Having a hard time deciding between iPads...

I'm in a similar situation. I have ipad2 running iOS 7 (and I find it slow). I mainly use google chrome, google mail, eBay, and tapatalk.

My wife had original mini running iOS 6 (and she mainly uses Facebook and Safari) and I'm holding off on update.

I would like to get a mini 2 (retina) cellular.

I think I need to go to apple store and run geek bench on iPad 2 running os8 and compare to the ones I have.

I also have 5s running 7 and speed is really good.

Well if you like the size of the mini hold on to the mini. I would say upgrade to the second (or third generation if you care about Touch ID)
It will preform much better: A7 processor, more RAM,...

I like the size of the mini for portability. When I take it out of my purse I wish it would morph into an iPad. No answers for you but I do understand the dilemma.

Next time I think I'll go with iPad.

I was looking at refurb.me for any ipad mini 3 but nothing yet.

Then someone posted Microcenter had good deals on iPads.

Picked up Mini 2 Cellular 64GB for around $350 with tax.

Aaron from KY said:

I really would like to get either a 32GB iPad Air1 or a 32GB iPad mini2. Currently I have an iPad mini1, and while I like the size, the delay between typing and words appearing on the screen, as well as the apps having to reload after switching away which sometimes leads to a crash out to the home screen, are becoming increasingly annoying. My problem is amplified by the fact that currently microcenter has both for $329. Any direction or advice would be great. I mainly use my iPad for web browsing, social media, and streaming video. I'm considering the Air1 because when I used to have an iPad 2, I could type on it faster than any other device, due to the larger keyboard on the display, I kind of miss that. But I can use the mini 1 handed, so I'm not really sure. Thanks!

Click to expand...

In this case, the best way to think about this is the hardware included in each device. Luckily, the iPad Air 1 and the iPad mini 2 and 3 have exactly the same hardware in them (except for the mini 3 having touch ID). otherwise, the wiFi, display resolution, CPU, GPU, Storage capacity, camera..etc are the same.

If you're worried about the response time with your current mini, try disabling spotlight search and then restarting the device. You'll notice a speed boost.

SO since the hardware is exactly the same between the Mini 2 and the Air 1, ti really comes down to size preference and your ease of use with other aspects of the product besides being able to handle it with one hand. Plus, you'll still have the mini so you could always have both since they can both sync via iCloud.

As an example though, this is why I bought my wife the mini2 versus the Air 1, because the price was $100 less for the same hardware.