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iPad Mini 4 16gb or 64gb

T

tim0409

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 6, 2010
189
135
Hi there

I've just picked up an iPad Mini 4 16gb from the Apple store today and spent a long time deliberating between the 16gb and a 64gb. I know that accepted wisdom is to go for the larger size but it replaces a 16gb iPad Mini 2 which was fine apart from me being unable to load my pictures (13gb); whilst it would be nice to have them on my iPad, they are on my MBA and my iPhone 6s (64GB) so can probably live without them. I tend to take my iPad everywhere with me and use it for browsing on the sofa as well as a Kindle; I don't install many apps and don't have music on it and also use dropbox for documents. I haven't opened it as I am still having second thoughts but having just bought a 6S I don't really want to spend an additional £80 unless I have to....

Thoughts...

Cheers

Tim
 
You are the only one that can decide your usage needs. I always recommend getting the most storage you can afford internally. Less reliant on Internet and external wifi drives. But I travel quite a bit, and for example the last week there was sketchy Internet where I was, so having my files and such on the iPad was great.
 
I had the same decision to make. I decided to go with the 16gb. My iPhone 6s Plus is 64gb. I only use about 28gb of the storage. I have a iMac and a MacBook Air. For My pictures I had started using iCloud Photo Library. For my music I'm using Apple Music. I figured since I'm using cloud services for my larger files and I don't have that many iPad apps to load. I also purchased a iDrive storage device for keeping movies or any other files that I like to transfer from Mac to iOS devices. The 16gb was best for me. If there was a 32 gb. I would have probably purchased it. I'm currently using 9-10gb of my 16gb storage on my iPad mini 4.
 
16GB wouldn't work for me, but your Mini 2 is probably the best indicator of what will work for you. Since it has worked fine, unless you see things changing (or want to use your iPad differently), I'd stick with 16GB and save the extra cash.

Minor rant: I think they should discontinue the 16GB devices and start with 32GB...
 
The question is what to do if network goes down, it's then nice to have extra storage for your stuff. I only think the 16g was ok on the early iPads and after that I went for 32g. Problem is once you have done it, you are stuck so only you know, but the mini being a great device, can't imagine it is worth stinting on, it should last you a long time with luck!
 
When it comes to storage, I disagree with Apple making the 16gb at all. I think 32 should be the base, followed by 64 and 128. I think 16gb is almost cheating your customers who buy these amazing products yet can't store anything. I know I'm probably not the only one who would be willing to pay a little more for a 32gb base model iPad Mini. That being said, next time around I will opt for the 64gb myself. If you're able to financially, the general rule is more storage is better than not enough.
 
Depends on how you use it. I mainly use mine for web browsing, e-mail and reading. I have a few apps and one or two games. 16 GB has always been more than enough for me.
 
I can understand why you made that choice given your history with the current 16GB Mini2. However, I am afraid if your needs and usage patterns change; especially since you mentioned that you would like to travel everywhere with your device - a fully crammed 16GB without a tether to the cloud is quite limiting.
 
I initially ordered a gold mini 3 16GB and quickly cancelled the order. I've always purchased devices with the lowest amount of storage and I always ended up regretting it. I purchased a silver mini 2 32GB and I'm glad I did. I've loaded up a few games and a bunch of different apps and I still have 16GB space free. It's nice not having to worry about storage... So buy the most you can afford.
 
I use a 64gb 6s+ but for iPad Mini I always go 16GB. I have iTunes Match so no music gets stored on it, and there aren't any tasks I use it for where I would need more than 16gb.
 
I imagine the only possible reason to get a bigger storage one is if you think some time in the future you'll be installing games on it. Mostly because I think the iPad mini is a very good gaming device.
 
I always max out the iPads that I bought (64GB). Although I never fill up my 64GB phone, I always near max out on my iPad, simply because of movies, games, photos, etc. It is a better tool to view photos/videos and play games than the small screen phone imo. Plus I always bring my iPad (mini 2) on the go, so offline content is important to me as I won't always be streaming content. But that's just me. In the end, it depends on your budget.
 
Thanks for all the replies; I'm still thinking about it but will probably go for the 64gb. Just out of curiosity, does iTunes compress pictures for iOS - my photos in OSX are circa 9-10GB, but on my iPhone (from what I can see) they are around half that (4GB). I can't find any settings for compression so I'm a bit confused. Finally, my other option would be to keep the 16gb and sign up for Photo Library - any thoughts?
 
16GB would probably work fine for me - I have a 16GB phone plus 128GB microSD and practically never use the card for anything.

But I decided I would want the Mini 4 for at least a couple of years, and perhaps I might change and want to store things on it instead of streaming everything and relying on the cloud. The price difference didn't really matter to me as I bought 2 cases and Apple Care+ anyway.
 
I would go for the 64 gig for myself. However if you were happy with 16 gig on your old version, and you're confident your needs will not change, and the monetary difference is substantial for you, then you have already made the right choice.
 
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