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Fthree

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 14, 2014
1,313
506
I am planning on getting the new iPad mini wifi+5g however the 64 vs 256Gb is what im debating (well that and if I should get the purple one...). Ive always bought the most storage on the devices as I can get. I do not download a ton of apps or songs or movies. I am noticing that my iCloud storage is handling most of the information and its not being stored directly on the device. I subscribe to the 2Tb iCloud option and its not even 25% full. I am not sure exactly how this all works as far as what is stored on the device and what is sent to the cloud. I love having ALL of my pictures, movies and documents with me at all times from all my devices but get the feeling that I have that with my cellular service and the iCloud storage anyway regardless of how much storage is in the tablet/phone/MacBook. Essentially what im trying to get out of this post is if I would still have access to all my stuff on the 64Gb mini def tired of paying for larger devices than I need.....
 

Howard2k

macrumors 603
Mar 10, 2016
5,707
5,659
That sounds like a super expensive strategy.
The very first thing to do is work out your data storage requirements.

How large is your photo/music/movie/document collection?
You have an existing device already from what I understand. You should also look at the usage on that device too. What is the capacity and how is that being used?

There are folks here who recommend always going with the largest capacity but if you understand your data and how the iPad can access it then you will probably be in a better position to make an informed decision.
 
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TinaBelcher

macrumors 65816
Jul 23, 2017
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I’ve struggled with this decision as well, but has decided to get the 256 gb, Wi-Fi. I own an 11-inch pro with 64 gb and even though I’ve never filled it up, I’ve been close from doing so. It’s better to be safe than sorry. And life is too short to be cheap, even if the gadget is expensive. Having more storage also allows you to freely do more with it, as you limit yourself otherwise.
 
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rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
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Essentially what im trying to get out of this post is if I would still have access to all my stuff on the 64Gb mini def tired of paying for larger devices than I need.....

Yes, as long as you have internet and there's enough free space on the mini to use for caching. iCloud Drive would automatically evict older downloaded/cached files to make room for new ones.

However, if you have, say, a 5GB file on iCloud and you only have 2GB free space on the mini and nothing else that iOS can offload (e.g. older iCloud cached files, photos, unused apps, etc), then you'd need to delete stuff yourself to make room.
 
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Hallstar

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2011
338
216
I can’t recommend enough, the Samsung T7 Touch portable SSD.

I have two of these, one for each of my iPads, and think they are excellent.

Fingerprint security
Small, lightweight and portable
USB-C
Fast transfer speeds

Secure local storage at a much cheaper price than Apple charges to increase onboard storage, and not at mercy of wifi or data to download files..
 
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rulymammoth

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2015
441
603
I can’t recommend enough, the Samsung T7 Touch portable SSD.

I have two of these, one for each of my iPads, and think they are excellent.

Fingerprint security
Small, lightweight and portable
USB-C
Fast transfer speeds

Secure local storage at a much cheaper price than Apple charges to increase onboard storage, and not at mercy of wifi or data to download files..

Interesting. But how do you keep files in sync? My dilemma is that I want to be able to have files for offline access and then have them sync automatically when I make changes once I'm online. That's how iCloud on my MacBook works and it would be nice for that to work the same way with an iPad.
 
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hovscorpion12

macrumors 68040
Sep 12, 2011
3,044
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USA
Local, Cloud, external storage is a hard dilemma. On the one hand, Local storage can be accessed faster since its built in. Cloud storage is good but if your looking for offline access, I’d suggest Dropbox. [Knock on wood] iCloud has not been hit or had significant downtime so cloud data can still be trusted. For external, portable SSD’s are expensive. A 2TB Samsung T7 is $300+ whereas a portable HDD is cheaper.

if your get a 64GB iPad Mini, iCloud is recommended. That 64GB can disappear quick.
 
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Kobra

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2009
228
105
Essentially what im trying to get out of this post is if I would still have access to all my stuff on the 64Gb mini def tired of paying for larger devices than I need.....
As long as you have a internet connection you will have access to all your data regardless of the size of local storage. iOS handles this automatically, it will off load any data that you don’t use and download what you want to use when you need it. I have always let iCloud and iOS do its thing, this way i don’t lose anything even if i lose my device. I bought the 256 gb mini 6 but i will replace it for a 64 gb version. Currently my mini have used about 30 gb and my 256 gb iPad Pro has 171 gb free space, most of the data on the pro is pictures and music. I’ve set the iPad to save at least 128 gb of pictures and music locally, don’t know why to be honest. I have never found myself off line and missing a image from 5 years back…
 
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Fthree

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 14, 2014
1,313
506
As long as you have a internet connection you will have access to all your data regardless of the size of local storage. iOS handles this automatically, it will off load any data that you don’t use and download what you want to use when you need it. I have always let iCloud and iOS do its thing, this way i don’t lose anything even if i lose my device. I bought the 256 gb mini 6 but i will replace it for a 64 gb version. Currently my mini have used about 30 gb and my 256 gb iPad Pro has 171 gb free space, most of the data on the pro is pictures and music. I’ve set the iPad to save at least 128 gb of pictures and music locally, don’t know why to be honest. I have never found myself off line and missing a image from 5 years back…
Thanks! How do I change the setting to how may gb I want it to store for pictures etc?
 

Kobra

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2009
228
105
Thanks! How do I change the setting to how may gb I want it to store for pictures etc?
In the settings app you go to iCloud and then images to enable optimised storage. For music you set the optimised storage in settings, music, downloads.
 
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