iPad mini Is the original iPad mini still usable?

[TheSuperE]

Original iPad mini on iOS 8.1 is laggy, slow, doesn't do copy and paste, it's a miserable Microsoft like experience.

 

[mtneer]

If the $50 to a rMini 2 is a bridge too far - just get a refurb rMini 2. And whatever happens, do not upgrade your iOS beyond whatever you get pre-installed on your device.

 

[NateEssex]

Looking for a value

I think the mini2 is the best bargain in the whole iPad lineup!

How much longer do you think the iPad mini 2 will be around before it's obsolete?

 

[masands]

Hey guys, thanks for all your responses! I guess I'm set towards the iPad mini 2. I have to ask, has the 1 GB of RAM and the retina display proved to be an issue with performance, specifically with Safari browsing? Also, I hear that the screen quality on the iPad mini 2 is actually pretty bad compared to the Air because Apple used a lower quality screen in the mini; is this true?

I had the Retina Mini 2 before I upgraded to the Air 2. Yes, the 1gb was a problem under iOS 7 but with iOS 8 it's not really an issue. You will notice that web pages "blank" out before coming back into view. Not a big deal unless you have 7-8 tabs open - after this point they will start to reload.

The screen is less saturated but you will not notice it unless you put it next to an iPad Air. All in all, it is a beautiful screen.

 

[Aaron from KY]

How much longer do you think the iPad mini 2 will be around before it's obsolete?

Define obsolete. It will be obsoleted when the Air 1 is, since they share the same processor and resolution. If anything I'm surprised the mini 1 is still around, it is a bit laggy at times, and 50% of the time if I switch out of the web browser and go back in, it reloads the webpage, after a pause lasting a few seconds. Not a dealbreaker for everyone, but when you're used to the experience of the iPhone 5, where it can have over 6 apps open without having to reload one, it's disconcerting.

 

[ScottNWDW]

The iPad mini 2 is still a very usable product. Aside from the Touch ID, it is the exact same thing as the iPad mini 3. I have an iPad mini 2 and an iPad Air 2 and use both of them everyday. My partner has my old first gen iPad mini and is using it every day as well without any issues.

As far as an item being usable is concerned, I still have my first generation iPad and it still gets used from time to time. Although it is not used on an everyday basis, and the latest iOS on it is iOS 5, it still has some usefulness to it. Just because it is not the latest and greatest does not mean it ca't be used.

Where I work, we are still using iPad 3's and 4's, However, the iPad 3's are being replaced with iPad 4's mainly because of the charging cables being different. For consistency purposes they wanted all of the iPads to have the same chargers so that when an iPad needs to be swapped out they don't have to worry about the chargers. We use over a thousand iPads across our property and having them all be the same generation is important.

 

[Sprintina]

I still use my original iPad mini and it actually became a great portable player for videos and photo slideshows from my summer vacation. I still have it running IOS 6.0.1 so the slow-down issues that sometimes plague the older devices with each upgrade to later iOS versions, aren't an issue (plus I still prefer the old iOS icons). Since the bulk of my apps were on my iPhone 4S and/or iPad 3rd gen, the mini still had room on it for stuff. I am slowly building up actively used apps on the iPad Air2 and iPhone 6+ as needed (did not restore on those - they were activated as new).

 

[Max(IT)]

It's usable, but I'd not suggest to buy one in 2014.
It's heavily limited in hardware.

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How much longer do you think the iPad mini 2 will be around before it's obsolete?

it has double the ram and a much better SoC.