All iPads It's a bad time to buy ANY iPad! (Thoughts)

[Domino8282]

Many people here seem split in their decision on whether to buy an iPad Mini or 4th Gen iPad. I think the reason for this could be influenced by that fact that the current 4th Gen is still just a stopgap until a redesigned 5th model next year. Same old shell as usual! It's still as heavy and awkward as the 3rd Gen. The iPad Mini whilst being "new" and having a new form factor lacks a good screen and processor, so in 4/5 months it will start to show its age already. Hopefully next years lineup will include a smaller lighter full size ipad (perhaps using the Mini form factor) and the Mini will have A6 plus a retina display. This should level out the obvious Pros and Cons to each device now...point being, there are plus and minus points to both of the current devices, but nothing definitive that would help you choose one over another:
Mini: great form factor, light, new design - thin bezel, stero speakers - BUT old chip, non retina,
iPad: Retina, speed - BUT too heavy, too thick, one speaker, same design - bezel still too thick

It's a shame we can have two equally matched products both with good points that are the same. Guess this is what having to wait on technology to match ideas feels like. Next year it would be nice for consumers to have the same product but different size to make the buying process simpler. Ie. 9.7inch iPad and iPad Mini look the same apart from screen size, A6X in one, A6 in the other. Both retina display.

This sums up the downsides of both devices well. However, nowadays it's almost always a "bad time" to buy any gadget. In fact, if Apple had a program to lease devices for around the same cost as buying + reselling, I'd sign up. Doubt they would do that, but with product refreshes happening every 6 mo. - 1 yr., you can always justify waiting for the next better set of features.

It all comes down to how much enjoyment you can get out of 1) What you currently own, 2) What is currently available, and 3) What is around the corner, and deciding which of those 3 options outweighs the others relative to the cost difference. If you're like me and plan to remain an Apple user for the foreseeable future, it's not a question anymore of if you'll upgrade, but when.

Personally, the amount of enjoyment I get out of looking forward to the latest device, buying it, and yes even selling it to afford the next item is great enough that I end up buying every iteration. I'm okay with that, because gadgets are my hobby and I don't spend a lot of money on other things. I recoup enough on resale that I can justify being an early & frequent adopter. I totally understand that a lot of people aren't able or willing to operate that way, and would rather own something for years and years. That's just me personally.

I fully agree that the next full-size iPad will probably be thinner and lighter, since that is the direction they're going with all of their products and they didn't take full advantage of the additional space afforded by the Lightning connector. I also agree that they will find a way to get a Retina display and A6X or higher chip in the Mini with the same size, cost, and battery life.

What I tend to disagree with some posters on is whether they could have done those things for the same price right now. I think holding back features to "save up" for the next upgrade is a myth and that from a business standpoint, it makes no sense for a company to cannibalize its own profits that way. The amount of money they would lose by people waiting to upgrade or going with a competitor who has better specs would offset any benefit they would get from people upgrading twice.

I think anyone who believes that Apple purposely left Retina out of the Mini to save for the next upgrade is wayyy off the mark. Do you think they like everyone making negative comments about the screen? Can you imagine how glowing the reviews would be across the board if it had Retina or an A6 processor? That would mean better sales, more revenue, and happier investors. In my mind, the only logical explanation is that for whatever reason (cost, engineering, manufacturing, etc.) they could not realistically include those features right now.

Sorry I went off on a long tangent there. Just been thinking about all of that lately and it happened to come out on this thread.

 

[jigzaw]

Same old tired reason always given as an excuse for not buying something. I don't understand why the people espousing this logic don't understand that something better is always around the corner. Even before the iPhone 5 was in the stores Apple was already thinking ahead to the iPhone 6. Intel has a processor road map that goes out a couple years.

I'll explain. I don't spend $600+ on a single computer-type item very often, so it's a pretty big deal for me and its usually something I've thought long and hard about. I decided well over a year ago that I will eventually buy an iPad, and when the 3 came out I still wasn't in a position where i wanted to spend that kind of money so I decided I would get the next one, assuming it would be March 2013.

Now they've announced the 4th gen iPad. So, if this is it for another year-ish (8-12 months), I'm ready to get it. If 4 short months is all I need to wait for a much-improved and lighter/thinner piece of hardware that I will keep for about 3 years, then I would wait the four measly months.

 

[adam044]

That's why they make Craigslist

 

[Poochi]

Specs looks weak on paper, go in store and try one out. Not weak at all unless you really want to run photo and movie editing on that tini 7.9" screen.

It's flawless for all existing Apps to say at least.

Also, screen is awesome and it runs cool, unlike iPad 3 and iPad 4.

 

[ScottNWDW]

GROW UP ALREADY

When it comes to technology THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMETHING BETTER around the corner. Next year Apple will update the iPad, iPhone, iPod, iMac, MacBook, iPad mini, Apple TV etc etc etc. It happens every year. This year you are saying you won't buy the iPad mini until next year when they put the retina display and the A6X chip in it. Apple has not yet said that was in their plans, but you are speculating that will happen. So you won't buy it now, because the iPad mini 2 will be far better. OK fine, deprive yourself of the opportunity of using the device for a year, or whatever the timetable is.

Fast forward to 2013 and Apple announces that the iPad Mini 2 will have a stunning resolutionary retina display, A6X chip an 8 megapixel camera yada yada yada. But, you've heard rumblings about a redesigned even thinner and lighter version they are working on for 2014, with an A7X chip that will double the performance of the A6X chip and then there is the Super duper retina display with twice as many pixels as the old pixelated retina display and so now you wait until 2014 to buy the iPad mini you've wanted since it was released in 2012.

Now 2014 rolls around and the iPad mini gets all those improvements that were rumors in 2013 but there are so many redesigns and features coming for the 2015 model that you decide to wait again. In all this time you could have been enjoying a product, be it the iPad, iPad mini, iPhone or whatever but because you were afraid to buy in fear of a future update you didn't have that opportunity. Face it, tech gadgets will always move forward. There will always be a better version around the corner.

If you want an iPad mini now, buy it, enjoy it. When the next version rolls around, decide if it is worth the upgrade, and either upgrade or wait. If there is a product that I use everyday and get value out it by using it, enjoying it and it becomes a part of my everyday routine then I don't mind buying a new one every year or two. I don't buy items with the idea of how much can I resell it for when the next version comes out. I buy it, use it until I feel a need to replace it and go from there.

Do I like that I got an iPad 3 and 3 months later a new one was announced, no I don't but at the same time I use my iPad everyday and guess what it still does EVERYTHING I need it to do. And, it does it very well and a lot better than my iPad 1 which is still in use today as well by my significant other. I will not be getting an iPad 4 just because it has a newer faster chip.

Will I buy an iPad mini, More than likely because I like the size. As for the retina display, for most things I see no big difference between the iPad 1 screen and the iPad 3 screen unless i look very very closely. Yes, things become noticeable if i zoom in on photos and such, but at the same time for everyday things like checking the internet, email, writing notes, etc not that big of a deal. I have never noticed any lag in my iPad 3 and it is quite snappy and doesn't it have the A5 chip. I suppose that on the iPad mini, the fact that it doesn't have the power hungry retina display would mean better performance for the A5 chip since it doesn't have retina display to contend with.

Sorry for the long rant, but tired of reading all these people crying about how Apple did them wrong or that they are better off waiting until next year because the specs will be better. And this is for a product that hasn't hit the store shelves until today. So MOST of these people haven't even tried out the product yet. If you want something, buy it, use it, enjoy it, get the benefits from it that you hoped for and then when a newer improved model comes out decide to upgrade or wait until the next improvement.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I'll explain. I don't spend $600+ on a single computer-type item very often, so it's a pretty big deal for me and its usually something I've thought long and hard about. I decided well over a year ago that I will eventually buy an iPad, and when the 3 came out I still wasn't in a position where i wanted to spend that kind of money so I decided I would get the next one, assuming it would be March 2013.

Now they've announced the 4th gen iPad. So, if this is it for another year-ish (8-12 months), I'm ready to get it. If 4 short months is all I need to wait for a much-improved and lighter/thinner piece of hardware that I will keep for about 3 years, then I would wait the four measly months.

Sure, but you'll likely have to wait more than 4 months. Highly unlikely we'll see an iPad update until next fall. Any device you buy today is going to be fine for the next couple of years. The incremental upgrades are just that, not life changing like when TV went from B&W to color.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Same old tired reason always given as an excuse for not buying something. I don't understand why the people espousing this logic don't understand that something better is always around the corner. Even before the iPhone 5 was in the stores Apple was already thinking ahead to the iPhone 6. Intel has a processor road map that goes out a couple years.

Agreed. Technology changes rapidly and I don't really understand why people feel the need to always chase the latest and greatest.

 

[kappaknight]

Seriously... is there ever a "good" time to buy into technology? We already know something new will come out next year, and the year after, and the one after that.

Don't buy stuff based on specs, or to show off to your friends, or whatever other stupid reason if you don't actually need it.

Buy it cause it will make your life easier, give you less things to carry when on business trips, or use it as a tool to help teach your kids about things. If you actually looked at these things as tools to enhance your life, you will stop worrying about the specs. Let the Android people go brag about their specs... their lesser experience with scaled up apps won't necessarily make their lives easier/better.

Also, none of these purchases are permanent. You are free to buy, upgrade and sell just as you are with your car and/or other pieces of tech. Sure, you can save your money and wait if you'd like, but I don't see the need to bash the company just cause everything is not available today; right this second. I'd venture to guess most of you wouldn't even know how your Retina mini would make your life SOOOOO much better than the current one if you have it today. I mean, if you're only in it for the specs, and not its functionality, you're already missing the point.

 

[Noisemaker]

Yeah. We might as well just go back to horse and carriage. I mean. New cars come out every year too. Until they can drive underwater and shoot lasers, what's the point?

You people are ridiculous.

 

[Breaking Good]

This is a very interesting thread with great comments pro and con. I'll just throw my $0.02 in.

I've come to the conclusion that, for me at least, the current state of the art technology in tablets, smartphones and laptop computers has surpased any need that I could reasonably have. Since Apple sells refurbished units at up to a 20% discount and will often sell older models to outfits that will sell at a similar discount, it just doesn't make sense for me to pay the premium to get the latest and greatest technology.

As I've stated before I plan on buying an iPad mini 32GB with 4G/LTE as I really love the form factor of the iPad mini. But I will be waiting until after the holiday season to do.

If iPad mini sales are sluggish through the end of the year, I'll look for one of Apple's resellers to offer them at a discount. If they start to show up in the Refurb section of Apple's Web site in February, then I will probably pick one up there.

In spite of what I wrote above about not needing the latest and greatest technology, if I hear rumors regarding an iPad mini 2 release in the spring, I will hold off until the Gen 2 is released and buy a Gen 2 instead of a Gen 1. The reason for this is that the Gen 2 will most likely have a longer product life cycle as it will probably use the A6 chip which is the new standard.