I see why some sold their iPad Mini 4 or don't use it as much with the iPhone 6s Plus

The 6 plus is still small compared to a real ipad. At home I use my ipad 80% of the time. More space is always better, especialy for web browsing.

 

Not here. I gave my iPad Air 2 to my wife and bought an iPad Mini 4 to go with my iPhone 6S Plus. IMO, that is the winning combination.

 

Well, with the 6S+, I am finally ready to go back to a normal sized iPad.

iPad Air 3, you can't come soon enough...

 

I guess it just depends. If you read books on your devices, there's a big difference between reading on a 6 Plus vs an iPad mini. The aspect ratios are different and the experience is more book like on an iPad.

 

Yeah I sold my mini 4 mainly because I wasn't using my 6S Plus as much but there was just as much as because I had the air 2 as well.

 

I still prefer the iPad version of apps and the multitask gestures that the iPhone doesn't have. I actually sold my 6+ in favor of the mini 4. But you're right, there isn't much use in having both.

 

I spaced my gadgets by use and screen-size.

iPhone 6 (4.7") -> portability, small pockets, one-hand use on public transport and outdoors
iPad Air 2 (9.7") -> books, web browsing, videos, on my bed or outside home
MacBook Pro (15.4") -> hard-core work at the desk, in school or at home

 

I have a 5.7" Moto X and still love using my iPad mini. The Moto X is still too small to replace even a small tablet, IMO.

 

I actually went the other way, replaced 6 plus with a 6. After I got the pro (which I love), I wasn't using my air and it started a cascading effect down.

Now I have a pro, mini, and 6s. IMO, this works best for me.

 

I had a 6s and iPad mini 4. Decided to get an iPad pro, so swapped the 6s for a 6s plus and sold the mini 4. The 6s plus and iPad pro are a perfect combination for me!

 

I'm thinking of the same setup, what do you use the mini for?

 

It's the hub in my car for music. gps etc. I use it when I am out of the house, I got one with data. I also use it for light browsing in bed and any other place the pro isn't comfortable.

It's a great setup.

 

I'm in this same boat, and it has me wondering about the usefulness of the iPad as a whole. I have a now ancient original iPad mini, which I hardly use anymore because it's just too slow. I'm debating whether I should upgrade it or just not have an iPad anymore at all. I have a 6S Plus now and it's great. I routinely find myself in situations where if the task can be accomplished at all on iOS that I just prefer to use my iPhone, and if that can't handle it then it's something that needs to be done on a laptop anyway.

Marco Arment recently talked about his frustrations with the iPad on the Accidental Tech Podcast, and I agreed with the majority of what he said. I don't get the big deal behind side-by-side multitasking. Maybe I would if I could do it, but most of what frustrates me is stuff that iOS just can't do at all. I mean, iOS will not allow me to scan 30 pages of forms from my HP scanner, merge and rearrange the page order of multiple PDFs, fill out and sign the forms, then email them to my insurance company, save them to iCloud drive/Dropbox, and print out a hard copy for my records. And even if it can do all that, it would take me who knows how long to figure out how to do it all, and probably cost me an unknown amount of money as I try out countless third-party apps from the app store with no refunds for the ones that don't do what I want. And in the end the solution would still be less efficient and time consuming than just doing it on my Mac, which includes all the built in tools to do it with OS X.

Given all of this, I find it really hard to justify shelling out even $270 for a base Mini 2 for something that's, to me, nothing more than a glorified Netflix viewer. But I would love to hear why I'm wrong.

 

You're not wrong, because there is no right and wrong. Some people are perfectly happy using their phones for their mobile needs and a laptop for everything else. Some people, like me, find even the largest of phones too small to replace a tablet. I have a 5.7" Moto X and I still won't use it for prolonged uses if I have the option to use my iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 2 instead.

 

I have an iPad Air 2 and an iPhone 6S Plus but there is no way I would get rid of my iPad and just rely on my iPhone. My iPhone has it's place at work where using an iPad would not be discrete. At work I use my iPhone to access online stuff like web sites, email and social networks. However anywhere else if I don't want to or can't use my MacBook Pro then the iPad Air 2 is great alternative. I have tried to use an iPad Mini but it's not as good as a regular iPad for me. For me the iPhone 6S Plus and iPad Air 2 is a great combination.

 

To each his/her own, but if you ask me, the bottom line is that the Plus is a big phone and the Mini is a small tablet. While there's some overlap, I use a phone and a tablet for different things. A Plus won't serve me as well as a tablet for web surfing, watching videos, and light productivity, and an iPad Mini won't serve me as well as a phone for general on-the-go use, music player, camera, and of course, phone calls. So I think there's room for both.

 

Proud owner of a 6+ and iPad Mini 4 here! I find that the iPhone is both too big and too little for what I like out of it, and am honestly thinking of upgrading to a regular-sized 7 when they come out. As nice as the larger screen is, I absolutely despise wide screens of any kind and find that the stock landscape keyboard on the 6+ is one of the most horrible typing experiences I've ever used. I also don't use it for much but videos or the occasional picture anyway.

Not so with the Mini. Even with the iBlason case on it, I can thumb-type at nearly desktop keyboard speeds while holding it in both hands. It's got the right balance of screen size to the point that it just feels comfortable to hold and type on while still being nice and roomy enough to watch videos or read from. The 4:3 aspect ratio goes together with reading like peanut butter goes with jelly... Try reading a book on one of those cheapo 16:9 Android tablets in Portrait mode and see what I mean.

Apps just look better and feel more productive in an iPad format. You can see all the controls you need to without them being buried in two or three sub menus and all the information is at your fingertips. I find myself being a lot more productive and tracking my diet, scheduling appointments and meetings, and taking notes and lists as needed... Much much more than I do on my 6+.

Yes, I understand some people will be perfectly fine with the 6+ for their needs, or even just the basic 6... But for me, the experience of a just-right screen is what I've been looking for in a tablet all along.

 

That's what I was saying. I can manage with my Moto X, but the screen is bigger than I'd like on a phone but also smaller than I like on a tablet. So yeah, it's too big and too small at the same time.

 

Just to touch up on here. I think the iPad mini is an awesome Device to replace the phone at home. The iOS for phone doesn't give enougn freedom.. Split screen, web browsing... Everything is better for at home use and to take around the house with a mini and dock the iPhone..... I love the mini. I have all iPads too. The mini is my most used device to be honest. It's just like having a big phone with iPad iOS software features

 

Who is this "some" that sold their mini because the got a iPhone plus?

Even the 6+ is a poor replacement for doing serious Internet cruising.

I guess if money is a problem but no other reason that I can think of! Even the mini is too small for me and I will take a full size iPad please.

 

Personally disliked the 6+. I tried using it for 2 months but after one too many drops, I caved and got the 6. To me, the 6+ was too big as a phone (need both hands just to do the "slide to answer" calls) and too small for a tablet. I also much prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio for web browsing.

 

This is especially true if you read books or documents in PDF format on the go which can't easily be reformatted for a smaller screen.

 

This is a pretty tired argument.

It boggles the mind how people can ignore this, but the iPad mini is 230% the size of the iPhone+ in terms of screen size. This is a very significant difference.

Calling it "not much bigger" is ridiculous.