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All iPads Mini is great, but Air is vastly superior.
- Thread starter doug in albq
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You must have good eyesight. I find that the difference in size does matter, and that moving the iPad two inches closer doesn't really compensate. Also, awkward to hold it that close to my face. Then, there is the fact that touch targets on the mini is smaller, causing me to miss my targets a lot more often than on a full size iPad. Probably not an issue for most people, but I have mobility issues. I expect a lot of older people and maybe young children would also have an easier time with bigger touch targets.
I think he's saying size is relative to the distance it's being held. Since the same content is being displayed at the same resolution with viewing distance being the variable there is no actual attributes to cause claustrophobia.
Unless you were just using the word genetically, not as a condition.
I understood his explanation just fine, thanks for the unnecessary "clarification."
Physical size is...physical size. I use the Air and the Mini every day....Air is better. Poster just above you understands...
I agree. The problem with the mini vs Air debate is that for some reason, people on both sides of the debate want to say one is definitively better than the other. I think that is nonsense. For me, I prefer the Air. Somebody else might prefer the mini. There is no need to get into an argument about who is right -- we are both right, in that for our personal needs / preferences, I prefer the Air, and the other person prefers the mini. There is no "best" device for everyone and every situation.
Saying something is the BEST, or that a product NEEDS a certain feature (Touch ID, for example) in order to please everyone has gotten more and more common around here. As long as the device I buy fits my needs I am happy. No need to convince others.
I just thought you meant you got physically and mentally claustrophobic. Next time don't diagnose yourself with actual disorders to vaguely describe your preferences...
Regardless stating one is better then the other is purely subjective. I may have mentioned in this or in another thread but if I'm on the train and its standing room only then an iPad is just too unwieldily to use. The mini in that circumstance is a MUCH better option.
When does the size of the iPad stop getting better as it increases for you? You might say the current size is perfect. So if they came out with a 12" iPad and someone told you its better then the current size are they right? Because that is what you are essentially saying right now...
No. In my Eyes this "douginalbq" seems to be trolling in his own thread and a lot of people feed him. It's really that simple: There are two iPads - a smaller one and a bigger one. You can have one, or both or neither. But you don't have to explain yourself which one is right for you. Children tend to say "mine is better than yours" to make them feel more confident and better then others. Adults should have outgrown this habit - but you don't know. Sometimes you meet one of them who didn't - Doug ;-)
My Continent is better than yours - those who live here know. And now let this thread die.
My Continent is better than yours - those who live here know. And now let this thread die.
My wife, who is no teenager, loves her mini. It fits in her handbag and she wouldn't carry a full size iPad.
My mother, who is in her 70s has a mini, she loves it and found the full size to heavy to hold.
Personally I love my iPad 3 - I haven't upgraded to the Air yet, will probably upgrade with the next gen.
It's horses for courses.
From my own reading on the iPad forum I'm finding that most of the posts stating "Mine is better than yours" seem to come much more from the Retina mini owners than anything else. They seem to be the ones trying to justify their purchase. There's already a thread of " Who switched from the Air to the Mini". These are both the latest models. I can't see why there would be many people stating that they bought the Air and then returned it for the Retina Mini. Seems like one could get a decent idea which size is best for them in the store.
But yes, it seems to be the Retina mini owners needing a rejoice thread around here as if they have a tiny bit of buyers remorse and they need to see how many others bought one so they will feel better about their purchase. I hardly see this with the iPad Air owners.
I have never felt the need to do that with anything I buy. I couldn't care less if I was the only one out of the bunch that bought the oddball product as long as I am happy and it satisfies my needs.
true
I agree with your statement.
The rMini suits my needs in three very important ways:
Sharper text (326 ppi vs. 263 ppi) > easier reading for extended periods of time.
Lighter weight > easier on my arthritic wrists, can hold in one hand.
$100 less than the Air.
So easier on my eyes, hands and wallet > a complete win.
I can roll with fewer colors (yeah I was a naysayer at first.)
I am glad there are two types of iPads that suit everyone's needs. The Air works for many people and its' a nice iPad upgrade. Since I am taking my health into consideration though, the Air is not the ideal model for me.
I agree with your statement.
The rMini suits my needs in three very important ways:
Sharper text (326 ppi vs. 263 ppi) > easier reading for extended periods of time.
Lighter weight > easier on my arthritic wrists, can hold in one hand.
$100 less than the Air.
So easier on my eyes, hands and wallet > a complete win.
I can roll with fewer colors (yeah I was a naysayer at first.)
I am glad there are two types of iPads that suit everyone's needs. The Air works for many people and its' a nice iPad upgrade. Since I am taking my health into consideration though, the Air is not the ideal model for me.
I bought the rMini and really, really wanted to like it but i found it difficult to read in many instances (and I have decent vision). If the "make font bigger" actually worked on everything and/or the display was a bit better I might have made it work. I have a nexus 7 tablet for work (testing websites) and I do not have difficulty reading that one as the programs I have used make the fonts a bit bigger by default.
It is certainly a tradeoff, I really wanted the more mobile form factor it just wasn't worth the (literal) headache.
The font size I'd definitely a problem on some apps on the Retina Mini and for those apps, I use the Air. I also bought the Air because I can get more text on a page when reading books.
The programs you use make the fonts bigger by default > so yeah that's a coding/app/iOS (???) issue right there.
I understand this 100%. If I was still working with CSS and web design (no programming here), I would also have the competitor's tablets to work with code and test how the design looks on every tablet.
Granted, I'm mostly reading comics and emails these days (and maybe the occasional article.) I'm not using this for coding and/or heavy reading, so it suits me just fine. I am also not in situations where glare would play a part in making this unreadable.
I'm glad there are different sized tablets out there. And I will add, different companies too. There is something for everyone. I'm glad you found a tablet that suits your needs. Getting headaches from tech stinks (I returned an iMac for that.)
I had an iPad 2, the went to the 1st gen mini, then I got the iPad Air. I tried the rMini but preferred the Air. The larger screen real estate more than makes up for the few extra ounces in weight.
I think you nailed it here. There are more justification threads here than any forum I've ever frequented. Whatever people need to feel good about themselves I guess. Oh yeah, for the record, the Air is better than the TOO small mini.
In the context of this particular discussion one should have been able to figure out that I was using the word 'claustrophobic' as a metaphor. iPad Air is the perfect size for me. I would still be interested in trying out a 12 inch ipad, should Apple ever choose to manufacturer one. I also have a Mini, and I like it also, but not as much as the Air.
In case anyone has forgotten, we are all stating our opinions in a discussion forum...
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Got to admit, this has been a lively thread. I bet the owner of MacRumors.com is not dissapointed that this has over 20,000 views.
I guess you missed where I repeatedly stated that I own the Mini and the Air, and I like and use both every day. In my opinion the air is better.
And just for you, my iPad is better than yours...lol
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Agree on all accounts. Which is why I knew this thread would "ruffle some feathers." A fun, and somewhat informative thread nonetheless.
I bought a Retina Mini when they were released, as I thought it was what I wanted.
But what I found was that while Apple's own applications worked well at that screen size, a large number of apps were simply too small on that display to use comfortably.
After relatively short amounts of time using the Mini, I was starting to notice eyestrain--something which had not been a problem with my iPad 3.
It was, however, a problem for me with the iPad 2 due to its low resolution.
While high resolution, I really couldn't get past the terrible color quality of the Retina Mini's display after being used to the iPad 3 for a year either.
If you went from an iPad 1, 2, or the original Mini, I'm sure you wouldn't notice, but after the iPad 3 it was a real problem for me.
I have actually been without an iPad for the last six months, as I just didn't think they were what I needed any more.
While the app selection is great, they are very limited in a number of ways compared to Microsoft's Surface tablets for example: no multitasking, very limited media support, limited connectivity etc.
But in the end, it turns out that despite their limitations, the iPad is still the best tablet device overall, in my opinion, and I just recently picked up an iPad Air.
Compared to all the other tablets I have tried, everything just feels right on that display. The color reproduction is great, and text is always at a comfortable size to read.
With the Mini, I was always having to bring the screen just that bit closer, or zoom in on web pages for things to be comfortable.
I often found myself using the Mini as a landscape device rather than a portrait device when browsing the web.
It makes sense, I suppose--the Mini's screen height is close to the Air's screen width.
I can use the iPad Air for hours without my eyes feeling strained, and I mostly use it vertically--which is what I prefer with a tablet.
16:9 devices like the Surface were practically unusable vertically to me--I'm amazed that Apple seem to be the only company sticking with the 4:3 aspect ratio for tablets.
I even prefer the 4:3 ratio for video as well. Most of the content I seem to watch ends up either being 4:3 television, or 21:9 films.
Almost nothing I watch is 16:9, so the argument that content fills the screen doesn't hold any weight for me.
Films are going to be letterboxed no matter what tablet you use, and 4:3 content looks very small on a 16:9 display.
If your main use for the iPad is actually reading books, then I understand why you might prefer the Mini.
It's lighter, the color issues don't matter, and you can size the text to whatever you find comfortable.
But I don't just read books on my iPad--and I would recommend a Kindle if you're buying something solely for reading books--I am often reading manuals or technical papers on the device, which were just too small on the Mini.
Every time I pick it up, it surprises me how much lighter and better put together the Air is compared to previous iPads.
If you are basing your decision to get a Mini on your experience with one of the older iPads, I would suggest trying out the Air first. Even compared to an iPad 2 it is very noticeably lighter.
I'm still not 100% sold on the thinner bezels, but that will affect all iPads going forward.
While it's perfectly comfortable to hold at the edges, I still preferred having a wider area to rest my thumbs on.
But what I found was that while Apple's own applications worked well at that screen size, a large number of apps were simply too small on that display to use comfortably.
After relatively short amounts of time using the Mini, I was starting to notice eyestrain--something which had not been a problem with my iPad 3.
It was, however, a problem for me with the iPad 2 due to its low resolution.
While high resolution, I really couldn't get past the terrible color quality of the Retina Mini's display after being used to the iPad 3 for a year either.
If you went from an iPad 1, 2, or the original Mini, I'm sure you wouldn't notice, but after the iPad 3 it was a real problem for me.
I have actually been without an iPad for the last six months, as I just didn't think they were what I needed any more.
While the app selection is great, they are very limited in a number of ways compared to Microsoft's Surface tablets for example: no multitasking, very limited media support, limited connectivity etc.
But in the end, it turns out that despite their limitations, the iPad is still the best tablet device overall, in my opinion, and I just recently picked up an iPad Air.
Compared to all the other tablets I have tried, everything just feels right on that display. The color reproduction is great, and text is always at a comfortable size to read.
With the Mini, I was always having to bring the screen just that bit closer, or zoom in on web pages for things to be comfortable.
I often found myself using the Mini as a landscape device rather than a portrait device when browsing the web.
It makes sense, I suppose--the Mini's screen height is close to the Air's screen width.
I can use the iPad Air for hours without my eyes feeling strained, and I mostly use it vertically--which is what I prefer with a tablet.
16:9 devices like the Surface were practically unusable vertically to me--I'm amazed that Apple seem to be the only company sticking with the 4:3 aspect ratio for tablets.
I even prefer the 4:3 ratio for video as well. Most of the content I seem to watch ends up either being 4:3 television, or 21:9 films.
Almost nothing I watch is 16:9, so the argument that content fills the screen doesn't hold any weight for me.
Films are going to be letterboxed no matter what tablet you use, and 4:3 content looks very small on a 16:9 display.
If your main use for the iPad is actually reading books, then I understand why you might prefer the Mini.
It's lighter, the color issues don't matter, and you can size the text to whatever you find comfortable.
But I don't just read books on my iPad--and I would recommend a Kindle if you're buying something solely for reading books--I am often reading manuals or technical papers on the device, which were just too small on the Mini.
Every time I pick it up, it surprises me how much lighter and better put together the Air is compared to previous iPads.
If you are basing your decision to get a Mini on your experience with one of the older iPads, I would suggest trying out the Air first. Even compared to an iPad 2 it is very noticeably lighter.
I'm still not 100% sold on the thinner bezels, but that will affect all iPads going forward.
While it's perfectly comfortable to hold at the edges, I still preferred having a wider area to rest my thumbs on.
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Only because someone wanted to start an opinion poll (without he poll of course) that would hopefully be heated. There was success to some degree, but in no way does it sway any rationally thinking person either way. I'm typing this on MY rMini which I love and would not trade for an Air. I have unlimited access to my wife's Air, that I never, ever pick up. The colors on the mini are just fine. Her Air is a magical device. My rMini is a magical device that fits in my back pocket so, I guess there is no real answer to the your question other than the op wanted to start a nonsense thread.
Unlimited access to your wife's Air...whoa dude!
...you will not need a mini in your Back pocket when the iPhone 6 comes out.
Thanks for participating in this nonsense thread.
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My mini is not my phone any longer thanks to T-Mobile's very affordable $30 a month plan and my old iphone 4...Finally some legitimate cell pricing.
Mini is now a dedicated Hulu/Netflix out to my TV device. Between my Air and my Iphone, even less use for my Mini these days.
For me I got the air, my gf has the mini and it's way too small, even it had the retina display still a waste for me, I prefer the larger screen, but that's just me, I respect anybody else who is opposite of me, like her, she loves the smaller screen and doesn't like the bigger air
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If it's a bugger I can understand why she doesn't like it, but each to his own....