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iPad mini iPad Mini 5

So after much thought I purchased the ipad mini 5 this evening. I went for the 256GB in gold. I will use it alongside my ipad mini 4 and decide if it's worth the upgrade. My mini 4 can be sluggish at times but it's still useable. However I thought I'd treat myself. I wont have time to set it up today so will do it tomorrow.
 
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Shanghaichica said:
So after much thought I purchased the ipad mini 5 this evening. I went for the 256GB in gold. I will use it alongside my ipad mini 4 and decide if it's worth the upgrade. My mini 4 can be sluggish at times but it's still useable. However I thought I'd treat myself. I wont have time to set it up today so will do it tomorrow.
Click to expand...

I upgraded from a Mini 2 and it was pretty easy. I was planning on using the 2 and the 5 together but it's hard to go back to the 2 after using the 5.
 
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I purchased 64GB one yesterday, just because I wanted to buy. I have had every generation of iPad mini (except iPad mini 3). I do believe this would be the last iPad mini, therefore, I just buy this for seek of it. I don’t really need it as I already have iPad Pro 12 and the iPad Pro 10.5.
 
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BasicGreatGuy said:
Verizon still has $100 off on the mini 5. I got my 64 cellular for the price of WiFi. At the time of release, Verizon was offering $150 off, which is what I got. No long term contract. I paid mine off in less than a month with no penalty.
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I got the Mini 5 when Verizon was offering $200 off, which Best Buy was offering as well if you signed a two year VZW contract. Since I've been on VZW since 1989, although contract free for many years, I had no problem signing up for a two year contract for that discount.
 
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newellj said:
I got the Mini 5 when Verizon was offering $200 off, which Best Buy was offering as well if you signed a two year VZW contract. Since I've been on VZW since 1989, although contract free for many years, I had no problem signing up for a two year contract for that discount.
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That’s is pretty good. Like a free cell radio and extra $70 off on top of it
 
MacFather said:
I don't know if it is a defective display lamination or what, but the middle portion of the screen flexes and it has a "rubbery feeling" when you apply a little pressure on the glass. The display on my Air 2 is rock solid in comparison.
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I can flex the screen on my

iPad mini 3
IPad mini 5

Huawei android

I had another one but I do not have it to test it.
I do not flex screens in normal use.

So the question for you is how hard do you push it.

Tell you what I will look at iFixit tear downs and maybe I can see if the Air 2 has a more rigid backing.
 
pshufd said:
One thing about the Mini 5 is it has insane battery life compared to my iPhone. That's likely due to a new battery but it might also be due to the more efficient processor. So far this device has delighted with no downsides as of yet. If Apple does release the rumored iPhone XE (SE2 successor), I might go for that as a small phone + iPad Mini would work well for me.
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Last week I read an eBook for about 6 hours on my Mini 5, with a little bit of web browsing, to drop it to 50% battery charge after almost 7 hours of use (unplugged for 13 hours). The only way my iPhone Xs Max can go that long reading to drop only 50% of the charge is when I have a black screen with white letters so the OLED draws less power.
IMG_3156.png
 
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The beauty of an iPad is that I know I won't run down the battery much over the course of any random usage session, allows me plenty of opportunity to charge it up if and when I need to.

Was thinking I can retire the iPhone 8 Plus and replace it with the Mini 5 for media consumption while at work, but even though it fits in my cargo pants its a pain to lug it around with me everywhere I go at work, definitely feel the weight of the device (it's in a not so thin UAG case), so it's relegated to being used mainly at home and when we're out and about, on vacation, etc.

I really wish they used the same haptic home button that's being used on the iPhone 8, having to physically depress the home button and feel that click is somehow an adjustment that seems backwards to me.
 
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plucky duck said:
The beauty of an iPad is that I know I won't run down the battery much over the course of any random usage session, allows me plenty of opportunity to charge it up if and when I need to.

Was thinking I can retire the iPhone 8 Plus and replace it with the Mini 5 for media consumption while at work, but even though it fits in my cargo pants its a pain to lug it around with me everywhere I go at work, definitely feel the weight of the device (it's in a not so thin UAG case), so it's relegated to being used mainly at home and when we're out and about, on vacation, etc.

I really wish they used the same haptic home button that's being used on the iPhone 8, having to physically depress the home button and feel that click is somehow an adjustment that seems backwards to me.
Click to expand...

I leave my Mini 5 and 7+ on my desk at work on the charger. Sometimes I take the iPhone and sometimes I take the Mini. I don't have a case on it and it fits easily into my jeans pocket. There are times when I'm hoping for the modern treatment - smaller bezels + the newer touch id. But I'm coming from a Mini 2 and just having Touch ID is a big step up.

If they can make a smaller device with smaller bezels (I don't need a bigger screen), and put in the newer Touch ID, then I will buy another one. So easy way to get sales for 2020. I would even go for a 7-inch device if they made one. I think that they didn't want to make a 7-inch device as they didn't want to be accused of copying the Nexus 7. But there are no 7-inch devices in the tablet dimensions out there. I'm sorely disappointed that Google didn't continue updating the Nexus 7.
 
pshufd said:
I leave my Mini 5 and 7+ on my desk at work on the charger. Sometimes I take the iPhone and sometimes I take the Mini. I don't have a case on it and it fits easily into my jeans pocket. There are times when I'm hoping for the modern treatment - smaller bezels + the newer touch id. But I'm coming from a Mini 2 and just having Touch ID is a big step up.

If they can make a smaller device with smaller bezels (I don't need a bigger screen), and put in the newer Touch ID, then I will buy another one. So easy way to get sales for 2020. I would even go for a 7-inch device if they made one. I think that they didn't want to make a 7-inch device as they didn't want to be accused of copying the Nexus 7. But there are no 7-inch devices in the tablet dimensions out there. I'm sorely disappointed that Google didn't continue updating the Nexus 7.
Click to expand...
The mini 5 was a big step up for me I had a mini 2 edit mini 3
My huawei mini android is pretty nice tablet

Between the two I am covered well.
 
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pshufd said:
I leave my Mini 5 and 7+ on my desk at work on the charger. Sometimes I take the iPhone and sometimes I take the Mini. I don't have a case on it and it fits easily into my jeans pocket. There are times when I'm hoping for the modern treatment - smaller bezels + the newer touch id. But I'm coming from a Mini 2 and just having Touch ID is a big step up.

If they can make a smaller device with smaller bezels (I don't need a bigger screen), and put in the newer Touch ID, then I will buy another one. So easy way to get sales for 2020. I would even go for a 7-inch device if they made one. I think that they didn't want to make a 7-inch device as they didn't want to be accused of copying the Nexus 7. But there are no 7-inch devices in the tablet dimensions out there. I'm sorely disappointed that Google didn't continue updating the Nexus 7.
Click to expand...
Regarding why Apple chose the size of the mini—I believe I read somewhere that it was the smallest they felt they could shrink the 9.7” UI while still being usable. They weren’t invested in the idea of the mini enough to create its own optimized UI (plus have developers follow suit), so we got the current 7.9” which is just a shrunk down 9.7”. I agree, I’d also like a smaller mini about the size of nexus 7 (not 16:9 though) for easier pocket-ability—also for easier one handed hold-ability—with optimized software. But with the current trend of everything getting bigger and bigger, I don’t think it will happen in the foreseeable future.
 
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thadoggfather said:
That’s is pretty good. Like a free cell radio and extra $70 off on top of it
Click to expand...

Yes. I was debating the upgrade. The Mini 4 was feeling slow, and I use the Pencil on my 12.9" iPP all the time. On the other hand, the Mini is so portable, and the 12.9" isn't. With the huge price break, what made the difference for me was the ability to edit things I was working on with the iPP. I don't think Pencil support on the Mini is anywhere near as useful as it is on the 12.9" iPad (at least for my uses), but for light use it's a fantastic supplement.
 
newellj said:
Yes. I was debating the upgrade. The Mini 4 was feeling slow, and I use the Pencil on my 12.9" iPP all the time. On the other hand, the Mini is so portable, and the 12.9" isn't. With the huge price break, what made the difference for me was the ability to edit things I was working on with the iPP. I don't think Pencil support on the Mini is anywhere near as useful as it is on the 12.9" iPad (at least for my uses), but for light use it's a fantastic supplement.
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My mini 4 has been getting quite sluggish too and I noticed some dropped frames and jankiness in some of the games I play. I'm not even a heavy gamer. Are you going to use the same pencil between both of your devices?

I have the 10.5 pro and have an apple pencil that I use with it. I was thinking of getting another but I don't think I'd use it enough to justify getting a second.
 
Shanghaichica said:
My mini 4 has been getting quite sluggish too and I noticed some dropped frames and jankiness in some of the games I play. I'm not even a heavy gamer. Are you going to use the same pencil between both of your devices?

I have the 10.5 pro and have an apple pencil that I use with it. I was thinking of getting another but I don't think I'd use it enough to justify getting a second.
Click to expand...

No, the Mini 5 uses the Gen 1 Pencil. The 2018 iPP uses a Gen 2 Pencil, which I like a lot more. But given the overall usefulness, it's OK with me, both on cost and features.
 
I've been using mine for a week now. I have a XS Max (got a great deal on black Friday), a new iPad Pro 12.9 and I'm typing this on an iMac. I use the iPad Pro for marking student assignments (marking up pdfs with the Pencil), but I really enjoy the new mini 5. For casual reading, reading news at the table or it's great. I even created a drawing in OmniGraffle on a crowded plane on the new mini. It complements the larger iPad Pro very nicely, despite the somewhat dated design. I do wish I could use the same pencil on both, but that wasn't going to happen...
 
I already had the Pencil 1 for my iPP 10.5 and Pencil 2 for my 12.9 v3, so I didn’t have to buy a new Pencil 1. I’ll probably keep it stored with the mini 5 now since I plan on taking the mini everywhere and I’ve ordered the Otterbox case from Apple for it (arriving today with my mini 5 and Smart Cover) which has a pencil holder. I will just use the same pencil with my 10.5 still.
 
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I use my mini 5 as a reading / surfing device and also as a gaming console. I moved almost all my games from the iPhone to the mini. It strains my eyes wayyy less. :D
Thanks to Handoff I can easily swap between iPhone and mini 5. /me happy :)
 
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If the next generation has Pencil 2 support, thinner (but not too thin) bezels, then I'll upgrade. They just did such a good job on the 5 that it won't take much for me to get a 6.
 
Shanghaichica said:
Decided I’m keeping my mini 5 and I sold my mini 4 today.
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On balance, I'm super-happy with mine and did the same. There's another thread with a bunch of complaints, most of which I disagree with. I do think viewing angles are not as good, but with the Mini, at least in my opinion, that's really not an issue. I'm not going to try to show movies to a group of people on a 7.9" iPad. It's a one-person device.
 
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I can’t believe this but I’ve only just discovered that you can return home from an app by just swiping up! I always thought you had to use the home button!

I’m sure I’m the last person in the world to know this!
 
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