iPad mini Returning my iPad Mini 6

[Flint456]

I just returned the IPad mini 6, I bought it with the intentions of it replacing my Ipad air 4 but quickly realized that’s not happening. I had the mini 5 before I got the Air and I loved it but I didn’t care for the old design anyway I realized that I became accustomed to the bigger screen of the Air 4 and couldn’t go back to the smaller iPad.

 

[rui no onna]

The mini has always been priced at premium over the entry level mini since the original was launched.

Not quite. The mini used to be the budget model (even went for like $249-279 MSRP at one point) but that changed in 2017.

 

[jonnyb098]

Blame your economy, not the product

Exxxxactly. We here in America pay out the nose for stuff that’s free in Canada. Always trade offs in life.

 

[rui no onna]

I think the problem here is that there are many people that have been interested by the mini 6 (hype) who have never had a mini before or might have tried one years ago. The mini is a very niche product. It’s not for everyone. 8.3 inches sounds a lot but unless you have a specific use case for it when you actually get it you’ll find it’s small.

I guess for me, the mini is something I would've appreciated better when I was a decade or so younger and had no issues reading even on 3.5" iPhone displays. No carpal tunnel back then either. It could easily have been my primary iPad back in the day but now, I just find 10-11" iPads far more comfortable.

I still have some niche use cases for the mini 6 but it certainly won't be replacing the Air 4 as my most used iPad. From experience with the mini 4, I didn't expect it to, anyway.

 

[DeepIn2U]

So, i purchased a 256Gb Space Grey Wifi iPad Mini 6, well the device is beautiful, form factor/size is perfect, im just completely underwhelmed for paying pretty much $1000CAD for this thing.. Screen is "ok"... cameras are "ok" , Battery life is "ok"..

Honestly if this thing costed $450-$550CAD as is of been happy with my purchase, but in no way is this thing worth $1000 to me.. I will just wait till a better version comes out or buy one used in a few months when people sell them for a good price.

i really really really wanted to like it and convince myself to keep it but i cant justify the price for the final product received.

seems this device isn’t for you. Mostly I read it doesn’t suit what you expected cost too much for what you want and you’d Probably (key word here) would purchase it if $500CAN retail. I doubt that as you said, probably. It just doesn’t suit your needs and wallet expense. That’s fine.

 

[Tweetybird]

Sadly I too am going to return my mini 6. I have purchase most of the ipads since 2012 and this is the first one that doesn't live up to expectations. It's lots of little things that ruin the experience for me. The screen seems worse and less sharp than my mini 5 especially for pdfs. The battery life is shorter by about 1.5 hours compared to the mini 5. Safari is so ugly, the big font in the tabs drives me crazy. I have about a dozen usb c cables and none of them work to charge the mini, they work fine with my ipad pro and my lg laptop so the mini must do something to require you to buy a genuine apple cable. Sadly wifi drops off about once or twice a day (just enough to be irritating). Touch id doesn't work with my light fingerprints so I have to type in the code every time, I have tried reprogramming it several times. I read a lot on my mini and the kindle app looks washed out and is laggy. Most of the cases for the mini 6 have lots of heavy magnets so it winds up heavier with a case (except for the apple case) than the mini 5. I miss the button to exit and kill apps and the white boarder. Lastly in portrait mode it doesn't show the % charge left at a glance, you have to rotate it into landscape in order to find it out if you need to charge it. Maybe the mini 7 will be better and have face id.

 

[Rafterman]

Sadly I too am going to return my mini 6. I have purchase most of the ipads since 2012 and this is the first one that doesn't live up to expectations. It's lots of little things that ruin the experience for me. The screen seems worse and less sharp than my mini 5 especially for pdfs. The battery life is shorter by about 1.5 hours compared to the mini 5. Safari is so ugly, the big font in the tabs drives me crazy. I have about a dozen usb c cables and none of them work to charge the mini, they work fine with my ipad pro and my lg laptop so the mini must do something to require you to buy a genuine apple cable. Sadly wifi drops off about once or twice a day (just enough to be irritating). Touch id doesn't work with my light fingerprints so I have to type in the code every time, I have tried reprogramming it several times. I read a lot on my mini and the kindle app looks washed out and is laggy. Most of the cases for the mini 6 have lots of heavy magnets so it winds up heavier with a case (except for the apple case) than the mini 5. I miss the button to exit and kill apps and the white boarder. Lastly in portrait mode it doesn't show the % charge left at a glance, you have to rotate it into landscape in order to find it out if you need to charge it. Maybe the mini 7 will be better and have face id.

Some of your complaints are software related or just not accurate. For example, in portrait, I see the battery percentage at the top right just fine. And I use a Belkin cable and it charges the Mini just fine, it doesn't need to be Apple. And TouchID has worked perfectly so far.

 

[Tweetybird]

Some of your complaints are software related or just not accurate. For example, in portrait, I see the battery percentage at the top right just fine. And I use a Belkin cable and it charges the Mini just fine, it doesn't need to be Apple. And TouchID has worked perfectly so far.

I am glad you have a usb c cable that works with the mini 6, sadly mine don't. Also if you open the mini in portrait mode to glance at the time it no longer shows the %charge. I spoke to Apple about touch id and they said it doesn't work well if you have light finger prints, which I have. I'm happy Apple is continuing to release new mini's they are my favorite ipads, maybe the mini 7 will be awesome.

 

[salbalboa]

I am planning to return the 6 also, i wasn’t sold on the bezels of the 6 it reminded me of those cheap digital picture frames.Also I prefer the screen size of the 5 over the 6.

 

[wilberforce]

Sadly I too am going to return my mini 6.

Although I think some of your issues are related to software and settings, not hardware, I agree that the Mini 6 is not really a very compelling upgrade over the Mini 5.
I only upgraded because it IS a compelling upgrade over my Mini 2, and because I want to be able to use the Apple Pencil 2.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I guess for me, the mini is something I would've appreciated better when I was a decade or so younger and had no issues reading even on 3.5" iPhone displays. No carpal tunnel back then either. It could easily have been my primary iPad back in the day but now, I just find 10-11" iPads far more comfortable.

I still have some niche use cases for the mini 6 but it certainly won't be replacing the Air 4 as my most used iPad. From experience with the mini 4, I didn't expect it to, anyway.

I’ve had every generation of the mini. Still deciding on the 6 but I still have and use my 5th gen. Apart from about 13 months with the first gen mini from 2013 -early 2014 I’ve always used the mini with a larger iPad. That won’t change. I love the mini, however I couldn’t use it exclusively. I like using it outside of the house. I hate carrying larger iPads in my bags or taking them on trains etc but at home I’ve always used my 11 pro or whatever the larger iPad i had at the time.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I am planning to return the 6 also, i wasn’t sold on the bezels of the 6 it reminded me of those cheap digital picture frames.Also I prefer the screen size of the 5 over the 6.

What’s the difference in the screen quality between the 5 and the 6? I thought the differences were aspect ratio and bezel around the screen.

 

[Doshun]

I will just wait till a better version comes out

And what do you want specifically from a future iPad Mini? 🤨

The price is okay in my opinion for Canada. In Germany we have to pay 719€, which is converted 1066CAD.

…Do not forget that everything is more expensive now, because of the inflation. Over 40% of USD in existence was printed in the last 12 month.
Put your money into the stock market or bitcoin for a year and then you probably can buy yourself the iPad from your income growth.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Sadly I too am going to return my mini 6. I have purchase most of the ipads since 2012 and this is the first one that doesn't live up to expectations. It's lots of little things that ruin the experience for me. The screen seems worse and less sharp than my mini 5 especially for pdfs. The battery life is shorter by about 1.5 hours compared to the mini 5. Safari is so ugly, the big font in the tabs drives me crazy. I have about a dozen usb c cables and none of them work to charge the mini, they work fine with my ipad pro and my lg laptop so the mini must do something to require you to buy a genuine apple cable. Sadly wifi drops off about once or twice a day (just enough to be irritating). Touch id doesn't work with my light fingerprints so I have to type in the code every time, I have tried reprogramming it several times. I read a lot on my mini and the kindle app looks washed out and is laggy. Most of the cases for the mini 6 have lots of heavy magnets so it winds up heavier with a case (except for the apple case) than the mini 5. I miss the button to exit and kill apps and the white boarder. Lastly in portrait mode it doesn't show the % charge left at a glance, you have to rotate it into landscape in order to find it out if you need to charge it. Maybe the mini 7 will be better and have face id.

I think I would struggle with Touch ID being in the power button. It’s a very specific place and I would imagine it would be awkward getting your finger on the power button in the exact position to get it to read. Also the surface area is a lot smaller compared to the older Touch ID sensor on the older minis. The Touch ID on my mini 5 is pretty simple. It’s either at the top or the bottom and it’s big enough for my eyes to see at all times. I would forever be wondering where the power button was on the mini 6 depending on how I was holding it. However perhaps it’s a case of training my brain.I would definitely preferred Face ID.

 

[thadoggfather]

Screen worse than Mini5?

 

[ksj1]

Did you run the software upgrade after you got it? I noticed the screen was a bit fuzzy when I first turned it on, but after the upgrade it seemed fine.

 

[Deliro]

I’m just not having the same experience that some of you are having. With the hardware that is. ipados 15 is a buggy mess. With that said there is nothing that Mini 5 is better at.

The larger screen is welcomed. Also the bezels are just right for me on the 6. A complete edge to edge would likely make the device awkward to use. it’s blazing fast. It’s basically a smaller more powerful air. My battery was a bit bad on the first couple of charging cycles, as I chalk that up to downloading and installing. Since I got that squared away it’s on pace for over 9 hours of mixed usage currently.

Edit - And when I stated that complete edge to edge would be awkward think of how you hold the mini. You don’t palm it the whole time as you would a phone. I hold mine with the my left hand with my thumb resting on the bezel for stability. Look how you hold it. If it were any less bezel my thumb would be unintentionally tapping the screen. Heard a lot of folks saying the bezel is too thick.

 

[rui no onna]

I’ve had every generation of the mini. Still deciding on the 6 but I still have and use my 5th gen. Apart from about 13 months with the first gen mini from 2013 -early 2014 I’ve always used the mini with a larger iPad. That won’t change. I love the mini, however I couldn’t use it exclusively. I like using it outside of the house. I hate carrying larger iPads in my bags or taking them on trains etc but at home I’ve always used my 11 pro or whatever the larger iPad i had at the time.

Every gen? Even the mini 3?

I remember being disappointed that the mini 3 sported the same A7/1GB as the mini 2 so I skipped it. Meanwhile, the mini 4 felt too little, too late.

I did eventually pick up a mini 4 on sale to satisfy the itch that it could replace my big iPad. Alas it felt like an awkward in-betweener to the Kindle and Pro 9.7. Not as light and comfy as the Kindle, screen real estate too cramped to replace the iPad Pro 9.7.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Every gen? Even the mini 3?

I remember being disappointed that the mini 3 sported the same A7/1GB as the mini 2 so I skipped it. Meanwhile, the mini 4 felt too little, too late.

I did eventually pick up a mini 4 on sale to satisfy the itch that it could replace my big iPad. Alas it felt like an awkward in-betweener to the Kindle and Pro 9.7. Not as light and comfy as the Kindle, screen real estate too cramped to replace the iPad Pro 9.7.

Yep even the mini 3. I got it because I wanted 128GB of storage and the new gold colour. My mini 2 only had 32GB. I agree performance wise it was exactly the same as the mini 2.

I wasn’t a big fan of the 9.7 inch iPads. I always felt I wanted more real estate but they were still too big and cumbersome to take outside. I had the OG air and the air 2 and still found both too big for travel. I’ve been happy with the 10.5 inch pro and now my 11 inch pro for indoor usage. For me 11 is the sweet spot. I had the older 11 inch MacBook Air. It was my favourite computer. Now I have the redesigned 13 inch air. Of course I like the new design, Touch ID and the lovely space grey colour. However it is a bit bigger than I would like. If Apple still made the MacBook I would get that.

I’ve always loved that 10-11 inch form factor. I used to have those ghastly windows netbooks before I switched to the mac. Loved the size but the software and the hardware was terrible.

Before I got the 11 inch MacBook Air I had series 3 Samsung chromebook. It was 11 inches. I used that more than my 15 inch Dell laptop. In the end I was exclusively using the chromebook for it’s size and better software performance.

 

[Deliro]

Did you run the software upgrade after you got it? I noticed the screen was a bit fuzzy when I first turned it on, but after the upgrade it seemed fine.

I think some people are unaware that a small update exists for day 1 minis. First thing I did before setting up my apps was install it. So maybe I didn’t notice that fuzzy performance some are mentioning because I didn’t really use the device until after the update. Screen looks good to me.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I’m just not having the same experience that some of you are having. With the hardware that is. ipados 15 is a buggy mess. With that said there is nothing that Mini 5 is better at.

The larger screen is welcomed. Also the bezels are just right for me on the 6. A complete edge to edge would likely make the device awkward to use. it’s blazing fast. It’s basically a smaller more powerful air. My battery was a bit bad on the first couple of charging cycles, as I chalk that up to downloading and installing. Since I got that squared away it’s on pace for over 9 hours of mixed usage currently.

Edit - And when I stated that complete edge to edge would be awkward think of how you hold the mini. You don’t palm it the whole time as you would a phone. I hold mine with the my left hand with my thumb resting on the bezel for stability. Look how you hold it. If it were any less bezel my thumb would be unintentionally tapping the screen. Heard a lot of folks saying the bezel is too thick.

The A15 chip is better than the A12 chip in my mini 5 without a doubt. However for my use case (web browsing, videos, social media, light gaming, colouring, reading news) I doubt I would notice the difference. The A12 in my mini 5 is still very capable. I haven’t seen the mini 6 in person yet though. I need to go and see it next week and then see how I feel about the form factor changes and new colours etc.

 

[Expos of 1969]

So, i purchased a 256Gb Space Grey Wifi iPad Mini 6, well the device is beautiful, form factor/size is perfect, im just completely underwhelmed for paying pretty much $1000CAD for this thing.. Screen is "ok"... cameras are "ok" , Battery life is "ok"..

The configuration you purchased is the equivalent of CAD 1097 here in Finland. Of course, our VAT tax is 24% and included in that price. Considering the Ontario tax rate is considerably less, your pre tax prices are outrageous. And I thought they were bad over here.....well, they are but not as bad as in Canada it seems.

 

[Deliro]

The A15 chip is better than the A12 chip in my mini 5 without a doubt. However for my use case (web browsing, videos, social media, light gaming, colouring, reading news) I doubt I would notice the difference. The A12 in my mini 5 is still very capable. I haven’t seen the mini 6 in person yet though. I need to go and see it next week and then see how I feel about the form factor changes and new colours etc.

Oh you’re absolutely correct. My daughters mini 5 handles everything thrown at it. And for your use cases it will be fine for a couple years to come. It’s a great device and no slouch.

 

[Aneres11]

I think the problem here is that there are many people that have been interested by the mini 6 (hype) who have never had a mini before or might have tried one years ago. The mini is a very niche product. It’s not for everyone. 8.3 inches sounds a lot but unless you have a specific use case for it when you actually get it you’ll find it’s small.

See that's not the problem for me. When I unboxed it (before I turned it on) I was pretty blown away and so excited as it felt like the absolute PERFECT size for me.

And it is. And the build quality and weight is top notch. But the screen is simply not good enough (for me). I had an iPad air 4 which I sold earlier in the year due to getting an iMac but miss the iPad so much for sofa browsing and Kindle reading etc and knee the Mini would be even better for that type of stuff.
But for some reason, the Mini screen seems poor. And it's so off putting.
I'm trying to get used to it as I am contemplating keeping it as I love everything else about it. But I am disappointed with the display.

 

[aok75]

Got it. You bought something you didn’t need and thus can’t justify the price. I did the same with an iPad Pro.