2017 (iOS 11).
Kinda is. Graphics performance of the mini 4 is closer to iPhone 6/6+ than Air 2 (A8X) or 2017 iPad (A9). Also, the single core performance jump from A8 to A9 was quite significant. Microsoft Excel is noticeably slower on the Air 2 and mini 4.
That said, I do see A8 being supported a bit longer. Apart from the switch from 32-bit to 64-bit, I believe what Apple does is test performance of older devices on the new iOS. If it meets a certain minimum level of performance, then it gets an update. Of course, that minimum level of performance seems a lot lower compared to the standards of most MacRumors forum members (at least the prolific ones).
I don't think 4 years was quite standard prior to the A5. The A5 marked the start of iOS device longevity. Also, it's 5 years support - iOS 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
The A6-based iPhone 5 and A6X-based iPad 4 actually aged better compared to A5 devices. The A7 is also doing quite well on the latest iOS version. There are some lags and stutters here and there but nowhere near as bad as A5 on iOS 8+. Honestly, the main reason I upgraded my Air was lack of storage. Seriously, unless all one does is web browsing, streaming and have less than 20 apps installed, 16GB is way too small.
Kinda is. Graphics performance of the mini 4 is closer to iPhone 6/6+ than Air 2 (A8X) or 2017 iPad (A9). Also, the single core performance jump from A8 to A9 was quite significant. Microsoft Excel is noticeably slower on the Air 2 and mini 4.
That said, I do see A8 being supported a bit longer. Apart from the switch from 32-bit to 64-bit, I believe what Apple does is test performance of older devices on the new iOS. If it meets a certain minimum level of performance, then it gets an update. Of course, that minimum level of performance seems a lot lower compared to the standards of most MacRumors forum members (at least the prolific ones).
I don't think 4 years was quite standard prior to the A5. The A5 marked the start of iOS device longevity. Also, it's 5 years support - iOS 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
The A6-based iPhone 5 and A6X-based iPad 4 actually aged better compared to A5 devices. The A7 is also doing quite well on the latest iOS version. There are some lags and stutters here and there but nowhere near as bad as A5 on iOS 8+. Honestly, the main reason I upgraded my Air was lack of storage. Seriously, unless all one does is web browsing, streaming and have less than 20 apps installed, 16GB is way too small.
Prior to the iPhone 5, hardware was moving at a very fast pace. It was natural that newer versions of iOS would not run on old hardware. Since the iPhone 5, hardware innovation has slowed and Apple has seems to have adopted a long OS support strategy.
Apple currently supports its devices using with a "four years of OS upgrades from launch" model. Google states their OS upgrade support for the Pixel is two years. Apple is already above and beyond their competitors.
Regardless of how well the A8 performs, I don't expect Apple to prolong their current four year model. Apple needs to sell hardware to maintain its dominance. Extending iOS support for A8 creates goodwill but doesn't put any money in Apple's pocket. Given the sales performance of the iPhone 6S, 7, and iPad, Apple doesn't need more reasons for consumers to hang on to old hardware.
Given lots of people hang on to old computers running Windows XP and Windows 7, I think we might start seeing the same thing with the iPad. Apps tend to support older iOS versions well after the new firmware has been released. Granted, not anywhere near the long term support on PCs.
Agreed. There's no way that a 128GB iPad mini 4 will drop to $199. If they were discontinued by Apple tomorrow, there's no way that the price would drop that far before they would completely sell out of them all first.
Note, out of warranty replacement for the iPad mini 3 and 4 is $299. Same for Air 2. The out of warranty replacement for the iPad Air and 2017 iPad is $249.
Guess the fully laminated display adds to the cost quite a bit.
Very likely. On the other hand, what about the mini "update" of this year? Granted, it is not a new model but with such a policy it will instantly left with only two years of official support. The "four years" OS upgrades model makes sense when the hardware updates are frequent. But I think this has slowed down. Of course we will see in the next one or two years which is the approach of Apple on this matter.
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Yes, it is. And it offers such a nice overall experience. I had the opportunity to use a high-end Android (Galaxy Tab S, I think) and I was surprised to see how much better is the user experience on the mini
. Like day and night.And on the road. This is where the mini really excels. I talk about the cellular model equipped with assisted GPS and GLONASS. Very useful for navigation, seeing quickly weather conditions and what not. It would be a shame for Apple to let such a perfection die as a laptop-replacement-policy casualty.
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The iPad (2017) comes with an A9, so I would expect it to receive updates through iOS 13. Because it was launched with an A9, it should receive three years of major OS updates. This is no different from low cost devices like iPhone 5C. It came with iOS 7 and stopped with iOS 10. The three year OS support model is justified given the price.
You don’t happen to remember what version of iOS was on it when you got it do you? I kinda want to jailbreak and would rather buy a new one from Best Buy and not deal with finding a compatible one on eBay.
For those of you using Mini 4, do any of you use alternate keyboard? I’m wondering if maybe the lag and hiccups I experienced with Gboard were one-off, maybe I need to wipe this thing clean and start over.
The keyboard lagged badly when first being brought up, voice dictation was terribly laggy (and refused to function in landscape mode), etc. Or maybe the app is just crap
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The keyboard lagged badly when first being brought up, voice dictation was terribly laggy (and refused to function in landscape mode), etc. Or maybe the app is just crap
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I can’t find any strings attached when I check the value of mine
