How is watching video on the Mini 4?

[viperGTS]

Thinking of picking up a Mini 4 from Target soon (hopefully with price match to Best Buy, comes with $50 gift card).

My main purpose with it is to watch videos with Hulu and Netflix, web browse, and do other tasks that my MacBook is overkill for when I'm laying in bed.

How do you Mini 4 owners find the screen for these tasks? I realize that there will be black bars when watching movies thanks to the 4:3 aspect ratio (which the bigger iPads have as well).

Also, do you find split screen multitasking feasible even with the smaller screen?

I tried to test these things out for myself at best buy and I was mostly pleased with it. I'd like to hear about more long term experiences though. Thanks!

 

[Gav2k]

Videos are great. Can't comment on split screen as I have a mini 3 but it rocks on the iPad pro.

 

[tsang2320]

- Have used Air 2 and IPP, with software keyboard.
- Watching anything 16:9 is great. Some videos in 21:9 will make me wait for time around MacBook.
- Web Browsing is solid (Mostly in portrait), when you can view the entire webpage.
- Use slide over to check social app and emails a lot, more used than split screen for me.
- Mini 4 is light enough to be used laying in bed.

 

[The Game 161]

find video great on it, I can watch amazon prime and football with no issues. Spiltscreen works very well when I have browser and twitter side by side. Works great during football game day

 

[viperGTS]

Great responses, all of which I was hoping to hear. Thank you all!

Feel free to keep them coming!

 

[maxsix]

How do you Mini 4 owners find the screen for these tasks?

For the tasks and use you've listed, avoid the mini 4. Mine is just too small for video.

My iPad Air 2 is wonderful, the difference is almost shocking. I do think Apple mini was merely Apple's reaction to small Android tablets.

 

[Windowsrefugee]

I am thrilled by my Mini4-- just upgraded from Mini1. Watch baseball, footballs and video. EZ to hold. Use it mostly for web and email. Split screen nice. Will not go back to heavier, larger iPad.

 

[viperGTS]

For the tasks and use you've listed, avoid the mini 4. Mine is just too small for video.

My iPad Air 2 is wonderful, the difference is almost shocking. I do think Apple mini was merely Apple's reaction to small Android tablets.

I found the 9.7" form factor pretty big, if not uncomfortably big. Then again, I was using an iPad 2, not an Air.

 

[pika2000]

I've been using my Mini 2 to watch movies and TV shows whenever I travel, and it's good enough. It would be a good idea to also get a good pair of headphones as the solo side firing speaker is not really intended for an immersive movie-watching experience.

 

[ozaz]

I think watching movies on a mini 4:3 screen is a little irritating due to the wasted screen real-estate. However I still use an iPad mini because my tablet use also includes reading, web-browsing, and some niche apps for which I think the 4:3 ratio and the iOS app store are both great. I also like how portable the mini is. So on balance I favour the size and screen ratio of the iPad mini over the larger iPads and alternative 16:9 tablets.

 

[silverblack]

I have used my iPhone (6 plus and 6S) to watch movies. The watching experience was just poor on the tiny screen but still doable. The phone size was certainly a good for holding while lying down on bed, but it wouldn't do that for a 2 hour movie, as it would get uncomfortable. So I can't imagine it would be comfortable to hold a mini for a long movie while lying down.

I also have an iPad Air 2. Watching movies on the Air was much more enjoyable, but I would still prefer going to my 50" TV if given the choice.

Then came the iPad Pro. I watch Ant Man on it last night, and did a comparison. My iPP at arm's length is actually larger than my 50" TV at 10' away. Audio through my headphones was also better than my $300 sound bar. So I am found myself equally happy, if not happier, watching movies on my iPP.

My advice is, buy what you can afford. But bigger is generally better when it comes to screen size for watching videos.

 

[Max(IT)]

For videos the mini 4 is perfect.
For web browsing or intensive splint screen usage, it works great but be advice the fonts are quite small (and I didn't find any way to make it bigger on Safari).

 

[Max(IT)]

For the tasks and use you've listed, avoid the mini 4. Mine is just too small for video.

My iPad Air 2 is wonderful, the difference is almost shocking. I do think Apple mini was merely Apple's reaction to small Android tablets.

Apple reaction to android tablets? There isn't a single, credible android tablet on the market... Android itself is very poorly optimized for tablets, not to speak about apps.

 

[ozaz]

Apple reaction to android tablets? There isn't a single, credible android tablet on the market... Android itself is very poorly optimized for tablets, not to speak about apps.

It was a reaction in the sense that it took Android tablets for Apple to realise there was a market for mini tablets. Same with phablets.

 

[viperGTS]

Just got my mini 4 and I love it for videos! The black bars don't bug me as much as I thought they would. I wouldn't want this tablet to be any bigger either!

Overall, I'm extremely happy!