iPad Mini 2 for a gift?

[ACG12]

My mother in law's birthday is coming up and she hinted that she would like a tablet. She's not picky and she pretty much will be happy with something that compliments her iPhone 6 Plus.

Is the iPad mini 2 still a decent tablet for basic apps like Pandora, Facebook and web browsing?

 

[Septembersrain]

It's okay but to be honest, a little slow. My Mini 3 was slowing down a lot before I sold it. However my guys Mini 2 is fine but he has never updated it. I think it's on iOS 8 or 9? Not sure. Anyways, it might depend on what iOS version it's running. My grandma has the first Mini and it got accidentally updated by her. She's very unhappy with how slow it is now. =/

What's your budget? I see she's got a bigger iPhone, so maybe a bigger tablet is better for her too?

 

[ACG12]

She's already confirmed that she doesn't want anything larger than the iPad mini.

Don't really have a budget per se, but the iPad mini 2 price is very nice being that it's on sale at Best Buy at $214.99. I was hoping they'd do their usual $100 off the mini 4, but nothing as of late.

If we do get her the mini 2 I'm hoping its on iOS 9 or lower. Her iPhone 6 Plus is on iOS 9.3.5 runs great...my 6 plus was horrible on iOS 10 and I actually just sold it today.

 

[Septembersrain]

She's already confirmed that she doesn't want anything larger than the iPad mini.

Don't really have a budget per se, but the iPad mini 2 price is very nice being that it's on sale at Best Buy at $214.99. I was hoping they'd do their usual $100 off the mini 4, but nothing as of late.

If we do get her the mini 2 I'm hoping its on iOS 9 or lower. Her iPhone 6 Plus is on iOS 9.3.5 runs great...my 6 plus was horrible on iOS 10 and I actually just sold it today.

What about open box specials? You'd have to have it shipped but you could save a little and get extra storage or maybe even find the newer Mini for less?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/outlet-...cs/pcmcat748300666861.c?id=pcmcat748300666861

 

[44267547]

She's already confirmed that she doesn't want anything larger than the iPad mini.

Don't really have a budget per se, but the iPad mini 2 price is very nice being that it's on sale at Best Buy at $214.99. I was hoping they'd do their usual $100 off the mini 4, but nothing as of late.

If we do get her the mini 2 I'm hoping its on iOS 9 or lower. Her iPhone 6 Plus is on iOS 9.3.5 runs great...my 6 plus was horrible on iOS 10 and I actually just sold it today.

If you can hold off, Apple's March Keynote is in a month. There might further sale prices on the Mini 4 once the new purported iPads are announced.

 

[Bart Kela]

Personally, I wouldn't buy the iPad mini 2. This is the oldest generation iPad mini that is supported by current iOS 10. There is a good possibility that Apple will drop support for this device when they release the next generation iOS 11 this fall. Moreover, often old devices run rather poorly on the latest versions for which they still receive support.

Such is obsolescence in the fast moving world of mobile devices.

Still, the device should perform adequately for web browsing, Facebook, Pandora, etc. I have a wider range of usages for my iPad, so I'd value a more up to date model.

It's worth pointing out that the iPad mini 2's technology is one year older than her iPhone 6, not what anyone would call a step forward.

 

[masotime]

Probably the most notable thing about the iPad mini 4 is the increase to 2GB of RAM (in terms of future-proofness), but if you're just looking for simple use cases like reading, surfing, general media consumption the mini 2 is quite capable.

 

[Steve121178]

Personally, I wouldn't buy the iPad mini 2. This is the oldest generation iPad mini that is supported by current iOS 10. There is a good possibility that Apple will drop support for this device when they release the next generation iOS 11 this fall.

No chance of them dropping anything 64-bit this year.
[doublepost=1487073023][/doublepost]

Probably the most notable thing about the iPad mini 4 is the increase to 2GB of RAM (in terms of future-proofness), but if you're just looking for simple use cases like reading, surfing, general media consumption the mini 2 is quite capable.

It's still highly capable. I clean install iOS on my devices each time a major version update is available and my Mini 2 still flies. Users who have a lot of bloat and have never clean installed iOS will of course suffer with issues, as they do on any iOS device. I notice that it's slower compared to my iPhone 7, but what isn't? There is nothing I haven't been able to do on my Mini 2 and I use it almost daily.

If the users needs are basic to moderate, then the Mini 2 is still a good purchase as long as the price is right.

 

[bensisko]

Yep - I would say the iPad Mini 2 is still a good buy. For a power user, they certainly wouldn't want it as their main machine, but it's still a great device! I have two iPad Mini 2s (long story) and I think they still work very well for most things.

Personally, I think it runs better on iOS 10 than it did on iOS 9.

The only thing I would recommend is to turn off animations and it'll be great!

 

[joeblow7777]

The Mini 2 is still a decent tablet, but if you're willing to spend a bit extra, the Mini 4 gets you double the RAM, a generation newer processor, a better display, better rear camera, and is thinner and lighter.

 

[bensisko]

The Mini 2 is still a decent tablet, but if you're willing to spend a bit extra, the Mini 4 gets you double the RAM, a generation newer processor, a better display, better rear camera, and is thinner and lighter.

Agreed - I think the extra $150 is well worth it (for me), though if the person is only going to use it for web, Facebook, and music it may not be.

 

[ACG12]

I went ahead an purchased the mini 2 and I only paid $200 brand new with tax from Best Buy for a 32gb model. That's just too good of a price imo for a tablet of this kind of build quality.

 

[dominiongamma]

I went ahead an purchased the mini 2 and I only paid $200 brand new with tax from Best Buy for a 32gb model. That's just too good of price imo for a tablet of this kind of build quality.

Price of the 4 will go down next month I'm betting when they announce the new iPads, iPad mini 2 is too outdated IMO, I am betting they will sell the 4 at the same price as the 2. I would have waited first.

 

[psac]

By the way, I also agree the Mini2 runs better on ios10 than ios9. I would update that bad boy to the max IOS whenever you set it up.

For a basic non-power user, it'll do just fine. I'd worry about how it'll work two years from now, though.

 

[bensisko]

Price of the 4 will go down next month I'm betting when they announce the new iPads, iPad mini 2 is too outdated IMO, I am betting they will sell the 4 at the same price as the 2. I would have waited first.

It won't go down to $200 though. You have a couple years before we see that.

 

[ACG12]

By the way, I also agree the Mini2 runs better on ios10 than ios9. I would update that bad boy to the max IOS whenever you set it up.

Really? My iphone 6 plus ran HORRIBLE on ios10....it's the reason why I told her to leave her 6 plus on ios 9.3.5.

 

[bensisko]

Really? My iphone 6 plus ran HORRIBLE on ios10....it's the reason why I told her to leave her 6 plus on ios 9.3.5.

Interesting... my old 6+ runs just fine on iOS 10 (though I really only use it as a backup for my drone controller and an iPod).

I notice that the battery does drain a lot quicker under iOS 10 though. I'm thinking about just doing a fresh install to see if that solves it.