iPad mini Do you find an iPad mini redundant with an iPhone? Will ipadOS change that?

[gdourado]

Hello, how are you?
A couple of days ago I picked up an iPad mini 4 for a very good price just to try out the form factor.
I’ve had several iPads and the last one being an Air 2.
I had sold the air 2 in anticipation to upgrade to the new air 3, but never got around to spend the asking price due to the limited usage I always gave my ipads.

With the mini, I am finding that I enjoy the form factor.
It is very light and very good to read on the couch.

But I am finding it to be just a bigger iPhone.
I have an iPhone 8 Plus, and I know the iPad mini screen area is double of the iPhone, but the ipad has the exact same apps I have on my phone, the home screens are arranged exactly the same...
And I use the iPad mini exactly like I use the iPhone.
The only difference is the bigger screen.
And the iPhone I also use as my camera, so it has that advantage.

Based on this, despite the mini being good to hold, I am wondering if I should keep it just to use about an hour a day on the couch or if I should just sell it and keep using the iPhone for everything...

What are your thoughts and experiences on this matter?

Cheers!

 

[Khedron]

IMO the iPhone is the redundant one. Keep the iPad and when you upgrade your 8 Plus don't feel the need to buy another Apple phone. Expand your ecosystem and have the best of both worlds.

 

[Freakonomics101]

Depending on the size of the iPhone, the iPad Mini would be a nice touch. Personally, I don’t like the Mini. Had the Mini and Mini 2 and just became too small once I upgraded to the 6+.

A cellular iPad mini with headphones for calls isn’t a bad idea though. Just not as mobile cause you can’t simply put it in your pocket.

 

[gdourado]

IMO the iPhone is the redundant one. Keep the iPad and when you upgrade your 8 Plus don't feel the need to buy another Apple phone. Expand your ecosystem and have the best of both worlds.

Been on the Android camp a few times but always end up coming back...

I also have a surface Go.
Excellent device and very flexible, but I find that using even less than the mini.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

I’d use an iPad mini 5 as a notepad with Apple Pencil.

would make perfect sense in that size and form factor.

 

[akash.nu]

iPad optimised apps look much better on an iPad than iPhone. in fact an iPad app cannot be used on an iPhone but an iPhone app can be used on an iPad.

 

[Khedron]

I also have a surface Go.
Excellent device and very flexible, but I find that using even less than the mini.

Maybe you just don't need devices and should stop buying them

 

[gdourado]

I’d use an iPad mini 5 as a notepad with Apple Pencil.

would make perfect sense in that size and form factor.

I don’t have need to take notes.
I never bought the Apple Pencil or surface pen because of that.

 

[gdourado]

Deciding what to keep and what to sell...

 

[Infinite Vortex]

I found the iPhone SE plus the iPad mini to be a really great combo, especially for portability given the iPad mini is small enough to never be an issue when having it with me when out and about.

Having now gone to an S10 and S5e combo I could probably do with a smaller phone as its not the place I typically "do things". But I do really like the tablet package, physically at least. The S5e is in between the iPad mini and iPad for size and weight but comes in a display size, that for 95% media consumption, matches the 11" iPad Pro for size (having a 16:10 aspect ratio vs the iPad 4:3 - not to mention is OLED vs LCD). The iPP doesn't fit into my everyday bag and is more than twice the price so that's not even a thought for me.

I much prefer iOS to Android on the tablet and Apple puts significantly more effort into the tablet experience than Google/Samsung does but then again, what difference does it make when I'm watching Netflix, Youtube, Prime Video… whatever? Battery runtimes and charge times are also superior with the S5e but I'm comparing that to my last iPad mini which was a mini 3 which was 3 years old so probably had a degraded battery.

So really it comes down to what you do yourself that will determine the best thing for you to do. Now, if Apple decided to remove the forehead and chin on the iPad mini and to make it a wider aspect (keeping its physical dimensions) I'd be all over that!

 

[EugW]

Ever since I got a Plus sized iPhone, I found minis less interesting.

Furthermore, I find minis squint-inducing when looking at many websites. My ideal screen sizes are the 10.5" and 11" iPad Pros, but the 9.7" iPads are decent size-wise too. The good thing about the 10.5/11" iPad Pros is you can pair them with a "full-sized" 18 mm keyboard folio. You can't with the 9.7" models.

For table-top use the 12.9" iPad Pros are nice, with true full-sized 19 mm keyboards, but I find them too big otherwise.

 

[ruslan120]

In terms of most cases, yes.

However, I like to use my iPhone for all filming, and the large screen helps me see things as I film them (in its high-res, love the screen).

I would otherwise get an iPad Mini + small phone, or large phone with no iPad. That's the beauty of versatility in the product lineup IMO. Definitely overlap between the Max and the Mini.

 

[AutomaticApple]

Maybe you just don't need devices and should stop buying them

Exactly!

 

[thelookingglass]

Ever since I got a Plus sized iPhone, I found minis less interesting.

Furthermore, I find minis squint-inducing when looking at many websites.

I would’ve previously agreed with you, but iOS 13 and its desktop class safari appears to have solved that issue.

 

[EugW]

I would’ve previously agreed with you, but iOS 13 and its desktop class safari appears to have solved that issue.

No, desktop browsing support actually makes minis worse in many instances IMO. Desktop browsing can suck on a mini because the fonts are too small. Much better on a 9.7”+ iPad.

Meanwhile, mobile versions of websites are often best on an iPhone.

 

[44267547]

Deciding what to keep and what to sell...

The big differentiation, obviously you have a keyboard/mouse support with the Microsoft Surface and the iPad being ‘stand alone’ by itself. Aside from the performance aspects/OS updates, what do you prefer in terms of actually using the iPad as it is or do you actually like having to do versatility of having the mouse/keyboard. That is how I would probably base my decision.

 

[ruslan120]

Deciding what to keep and what to sell...

IMO these are for two separate purposes. I'd use the Surface Go for work (VMWare Horizon Client), web browsing, windows games (Civilization III for XP-level hardware, not Fortnite). The iPad Mini for light web browsing, YouTube, iMessage, and light games for iOS (not comparable to older windows games IMO).

For some reason this photo reminds me of:

 

[gdourado]

IMO these are for two separate purposes. I'd use the Surface Go for work (VMWare Horizon Client), web browsing, windows games (Civilization III for XP-level hardware, not Fortnite). The iPad Mini for light web browsing, YouTube, iMessage, and light games for iOS (not comparable to older windows games IMO).

For some reason this photo reminds me of:

That’s what’s keeping me from using the Surface.
While I love the hardware, I do zero work.
So the surface being a productivity and work oriented machine has no use case for me.
Which is sad, because it really is a great device and part of the reason I would like to keep it.

 

[thelookingglass]

No, desktop browsing support actually makes minis worse in many instances IMO. Desktop browsing can suck on a mini because the fonts are too small. Much better on a 9.7”+ iPad.

Meanwhile, mobile versions of websites are often best on an iPhone.

Not in my experience. Take MacRumors for example. The text on this site used to be tiny on an iPad mini in portrait mode. In iOS 13, the font is slightly bigger, which makes all the difference in the world.

 

[EugW]

Not in my experience. Take MacRumors for example. The text on this site used to be tiny on an iPad mini in portrait mode. In iOS 13, the font is slightly bigger, which makes all the difference in the world.

Yeah but that’s not the result of desktop class browsing vs mobile browsing. That’s the result of Safari text sizes and/or Macrumors text sizes getting tweaked, in a site that was already desktop class on the iPad.

Remember, if you go to Macrumors on an iPad in iOS 12, you get basically the same site as you get on a laptop or desktop. You do NOT get the mobile site like you get on iPhones.

 

[Herrpod]

Yep, I tried the new iPad Mini but returned it a day later because it's too similar of an experience I have with my iPhone XR. Ended up getting a Pro 11 instead (thanks to a Best Buy pricing error).

 

[subjonas]

This is very subjective. It’s: how important that 1.5 hours/day with the larger screen is vs. how important that money is.

 

[Kal-037]

Yeah, now I do. I got rid of all extra iPads and instead got an extra iPhone to use. iPad does all I need work wise and iPhone does the social stuff, lol.

 

[pika2000]

I love the iPad mini. If Apple put phone function and Apple Watch compatibility on the mini, I would just use my cellular mini 5 and ditch my iPhone. But obviously Apple knew that so they keep the phone function separate...

 

[subjonas]

Yeah, now I do. I got rid of all extra iPads and instead got an extra iPhone to use. iPad does all I need work wise and iPhone does the social stuff, lol.

Why an extra iPhone?