All iPads iPad Mini 2 vs iPad Air 2/Future

[MichaelMidnight]

Quick question that I'd love your opinions on. Best Buy has some iPad Mini 2s on clearance/refurbished at around $320 and I'm looking for a tablet for reading comics, surfing the web, and maybe some writing.

I've played with the iPad Air 1 and 2, and I still come back to the mini form.

But as iPad sales are falling and the potential for sales to arrive sooner as Grads/Dads sales approaches, as is WWDC; I wonder if the iPad Mini 2 is a good buy still or if I should wait for iPad Air 2 sales to go on or bloody just wait to see what happens at WWDC.

What's your take?

 

[nightlong]

Size-wise only you can decide. But the iPad Air2 is a much better iPad, and is so light, thin, with 2 GB RAM and great screen.

 

[Jsameds]

iPad Mini 4 will very likely have iPad Air 2 internals, so if you can wait another 5 months then I reckon the Mini 4 is your best bet.

If you can't wait then the Mini 2 is still a very capable device and will be for the next 3 years or so.

 

[Badrottie]

Just buy a mini now until what WWDC have store for you and everyone then you can start selling mini (as long as the value still high) for mini 4.

 

[Mackinjosh]

You can get a brand new iPad Mini 3 from Amazon for 320.

 

[myrtlebee]

At this point, I would wait until WWDC on the off chance something is announced. That's what I'm doing, and I have a mini 2 right now that I've had for over a year. I like the mini form factor but I want the Air 2's specs. So, I will most likely be waiting until September/October for a mini refresh, but have been tempted by an Air 2. It's just that the sales on the Air 2 have not been great the past couple of months holding me back from trying it.

 

[Che Castro]

don't get any ipad with 1gb of ram

ios is only going to get bigger & power hungry

2gb is the minimum , so get ipad air 2

 

[MichaelMidnight]

Hey everyone! Thank you all for the comments. They're all giving me food for thought.

 

[sonicrobby]

I say wait till at least after the conference. And I agree with previous comments about the 2GB of ram being the better option.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

At this point, I would wait until WWDC on the off chance something is announced. That's what I'm doing, and I have a mini 2 right now that I've had for over a year. I like the mini form factor but I want the Air 2's specs. So, I will most likely be waiting until September/October for a mini refresh, but have been tempted by an Air 2. It's just that the sales on the Air 2 have not been great the past couple of months holding me back from trying it.

I agree with this, with the caveat that I just bought an iPad mini 3 this week, that I am typing this post on, after having been on an iPad Air 2 since last Fall.

I just needed to come back to the 8" size, it is so much nicer to use than the 10" screen...obviously a personal choice.

On the off chance that the iPad mini 4 with actually jump the Air 2 specs and again be on a level with the latest iPad model, and get an A9 or A9X, then I will sell this and get the newest mini, but having had the Air 2 for a good 6 months, I can say that the only real difference I noticed was Safari reloading tabs less often. That is honestly it.

Put succinctly, my advice to you is stick to your mini form factor guns, wait and see if anything is hinted at during WWDC (even though I can't imagine ut would be...when have we ever heard anything about iPads at WWDC??) and then get a mini 2 - the 2 is your best buy at the moment unless, like me, you need the largest storage you can get.

 

[sargein]

The big difference for me between iPad Air (1 or 2) and iPad Mini Retina is that the mini screen is not 100% color gamut, and so the colors look faded and dull as compared to any other tablet. Why Apple didn't fix this in the last refresh is beyond me.

Having said that, I still got the Mini retina recently as it is quite useful during travels etc when I don't want to carry my iPad Air. But I got it from craigslist - brand-new unopened 64gb Verizon version for $300 net. At that price, I can justify it. Paying retail price for a sub-standard screen for a device that is MEANT for media consumption is not a good use of my funds. YMMV, of course.