iPad Mini 2 users, upgrading to Mini 4?

[wchigo]

Find my thread with a review and descriptive comparisons to a mini 2 and Air 1 for the mini 4 on macrumors.

I am just not getting the best battery life like I do on my Mini 2 and Magic Air 1. with minimum usage on my Air 1 from most recent full charge, I got over 10 hours usage and its now at 50 percent. I am looking at another 8 to 10 hours usage time with screen on and only web browsing, some music, all loading and closing apps, speed tests, and YouTube video here and there.

All of a sudden I am getting mystical battery life on my mini 2 and Air 1 because the only reason I have used them at all now was to compare everything side by side to the mini 4. I game a lot but since getting the mini 4 and trying to tweak it for the best battery life and cloning settings to match my other iPads, I have been using it 24/7 and not the other ones except for testing.

Usually Mini 2 IOS 8.4.1 = 11 - 13 hours and 15 minutes screen on time with 50-75% gaming and 25-50% safari web browsing
Usually Air 1 IOS 8.2 = 13 - 14 hours and 50 minutes screen on time with 50-75% gaming and 25-50% safari web browsing
Unusual Mini 4 IOS9 (maybe the culprit) = 10 hours 37 minutes screen on time with 25% gaming and 50-75% safari and 25% misc like music, YouTube, photos, speed tests and so forth.

Mini 4 has new auto brightness sensor and software mode for it in IOS9. I got the Gold 16gb wifi version and the brightness does some crazy stuff. With auto brightness on any ambient light change in environment you use tablet in the auto brightness on mini 4 and IOS9 instantly brightens the screen some times too much compared to how the mini 2 worked with auto brightness and IOS 8. If light dims in environment IOS9/Mini 4/sensor dims screen which I like that it does this now compared to older IPADS and IOS 8 and below, EXCEPT its doing it all the time, instantly not gradually.

Do not know if I got a dud or all new mini 4's do this. ALSO with that in mind, I disabled auto brightness and set brightness to a specific level. I do not know if its a BUG/GLITCH/IOS9 or hardware issue but the brightness will stay where I have it set but still will dim lower or back to where its set with auto brightness off in certain IOS9 stock apps. Like Safari I was replying to a thread today on the mini 4 with auto brightness disabled and setted it a little over low brightness. Well clouds came in where I live and darkened room, so the set brightness I had it on while typing in a forum thread in Safari dropped the dam brightness on me, then when room brightened back up, brightness went back to where I specifically set it at with auto brightness disabled. ITS SO DAM WEIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has to be hurting battery life and performance. Also I think touch ID sensor always enabled and on hurts battery life since Air 1 and Mini 2 do not have it, Also mini 4 has a barometer which no app uses built into IOS9 that I know of and it probably always enabled and being used for who knows what reason.

Whole reason I jumped ship from Android was for 1. Performance 2. Battery life 3. Screen resolution and quality 4. Sound & Audio 5. Wifi performance 6. Lightning accessories 7. Overall smoother and lag free experience and better app optimization to include performance and eye candy compared to android counter parts. AND in IOS8 no dam battery life draining due to stupid 3rd party apps doing what they want without your permission.

MY AIR 1 gets 15 hours GAMING and browsing before I got to charge it again. No android device from any company can out do that. IT also beats it in web browsing performance bar none even out doing laptops. A7 and 64bit architecture does help apple IOS fly. That is of course 8.x versions. They got a long way to go to get IOS9 to not only run as smooth as IOS8 but to optimize battery life and fix all the weird bugs and glitches and crappy coding they left hanging.

IOS9 keyboard on mini 4 is always doing stuff when I get going typing on it very quickly, touch response is there but keyboard in IOS9 wants to do its own dam thing like its got a mind of its own....

IOS8.x keyboard does not do that and keeps up with me going bananas typing so dam fast on it! Of course my Air 1 and Mini 2 have older touch response and air gap and layers between everything in screen.

Mini 4 does not, and some times I think there are some touch issues when I am sliding back and forth to different web pages in memory in safari for navigation. My MINI 2 and AIR 1 do not do this. Once again is it hardware, glitch, bug or just crappy IOS9. who knows?

I had mini 4 for almost now a week, I got another week before I'm allowed to return it.

I do love the screen, the performance and the smoothness and refresh rate of screen during games with high fps or videos. ALSO SAFARI flies browsing heavy websites scrolling through long ones instantaneously. (Maybe new version of Safari using the Metal API as Apple claims for better browsing drains the battery more compared to older models and IOS9; because that is what I have been using/doing most of the time on the new Mini 4)

I just do not have the time to figure out if it is hardware issues and defective on the model I got, if I do not return it then I am stuck with it. But if its IOS9 then of course I can wait on Apple to hopefully fix it. Although not many others on these message boards have shared in depth reviews or comparisons that are technical and analytical in detail to help me figure out if I got a lemon or not!

Link to mine: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-with-idea-of-downgrade-to-ios-8-4-1.1918669/

Link to battery life: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mini-4-battery-life-ios9-build-340-results.1919763/

I don't think it's fair to compare an iPad Mini of any kind to an iPad Air of any kind when it comes to battery life. With its larger size, the Air will of course come with a significantly bigger battery, which will skew the results. That's like comparing a 6S with a 6 Plus; no matter what kind of power saving technology they put into the hardware or software of the 6S, it will be hard-pressed to overcome the physical disadvantage of having a much smaller battery than that of the 6 Plus.

Your iPad Mini 2 vs Mini 4 comparison would be more fair, but when you're not comparing everything at literally the same (same OS, testing under same conditions while doing the exact same thing), the results are not going to be accurate. Despite iOS9 supposedly helping battery life, in general I believe Apple rated the Mini 4 around 10 hours of battery life while surfing on Safari, and it seems you're getting around 10 hours now. Touch ID's battery drain is insignificant as it was also available on the 5S and I didn't see any appreciable difference in battery life between the 5 and 5S.

The keyboard issue is strange though, and I haven't noticed that on my 6 Plus on iOS 9.0.1 or my iPad Air 2 on iOS 9.1 beta. I would suggest, before you return/exchange it, to restore to factory settings (if you didn't do that already), then set it up as new and add the apps back in one by one. If you restored from back-up, you might have gotten some weird issues with settings or whatever that didn't play nice from one OS to another. If you didn't... well, doesn't hurt to try...?

 

[Skyhawk21]

Thanks for the ideas and responses. When I turned this mini 4 on for the first time, I did go through the setup process as "set as new iPad" and did not restore anything from any kind of backup on iTunes or iCloud. I started over from scratch and added all my apps manually fresh from App Store then setup email accounts, contacts etc all the same way as cloned from my other iPads.

Every setting on this mini 4 is exact to my mini 2 and air 1. Only difference is IOS9 compared to IOS 8.4.1 on mini 2 which is buttery smooth and last usage time was good. On Air 1 IOS 8.2. Each iPad all same apps with cloned home screens and folders with all background stuff disabled including Bluetooth, location, find my iPad, etc.

Either IOS 9 and the new enabled by default multitasking options are doing something weird and killing off battery during idle or load, or I could of got a dud with a bad battery or an actual lower mah battery either due to a bad internal cell or it was installed from different Chinese factory with low quality component to rush it out to retail.

Maybe the newer 7.9" screen with way better calibration and color gamut takes more wattage no matter what brightness setting compared to the lower quality panel on the mini 2.

Who knows, I have done some complete discharges and full charges with some calibration and not much change.

All I have not done is upgraded IOS 9 to the .0.1 higher build yet..

I don't think it's fair to compare an iPad Mini of any kind to an iPad Air of any kind when it comes to battery life. With its larger size, the Air will of course come with a significantly bigger battery, which will skew the results. That's like comparing a 6S with a 6 Plus; no matter what kind of power saving technology they put into the hardware or software of the 6S, it will be hard-pressed to overcome the physical disadvantage of having a much smaller battery than that of the 6 Plus.

Your iPad Mini 2 vs Mini 4 comparison would be more fair, but when you're not comparing everything at literally the same (same OS, testing under same conditions while doing the exact same thing), the results are not going to be accurate. Despite iOS9 supposedly helping battery life, in general I believe Apple rated the Mini 4 around 10 hours of battery life while surfing on Safari, and it seems you're getting around 10 hours now. Touch ID's battery drain is insignificant as it was also available on the 5S and I didn't see any appreciable difference in battery life between the 5 and 5S.

The keyboard issue is strange though, and I haven't noticed that on my 6 Plus on iOS 9.0.1 or my iPad Air 2 on iOS 9.1 beta. I would suggest, before you return/exchange it, to restore to factory settings (if you didn't do that already), then set it up as new and add the apps back in one by one. If you restored from back-up, you might have gotten some weird issues with settings or whatever that didn't play nice from one OS to another. If you didn't... well, doesn't hurt to try...?

 

[Kal-037]

I may upgrade if I can sell my mini 2 for a reasonable price, but if not.... The mini 2 has been really great.


K.

 

[RickTaylor]

I upgraded my mini 2 from 8.4.1 to 9.0.1, and the buggy laggy behavior I was having with a heavily annotated book in Kindle disappeared. I'm not sure if it's my imagination, but the device feels smoother too. So I'm back to leaning towards keeping my mini 2 for now. The mini 4 looks like a great upgrade, but the mini 2 does what I need.

 

[THFourteen]

I have a Mini 2 and was dissapointed last year when the Mini 3 was announced and it was rubbish. I didn't buy an Air or Air 2 instead which was no doubt Apple's plan, as for commuting i find the smaller tablet much better for me.

When they glossed over the Mini 4 on stage this year i thought i would go another year without upgrading (and I have upgraded my ipad every year apart from last year since the iPad 1!)

However i've just ordered one! 64GB 4G.

Reasoning (in this order)

1) Split Screen multitasking. I have always hated tabbing out of Safari or Youtube to check an email or facebook or whatever. This will be a godsend for me, as well as the 2GB RAM.

2) Less reflective screen - I'm sick of seeing my face starring in MR Robot, Arrow, Justified, Peppa Pig... i don't get royalties for those appearances.

3) Touch ID, 10% lighter, slightly faster CPU, colour gamut - these are all nice to haves, but add to the worthwhileness of the upgrade.

Think i can sell my mini 2 64gb 4g for ~ £200 so upgrade cost is £300 + £10 for a cheap case for now.

 

[Ray2]

I went from a mini 2 to a mini 3 and it was a huge upgrade. Display, battery life, speed. I can't imagine going from a 2 to a 4 being anything other than better. Especially if iOS 8 is loaded on the mini 2 as it slows things down. I just ordered a mini 4. My battery needs a replacement and for the extra bucks, I'll just get a new one.

I use my mini as my primary computing device. Other than photography, downloads and home media streaming, the mini does all the rest. For me it's worth it. For those who use the mini less frequently, it may be a different decision.

 

[pacorob]

I went from a mini 2 to a mini 3 and it was a huge upgrade. Display, battery life, speed. I can't imagine going from a 2 to a 4 being anything other than better. Especially if iOS 8 is loaded on the mini 2 as it slows things down. I just ordered a mini 4. My battery needs a replacement and for the extra bucks, I'll just get a new one.

Seriously the iPad mini3 only had TouchID and a different gold color choice that was it in comparison to the iPad mini2. But as far as i know the mini3 didn;t have a better display, battery or processor. Upgrading from mini2 or 3 to the 4 does make a huge diffference:

mini 2/3: 1.3 GHz A7 processor, 1GB RAM, double-cell battery with a capacity rated at 6,471mAh, 5MP photos, Bluetooth 4.0, hardware mute/orientation lock switch, no Touch ID on mini2

mini 4: 1.4 GHz A8 processor, 2GB RAM, Touch ID, device is 1.4mm thinner than the iPad mini 3 and features round speaker ports, 5,124mAh single-cell battery putting out 19.1-watt-hours of energy, 8MP photos, Burst mode, Slo-mo video, LCD and front panel glass are fused together, Fully laminated display, Antireflective coating, Bluetooth 4.2, lacks hardware mute/orientation lock switch

See also a good review of the Mini4 here.

iOS8 slow on iPad mini2? Eh not so much in my opinion. I do think that iOS9 is a tiny bit slower then iOS7/8 on my iPad mini2.

 

[rkuo]

Seriously the iPad mini3 only had TouchID and a different gold color choice that was it in comparison to the iPad mini2. But as far as i know the mini3 didn;t have a better display, battery or processor. Upgrading from mini2 or 3 to the 4 does make a huge diffference:

mini 2/3: 1.3 GHz A7 processor, 1GB RAM, double-cell battery with a capacity rated at 6,471mAh, 5MP photos, Bluetooth 4.0, hardware mute/orientation lock switch, no Touch ID on mini2

mini 4: 1.4 GHz A8 processor, 2GB RAM, Touch ID, device is 1.4mm thinner than the iPad mini 3 and features round speaker ports, 5,124mAh single-cell battery putting out 19.1-watt-hours of energy, 8MP photos, Burst mode, Slo-mo video, LCD and front panel glass are fused together, Fully laminated display, Antireflective coating, Bluetooth 4.2, lacks hardware mute/orientation lock switch

See also a good review of the Mini4 here.

iOS8 slow on iPad mini2? Eh not so much in my opinion. I do think that iOS9 is a tiny bit slower then iOS7/8 on my iPad mini2.

Eh, the more I think about the mini 4 the less impressive it gets. The 2gb ram is overkill until multitasking works more seamlessly and apps start making use of the RAM. The rest of the changes like gamut, thickness, camera, are all nice but are all spit and polish that doesn't really transform the usage of the tablet. If they had cut the bezel size that would have been something, but instead they made the bezels bigger!

And worst, the A8 is a terrible processor upgrade ... 20 pct improvement after two years of the A7 is pathetic.

Once the price drops below the air 2 in promotions and the apps/multitasking catch up, I think it might be worth upgrading. But I just can't figure out what the mini 4 is going to do that the mini 2 doesn't do 90 pct as well.

 

[pacorob]

Eh, the more I think about the mini 4 the less impressive it gets. The 2gb ram is overkill until multitasking works more seamlessly and apps start making use of the RAM.
And worst, the A8 is a terrible processor upgrade ... 20 pct improvement after two years of the A7 is pathetic.

Once the price drops below the air 2 in promotions and the apps/multitasking catch up, I think it might be worth upgrading. But I just can't figure out what the mini 4 is going to do that the mini 2 doesn't do 90 pct as well.

The iPad mini4 has Split view support. How much more multitasking do you want? I agree that currently the apps that support that feature are just a few but that will increase quickly i think.

After last years (non) update from 2-3 I'm very happy with the 2GB ram and A8 processor. Ofcourse a A9 would be nicer but still i was afraid that there wouldn't be any new iPad mini because bigger is better for a lot of users and companies (which i don't think is a good thing). I like the small and handy size of my iPad mini2 (and my iPhone 5s).

 

[newellj]

Absolutely right. The only upgrade with the Mini 3 was the increased profit on Apple's bottom line. It's probably no accident that they added the gold color for the Mini 3.

Seriously the iPad mini3 only had TouchID and a different gold color choice that was it in comparison to the iPad mini2. But as far as i know the mini3 didn;t have a better display, battery or processor. Upgrading from mini2 or 3 to the 4 does make a huge diffference:

mini 2/3: 1.3 GHz A7 processor, 1GB RAM, double-cell battery with a capacity rated at 6,471mAh, 5MP photos, Bluetooth 4.0, hardware mute/orientation lock switch, no Touch ID on mini2

mini 4: 1.4 GHz A8 processor, 2GB RAM, Touch ID, device is 1.4mm thinner than the iPad mini 3 and features round speaker ports, 5,124mAh single-cell battery putting out 19.1-watt-hours of energy, 8MP photos, Burst mode, Slo-mo video, LCD and front panel glass are fused together, Fully laminated display, Antireflective coating, Bluetooth 4.2, lacks hardware mute/orientation lock switch

See also a good review of the Mini4 here.

iOS8 slow on iPad mini2? Eh not so much in my opinion. I do think that iOS9 is a tiny bit slower then iOS7/8 on my iPad mini2.

 

[spiderman0616]

Absolutely right. The only upgrade with the Mini 3 was the increased profit on Apple's bottom line. It's probably no accident that they added the gold color for the Mini 3.

I'm actually about to buy a mini 3 on eBay right now. I'm coming from no iPad though. My wife has a mini that she loves, but I sold my Air 1 to help pay for my new Macbook Pro. I'm now finding that I'm really missing having an iPad at night when I'm in bed wanting to read a book or watch a movie. It took about a month to realize how much I miss having a tablet at bed time.

 

[newellj]

I'm actually about to buy a mini 3 on eBay right now. I'm coming from no iPad though. My wife has a mini that she loves, but I sold my Air 1 to help pay for my new Macbook Pro. I'm now finding that I'm really missing having an iPad at night when I'm in bed wanting to read a book or watch a movie. It took about a month to realize how much I miss having a tablet at bed time.

I haven't looked at used prices lately, but the iPad Mini 2 has all the same hardware, other than TouchID, and is usually a good bit less expensive. I bought my Mini 2 after the Mini 3 was introduced and couldn't think of any reason to spend roughly $100 more for the fingerprint sensor.

 

[ZBoater]

...but the iPad Mini 2 has all the same hardware, other than TouchID, ....

Ummmm, yeah. Other than the processor difference. Sure.

And the improved screen. Details.

 

[rkuo]

The iPad mini4 has Split view support. How much more multitasking do you want? I agree that currently the apps that support that feature are just a few but that will increase quickly i think.

After last years (non) update from 2-3 I'm very happy with the 2GB ram and A8 processor. Ofcourse a A9 would be nicer but still i was afraid that there wouldn't be any new iPad mini because bigger is better for a lot of users and companies (which i don't think is a good thing). I like the small and handy size of my iPad mini2 (and my iPhone 5s).

I'm addicted to the mini form factor as well. I understand split view is technically multitasking, but typically I switch between messaging and web browsing / gaming. And having a onscreen keyboard come up and cover half the screen sort of ruins the point of the whole thing. I just don't find split view useful right now ... Hopefully that will change. I'll definitely buy a mini 4 sooner if I get convinced on that front. Perhaps the integrated keyboard and larger iPad pro screen will be more convincing.

 

[Faelan]

Eh, the more I think about the mini 4 the less impressive it gets. The 2gb ram is overkill until multitasking works more seamlessly and apps start making use of the RAM. The rest of the changes like gamut, thickness, camera, are all nice but are all spit and polish that doesn't really transform the usage of the tablet. If they had cut the bezel size that would have been something, but instead they made the bezels bigger!

And worst, the A8 is a terrible processor upgrade ... 20 pct improvement after two years of the A7 is pathetic.

Once the price drops below the air 2 in promotions and the apps/multitasking catch up, I think it might be worth upgrading. But I just can't figure out what the mini 4 is going to do that the mini 2 doesn't do 90 pct as well.

I agree that the Mini 4 might not look so appealing price-wise when compared against an Air 2 on sale. But I can't cram an Air 2 into the pocket of my jacket without something bursting or bending. The Mini fits like a champ and is great for long commutes, especially during rush hour where the larger iPad may look a bit conspicuous or even get in the way. It's portability vs screen real estate. Same reason why some people pick the 6 over the 6+.

As for 2gb being overkill - hell no! I have 13 tabs open in Safari, multiple PDFs open in GoodReader plus a document in Word and there's no reloading going on when switching between them. It's an amazing experience to not sit there and twiddle your thumbs to death while things are constantly reloading. Yeah, it might be overkill if you're just using it for Netflix, but I'd like to do more than that on this device and the extra gigabyte plus split view enables that.

It's also much snappier in actual use. I don't care what the numbers look like on paper. What matters is that I can feel the difference and I can definitely feel it. Combine that with the much nicer screen, touch ID etc. and I feel it's well worth the upgrade to me. Thickness alone is not worth it. The screen upgrade alone is not worth it. The touch ID alone is not worth it. Etc. etc. It's when I add it all together that things change in favor of being worth it. But again, it depends on what you're using it for. If it's just for watching videos or e-reading, then it may not be worth it.

 

[Faelan]

I understand split view is technically multitasking, but typically I switch between messaging and web browsing / gaming. And having a onscreen keyboard come up and cover half the screen sort of ruins the point of the whole thing.

Even on the Surface Pro 3 with its 12" screen, the on-screen keyboard eats up about half the screen (yikes!). Not sure what can be done about it besides the obvious use of an external keyboard, which sorta defeats the whole point of using a Mini over the larger Air. It still beats not having the ability at all though and the Air is no better in that regard since it's the same resolution.

 

[newellj]

Ummmm, yeah. Other than the processor difference. Sure.

And the improved screen. Details.

Ummmmm, yeah back at you - this time, read my post. The Mini 2 has the same SoC as the Mini 3. It has the same screen. It came with TouchID and a new color. I responded to and quoted a post about someone buying a Mini 3. Your point...?

 

[Ray2]

Seriously the iPad mini3 only had TouchID and a different gold color choice that was it in comparison to the iPad mini2. But as far as i know the mini3 didn;t have a better display, battery or processor. Upgrading from mini2 or 3 to the 4 does make a huge diffference:

mini 2/3: 1.3 GHz A7 processor, 1GB RAM, double-cell battery with a capacity rated at 6,471mAh, 5MP photos, Bluetooth 4.0, hardware mute/orientation lock switch, no Touch ID on mini2

mini 4: 1.4 GHz A8 processor, 2GB RAM, Touch ID, device is 1.4mm thinner than the iPad mini 3 and features round speaker ports, 5,124mAh single-cell battery putting out 19.1-watt-hours of energy, 8MP photos, Burst mode, Slo-mo video, LCD and front panel glass are fused together, Fully laminated display, Antireflective coating, Bluetooth 4.2, lacks hardware mute/orientation lock switch

See also a good review of the Mini4 here.

iOS8 slow on iPad mini2? Eh not so much in my opinion. I do think that iOS9 is a tiny bit slower then iOS7/8 on my iPad mini2.

I agree. Like I said, I need a new battery. That makes the up charge to a 4 a good enough price to upgrade. If the 3 did not need a battery, I would not do it.

The question some are asking is, is the 3 good enough. Given refurb prices, I would not give the 4 a thought. The 3 is an excellent iPad, missing a few features that the 4 has. Don't need the features, save some money.

 

[Tapper123]

To anyone who enjoys games on their Mini, be careful about upgrading to the Mini 4.

It has some noticeable performance issues, with frame rates dropping and stuttering. I was very excited about the Mini 4, and bought one the day it was available at my Apple Store. It's a beautiful device, and the screen is superb. But if you play games you will be disappointed. I don't think iOS 9 is a good match for this device, but it's stuck with it.

 

[newellj]

To anyone who enjoys games on their Mini, be careful about upgrading to the Mini 4.

It has some noticeable performance issues, with frame rates dropping and stuttering. I was very excited about the Mini 4, and bought one the day it was available at my Apple Store. It's a beautiful device, and the screen is superb. But if you play games you will be disappointed. I don't think iOS 9 is a good match for this device, but it's stuck with it.

I've lost track of where you came into this thread on this point, and I'm curious: have you had a chance to compare an Air 2 to the Mini 4 with the same version of iOS and the same app? Looking for information, not trying to find an argument to pick.

 

[Tapper123]

Newellj: Yes, look a few threads down -- I started a thread about it with specific examples. I own both an iPad Air 2 and Mini 4 on iOS 9.0.1, as well as iPod Touch 5 on iOS 7.

Others have corroborated my findings. There is something amiss, but I don't think it will bother you unless you play games. For people who are mainly reading and watching media, the Mini 4 is great. The screen is superb -- even slightly better than Air 2 (can go a little brighter). But gaming performance is poor in a number of games; Air 2 is much better.

 

[quamsi]

Going to wait till next years update. I would like force touch. This mini2 is still a nice little tablet.

 

[Smileyboy]

Love the upgrade. Well worth it. Its a lot faster and I sold the iPad Air 2. I'm super happy... Now to get my hands on the iPad Pro

 

[ZBoater]

Ummmmm, yeah back at you - this time, read my post. The Mini 2 has the same SoC as the Mini 3. It has the same screen. It came with TouchID and a new color. I responded to and quoted a post about someone buying a Mini 3. Your point...?

Right back at you. Did you read the OP?

 

[newellj]

Right back at you. Did you read the OP?

Irrelevant, I wasn't responding to the OP. Join the thread or bail out.