iPad Air Trade of Mini 6 for Air 4

[prwnr]

Is iPad Air 4 still worth it in 2022?

I have an option to trade my mini for air with a friend, both having the same storage and no LTE, batteries with almost same capacity, so the trade would be with no additional cost (an iPad for an iPad). The Air is one year old to add.

I’m considering the trade, because I am using my mini mostly for taking notes and after 6 months of that, I simply see a need for a bigger screen. I love my mini but for the sole purpose of notes it’s screen is a bit too small.

and with the trade here I would have no additional spendings, whereas going for an M1 Air I would have to sell my mini first to someone else and add some money to get the new M1.

but Im a bit afraid of the A14 chip and the much smaller RAM, however in the end the main usage is GoodNotes app, some e-books and some web browsing.

 

[*~Kim~*]

Air 4 has exactly the same RAM as the Mini 6. There isn’t much between the A14 and the A15, especially as the version in the Mini is throttled compared to the iPhones. It would be a fair enough trade, after the Mini came out Apple were still selling the Air 4 for £100 more than the Mini 6 (can’t imagine they sold many at that time though.)

Air 4 shows as faster on single core, Mini 6 on the others: https://browser.geekbench.com/ios-benchmarks

The Air 4 is essentially a better version of the new 10th Gen iPad (A14, 4GB, but Air 4 has the laminated display, pencil 2 and faster USB-C.) So from that perspective there should be plenty of life left in it (though perhaps 1 less OS update in the end.)

I also have the Mini 6 and would go for a bigger screen if the deal was good enough, but I wouldn’t swap it for the Air 4. Had the Air 5 been out at the time though, at its initial price, I’d have bought that instead. I use the flash (which the Air doesn’t have) and prefer the Mini volume button placement and colour to the Air 4’s. If you use pencil a lot then I’d probably trade, otherwise wait for the Air 6. That’s likely to be a massive leap from the Mini, at a point in time when you might be considering an upgrade anyway and could continue to use the Mini for the tasks that you prefer that form factor for.

 

[prwnr]

Air 4 has exactly the same RAM as the Mini 6. There isn’t much between the A14 and the A15, especially as the version in the Mini is throttled compared to the iPhones. It would be a fair enough trade, after the Mini came out Apple were still selling the Air 4 for £100 more than the Mini 6 (can’t imagine they sold many at that time though.)

Air 4 shows as faster on single core, Mini 6 on the others: https://browser.geekbench.com/ios-benchmarks

The Air 4 is essentially a better version of the new 10th Gen iPad (A14, 4GB, but Air 4 has the laminated display, pencil 2 and faster USB-C.) So from that perspective there should be plenty of life left in it (though perhaps 1 less OS update in the end.)

I also have the Mini 6 and would go for a bigger screen if the deal was good enough, but I wouldn’t swap it for the Air 4. Had the Air 5 been out at the time though, at its initial price, I’d have bought that instead. I use the flash (which the Air doesn’t have) and prefer the Mini volume button placement and colour to the Air 4’s. If you use pencil a lot then I’d probably trade, otherwise wait for the Air 6. That’s likely to be a massive leap from the Mini, at a point in time when you might be considering an upgrade anyway and could continue to use the Mini for the tasks that you prefer that form factor for.

good point and very helpful answer.
but, the Air 5 price in my country went up by approx $150, that’s why the deal for Air 4 with no additional cost is very tempting.

and yes, I’m using it a lot with pencil, on a daily basis at my work, so I will most likely make the trade and maybe if the Air 6 comes out with a massive leap over the 4 I will then upgrade.

thanks for your answer