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iPad mini iPad mini 5 or wait for the 6?

What should I do?

  • Buy iPad mini 5

    Votes: 13 44.8%

  • Wait for iPad mini 6

    Votes: 16 55.2%
  • Total voters
    29
Miihnena

Miihnena

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 22, 2021
2
3
Hello, I’m new here. I thought we were going to get a new iPad mini at the Spring Loaded event and we didn’t so.. What do u guys think? Is it worth waiting or should I buy the 5?

I think its good to say that I’d like to use it as a journal, business agenda, casual gaming and content consuming. I love the fact that it has a perfect size for me since I have small hands. Since it came out in 2019, how long it will receive updates? Do u think it will be bad for light gaming and the other stuff Im gonna use it for?

Thanks in advance,
Milena
 
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Miihnena said:
Hello, I’m new here. I thought we were going to get a new iPad mini at the Spring Loaded event and we didn’t so.. What do u guys think? Is it worth waiting or should I buy the 5?

I think its good to say that I’d like to use it as a journal, business agenda, casual gaming and content consuming. I love the fact that it has a perfect size for me since I have small hands. Since it came out in 2019, how long it will receive updates? Do u think it will be bad for light gaming and the other stuff Im gonna use it for?

Thanks in advance,
Milena
Click to expand...
Buy the iPad mini 5. The iPad mini 6 will merely be a minor spec bump.
 
Since we didn't get a Mini 6 accouncement, if you want it now, go for the Mini 5 now and worry about the next Mini after its announced. Sounds like for what your mentioned you'll use it for, the Mini 5 should be plenty fast. Of course, we'll all see how much iPadOS 15 will slow down all but the latest iPads. 😅 I kid, I kid (but not really!) lol.

While I still love the Mini size vs the 11" Pro size and weight..my Mini 4 feels soooo slow, especially after years of iOS updates. Also, now I've finally got used to the 11" Pro size and weight. I hardly use my Mini 4 anymore.
 
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Did Apple even say there would be a mini 6 ? Are there any solid rumors of a mini 6? Nope

So why the question? No sense in asking this, since absolutely no one knows.
 
Thank you everyone for the answers!

About the rumors, I saw a picture with a possible iPad mini 6 and some people were talking about that possibility, that’s why I was in doubt. :)
 
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Miihnena said:
Hello, I’m new here. I thought we were going to get a new iPad mini at the Spring Loaded event and we didn’t so.. What do u guys think? Is it worth waiting or should I buy the 5?

I think its good to say that I’d like to use it as a journal, business agenda, casual gaming and content consuming. I love the fact that it has a perfect size for me since I have small hands. Since it came out in 2019, how long it will receive updates? Do u think it will be bad for light gaming and the other stuff Im gonna use it for?

Thanks in advance,
Milena
Click to expand...
I have had the iPad Mini 5 for about a year, and primarily use it for all of the tasks/functions you listed. It is speedy and light, and the perfect size. I also have a 2018 iPad Pro 11 inch, and the iPad Mini 5 feels nearly as fast. There is no knowing when/if Apple will update it anytime soon, so you might as well get one now and enjoy it :)
 
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It’s fair to say that the rumours were never as strong as for the 5. Recently there was a photo which purported to be a prototype of a Mini 6 and two iPad Pros. It was pointed out at the time that it looked like the back of a Mini 5 and in the absence of any announcement either at the event or in a press release (Air 3 and Mini 5 were in a press release at the time) it seems that that was correct. In contrast, a couple of months before the Mini 5, a backplate for a mini in the then iPad 6th gen gold emerged. The Mini 4 was a different shade of gold, suggesting that something was coming.

The expectation has mainly been because the Air 3 mirrored the Mini 5, the Air 4 was on the market and the base iPad has caught up with Mini specs (minus things like laminated screen.) But as we know Apple will do as they please and to be fair, no one expected the Mini 5 to get the A12 on launch when the A10 was in the base iPad. That gave them longer before they needed to update it again (A8 in the mini 4 was already less powerful than the A8X Air 2 it was released alongside, and showing its age at 3.5 years when the Mini 5 came out.) If Apple are mainly catering to the vertical markets with the mini then having the same processor as the base iPad will be fine, and 2 processor generations better off than they were before the Mini 5 came along.

Personally, I would not be happy to pay the £70 (I think) premium for the Mini over the base iPad, but if customers are willing to, that works for Apple for now. From memory the Mini 4 ended up being at much worse a premium than the Mini 5 is now, as the only storage available was 128GB. When I bought my Mini 5 the 8th Gen was £349 with A10 and 2GB RAM. £50 extra for an extra GB ram, 2 processor generations forward and a laminated screen (though that wasn’t a must have for me) was a steal.

If I had to buy a new iPad tomorrow, I’d get the 8th Gen and make do rather than pay full price for a Mini 5. I very much favour the Mini form factor and it helps that I have someone who would be delighted with a iPad 8 when I went back to Mini. They don’t want a Mini. In your shoes, I’d be tempted to look for a Mini on offer (there seemed to be one the other day, according to the Buyers’ Guide) but they may have disappeared since given that the 6 isn’t imminent. Or an Apple refurb if there are any available in your country. No iPad refurbs at all in the UK for a few weeks now.

I may be wrong, but I don’t see Apple letting the Mini fall behind the base model again and on that basis, I think it’ll be updated in October.
 
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Get the mini 5 if you want a mini.

Just look at mini 4 to mini 5. It took from Sept 2015 -> March 2019.

I remember each year, 2016,2017,2018 about rumours and even photos of mini 5s. They clearly never happened. Right now we are essentially at Sept 2017. It could be another 18 months until the mini 6, or longer.

No one really knows when or if a mini 6 will come. The next most likely date now is Sept/Oct. But from my experience of waiting for the mini 5, it could be much longer. If you find a good deal on the mini 5, and want one, just get it. The A12 is still more than capable - they only just put it in the new Apple TV, and up until this week, the latest iPad Pro ran pretty much the same processor with different gpu cores.
 
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Miihnena said:
Hello, I’m new here. I thought we were going to get a new iPad mini at the Spring Loaded event and we didn’t so.. What do u guys think? Is it worth waiting or should I buy the 5?

I think its good to say that I’d like to use it as a journal, business agenda, casual gaming and content consuming. I love the fact that it has a perfect size for me since I have small hands. Since it came out in 2019, how long it will receive updates? Do u think it will be bad for light gaming and the other stuff Im gonna use it for?

Thanks in advance,
Milena
Click to expand...
We all have different uses for the iPads we use, but I heavily use my iPad Mini 5 daily... as a journal, business/personal planner (I use a planner that I designed for use with Notability/GoodNotes), project notebook, ereader (made even better by using a matte screen protector), a netbook (when I add the Zagg keyboard case), and productivity tool.

Except for those tasks that are difficult to do on a smaller screen, I am able to do everything with the Mini 5 that I previously did with my 12.9 iPad Pro.

One added benefit of getting the Mini 5 now (rather than waiting for a hypothetical Mini 6 with a different design) is that accessories for the Mini 4 work with the 5 and are dirt cheap. Except for an ever-so-slight difference in volume button placement and external microphone, all cases and covers will work with the 5.
 
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sracer said:
We all have different uses for the iPads we use, but I heavily use my iPad Mini 5 daily... as a journal, business/personal planner (I use a planner that I designed for use with Notability/GoodNotes), project notebook, ereader (made even better by using a matte screen protector), a netbook (when I add the Zagg keyboard case), and productivity tool.

Except for those tasks that are difficult to do on a smaller screen, I am able to do everything with the Mini 5 that I previously did with my 12.9 iPad Pro.

One added benefit of getting the Mini 5 now (rather than waiting for a hypothetical Mini 6 with a different design) is that accessories for the Mini 4 work with the 5 and are dirt cheap. Except for an ever-so-slight difference in volume button placement and external microphone, all cases and covers will work with the 5.
Click to expand...
Also, there’s a slight difference in the rear camera position but the slight misfit in the silicone cover doesn’t affect photos.
 
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Miihnena said:
Hello, I’m new here. I thought we were going to get a new iPad mini at the Spring Loaded event and we didn’t so.. What do u guys think? Is it worth waiting or should I buy the 5?

I think its good to say that I’d like to use it as a journal, business agenda, casual gaming and content consuming. I love the fact that it has a perfect size for me since I have small hands. Since it came out in 2019, how long it will receive updates? Do u think it will be bad for light gaming and the other stuff Im gonna use it for?

Thanks in advance,
Milena
Click to expand...

To be perfectly honest, the rumors suggested that mini 6 will still have the same old design with touch-id. This alone is unacceptable for me in 2021. If I were you I'd at least consider the latest iPad Air with no chin and forehead.
 
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