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iPad iPad Air 2 Vs. Mini 4 SMOOTHNESS Difference

S

sw6lee

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 4, 2013
200
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Does anyone know how they differ in smoothness of animations? Both the system animations, and in app performance. I ordered Air 2 on sale because I really wanted the A8X, which in hope would bring me the smoothest iOS experience. And I thought iOS 9.2 with A8X would bring that. But I saw many people say that 9.2 still stutters in animation on Air 2.

How much difference is there in SMOOTHNESS between these two devices? I like the smaller form factor, but I don't like that Mini 4 is only A8. So I went with Air 2, although I don't mind bigger size too much either. Will I regret that I spent more for buying the bigger one with faster professor, because there is very little difference? Or is there definitely noticeable smoothness difference in these two devices?

BTW, I'm not talking about which one is faster. I don't care which one loads apps faster. i mean if it's SMOOTHER on Air 2, with much higher frame rates per second.

Thanks for your help!
 
I can't offer anything definitive, but I've observed no animation stutter or lag on my Mini 4 running iOS 9.2. Unless you're using it for processor or graphics intensive tasks like gaming, I don't think that the difference in power between the Air 2 and Mini 4 matters that much. Their biggest proformance advantage over previous iPads is probably their 2GB of RAM.
 
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joeblow7777 said:
I can't offer anything definitive, but I've observed no animation stutter or lag on my Mini 4 running iOS 9.2. Unless you're using it for processor or graphics intensive tasks like gaming, I don't think that the difference in power between the Air 2 and Mini 4 matters that much. Their biggest proformance advantage over previous iPads is probably their 2GB of RAM.
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I know that prior to 9.2 Mini 4 suffered from a lot of frame drops when opening and closing app switcher, while Air 2 was pretty smooth although wasn't perfect. i wonder if the gap is completely gone now.
 
sw6lee said:
Does anyone know how they differ in smoothness of animations? Both the system animations, and in app performance. I ordered Air 2 on sale because I really wanted the A8X, which in hope would bring me the smoothest iOS experience. And I thought iOS 9.2 with A8X would bring that. But I saw many people say that 9.2 still stutters in animation on Air 2.

How much difference is there in SMOOTHNESS between these two devices? I like the smaller form factor, but I don't like that Mini 4 is only A8. So I went with Air 2, although I don't mind bigger size too much either. Will I regret that I spent more for buying the bigger one with faster professor, because there is very little difference? Or is there definitely noticeable smoothness difference in these two devices?

BTW, I'm not talking about which one is faster. I don't care which one loads apps faster. i mean if it's SMOOTHER on Air 2, with much higher frame rates per second.

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
I have an Air 2 and running 9.2 with no real problems. It seems to come down to just how picky a person is. Like anything else, you look hard enough you will find some kind of issue with either iPad.
 
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Coming from mini 2... The mini 4 have no lag whatsoever. Besides my concern for battery life, it took them 4 iterations to get right. Haha.
 
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AddisonIII said:
I have an Air 2 and running 9.2 with no real problems. It seems to come down to just how picky a person is. Like anything else, you look hard enough you will find some kind of issue with either iPad.
Click to expand...

I'm extremely picky about frame rates and stutters. And I'm hoping Air 2 will be smoother than Mini 4. I'm trying to justify my more expensive purchase..
 
Appl3FTW said:
Coming from mini 2... The mini 4 have no lag whatsoever.
Besides my concern for battery life, it took them 4 iterations to get right. Haha.
Click to expand...

Is that what you notice only after 9.2? Cause to my eyes, Mini 4 had a lot of animation stutters when opening and closing app switcher on iOS 9.1 when I tried it.
 
sw6lee said:
Is that what you notice only after 9.2? Cause to my eyes, Mini 4 had a lot of animation stutters when opening and closing app switcher on iOS 9.1 when I tried it.
Click to expand...
I upgraded right away to 9.2. No problem with animation.
 
sw6lee said:
Is that what you notice only after 9.2? Cause to my eyes, Mini 4 had a lot of animation stutters when opening and closing app switcher on iOS 9.1 when I tried it.
Click to expand...

As I've said, I've noticed no stutter in the app switcher on 9.2, but as was also previously said, if you're picky enough I'm sure you'll find some flaw with both models. I personally don't think that there's $100 worth of performance difference between the Air 2 and Mini 4, but that's just me.
 
I don't know that many have both to compare, maybe recently with the price reductions. The difference in cost is fairly negligible and I rather think most would go for the Air 2 with the better processor unless portability is the big issue.

Best I can offer for advice is try them both yourself and then decide. Maybe just stop in an Apple store and compare would be another recommendation.
 
joeblow7777 said:
As I've said, I've noticed no stutter in the app switcher on 9.2, but as was also previously said, if you're picky enough I'm sure you'll find some flaw with both models. I personally don't think that there's $100 worth of performance difference between the Air 2 and Mini 4, but that's just me.
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Yea I didn't really spend 100 dollars more. I got the Air 2 refurbished for $469 ($80 off) in Canada from Apple website. But for Mini 4 I could get it as an education discount for $419. Same storage. I'm hoping Air 2 will be more future proof if it's not a huge performance difference currently.
 
My iPad Air 2 with iOS 9.2 is perfectly smooth, no lag. It's much better than the previous versions. You should be just fine.
 
jamesrick80 said:
My iPad Air 2 with iOS 9.2 is perfectly smooth, no lag. It's much better than the previous versions. You should be just fine.
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That's good to know, although different people seem to feel differently. I'm hoping I will be extremely satisfied with Air 2's performance. I HATED iPad mini 2 with iOS 8, even 8.4's constant stutters. Now my mom is using it, and she doesn't care lol.
 
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