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iPad mini iPad mini 4 in 2020 - Use as a commuting device for reading/netflix/movies etc

S

SSD-GUY

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
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Hi all

I currently have an iPad Pro 11" which I use a lot at work for digital note taking, wire framing etc. I also tend to use it on my 2-hour daily commute here in London, however I'm finding that as I've got a case and apple keyboard attached to it, it gets rather big and heavy to hold for an hour to my face.

Now, I can't justify an iPad mini 5 for my use-case, as all I want to use this device for whilst commuting is looking at my Apple Books collection, watching Netflix/prime video/movies stored locally etc, using OneNote to browse the notes that I've made that day and perhaps some light safari browsing/youtube.

For my use-case, would the iPad mini 4 be ok? I've played about with the 5 in store and love the size and form factor, however I've not had a chance to play with the 4 to test it's performance. I'm worried that it'll be stuttery and won't be smooth. Also bear in mind that I'm using an iPhone SE and happy with the speed of it, so I'm not expecting iPhone XR type speeds for the iPad mini, and if someone out there also has an iPhone SE that they can compare their iPad mini 4 to in terms of speed, that would be an amazing benchmark for me to compare to.

Thanks!
 
SSD-GUY said:
Hi all

I currently have an iPad Pro 11" which I use a lot at work for digital note taking, wire framing etc. I also tend to use it on my 2-hour daily commute here in London, however I'm finding that as I've got a case and apple keyboard attached to it, it gets rather big and heavy to hold for an hour to my face.

Now, I can't justify an iPad mini 5 for my use-case, as all I want to use this device for whilst commuting is looking at my Apple Books collection, watching Netflix/prime video/movies stored locally etc, using OneNote to browse the notes that I've made that day and perhaps some light safari browsing/youtube.

For my use-case, would the iPad mini 4 be ok? I've played about with the 5 in store and love the size and form factor, however I've not had a chance to play with the 4 to test it's performance. I'm worried that it'll be stuttery and won't be smooth. Also bear in mind that I'm using an iPhone SE and happy with the speed of it, so I'm not expecting iPhone XR type speeds for the iPad mini, and if someone out there also has an iPhone SE that they can compare their iPad mini 4 to in terms of speed, that would be an amazing benchmark for me to compare to.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
The iPad mini 4 has ran poorly on the latest version of iPadOS.
 
SSD-GUY said:
Hi all

I currently have an iPad Pro 11" which I use a lot at work for digital note taking, wire framing etc. I also tend to use it on my 2-hour daily commute here in London, however I'm finding that as I've got a case and apple keyboard attached to it, it gets rather big and heavy to hold for an hour to my face.

Now, I can't justify an iPad mini 5 for my use-case, as all I want to use this device for whilst commuting is looking at my Apple Books collection, watching Netflix/prime video/movies stored locally etc, using OneNote to browse the notes that I've made that day and perhaps some light safari browsing/youtube.

For my use-case, would the iPad mini 4 be ok? I've played about with the 5 in store and love the size and form factor, however I've not had a chance to play with the 4 to test it's performance. I'm worried that it'll be stuttery and won't be smooth. Also bear in mind that I'm using an iPhone SE and happy with the speed of it, so I'm not expecting iPhone XR type speeds for the iPad mini, and if someone out there also has an iPhone SE that they can compare their iPad mini 4 to in terms of speed, that would be an amazing benchmark for me to compare to.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
IMO, the iPad Mini 4 will be just fine for your purposes. I continue to use my Mini 4 for similar uses and it is holding up just as well as the first day that I purchased it. I'm running with the latest version of iOS/iPadOS. I just recently moved past my iPhone SE, but I have found the Mini 4 to be more responsive than the SE.
 
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sracer said:
IMO, the iPad Mini 4 will be just fine for your purposes. I continue to use my Mini 4 for similar uses and it is holding up just as well as the first day that I purchased it. I'm running with the latest version of iOS/iPadOS. I just recently moved past my iPhone SE, but I have found the Mini 4 to be more responsive than the SE.
Click to expand...

Thank you, this has sealed it for me, as I use my SE as my daily driver and have no issues with its speed.
 
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AutomaticApple said:
No, but I've heard people complain about it (stuttering, crashing, etc). It's also much slower than the iPhone SE.
Click to expand...
Actually, it's worse than just stuttering and crashing.
forums.macrumors.com

iPad Mini 4 bricked by latest iOS?

Was working fine with previous version or two, but I just did an update to the latest iOS (or iPadOS?), and it won't shut off or boot. The display is the white Apple logo; when I try to hard boot with the switch, it briefly goes black and then returns with logo. Otherwise, nothing. Tried...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
 
AutomaticApple said:
No, but I've heard people complain about it (stuttering, crashing, etc). It's also much slower than the iPhone SE.
Click to expand...
OP, don’t listen to this guy with no hands on experience. Why he thinks his lack of experience makes his opinion worth considering is beyond me.

iOS 13 works just fine with the mini 4, which I use daily.
 
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I’ve had my mini 4 for three years now and use it all the time for reading, music, video (streaming and local), internet, and email while traveling and it works just fine. It’s on the latest version of iPad OS and it’s very fast and responsive. I’ve never had a crash on it with the latest OS and it is perfectly usable. It’s not as fast as my iPhone 11 but it is a great media device while on the go.
 
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I have both a Mini 4 and an SE as a daily driver. My SE is somewhat faster and more responsive, which is understandable considering how big of a jump the A9 was compared to A8. The RAM management also feels slightly better on the SE despite both having 2GB.

However, the Mini 4 is still perfectly usable in its own right. It might not feel fast but it doesn’t stutter or feel annoying either. Maybe you will feel it more coming from the Pro, but I personally haven’t once considered getting something else due to performance. Perfect book reader due to size and ability to handle pretty much any format. Ideal for browsing and maps. Great for typing with thumbs in vertical position. Not so great for videos due to the aspect ratio though.
Awesome little computer overall. Expect it to keep functioning well through 2020 and a few years beyond regardless of whether it will support future iOS or not.
 
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Thanks everyone. I'm picking up a 2nd hand one and look forward to using it. I'm literally going to be using it purely as a commuting device, and am not looking for, nor do I need, lots of power. As long as it's smooth, loads books/magazines/movies/netflix in a comparable timeframe to my SE, I'll be happy.

Will report back here next week.
 
SSD-GUY said:
Thanks everyone. I'm picking up a 2nd hand one and look forward to using it. I'm literally going to be using it purely as a commuting device, and am not looking for, nor do I need, lots of power. As long as it's smooth, loads books/magazines/movies/netflix in a comparable timeframe to my SE, I'll be happy.

Will report back here next week.
Click to expand...
I wish you good luck!
 
Thanks everyone, it arrived today.

Quick question - it came with a 10W apple charger. Did these not come with the 12W Apple charger?

Thanks
 
SSD-GUY said:
Thanks everyone, it arrived today.

Quick question - it came with a 10W apple charger. Did these not come with the 12W Apple charger?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Yep, mine came with 12W. This model has been manufactured over the span of 3,5 years though so theoretically there could have been different variants. Also could depend on the region.
 
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