iPad mini Are you happy with the iPad mini 6?

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Great info thanks!

What about 2FA texts?

Many work but some won't. The most notable one for my usages was Uber. And this seems to have more to do with whether an App will recognize a Google Voice (hosted) number as a mobile number or not... not any kind of technical issue.

However, the workaround is easy enough. While I use Google Voice as my primary VOIP app for calls & texts, I also keep Talkatone on the Mini too. Talkatone numbers seem to always work for 2FA. So, in those pretty unusual situations (for me anyway), I use that Talkatone app. GV as primary and Talkatone as backup has NEVER let me down in 2FA text situations.

Anyone curious can simply try it. Download a VOIP app like GV or Talkatone. I think both will give you a number. Once you have it, you can text your regular number and vice versa. If you have two devices, you can call yourself device to device and vice versa. Then call someone with the VOIP app and see if they notice (verifying voice quality). If you find this works well for your situation, you can then take some additional steps like transferring your actual number and using it instead of the test number.

 

[odblnt]

Very happy with my Mini 6. Previously had Mini 3 & Mini 5, but switched immediately to the 6 because of form factor. Use it for reading books, light web browsing and email. Makes a great "large GPS" for those cars without CarPlay or when I'm too lazy to plug my phone in.

 

[lyngo]

I use mine that way every day... as I did the Mini 2 for years before it.

Phone & texting functionality is just another app. There's lots of them in the App store right now. See VOIP apps. They generally work great.

Obviously the drawbacks are it's not as pocketable, it doesn't have iPhone-quality cameras, use buds instead of holding it up to your ear and the phone app is not deeply integrated. But otherwise, VOIP apps simulate phone app functionality well. My Mini will ring. People on the other end can't tell at all. Texting works the same. Notifications about texts or voice calls work the same.

For me, it simply comes down to this: I don't really take or make that many calls on my mobile anyway. It's much more of a mobile computer + texting device. For those purposes, a bigger screen works much better than tiny iPhone screens.

I also much prefer the economy of it. My annual cell phone bill averages out to $60 PER YEAR. I'm always connected to 5G Ultra when away from wifi but can otherwise call & text on wifi when I have that.

Is it for everyone? No. Nothing is for everyone. But it certainly works really well for me: one device to do both jobs and much less expensive too.

What company do you use for a cellular connection?

 

[rui no onna]

What company do you use for a cellular connection?

T-Mobile $10/5gb/5 mos is the best deal for cellular iPads if you don't need tons of data.

 

[lyngo]

T-Mobile $10/5gb/5 mos is the best deal for cellular iPads if you don't need tons of data.

That’s great and amazing. Wow. I always thought that was a one time deal, but it is repetitive in nature? You can renew that?

 

[rui no onna]

That’s great and amazing. Wow. I always thought that was a one time deal, but it is repetitive in nature? You can renew that?

The wording implies one-time use but so far, I've been able to sign up for it 5 times already (after expiration or using up all 5GB).

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Same here. T-Mobile plan is THE plan for iPad mini! $60 PER YEAR for continuous connection is amazing. I used to think I was really "winning" on AT&Ts $30 for 2GB for 3 months plan, often able to hold it to under $100 by not renewing until I actually needed to when it ran out. But that's still out there as a backup in case Tmobile ever kills this one. Several other lessor-name cell companies have some relatively low-cost data plans too.

 

[AppleMan2015]

I had a bit of a change to my Apple lineup... I was always on the "bigger and best" Apple product until last year. I opted for the iPhone 13 mini and I love the phone. I would prefer that size on a phone and an XDR-super-retina display like the Pro Max has, but that's the only complaint.

I had a 11 inch 2019 iPad Pro. It had the Pro-Motion display and I loved the iPad. Since I don't really use it much any more, I opted to sell it. It was hard parting with it, since I think that iPad was probably the best iPad as far as "bang for your buck" at the time and it held up SO well. I got my mom an iPad Air 4 for Christmas and the screen is just simply not the same. That being said, I decided to upgrade my 2019 13 inch Macbook Pro to a 16 inch M1 Pro MPP. I love these computers immensely and I love this decision I made.

I would have jumped on the iPad mini bandwagon with this latest form upgrade in a heartbeat if we had an M1 chip and a Pro-Motion XDR display. It wouldn't be a question that its size would be a great mid-way point between my phone and laptop. But the screen on the Air and older iPads just make me pause. I'd notice it quite a bit. I think I'll wait a year or two, see if they upgrade the mini, and then make another iPad purchase. Until then, I'm very pleased with my iPhone mini and 16 M1 Pro MPP.

 

[Dealmans]

I couldn’t have a iPhone mini as my only iOS device

 

[jdb8167]

That’s great and amazing. Wow. I always thought that was a one time deal, but it is repetitive in nature? You can renew that?

I’ve been using it for years. It doesn’t renew automatically but I consider that a feature. It has been around since T-Mobile stopped their free 200 MB/month data for life plan around 2017.

 

[MacRazySwe]

Thanks guys for your feedback. It appears I'm not alone in this, so it's probably nothing wrong with my device. Have to say though - updating it to the latest OS version really improved the general performance. Not bad now!

Since I got it free from work though I can't complain. It's a nice little form factor, but not quite as good as I hoped.

 

[FlyingTexan]

On the newest update, I had this weird bug yesterday where it froze, I turned off the screen, and then it wouldn't turn back on, and I tried to restart it and got it to take a screenshot instead and for whatever reason it started working fine again after that.

I always turn off reduce motion to begin with on all my devices, so can't comment on the animation stuttering. It's obvious even without them that it needs more RAM though.

There is a pattern to when this stuff happens I think, I just haven't figured it out yet.

What’s obvious about needing more ram?

 

[Jessica Lares]

OP complained that they're experiencing stuttering with the OS animations. In my case my apps just crash and lockup every once in awhile when I'm switching between them. It's not to the point that it makes the device unusable though (because it's not happening while I'm in an app otherwise, even when it's something like Affinity Designer) and I had that happen on my 2016 SE when iOS 14 came out and things got ironed out with app and iOS updates.

I'm also one of those people that's never had any of the other iPads other than the original Mini.

 

[LibbyLA]

T-Mobile $10/5gb/5 mos is the best deal for cellular iPads if you don't need tons of data.

It’s a great deal IF T-Mo provides service where you need cellular. I’m in the unfortunate situation where the place I need cellular the most doesn’t have T-Mo service and probably never will. It’s in a remote location in a county with just over 8K residents. I’ve also found that T-Mo is much spottier along our travel route (mostly interstate), with AT&T rarely crapping out. Unfortunately, that means I don’t have a choice other than the $35 standalone plan on two iPads (I don’t have an iPhone and AT&T is not my cell carrier).

I wish we had T-Mo at our camp. My cell plan expenses would be much lower. T-Mo is a fantastic deal for those who are able to use it.

 

[sparksd]

It’s a great deal IF T-Mo provides service where you need cellular. I’m in the unfortunate situation where the place I need cellular the most doesn’t have T-Mo service and probably never will. It’s in a remote location in a county with just over 8K residents. I’ve also found that T-Mo is much spottier along our travel route (mostly interstate), with AT&T rarely crapping out. Unfortunately, that means I don’t have a choice other than the $35 standalone plan on two iPads (I don’t have an iPhone and AT&T is not my cell carrier).

I wish we had T-Mo at our camp. My cell plan expenses would be much lower. T-Mo is a fantastic deal for those who are able to use it.

I always like your posts on connectivity availability - a reminder that there are significant swaths of the US where a connection is either poor or nonexistent. Why I do not use the cloud other than for backup purposes.

 

[rui no onna]

It’s a great deal IF T-Mo provides service where you need cellular. I’m in the unfortunate situation where the place I need cellular the most doesn’t have T-Mo service and probably never will. It’s in a remote location in a county with just over 8K residents. I’ve also found that T-Mo is much spottier along our travel route (mostly interstate), with AT&T rarely crapping out. Unfortunately, that means I don’t have a choice other than the $35 standalone plan on two iPads (I don’t have an iPhone and AT&T is not my cell carrier).

I wish we had T-Mo at our camp. My cell plan expenses would be much lower. T-Mo is a fantastic deal for those who are able to use it.

True. I keep AT&T on my phone and Verizon on the iPad for coverage. Either one or the other have signal for the most part. I often think I should consolidate to one carrier but then I end up somewhere where one of them doesn't have signal so I just end up keeping the status quo.

T-Mobile doesn't really have good signal at my work either. One of the reasons I have the T-Mobile $10 iPad plan is to test for coverage and speed.

 

[LibbyLA]

True. I keep AT&T on my phone and Verizon on the iPad for coverage. Either one or the other have signal for the most part. I often think I should consolidate to one carrier but then I end up somewhere where one of them doesn't have signal so I just end up keeping the status quo.

T-Mobile doesn't really have good signal at my work either. One of the reasons I have the T-Mobile $10 iPad plan is to test for coverage and speed.

I have Verizon cell service because it’s the most reliable where I live. I’m a lot more likely to have Verizon signal after a a hurricane or other disaster than I am to have AT&T signal. However, Verizon coverage sucks at our camp. I have a few Verizon cell cams (I’m a tester for a company and that’s what I’m sent sometimes) but I have to be careful where I put them in order for them to work.

I have much better AT&T signal at the camp, but AT&T reliability at home isn’t great during disasters or crowded events like football games. Verizon is also less expensive cell service for me.

I try to keep both AT&T and T-Mo on my iPads. At my parents‘ house, T-Mo works better (not great, but better). We just got wifi put back in there (since we kids will be visiting more often and need service) so that situation is better.

 

[LibbyLA]

I always like your posts on connectivity availability - a reminder that there are significant swaths of the US where a connection is either poor or nonexistent. Why I do not use the cloud other than for backup purposes.

We are about 1.8 miles from the AT&T tower, but there have been times when I couldn’t get good signal until I was sitting under the tower. It’s probably an 8 mile drive to get there, maybe more.

I’m very aware of cell signal because I run over 30 cell cameras on our 20 acres. I can put an AT&T camera just about anywhere, although some get better signal than others. I have to be careful with Verizon cameras and I also have a couple from a carrier that I can’t name, but it’s not available in our region. I don’t know what towers it roams on, but it’s not Verizon or AT&T. I find places where those work and I put them up and leave them in those spots.

(On a side note, AT&T was supposed to shut down 3G service on 2/22. I lost two cell cams in populated areas but I have two 3G cameras still running at our camp. I’ll be surprised if there’s any hurry to put 5G on that AT&T tower because there aren’t many people who live close to it so they may not shut down 3G for who knows how long.)

 

[klasma]

Returned the mini 6 for a mini 5 (had a mini 4 before) due to jelly scroll and generally underwhelming display, worse aspect ratio (too narrow) and bad iPadOS 15 home screen layout, and I found touch ID on the power button less convenient than on the home button (it’s easier to pick up and unlock the mini one-handed with the latter). I also wasn’t fond of the available colors (I’m a neutral silver/white guy). I liked the flat edges though.

Another problem I had with the mini 6 is that they moved the volume buttons to the short side. They did that so that when the iPad sits on a stand in landscape with the pencil attached on the top edge, the volume buttons are still accessible. That button position however is much less convenient than the traditional one on the long side (which is traditionally there for a reason). It’s an awkward compromise with the new Pencil 2 compatibility, caused by the Pencil being so long that it doesn’t leave any room for buttons on the long side of the mini when it is attached. I also wasn’t convinced by the automatic direction switch of the volume buttons depending on which one faces upwards. My brain wanted to think “the button closer to the corner is volume-up” regardless of whether it points physically up or not. It was just confusing that the buttons change their function based on how you hold the device.

See also this video regardimg that problem:

 

[eyeseeyou]

I think I could actually be pretty happy with the iPad mini 6 vs my 2018 iPad pro for most of my use cases except when I use my iPad in a laptop set up which is rarely.

 

[iZollo]

FYI. T-Mobile has a business deal available for unlimited LTE/5G tablet data plan for $10 tax already included. Wife just got the plan for her Mini and I got one for my iPad Air 5. Great service with T-Mobile

 

[lyngo]

Another problem I had with the mini 6 is that they moved the volume buttons to the short side. They did that so that when the iPad sits on a stand in landscape with the pencil attached on the top edge, the volume buttons are still accessible. That button position however is much less convenient than the traditional one on the long side (which is traditionally there for a reason). It’s an awkward compromise with the new Pencil 2 compatibility, caused by the Pencil being so long that it doesn’t leave any room for buttons on the long side of the mini when it is attached. I also wasn’t convinced by the automatic direction switch of the volume buttons depending on which one faces upwards. My brain wanted to think “the button closer to the corner is volume-up” regardless of whether it points physically up or not. It was just confusing that the buttons change their function based on how you hold the device.

See also this video regardimg that problem:

I typically enjoy Everyday Dad’s videos and reviews, but I disagree with his thoughts regarding the volume buttons. If it’s truly that difficult, there’s always the use of control center.

 

[LibbyLA]

Another problem I had with the mini 6 is that they moved the volume buttons to the short side. They did that so that when the iPad sits on a stand in landscape with the pencil attached on the top edge, the volume buttons are still accessible. That button position however is much less convenient than the traditional one on the long side (which is traditionally there for a reason). It’s an awkward compromise with the new Pencil 2 compatibility, caused by the Pencil being so long that it doesn’t leave any room for buttons on the long side of the mini when it is attached. I also wasn’t convinced by the automatic direction switch of the volume buttons depending on which one faces upwards. My brain wanted to think “the button closer to the corner is volume-up” regardless of whether it points physically up or not. It was just confusing that the buttons change their function based on how you hold the device.

See also this video regardimg that problem:

I use my Mini 6 in landscape mode almost all the time. Most of the time, the buttons are on the left, but occasionally I have to use it with the buttons on the right. I haven’t had any problems recognizing that the higher button is volume up and the lower button is volume down. I guess our brains are wired differently. I also use the touch ID button just fine on either side.

 

[klasma]

I typically enjoy Everyday Dad’s videos and reviews, but I disagree with his thoughts regarding the volume buttons. If it’s truly that difficult, there’s always the use of control center.

Control center is much less convenient, and for example if you’re watching a video, invoking control center may pause the video, so you lose the immediate feedback when adjusting the volume (you may have to go back and forth between the video and CC multiple times to find the right volume).

 

[TH3D4RKKN1GH7]

Saw the jello scrolling in person yesterday. Bizarre but not enough to stop me from purchasing. I think I'm only waiting for a few more apps to update for the AR. I wish apps like Comixology were available on the demo iPads. I'm sure people use iBooks for comics but...