Hands-On With Apple's New iPad Air 3 and iPad Mini 5

[richinaus]

I too don’t understand why some get so bent out of shape over the storage capacity. There is a reason companies offer their devices with a few to several memory options. Some people use their iPads as their primary computing device and want to store everything including the kitchen sink on them, and that is cool and their choice to make. Some of use store the bulk of our digital data on computers and use our iPads more for reading, surfing, and watching videos, and what not, and don’t really need 256 GB. 64GB is more than I will need so personally I’m good with that being the low end. If you need more then fork out the extra bucks, otherwise don’t get you undies in a wad over it. Get what you need and move on...

I also don’t understand why some hate the big bezels on the mini. Personally I hate tiny bezels on a device on which I’m trying to hold and watch videos or view the screen. The mini is about the perfect size for reading books on, and those big top and bottom bezels come in handy when reading in landscape mode. Without them I’m not sure where I would place my thumbs!

As far as no face ID, I do like that feature on my iPhone XR, but I would not miss it on an iPad. The iPhone is more of a one hand device, but the iPads (even the mini) or two hand devices. Face ID comes in very handy on the smaller iPhones and speeds up access, but I really don’t need that on the iPads. If they add it in the future then great, but I’m not going to get upset if they don’t.

I disagree but I understand your reasons.

I saw the new mini in store today and couldn’t believe how dated it looked in comparison to the current iPad Pro. For me when I know it could exist in a much nicer format with a larger screen etc I simply cannot buy it. It would feel like buying a 5 year old tablet!

 

[Janichsan]

...this clickable button does tend to wear out.

My five year old iPad mini 2 and the iPhone 4 I had for six years tell a different story.

 

[magbarn]

You've obviously never taken any business classes. Successful companies position their products to make a profit and stay in business. You want more than 64GB, pony up baby! That's how a free market works.

Someone has drank the kool-aid if they believe that apple is charging fair 2012 prices for flash memory just so they can keep the lights on. 1TB ssd drives are going for close to $100 these days!

 

[richinaus]

Someone has drank the kool-aid if they believe that apple is charging fair 2012 prices for flash memory just so they can keep the lights on. 1TB ssd drives are going for close to $100 these days!

Who mentioned ‘fair’? It’s their business model - has been for ages.

 

[femike]

Another difference that wasn't mentioned is the location of the microphone. It is in the middle close to the top edge at the back. It seems to be in a position where you can easily cover the mic with your hand. Why they didn't put the microphone next to the camera like the iPad Air 2 I have no idea.

 

[Classie]

The physical-click Home button is what baffles me. I wonder if they are recycling these components from older devices? I'd be surprised, since this clickable button does tend to wear out. The haptic Home button was a smart upgrade, so it's confusing why Apple didn't standardize on that. Maybe the haptic feedback is not as effective on a tablet vs a phone?

I think it has something to do with the size of the iPad compared to the iPhone (or even the AW). The haptic feedback probably doesn’t feel right/vibrate enough when your don’t have your hand arround it; the button will not feel like a button. This is probably also why there is no haptic feedback on the iPad Pro.
[doublepost=1553937381][/doublepost]

Another difference that wasn't mentioned is the location of the microphone. It is in the middle close to the top edge at the back. It seems to be in a position where you can easily cover the mic with your hand. Why they didn't put the microphone next to the camera like the iPad Air 2 I have no idea.

...it is clearly mentioned in the video.
[doublepost=1553937486][/doublepost]

My five year old iPad mini 2 and the iPhone 4 I had for six years tell a different story.

I know one iPhone 4 and one iPhone 5 that had worn out buttons; so much that the owners had to change to a virtual on screen button.

 

[iSayuSay]

But If I had only two complaints, it’d be the physical home button, and the lack of pencil 2 support.

Every home physical home button has eventually failed on my previous ipads. If they weren’t going to go full on face ID...i wish they would have at least made the home button like on the iphone 8 with the haptic feedback. A physical button is the ipad mini’s weakest link.

I dont know with Mini, but my old 10.5” Pro with iOS 12 can be navigated without pressing the home button at all, just like the new iphones and ipad pros.

Swipe up from bottom to go home
Swipe up and hold for app switching

The only time I need the home button is to unlock the iPad, or calling Siri. Even then I do not press the button. A simple touch on the fingerprint sensor would register and does its job. Hold for Siri can be bypassed by enabling the “Hey Siri” feature. So yeah, no press.


So yes I’m able to operate my 10.5” iPad without ever pressing the home button. You should too.

 

[Indsid]

Well , am waiting for the mini to release in India , except for Pencil 2 support rest of my requirements have been ticked....How quick is charging ? Have read reports that the charging on mini is slow ...

 

[iSayuSay]

—

 

[nihil0]

I have 2018 basic iPad and I don't see any reason to upgrade. Even if I were shopping this year for new iPad, I would pick 2018 model. Why? Because it is blazing fast and non-laminated display is not such issue as would one think. If 499$ version lacks ProMotion then the feeling of "speed" during usage will be identical.

 

[Duncan-UK]

Question to anybody with the new mini. Does it support fast charging?

Thanks!
[doublepost=1553940676][/doublepost]

I'm buying the iPad Mini for sure! But IMHO the 64GB base model is a travesty. Someone at Apple who decided this was acceptable should be buried alive in Steve Jobs' grave.

Seriously why? I’d argue that most users will never fill it with data that they have to have permanently stored on the machine.

 

[Flojomojo]

My 2017 Chevy SS Sedan dash would allow the Mini to rest over the utterly useless Chevy Nav unit. However, I do have in-car wifi (monthly service) so the Mini would be a viable solution for mapping with WAZE. It would be a rather expensive experiment, but with the Apple two-week return policy, I may just try it!

Waze doesn't need much hardware power -- if you mostly wanted to use this in your car, you'll be able to find iPad Mini 4 for half the price very soon.

 

[kingax1]

Im still shocked, disappointed and sad (not just because of the mini but it adds up!) they did the mini without a redesign, but at least having a big upgrade is significantly good vs. discontinuing this model.

 

[otternonsense]

Considering it’s just a mashup of recycled/existing inventory parts, nothing stopped them from releasing this mini last year or the year before. Except complacency and greed perhaps.

 

[MoreRumors?]

My 2017 Chevy SS Sedan dash would allow the Mini to rest over the utterly useless Chevy Nav unit. However, I do have in-car wifi (monthly service) so the Mini would be a viable solution for mapping with WAZE. It would be a rather expensive experiment, but with the Apple two-week return policy, I may just try it!

That's a good idea to use mini to supplant the built-in nav unit. The nav unit in my SUV sucks too and for the price I paid for it I should get my money back. The only thing useful is it tells me upcoming Rest Areas which my portable Garmin does not do that.
[doublepost=1553946903][/doublepost]

I'm buying the iPad Mini for sure! But IMHO the 64GB base model is a travesty. Someone at Apple who decided this was acceptable should be buried alive in Steve Jobs' grave.

I agree and this is where Apple make their money, pay a lot to upgrade on memory.
[doublepost=1553947039][/doublepost]I'm going to wait until the next holiday sale but if the Air was $100 lower I would buy today.

 

[5105973]

I'm buying the iPad Mini for sure! But IMHO the 64GB base model is a travesty. Someone at Apple who decided this was acceptable should be buried alive in Steve Jobs' grave.

My current mini 4 is 128 GB, which is my ideal storage these days for all my devices. It gives me the wiggle room I like to have at a cost I can take on. But to my surprise, I found that in all these years, I've used only 20 GB of that storage on my mini 4! I'd thought it was way more than that, but I've learned to run lean over the years since going to cloud storage.

But I give you a thumbs up for being scary grumpy! You're like me, before my morning coffee.

 

[geekiemac]

I am really enjoying my new iPad Air. The screen size bump from my iPad Air 2 is great.

Good to know I ordered an iPad Air, too, to replace my Air 2 (no pun intended ).
The new Air is the perfect mid-range choice for people who want a good screen and some power under the hood but don't want to shell out 800 bucks for an iPad. I love my current iPad Air 2 so I'm sure I'll love the new Air.

The mini's form factor is great and I hesitated a lot but I prefer the bigger screen for watching movies and working when traveling, which is my iPad's main use case.

 

[0947347]

As I have already mentioned in other thread, my next tablet is going to be Samsung Galaxy Tab, as Amazon points out, their battery life is outstanding and leaves iPad in the dust.Well, 10 years on a single charge is something but I bet they actually lie about the real battery life. I am sure it will not last even 8 years on a single change. How many years does it charge though?

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

IIRC, that phone was painfully slow at taking pictures...

There wa a 2 sEcon’s delay between shots for processing, but otherwise it was good for its time. Even then, the slowness was from the old SOC more than anything. Most phones of that era only had 1GB RAM and around a 16-20MP sensor.

 

[Dormammu]

Good to know I ordered an iPad Air, too, to replace my Air 2 (no pun intended ).
The new Air is the perfect mid-range choice for people who want a good screen and some power under the hood but don't want to shell out 800 bucks for an iPad. I love my current iPad Air 2 so I'm sure I'll love the new Air.

The mini's form factor is great and I hesitated a lot but I prefer the bigger screen for watching movies and working when traveling, which is my iPad's main use case.

Absolutely. I even got myself an Apple Smart Keyboard for my iPad too which makes typing much more convenient.

Everything about this new iPad is great for my needs,, and I would imagine for many others.

 

[realtuner]

Considering it’s just a mashup of recycled/existing inventory parts, nothing stopped them from releasing this mini last year or the year before. Except complacency and greed perhaps.

Only thing I see that’s recycled are your comments. At least you’re consistent.

iPad Mini has never had a P3 display with TrueTone. It’s never supported a stylus. And Apple shipped it with their latest SoC (meaning these new iPad will absolutely and totally obliterate any Android tablet in the world).

 

[Williesleg]

I'm still on my iPad retina (the 3?) and it's great for sitting on the toilet surfing the web.

 

[travelsheep]

The physical-click Home button is what baffles me. I wonder if they are recycling these components from older devices?

I have an iPhone 6S and I LOVE the clicky button. It feels great. My friend has an iPhone 7 and the not pressable "button" feels just wrong, outright "hurts" to press down on.

 

[realtuner]

I think it has something to do with the size of the iPad compared to the iPhone (or even the AW). The haptic feedback probably doesn’t feel right/vibrate enough when your don’t have your hand arround it; the button will not feel like a button. This is probably also why there is no haptic feedback on the iPad Pro.

I’m sure this is exactly the reason. They’d probably have to use a much larger haptic device to “vibrate” the entire iPad case to the same levels as in an iPhone to simulate a click. Even then it would probably feel weird.

 

[EugW]

I have an iPhone 6S and I LOVE the clicky button. It feels great. My friend has an iPhone 7 and the not pressable "button" feels just wrong, outright "hurts" to press down on.

I agree. I own both the iPad Pro 10.5” and the iPhone 7 Plus, the latter I purchased on day 1. I’m used to the haptic pseudo-button of the iPhone 7 Plus now but the physical button in the iPad Pro 10.5” still feels better after all these years.