I am contemplating selling my iPad Pro 11 and sticking with my iPad Mini 5 or upgrading to the 6 if it comes out in March. I have more uses for the iPad Mini than the Pro and find it to be more versatile.
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iPad mini Newbie here. Buy Mini 5 or wait for Mini 6?
- Thread starter jimmyohio
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Yeah, $399 vs almost $1000 ... I didn't use the pencil as much as I would have liked anyway. It's actually kinda nice going back to paper/pen for when I do want to brainstorm/write.
I much prefer the mini - the size is just perfect. Battery life is INSANE. I haven't charged since Monday and I'm sitting at 73%. Granted, I haven't read much as I usually do but ... this works.
I really liked my 11 Pro but I'm finding I prefer the mini more. I even use it for Apple Fitness workouts.
Have any of you tried taking full-fledged notes in something like notability or good notes? I’m buying an iPad tomorrow and am teetering between the mini 5 and Air 4/Pro 11. I’ve had them all at one time or another in the past. Which is making it a little hard to “choose my favorite child.”
I prefer the handiness of the iPad Mini. Compact, light and can be held for long sessions. Most of my use cases are perfect for this tablet—texting, emailing, reading, casual gaming and web browsing. Never took notes on it with my pencil though.
I like the “full size” iPads because I have taken notes with them extensively when I was in college and now for work. Also, they’re a bit better for movies because of the bigger screen and better speakers—not that I watch a ton of movies on it to begin with. Don’t like holding them for too long though. Decisions. Decisions. Lol
I prefer the handiness of the iPad Mini. Compact, light and can be held for long sessions. Most of my use cases are perfect for this tablet—texting, emailing, reading, casual gaming and web browsing. Never took notes on it with my pencil though.
I like the “full size” iPads because I have taken notes with them extensively when I was in college and now for work. Also, they’re a bit better for movies because of the bigger screen and better speakers—not that I watch a ton of movies on it to begin with. Don’t like holding them for too long though. Decisions. Decisions. Lol
If you’re going to write the Apple Pencil two with the air or pro is a must over the mini’s Apple Pencil one and size. IMO.
Figured, even though it pains me to agree. I really like the compactness. If the mini had the Pro design I bet it’d be pretty suitable for notes then. My guess is it’d be closer to 9”.
I have a mini 4, my gf a mini 5. The only discernible difference is the processor. Given your use case, as well as ours, that doesn’t make it’s presence felt other than the few times we use Lightroom (though more RAM is sorely needed on both). I took a pass on the 5 and am waiting for the 6. I’d learn to live with the 16gb and enjoy it while you wait. You have iCloud to help.
I have a very different view... The processor and RAM difference make a huge difference even simply for browsing and opening apps. The biggest difference is the processor which is way faster (similar difference as between iPad air 2 and iPad pro 11), but also RAM. The difference between 2 and 3GB RAM is much more important than between 3 and 4. 2GB RAM means constant reloads, 3GB definitely much less, except for some apps that make even 4GB devices reload...
I have no doubt with your use case, the added ram is a benefit. I didn’t even know the 5 had 3 GB. I don’t have reloading issues. I guess if the OP is having issues like you're describing, maybe it makes sense to buy the 5 now. He can always buy a 6 when they’re available.
The one use case that doesn’t work for me is the occasional use of Lightroom on the mini. It crashes at times. But it does not strike me as a ram problem since my primary Lightroom iPad is a 9.7” Gen 6 iPad. Like my mini 4, it also has 2 GB of ram. But it processes circa 10,000 images a year during our 4 to 6 months of travel each year just fine.
I don't have the iPad 6, but I have the 9.7 pro which is probably very similar. I would say that the main bottleneck with the mini 4 is not RAM, it's CPU power... It feels sluggish to me. The 9.7 pro feels much more responsible, but web pages and some apps reload too much. The mini 4 feel so slow that I don't even do as much on it as on more powerful iPads, so reloading is less of an issue...
Yep, feel the same regarding the Air 2. It's noticeably laggy compared to A9-based devices or higher.
Where is the proof its coming next month? Rumors about it coming soon have been going on for a year now. I haven't seen any credible sources saying its coming next month, or at all. How do we know Apple hasn't dropped the iPad Mini? Its the only iPad that never got an update a year later like all the others.
Not sure if you’re a Costco member but their return policy on tablets is 90 days. You could buy the mini 5 and keep an eye out for the March event. They sell the mini 5 right now for $385.
Also, as others have noted. I have a mini 5 as well and I really can’t see myself needing to upgrade it anytime soon. It’s really fast. I have both iPad Pro models, and they’re great. But the mini holds its own and i actually really like the now dated form factor with curved edges and Touch ID. The iPad mini 5 is a fantastic tablet.
The only iPad I've had is the iPad 3 (the one users felt really stupid when they updated 6 months later...). I haven't bought another iPad since then, and now I don't even use it (I can't even install Skype!). I've worked with a Macbook Pro since 2017 but now I feel I want an iPad again in my life.
Instead of going towards an iPad Air, I really fancy a smaller device, easier to carry with me. I have no doubt about waiting for march supposed event, I hope the iPad mini 6 is what we are expecting!
Instead of going towards an iPad Air, I really fancy a smaller device, easier to carry with me. I have no doubt about waiting for march supposed event, I hope the iPad mini 6 is what we are expecting!
You're going to have a lot of fun using a newer iPad. They have come a long way since the 3rd-gen iPad (I was an owner of that model as well
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I know! And I'm totally into Apple Arcade, but my iPhone 7 runs out of battery too soon to have an enjoyable experience ? So it would be the main use, apart from reading manga/comic, that I would give to the iPad mini.You're going to have a lot of fun using a newer iPad. They have come a long way since the 3rd-gen iPad (I was an owner of that model as well
You don’t need to be a member to buy from Costco online, but you’ll pay more. I believe they are only $359 in store
If I were you and I would need a new iPad urgently I would get the Air 4. And then wait for new mini. Maybe you don’t want it anymore because you got used to the new bigger size.
The Mini 5 is a great iPad (and IMHO noticeably quicker than the Mini 4) - I'm just not sure Apple is going to update it this year. It seems to be on the slowest of slow upgrade tracks. Wait and see in March of course, but I'm not holding out much hope.
Yep. Im about to get a 5 because Im sick of waiting and hearing nothing but lies the past year about a new one coming any month now...
I use my Mini 5 heavily daily as a digital notebook. I use GoodNotes and Notability. The Mini is the perfect size for my notetaking needs... but that could be that my paper notebooks were in the padfolio form-factor (1/2 a US Letter sized sheet) and nearly the same size as the Mini.
Cool cool. Is it your sole iPad? Out of curiosity, do you use a small or large phone being that the mini is so portable?
It probably depends upon your handwriting. I would find the mini too small to take handwritten notes on, but I have trouble writing small characters neatly.