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All iPads iPad Mini 1st gen

M

Markgnyc2

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 17, 2013
409
743
Hi All. I own a 32 gb ipad air, wifi only. I had been telling my wife that I wanted something smaller to bring to work with LTE and she got me a 1st gen mini with vzw service for Christmas. I was hesitant to open it because I know I am spoiled with the air. Would I miss the retina display and A7? Right now, I say no. Clearly the screen is inferior. But it is certainly workable. The size of the mini is wonderful. Perfect to bring to work every day. I think I'm going to keep it. You can't beat the price. And if I keep this one maybe I can get next years latest and greatest and pass this one down (I do have 3 kids) ? :)
 
If you haven't opened it then do so and see if it works for you. If not, there is a return policy. You have to ask though, is saving $100 worth losing out on retina, A7, 64bit, m7, FaceTime illumination camera, MIMO, and future support?
 
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If the cost is an issue and you're on Verizon, you could drop the LTE and use your phone to tether. Upgrading from the mini to the retina mini is totally worth it.
 
Cost is not really the issue. I just think this will be fine for what I need it for. Remember I still have an Air at home, with all the newest features.
 
The 1st generation Mini is one of the most frustrating things I've ever used. The A5 and 512MB of RAM make app hangs, crashes, and tab reloading regular events.
 
Markgnyc2 said:
Cost is not really the issue. I just think this will be fine for what I need it for. Remember I still have an Air at home, with all the newest features.
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I have both the mini and the rMini and I'd recommend the rMini over the mini. I think the first gen mini is a great tablet but the retina screen is worth the cost. You'll definitely notice the difference and since you have the air that difference will be more apparent. The faster processor in the rMini is a plus as well.

I'm not down on the mini, it was and is a great tablet. My wife and kids have Minis and so they're used quite a bit in my household. The rMini however is a better tablet imo.
 
I won't dispute that the rmini is better. Obviously it is. However my uses for the mini will be on the occasional train, or in the office or at a client. For home use I have an air. Right now, the 1st gen mini can do everything the rmini can do. I am sure that it will be iOS 8 compatible, otherwise they wouldn't be selling them. And I can almost guarantee that it was one of the top sellers this holiday season due to the price. I am still leaning towards keeping it.
 
I just purchased a 1st gen ipad mini on 12/20/13. I love it so far and have downloaded my digital magazines to it. I'm okay with it having the A5 processor because that's what is in my Iphone 4s; also purchased this year. I'm a little behind times lol. I love my mini and I love the price of it too. :)
 
I don't want you to be depressed over your new iPad, but the 1st gen iPad mini is 8 times slower than the 2nd gen and is basically only a smaller iPad 2...
 
Sven11 said:
I don't want you to be depressed over your new iPad, but the 1st gen iPad mini is 8 times slower than the 2nd gen and is basically only a smaller iPad 2...
Click to expand...

You can't depress me about my mini. I have had it since day one. I loved it and now my wife is thrilled with it.

I don't want to depress you but your mom is calling. It is time for you to take out the trash.
 
The screen on the retina mini is obviously better and internally it is better than the 1st gen. However my first gen does what I need it to do with ease. It doesn't stutter or lag. I can use the apps I need to use, play the games I what, browse the net stream video, play my music and podcasts. At this point in time the only thing I'd say is that the screen could be better but it suffices. I'm not too bothered about upgrading, besides I have other devices to satisfy my tech cravings.
 
dragon671556 said:
So basically I should take it back to walmart and get the rmini?
Click to expand...

Why? You said you are enjoying it, and like the price. I am keeping mine as it will do everything I need it to do. Right now, there is nothing the rmini can do that the 1st gen mini can't. Just my conclusion...
 
The only reason as I stated to swap it out, is the screen (yes the faster processor is a plus) and if you're happy with what you have then there's no reason

I use mine rMini for reading so the retina display is a big plus, buy YMMV and you need to choose what's best for yourself and it appears you have
 
I picked up a first generation iPad mini and it has been nothing but a nightmare iOS 7 crashes apps constantly safari reloading tabs constantly and apps crashing almost on a schedule. I'm very mad at apple :(:(:apple:
 
DcGamer05 said:
I really hope so because I almost want to return it, have you tried ios7.1 beta yet? Are you certain this is fixed issue?? Thanks again :confused:
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I have the ipad mini 64GB 1st gen.
No problems at all never had what you say. but I don't play games so maybe one of your programs does it,
my sug. to you is restore it to the factory setup and start to add one by one program and see when you start to have the problem.
 
I have been using my 1st gen mini in real world use the past few days. I have to say, I am happy I did not return it and get a rmini. It works perfectly for email, remote pc access, reading the newspaper, reading a book, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
 
Markgnyc2 said:
I have been using my 1st gen mini in real world use the past few days. I have to say, I am happy I did not return it and get a rmini. It works perfectly for email, remote pc access, reading the newspaper, reading a book, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Click to expand...

Plus it will only get faster when 7.1 is officially released. I have 7.1 beta 3 on an iPad mini first gen and it is very smooth - don't let the rMini users put you down - they have bad screens (yellowing and image retention issues) to deal with, you don't! Enjoy it! :)
 
The Mini was my first Apple tablet. I tried the Air and rMini and returned both. Neither was cellular like my Mini is but it does what I need it to do so those others were not worth it to me.

I am not a heavy or power user. My Mini is fine on IOS 7, no problems whatsoever.
 
I guess if you have the money you can upgrade but i use my ipad mini 1 every day (in fact I'm using it right now) And it works perfectly- the screen isn't a huge issue, u notice it everyone in a while but it is just fine, i guess i was skeptical about getting it at first (i just got it 2 weeks ago) because of the a5 processor which obviously wont last to much longer but it seems to work well right now. I mail use my ipad for the web so as long as i can go to safari and search for macrumors.com and successfully get on the site i am happy.
 
w00t951 said:
The 1st generation Mini is one of the most frustrating things I've ever used. The A5 and 512MB of RAM make app hangs, crashes, and tab reloading regular events.
Click to expand...

That's ridiculous. I've had two non retina minis since spring 2013 and no problems. For some reason you are having problems with your particular device, and make the completely unscientific determination that it's a problem with all mini-1's based on their hardware.

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Sven11 said:
I don't want you to be depressed over your new iPad, but the 1st gen iPad mini is 8 times slower than the 2nd gen and is basically only a smaller iPad 2...
Click to expand...

Where on earth are you getting your numbers! Benchmarks show the processor is about 3.5 slower. However, since the mini-2 is retina, it has to push 4-times the pixels!
 
Defender2010 said:
Plus it will only get faster when 7.1 is officially released. I have 7.1 beta 3 on an iPad mini first gen and it is very smooth - don't let the rMini users put you down - they have bad screens (yellowing and image retention issues) to deal with, you don't! Enjoy it! :)
Click to expand...

I am enjoying it! Good to hear it will only get better.
 
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