iPad mini So is the iPad Mini worth it?

cardfan said:

I've read enough posts from people who can't seem to tell a difference between retina and nonretina. It really seems weird that people can't tell the difference easily.....

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I think it's definitely more a valid debate for the mini, which has 163ppi, a good measure greater ppi than any other non-retina apple product.

For the 21 inch iMac, which has a mere 103ppi, I wouldn't disagree it's noticeable. But at the mini's resolution, very much less so.

It also depends on how close I have the mini to my face. If you hold it 6 inches away, sure you'll see the pixels a bit. At a more comfortable 12 inches or so, less so. It's all relative, I suppose.

I have an iPhone 5 and an iPad Mini, and I can see the lack of detail in the resolution of the Mini. I also notice the frequent reloads needed when switching browser tabs due to limited RAM. However, neither of those is enough to stop this being the best piece of electronics I've ever used. My MacBook and iPhone both feel neglected by comparison.

izzle22 said:

Retina is not that big of a deal and not that much different even though there are so many people on this forum who think it's amazingly incredible (eyes rolling). You will most likely be very happy with the Mini. Most of the people who disagree are the people who have spent a lot of money on an iPad 4 and want to justify the cost.

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This isn't the most idiotic post I've seen on the forums, but definitely in the top 5.

I bought a mini and had it for 10 days. I couldn't get past the non retina from having been on an iPad 3 for about a year. I loved the size and weight, but the screen was terrible. So far from justifying cost, I went out and paid extra to exchange for an iPad 4.

If you can't see the difference it's because you're either not reading PDFs, not web browsing, or you just plain need glasses.

izzle22 said:

Yes it's worth it. I have an iPhone 5, iPad 4 and a iPad Mini. I use the Mini the most due to it's portability and weight. It's much easier to read on than the tiny iPhone 5 screen. Retina is not that big of a deal and not that much different even though there are so many people on this forum who think it's amazingly incredible (eyes rolling). You will most likely be very happy with the Mini. Most of the people who disagree are the people who have spent a lot of money on an iPad 4 and want to justify the cost.

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Whether it's worth it or not is entirely subjective. But I strongly disagree that the source of most criticism of the non-retina display comes from those who are just trying to justify the cost of a retina device. It's far more likely that different people use their devices differently (a retina display might be a much bigger issue to one who primarily uses their device to read text, for example, than one who uses it to watch movies), or that some people are simply more attuned to this issue than others.

I own an iPhone 5 and an iPad 2. I find that I usually choose the phone over the iPad for reading because the retina display is so much sharper than the iPad 2's non-retina display. Given that the phone obviously has a much smaller screen, that seems telling. I'm planning to buy the Mini once it gets a retina display and not a day before. If the current model works for you, great.

I hate to reiterate what other people have already stated (but I will, just to add my vote ).

I have an iPhone 5, an iPad 3rd gen (retina), and an iPad mini. Other than using the iPhone for calls, texts and listening to music, I use the mini for virtually everything else.

Sure, when I compare very small text on the iPad 3 vs. the mini, I can see the difference. However, I read a lot (121 books on my iBooks shelf, and only one I haven't read yet) and I find absolutely no issues with reading on the mini.

I guess some people have visual acuity that makes the difference jump out at them, or others just complain to be complainers, but from my perspective the iPad mini is definitely worth it.

Will I buy an iPad mini w/retina when it is available? Of course, I'm a gadget freak. But in the meantime, the mini is perfect.

i had an iPad 3. then ditched it for the iPad Mini. it was a great device - very lightweight, easy to hold, amazing battery life...the list goes on and on.

the problem i faced was that my iPad 3 replaced my personal laptop on business trips (i have a business laptop but i used to bring in 2 laptops since my IT department locks down our laptops). i noticed that my iPad Mini certainly could not replace my laptop as it's too small. my iPad 3 was jailbroken and i had a BT keyboard and BT mouse which would allow me to use it like a regular laptop but without all of the regular OS headaches and the extra weight.

i couldn't justify owning both an iPad 3 and an iPad Mini so i returned the iPad Mini. if i didn't need my iPad to be a laptop replacement, then i would still own the iPad Mini

as far as text being pixelated - yeah it can be pretty bad on a regular website until you zoom in. in all fairness though i accepted it when i had an iPad 2. it's just hard to deviate from the Retina screen of the iPad 3. what's great about the magazine apps and many news apps, is that the app does a stellar job of re-sizing text so it's easily legible without zooming in on the iPad Mini. the problem really sits with website browsing and reading native PDF documents


i would go to an Apple Store and try out both the iPad 4 and the iPad Mini. do the following to test them out

1) open emails and read them
2) browse websites with lots of text - like CNN.com, etc
3) open some news article apps or magazine apps - again like CNN, NPR, etc
4) beforehand, email yourself some PDF's and read them on the iPad Mini through the Mail App
5) ask an Apple Store employee if there are other ways to test out the "readability" of the iPad Mini screen. the girl i asked brought up some magazin in the Newsstand App and showed me how easily you can read magazines on the iPad Mini and the text is very legible (which it is, since the published re-sized the text)



all in all, it's personal preference and how you intend to use the iPad. some days i wish i had the Mini due to portability and physical size. i remember how easy it was to read an article in The Economist. with my iPad 3, it's a bit of a burden but can be done over a long period of time by resting it on something.

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CalWizrd said:

I hate to reiterate what other people have already stated (but I will, just to add my vote ).

I have an iPhone 5, an iPad 3rd gen (retina), and an iPad mini. Other than using the iPhone for calls, texts and listening to music, I use the mini for virtually everything else.

Sure, when I compare very small text on the iPad 3 vs. the mini, I can see the difference. However, I read a lot (121 books on my iBooks shelf, and only one I haven't read yet) and I find absolutely no issues with reading on the mini.

I guess some people have visual acuity that makes the difference jump out at them, or others just complain to be complainers, but from my perspective the iPad mini is definitely worth it.

Will I buy an iPad mini w/retina when it is available? Of course, I'm a gadget freak. But in the meantime, the mini is perfect.

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yeah i share similar views. reading on the iPad Mini in iBooks, in Apps, Newsstand etc is perfectly fine. the real issue i encountered though is on websites. but i had that issue on the iPad 2 and i didn't mind - i just zoomed in. it's hard to go back to that once you know something better exists though (Retina). i went back to my iPad 3 though b/c i needed a true laptop replacement on a business trips (used to travel with business + personal laptop and i got tired of that). i jailbroke my iPad 3 so i use a BT mouse and keyboard

cardfan said:

You don't own an iphone..

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I do! I love my iPhone 5 and my mini. Whenever someone disses on another product and claim they own it, it just sounds suspicious.

Dayv said:

I have an iPhone 5 and an iPad Mini, and I can see the lack of detail in the resolution of the Mini. I also notice the frequent reloads needed when switching browser tabs due to limited RAM. However, neither of those is enough to stop this being the best piece of electronics I've ever used. My MacBook and iPhone both feel neglected by comparison.

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Totally agree, so happy with it and it is in heavy use.
Lack of Retina, Performance & RAM is noticable, but saying that, I am not sure if I would upgrade to a next version - eventually depends on the resale value.

different pdf readers?

Several people point to pdf's as revealing the difference between mini and full-size retina display. Some time ago there was a big difference between different pdf display engines -- GoodReader was dramatically better than others. Is that still true? Can you see a difference on pdf's with some software - Safari? - and not with others - GoodReader?

observer said:

Several people point to pdf's as revealing the difference between mini and full-size retina display. Some time ago there was a big difference between different pdf display engines -- GoodReader was dramatically better than others. Is that still true? Can you see a difference on pdf's with some software - Safari? - and not with others - GoodReader?

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Most of them are pretty much the same nowadays; I've tried about 20 different PDF apps. The best quality apps for reading PDF's is probably GoodNotes and iAnnotate. On the Retina screen, they look incredible. On the mini, not so much. Unless you zoom in.

Han Solo 1 said:

This isn't the most idiotic post I've seen on the forums, but definitely in the top 5.

I bought a mini and had it for 10 days. I couldn't get past the non retina from having been on an iPad 3 for about a year. I loved the size and weight, but the screen was terrible. So far from justifying cost, I went out and paid extra to exchange for an iPad 4.

If you can't see the difference it's because you're either not reading PDFs, not web browsing, or you just plain need glasses.

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And not playing games or watching lots of video.

I have been back and forth with the mini and larger iPads. It has depended on the priority of my use for the specific device. I miss the size and weight of the mini when I have a larger iPad but miss other things I prefer to have a larger one for when I have a mini. Heck, I may seen go to the mini2 when that comes out depending on my priority at the time.

AppleRobert said:

And not playing games or watching lots of video.

I have been back and forth with the mini and larger iPads. It has depended on the priority of my use for the specific device. I miss the size and weight of the mini when I have a larger iPad but miss other things I prefer to have a larger one for when I have a mini. Heck, I may seen go to the mini2 when that comes out depending on my priority at the time.

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Yep, I will probably go to the mini when it has retina, if I find my iPad habits don't require a big screen. Movie watching and reading a book, for example, would be great on a mini because then you don't feel like you're sharing your media with the person sitting next to you on a flight or whatever.

But that screen has got to be improved. When I had the mini, thinking about how bad the screen is was distracting me from just using it normally.