iPad mini Why I’m keeping my IPad Mini 6

[turbineseaplane]

Most recent relevant example is the 12.9 inch iPad Pro mini LED screen (A device I also own). Everyone was going bonkers over blooming in dark environments and returning them in masses. It bothered me for about two weeks and now I don’t even notice it anymore. Reality is if you nitpick enough, every device has its flaws. You just need to learn to live with once you are OK with.

I think generally people are very spoiled by how good and flawless iPhones as devices have become. I have a 13 Pro and I’d be pretty hard-pressed to see if anyone had legitimate deficiencies they can spot any device of that caliper and fit/finish. It’s a device that you know Apple hasn’t skimped on in any fashion whatsoever due to the sheer amount they produce. iPads in general tend to be built around a certain price point – probably the reason why even the 12.9 iPad Pro doesn’t have 120 Hz OLED screen with 1600 nits of brightness. A device like that would’ve cost $2000.

I don't quite follow what any of that has to do with the comments about form factor of the new iPad Mini.

You said this:

Every time Apple releases a new form factor for an existing device, there’s always a huge swath of people that return devices for some reason or another

And I countered with the point that I've seen basically nothing but praise for the new iPad mini form factor and it doesn't really seem to be a cause for returns of the devices.

 

[aacemyan]

I was referring to a recent example having to do with screen complaints.

You were right in saying that complaints on the mini form factor have been minimal with exception of volume button location. There’s also the outliers that prefer the home button and old aspect ratio …

 

[sracer]

If I liked the new form-factor I would trade in my Mini 5 for the 6.... jelly scrollin' and all.

 

[wilberforce]

One thing that I don't see mentioned much, and one of the reasons I am keeping it: it is the smallest iPad that has a USB-C connection.
For photography/videos, I can take this iPad Mini with me plus a USB hub, and transfer photos from SD/CF/XQD cards to a high capacity drive, and view/edit photos in Lightroom and Photoshop in the field, for example.

 

[aacemyan]

To me, if you’re not the kind of person who does illustrations on an iPad (12.9 inch iPad Pro is ideal device for that), the mini makes for the most compelling use case of owning a pencil. Between the magnetic pencil that’s always attached and the smart folio, I use mine as a digital moleskin at work and it’s been wonderful for note taking and quickly marking up documents on the go.

 

[mathewr]

I’m keeping mine. It’s solely meant to complement iPad Pro and iPhone pro. Since it’s a complementing device I got 64gb with WiFi only. It has 33 gbs on it and I’m hoping I’ll be fine with 64.

 

[davideotape]

if you accept the premise of the price-point, the only real downside for me is a lack of MagSafe. i notice jelly scroll now but… I’m genuinely flummoxed at how big of a deal it is on here. I use an e-reader and the refresh on those are much worse even for a top tier. Nothings perfect. I guess it’s fun to talk about.

Perfect news/comics reader, love the pencil 2, the usb-c for audio interface, games seem fast, I dunno. Works for me.

 

[OneGrit]

I'm keeping mine because I think the screen tearing is more of a design oversight than an issue. My MacBook display does the same thing horizontally and so does my LG monitor so it's just an inherent flaw of common 60 Hz LCDs. I get that most of us seem to be using the Mini in portrait which is why it can get annoying but I personally don't notice it. Apple will most likely make a change with the next generation (or even revise this one with a different display setup) because they now know how most people use the device.

I think the phenomenon of this oversight being seen as an issue is because many have come to expect perfection from Apple. Truth is, however, that mainstream consumer electronics (including most Apple products) are built to a price point for competitive purposes and engineering them all to perfection would make their prices skyrocket to the point where they'll be unreasonable.

The real issue with the Mini 6, IMO, is the LCD rippling some are getting with light touches (mine is not affected). Since it doesn't happen on every device unlike the tearing, and because iPads are being replaced due to this, I do hope it will be fixed quickly and that all existing iPads with this issue will be repaired or replaced.

 

[dmdcash]

It's hilarious that this device is so terrible that people make threads to announce that they aren't returning the device lol

Uh, it's not terrible. It's pretty much what I had hoped for. The jelly thing is of no concern to me. I traded in the Mini 4 which was extremely slow.

 

[KPOM]

I was referring to a recent example having to do with screen complaints.

You were right in saying that complaints on the mini form factor have been minimal with exception of volume button location. There’s also the outliers that prefer the home button and old aspect ratio …

I do like how the volume buttons change between up and down based on the device orientation. Hopefully that expands to the rest of the line. It makes so much sense. I wonder if they can push that out to the 2021 Pro through software.

 

[KPOM]

I was referring to a recent example having to do with screen complaints.

You were right in saying that complaints on the mini form factor have been minimal with exception of volume button location. There’s also the outliers that prefer the home button and old aspect ratio …

Oddly enough, it now has a similar aspect ratio to some of the cheap 7” Android devices that came out when the original iPad came out. Rumor has it that Eddy Cue bought one of them to see if there would be a use case for an iPad mini. The original mini kept the same aspect ratio and resolution of the original iPad. Jony Ive’s video introduction said that the iPad mini wasn’t simply a “reduced“ size iPad but was a “concentration“ of the iPad‘s vision to a smaller form factor.

 

[KPOM]

I'm keeping mine because I think the screen tearing is more of a design oversight than an issue. My MacBook display does the same thing horizontally and so does my LG monitor so it's just an inherent flaw of common 60 Hz LCDs. I get that most of us seem to be using the Mini in portrait which is why it can get annoying but I personally don't notice it. Apple will most likely make a change with the next generation (or even revise this one with a different display setup) because they now know how most people use the device.

I think the phenomenon of this oversight being seen as an issue is because many have come to expect perfection from Apple. Truth is, however, that mainstream consumer electronics (including most Apple products) are built to a price point for competitive purposes and engineering them all to perfection would make their prices skyrocket to the point where they'll be unreasonable.

The real issue with the Mini 6, IMO, is the LCD rippling some are getting with light touches (mine is not affected). Since it doesn't happen on every device unlike the tearing, and because iPads are being replaced due to this, I do hope it will be fixed quickly and that all existing iPads with this issue will be repaired or replaced.

I‘m guessing the $100 price increase has something to do with it, as well. People expect “perfection“ from a $500 tablet. But this is the same absolute price as the original iPad released 11.5 years ago (lower after considering inflation) with an insanely faster CPU and GPU, significantly better screen, and far more capable OS.

Last year I replaced the battery and SSD on my sister’s 2011 MacBook Air (both still user-accessible back then). I was surprised how usable it still was after all these years and how little PCs and Macs have changed since then, all things considered. If I pulled out the original iPad we bought for our parents around the same time, there would be no comparison at all to the iPad mini I’m using now. That original iPad was running a processor that couldn’t hold a candle to a then 3 year old Celeron processor. This iPad mini is faster than my 2018 quad-core i7 laptop that I use every day at work. It also has a higher resolution screen than that notebook.

 

[code-m]

It's hilarious that this device is so terrible that people make threads to announce that they aren't returning the device lol

I am please that some people are unable to see it or are willing to accept a poor engineering decision. It also means that the mini has a future and these first gen for new screen size and product form will be resolved with mini 7. I for one am returning mine as I have a mini 5 that this “normal” issue is not so obvious to me.

 

[taneff]

I agree with the OP. We want the latest and greatest tech. We want stuff that can't be produced without any flaws many times. We want more and more and more. And then we wonder that there are problems. Technology is evolving so fast that there is no time for testing or solving any problems. And we live in times where people can't Enjoy what they have because of social media and news.

Twenty years ago no one would have cared about anything of this. They would just have been happy with their computer if it worked like it should and wouldn't restart all the time.

Nothing is perfect. Nothing. And it never has been. Look at the highly praised MiniLED 12.9. Look at many phones. Samsung Fold series is great but still has it flaws, more so in Gen 1 or 2. Still it is an amazing device.

Companies release stuff too fast because we want them too. Us here in this forum. Not the people out there. And this is also my perspective on the Mini 6. As with yellow tint iPhones. 99% out there don't care. They don't. Because they don't read tech news or social media tech posts. They use their phone or tablet or computer like a normal person. This is a fact. Every device, not only Apple products, have their flaws and no one cares besides us here and tech enthusiast overall.

Of course we pay big money, but so do 99% of the other users. We should just ENJOY our products and not search for every little tiny thing that could be wrong with it. My parents f.e. had the back then latest Mini 2 till a few months ago when upgrading to the 5. Only because the Mini 2 had a display defect. They could easily buy each Mini or even big iPads. They don't need to. They enjoy what they have and don't need more. So do most of my friends and colleagues. And we should too. All of us. Of course if you are getting a headache from viewing content on whatever device, you should choose another device. But besides that it is just sad.

I don't care about jelly scrolling. I love my Mini 6, more than I love my Mini 5. And this was and still is a great device. If it wouldn't be for new display ratio for me watching video content and 5G Qualcomm modem I guess I wouldn't have upgraded. But I did and zero regrets. The stereo speakers on this tiny thing are AMAZING. My new speakers, replacing my BT speaker + iPhone for audio content. Everything works perfect. Only negative thing is iPadOS15 on all Minis. They should have adjusted it more to the Mini line. Besides that: LOVE IT and can't wait for an iPad mini 7.
And maybe I am one of the rare breed but I don't want MiniLED on the Mini because of one major thing: weight and size. And maybe money too but the iPad mini is my only tablet so I am willing to spend whatever it takes to satisfy my needs. But with MiniLED it will get bigger and heavier because of that. Right? No thanks. Mini 6 is the perfect size and weight for everyday use, traveling and on the go browsing.

Sorry for the long post, but I think this thread is perfect, thx. You only read bad and negative stuff most of the time. Threads with problems and other negative stuff. So a nice change here.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Oh well curiosity has gotten the better of me. I’m in a store now just about to purchase the new iPad mini 6 in starlight. I’ve had a play with the model they have on display here and I couldn’t see the jelly scrolling even when I was trying really hard to see it. Might be that this particular unit doesn’t have it or maybe I can’t see it. I will see when I set up my unit.

I brought my mini 5 and I can see that for videos the new mini is better due to the new aspect ratio. Can’t make out the speakers as there is a lot of noise in the store.

 

[taneff]

YOU WILL LOVE THE SPEAKERS. No comparison to the Mini 5. Way louder and of much better quality. I am in love with them hahahaaaaa...

 

[Shanghaichica]

I’m setting it up now. I went with space grey in the end as my iPad Pro is space grey and so is my MacBook.

 

[mvereecken]

To me, if you’re not the kind of person who does illustrations on an iPad (12.9 inch iPad Pro is ideal device for that), the mini makes for the most compelling use case of owning a pencil. Between the magnetic pencil that’s always attached and the smart folio, I use mine as a digital moleskin at work and it’s been wonderful for note taking and quickly marking up documents on the go.

How you use it as a digital moleskin? Do you simply use Notes or is there another app you use?

 

[sracer]

How you use it as a digital moleskin? Do you simply use Notes or is there another app you use?

Some people use the Notes app, but many of us find it woefully inadequate as a digital planner/journal.

I recommend GoodNotes (this is what I use) or Notability. You can use the native capabilities of those apps or you can go snag a journal/planner .PDF file to use with it. (I have been creating and posting them for a few years here on MR for free)

Here's a link to the thread on my 2021 planner that you can try out on any iPad...

2021 Digital Planner/Notebook (GoodNotes/Notability)

Greetings all! 2021 is a few weeks away and it's the perfect time to start planning on how to be more productive and organized in the new year. If you have an iPad that supports the Apple Pencil then you have a great tool to assist you in this endeavor. Many have downloaded and are using my...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[orange23]

It's hilarious that this device is so terrible that people make threads to announce that they aren't returning the device lol

It's a testimony to defend AAPL stock price which dropped 15 points in Sept...

 

[mvereecken]

Some people use the Notes app, but many of us find it woefully inadequate as a digital planner/journal.

I recommend GoodNotes (this is what I use) or Notability. You can use the native capabilities of those apps or you can go snag a journal/planner .PDF file to use with it. (I have been creating and posting them for a few years here on MR for free)

Here's a link to the thread on my 2021 planner that you can try out on any iPad...

2021 Digital Planner/Notebook (GoodNotes/Notability)

Greetings all! 2021 is a few weeks away and it's the perfect time to start planning on how to be more productive and organized in the new year. If you have an iPad that supports the Apple Pencil then you have a great tool to assist you in this endeavor. Many have downloaded and are using my...

forums.macrumors.com

Great, thanks for the tip! I'll try out GoodNotes on my iPad Pro first. Then maybe maybe I found myself a good reason to buy an iPad mini to use on the go

 

[MrGimper]

It's hilarious that this device is so terrible that people make threads to announce that they aren't returning the device lol

You must be new here, these threads appear after every launch, alongside the “why I’m returning xxxx” threads.

Personally I’m going from a mini 4 to a 6. I used my 4 in landscape 90% of the time. I noticed jelly in landscape on my 4 only yesterday after reading about it. Zero issue for several years and zero issue now. My 6 shows it in portrait but not landscape which suits me. I view this like I view the shadow on my 2021 12.9, not a fault but a by-product of the technology in use.

 

[bookcase]

It's nice to see a thread like this. I have to take a lot of comments on MacRumors with a grain of salt -- it doesn't matter what it is, the negative comments far outweighs the positive. The hyperbole is out of control. People have a choice here: buy it or don't.

 

[MrGimper]

It's nice to see a thread like this. I have to take a lot of comments on MacRumors with a grain of salt -- it doesn't matter what it is, the negative comments far outweighs the positive. The hyperbole is out of control. People have a choice here: buy it or don't.

Even better than that.... buy it, try it for yourself, and then return it hassle-free within 14 days if not happy.

 

[DotCom2]

It's a testimony to defend AAPL stock price which dropped 15 points in Sept...

To be fair, the whole market was down in Sept. Not just Apple. Anyone in the market knows this.