I am staying on 14 until something compelling arrives, for me 15 is a downgrade in both the homepage and safari... (I have only updated my test device, a 10.5 pro) plus the RAM/CPU bloating that is increasing with every upgrade (my mini 4 has become unusable, while it was still decent on IOS 12, now on 14 it's almost as slow as my mini 2, which is still on 10). The only thing compelling is universal control, but I guess I'll do without....
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iPad mini Mini 6 - Better than 5
- Thread starter drcrane
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Agreed - One of our Mini5's went to iOS 15 and after a couple days we got it back on 14.8 while we could (just in case).
Yeah that is a good explanation. But I haven't seen you writing in almost every Mini 6 some short messages that somehow bashes the statement of others who love their Mini 6.
To be honest if it wasn't for 5G Qualcomm Chip and the wider display with less bezels for video watching, and yes in reality it seems like a major display change, even the smaller bezels more than on photos, Mini 5 would be perfectly fine.
I understand everyone not upgrading. Mini 5 is an amazing device and very fast. Even though the Mini 6 is really much faster, you feel it the moment you compare it. So much faster but nothing most users incl. really need. Even the old Intel LTE modem is still very reliable. And I have the money to upgrade and I wouldn't have upgraded if I would have not that much money, which maybe a factor for some here but of course not for everyone. Some people just don't see the reason to upgrade.
But why bash it? Why write stupid comments in many threads. If someone doesn't like it ok, they can post why ok. But commenting everyone in a bad way because they love their Mini 6 seems a little strange.
Personally I am happy about this upgrade, because it shows that, as I thought, the iPad mini is here to stay and will continue to be upgraded (contrary to the iPhone mini unfortunately...), and while I am disappointed RAM was only 4GB and about iPadOS 15 (but that's not specific to the mini, although with most other iPads you can skip 15, but not wit the mini and the iPad 9), I am very happy about USB C... I will not be buying another lightning device. And while I am tempted to enter the ecosystem now that I have a M1 Mac, in addition to my iPads and several airpods, I will not buy a lightning (or worse wireless only) iPhone and will stay on Android if Apple never brings USB C to iPhone. So overall glad to see this upgrade, just not enough for an upgrade from the mini 5, especially since I watch videos on my larger iPads, not on the mini, so the screen ratio would't make much difference
The big jump is being able to use multitasking properly. The width boost in landscape means you can actually use side by side apps. The keyboard allows for two handed typing on a desk. And the Apple Pencil 2 being stuck to the side means you can just carry the device alone and not have to carry the pencil in a bag. Also USB-C charging.
Just thought I’d chime-in with my own thoughts and use-case - received my Mini6 today, 256gb cellular.
I’ve been through loads of ipads since 3rd gen, several 9.7 then went to pro 9.7 then pro 10.5 then pro 11, and now running 4th gen 12.9 pro. None have been cellular, I just hot-spot to my phone as always have it with me whenever I’d be using the iPad.
I have used my own personal iPad for meeting notes etc in my job for about the last 9 years now, various apps, but can say I’ve only made meeting notes on a PC or pen and paper fewer than half-a-dozen times in all that time!
I’m still WFH and although about to start returning to the office, it will be just 1-2 days a week max, permanently.
The thing I was most excited about in iOS 15 when shown at WWDC (although I wasn’t in a beta program so waited for the public launch last week) was QuickNotes, and tags….with “scribble” already launched previously, these two features/functions are going to be SO good for my use-case on iPad (which has never really taken much pursuading anyhow!), and I figured that as much as I love the 12.9, it’s mainly a desk-based, “sit-down” use. The fact that mini 6 works with the 2nd gen pencil is another bonus for me.
So, the size - I’ve only ever had one iPad mini - a 3rd gen 16gb WF model ONLY used for the larger display (up from my iPhone) for my DJI drone. Bought a used mini solely for that purpose.
I watched a good number of reviews on YT of the new mini, and began to realise it would be the absolute perfect accompanying device to the 12.9 - use the mini when I’m mobile/on the go. More so with QuickNotes and tags And everything seamlessly sync’d over iCloud. The fact that this new mini doesn’t have promotion, 120hz display really doesn’t bother me - I’m not a gamer and I won’t be watching movies on this device.
And having recently moved my own, my wife’s and soon my stepson’s phone contract to Sky mobile here in the UK, great deal on our mobile devices, and being able to roll-up unused data (WFH we have TONS Rolled-up!!), so it made sense to try a cellular iPad for once - a mere £3 / month extra for the device and £0 / month data (£0 = 100mb sim) as I expect I’ll use very little anyway per month - under 1gb - so can easily move that out of the data pool we’ve built up As & when needed.
Opened it today and got a paper-feel type cover onto it as soon as I’d removed the Apple wrapping, same as my 12.9, for the pencil “feel”. Cheap folio case on it’s way today too, until I decide if it’s a folio style I want, and might then pay more for better quality/bright colour.
I recently picked-up a brand spanking new 12.9 Magic Keyboard for [way] less than half-price, and whilst I really like it (would not have purchased one at full price), overall the combination did feel a bit big when out at a couple of supplier-meetings recently. Last time I did that, I had my iPP 11“ and have only had the 12.9 this year, whilst WFH.
Still pleased I bought the magic keyboard as I’m going to start to learn editing (LumaFusion) over the winter, but this new mini will be absolutely perfect for being mobile and capturing meeting notes and the like!!
Will start to put this new mini through it’s paces a bit over the coming days, but I’m so pleased to have gone for it. I web-browse at night in bed to relax, and the 12.9 in a folio style tri-fold case has been fine for that, but I expect the smaller device will be perfect also.
I’ve been through loads of ipads since 3rd gen, several 9.7 then went to pro 9.7 then pro 10.5 then pro 11, and now running 4th gen 12.9 pro. None have been cellular, I just hot-spot to my phone as always have it with me whenever I’d be using the iPad.
I have used my own personal iPad for meeting notes etc in my job for about the last 9 years now, various apps, but can say I’ve only made meeting notes on a PC or pen and paper fewer than half-a-dozen times in all that time!
I’m still WFH and although about to start returning to the office, it will be just 1-2 days a week max, permanently.
The thing I was most excited about in iOS 15 when shown at WWDC (although I wasn’t in a beta program so waited for the public launch last week) was QuickNotes, and tags….with “scribble” already launched previously, these two features/functions are going to be SO good for my use-case on iPad (which has never really taken much pursuading anyhow!), and I figured that as much as I love the 12.9, it’s mainly a desk-based, “sit-down” use. The fact that mini 6 works with the 2nd gen pencil is another bonus for me.
So, the size - I’ve only ever had one iPad mini - a 3rd gen 16gb WF model ONLY used for the larger display (up from my iPhone) for my DJI drone. Bought a used mini solely for that purpose.
I watched a good number of reviews on YT of the new mini, and began to realise it would be the absolute perfect accompanying device to the 12.9 - use the mini when I’m mobile/on the go. More so with QuickNotes and tags And everything seamlessly sync’d over iCloud. The fact that this new mini doesn’t have promotion, 120hz display really doesn’t bother me - I’m not a gamer and I won’t be watching movies on this device.
And having recently moved my own, my wife’s and soon my stepson’s phone contract to Sky mobile here in the UK, great deal on our mobile devices, and being able to roll-up unused data (WFH we have TONS Rolled-up!!), so it made sense to try a cellular iPad for once - a mere £3 / month extra for the device and £0 / month data (£0 = 100mb sim) as I expect I’ll use very little anyway per month - under 1gb - so can easily move that out of the data pool we’ve built up As & when needed.
Opened it today and got a paper-feel type cover onto it as soon as I’d removed the Apple wrapping, same as my 12.9, for the pencil “feel”. Cheap folio case on it’s way today too, until I decide if it’s a folio style I want, and might then pay more for better quality/bright colour.
I recently picked-up a brand spanking new 12.9 Magic Keyboard for [way] less than half-price, and whilst I really like it (would not have purchased one at full price), overall the combination did feel a bit big when out at a couple of supplier-meetings recently. Last time I did that, I had my iPP 11“ and have only had the 12.9 this year, whilst WFH.
Still pleased I bought the magic keyboard as I’m going to start to learn editing (LumaFusion) over the winter, but this new mini will be absolutely perfect for being mobile and capturing meeting notes and the like!!
Will start to put this new mini through it’s paces a bit over the coming days, but I’m so pleased to have gone for it. I web-browse at night in bed to relax, and the 12.9 in a folio style tri-fold case has been fine for that, but I expect the smaller device will be perfect also.
Upgraded from the Mini 5 also.
At first, I didn't like the slightly narrower screen but I'm used to it now. The display seems better than the Mini 5, 'Jelly Scrolling' issue aside.
I can't say I've noticed any real performance boost compared to the Mini 5, but I do love having stereo speakers and USB-C charging.
Build quality feels a lot more premium compared to the Mini 5.
I'm glad I upgraded, I got a good trade in deal on my Mini 5 - but if you're on the fence and can live without stereo speakers and USB-C, the Mini 5 is still a fantastic device.
At first, I didn't like the slightly narrower screen but I'm used to it now. The display seems better than the Mini 5, 'Jelly Scrolling' issue aside.
I can't say I've noticed any real performance boost compared to the Mini 5, but I do love having stereo speakers and USB-C charging.
Build quality feels a lot more premium compared to the Mini 5.
I'm glad I upgraded, I got a good trade in deal on my Mini 5 - but if you're on the fence and can live without stereo speakers and USB-C, the Mini 5 is still a fantastic device.
iPads have gotten so fast that unless you are gaming you won’t notice much difference, but the SOC should handle 3 more upgrades of iPadOS than the mini 5. I like the shorter height of the mini 6 vs the mini 5. It does feel more like a small book with the new Smart Folio.
I use the Smart Folio and recommend it. My mini 5 sold so quickly I didn’t get a chance to compare it side by side, but the taller screen in portrait is very noticeable, as is the shorter height of the device itself. Because of the new aspect ratio and USB-C it actually works with external 4K monitors better than the iPad Pro, though it won’t drive the XDR.
Perhaps. But that made the 6 such an easy purchase for me. I wasn’t expecting to get 40% more than the already reasonable trade-in value for a 2.5 year old iPad. Also, i got more for my iPhone 12 mini than I expected. Perhaps the scarcity effect is at work.There's a lesson there...
(Mini 5's are going for incredible - incredible - values)
I’ve had the mini 2 (16gig) since 2014. the 6 (256) arrives in a week. Couldn’t update the OS years ago. this will be awesome.
Can care less about the micromanaging elitists and youTube “reviewers” with their jelly sandwich complaint. Back when any of us got an Atari or NES, did we make multiple vhs copies of an unboxing, then go around the neighborhood putting the video tapes in mailboxes? Look at me !!!
Can care less about the micromanaging elitists and youTube “reviewers” with their jelly sandwich complaint. Back when any of us got an Atari or NES, did we make multiple vhs copies of an unboxing, then go around the neighborhood putting the video tapes in mailboxes? Look at me !!!
This. I've had the mini 4 since 2015. I've had it on 10.3.3, and while it can take iOS 15, I am not going to update it at all. In fact, if I could get up to 10.3.6, that would have been great, but that's okay. The reason I am not updating is because I still have some classic games that I play that have not been ported to being totally 64bit (iOS 11 is 64bit only).
I still am totally enjoying playing Midway Arcade, which has the classic Midway/Williams early 1980s arcade games, like Joust, Robotron 2084, Spy Hunter, Root Beer Tapper, Gauntlet, Gauntlet 2, 10-yard fight, Arch Rivals, Rampage, and more. I also have on it the classic version of Paperboy, Crazy Taxi, and the Street Fighter II Collection (Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting Edition). None of those have been ported to iOS 11 and have been abandoned. As such, my Mini 4 won't see anything past iOS 10.3.3.
When I get the mini 6, I'll be plenty fine with it being on anything new like iOS 15, and I'll move everything that doesn't require iOS 10 over to it, but for now, my Mini 4 is serving its purpose completely, and completely free of any cosmetic change everyone may be up in arms about between the mini 5 and 6.
BL.
Oh yeah, THIS I forgot. The biggest upgrade are the stereo speakers. For such a small tablet: WOWWWWWWWWWWW!
Really, no iPhone comes close and this is a huge, huge, huge improvement over the Mini 5, maybe besides the new display the biggest. Quality is so good that I now use my iPad only for the first time for listening to music, podcasts etc. where before I used my iPhone with BT speaker connected. Really, the quality of the new stereo speakers are really amazing for such a small device. No comparison, period.
It feels like my iPad mini 6 (or maybe it’s iPadOS 15) is managing the 4 GB of RAM a little better than my iPad mini 5. I now have to load 5 or 6 apps now before YouTube will need to reload so that I have to go to my YouTube history to find the video that I was previously watching.
I do feel that any of the “pro“ iPhones should have 8 GB of RAM, as should the top level storage options for iPads. Maybe a 64 GB or 128 GB iPad doesn’t need more than 4 to 6 GB of RAM, but if we’re going to spend the money for 256 GB OR more THEN they should come with more ram as well. It’s not like the cost to go from 4 GB of RAM to 8 GB of RAM is going to break the bank. I would certainly pay an extra $50-$100 to have that extra RAM.
Mini 5 has 3GB RAM so yes, the mini 6 should do better, but not hugely so... I never split screen on any of my iPads but every time I try and use 4-5 apps at the same time and move between them, I have reloads on 4GB devices, especially if I have several tabs open in safari (which is one of the apps in general). Just to make an example, safari with a couple of tabs, gmail, notes, word, dropbox, onedrive, jump desktop, books, pdf expert... starts reloading left and right.... sometimes even on the 6GB iPad... so no more 4GB devices for me...
Not putting in more ram is another reason the Mini 6 was not as good of an upgrade as it should’ve been.
Going from 3 to 4 just isn’t enough if going for ownership over any longer time period
This. I've had the mini 4 since 2015. I've had it on 10.3.3, and while it can take iOS 15, I am not going to update it at all. In fact, if I could get up to 10.3.6, that would have been great, but that's okay. The reason I am not updating is because I still have some classic games that I play that have not been ported to being totally 64bit (iOS 11 is 64bit only).
I still am totally enjoying playing Midway Arcade, which has the classic Midway/Williams early 1980s arcade games, like Joust, Robotron 2084, Spy Hunter, Root Beer Tapper, Gauntlet, Gauntlet 2, 10-yard fight, Arch Rivals, Rampage, and more. I also have on it the classic version of Paperboy, Crazy Taxi, and the Street Fighter II Collection (Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting Edition). None of those have been ported to iOS 11 and have been abandoned. As such, my Mini 4 will never be updated past iOS 10.3.3.
When I get the mini 6, I'll be plenty fine with it being on anything new like iOS 15, and I'll move everything that doesn't require iOS 10 over to it, but for now, my Mini 4 is serving its purpose completely, and completely free of any cosmetic or spec change everyone may be up in arms about between the mini 5 and 6.
BL.
I have my mini 2 on IOS 10 and also use it for 32bits apps and games (I have Street Figheter II and 4 too, I have this game on every platform, reminds me of when I was a kid in the early '90s and was playing it at the arcade with coins.... 😅)
1. Bigger screen in a smaller device and stereo speakers are noticeable across the board. Much better than the side sound and mega bezels of the 5.
2. The biggest difference for me personally is the faster processor which I desperately needed. I play a lot of Civ VI and the load times on the 5 were a drag. The 6 is comparable to my PC, although the PC of course has better graphics and a larger map.
3. USB-C is a downside for me, since literally all my other devices are Lightning. But I understand some people like USB-C.
4. I used the Gen 1 pencil on 5 and didn’t like it. The Gen 2 pencil sounds nice, but is probably pointless for me.
Speakers are a nice upgrade, I agree.
Bezels are uniform now.
...But what they took from the ends the basically added to the sides (much thicker side bezels on 6 vs 5)
Same - we are a fully lightning household save for one MBA M1. It will be a long while I think before going "all USB-C" will be a reality and thus big benefit, in this household at least.
CPU upgrade sounds like a big net win for you!
nice!