Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I got a "free ipad mini retina 64GB Cellular model" with my employer book fund. Already owned 2 iPad Airs.

Ended up returning the ipad mini retina. It's ok. The screen is a little washed up but I could live with that. The portability isn't a major for me. I think the iPad Air is plenty portable enough.

The real reason I returned it was the speaker volume on the ipad mini was too low. I know it's not a defect. Unless it's turned up to the highest, I had trouble hearing it.

Now gotta figure what to do with my remaining book fund before end of June 30th.
 
Unusual to both own and like both.

Most people prefer one or the other (for different and valid reasons).



Guess I'm just jealous. Good for you!


Yeah. It helps that both are jb. Put a tweak to make rmini louder. The air stays home mainly. The rmini goes with me everywhere. Got a att unlimited data plan for iPad so I watch videos and movies on the go with the rmini. I love it
 
Just my two cents. I have both and like both of them a lot, but if I had to only pick one it would be the Air. The only issue I have with the mini at all is that text and interface elements are rendered smaller on it due to having the same resolution on a smaller screen. Otherwise I have zero complaints about either one and they're both great devices well worth owning.
 
I did realise that and hope you didn't take offense - autocorrect can be quite amusing at times.

----------



It always does,luckily the Dev Team have evolved so the Blig so it doesn't take much moderating now.

oh gosh no, i didn't take any offense to it, I'm usually pretty good with catching grammatical mistakes but oh well, glad you caught it, definitely changed the whole premise of my comment entirely by that one word
 
I have both the first generation iPad mini and the iPad Air. I chose the mini because I wanted something inconspicuous for my commute on the subway and something I could easily fit in my man purse or quickly safely under my arm pit.

Got the air recently. Fits in my bag. Easier on my eyes. Less frustrating to hit certain objects on web pages. I could almost use it as my laptop with a keyboard.

I think I am going to continue with the air as my iPad choice.
 
I had purchased the iPad Mini from someone here. Loved it, used it extensively. Then when the Air came out, I had the chance to get one for basically free. I switched to the Air because the mini was starting to show it's age for games. I gave the mini to my wife who had a 2nd gen iPad. She wanted something smaller and lighter. Two months later, she upgraded to another Air and we sold off her 2nd gen and mini to pay for it. Couldn't be happier, we both love our Airs.
 
Considering the Mini is outselling the Air, it's safe to say most people disagree with you. Having owned ipads 1 and 3, I switched to mini retina and haven't looked back.
 
Tonight while at work, I decided to retire my 160GB iPod Classic and just use my 128GB Retina Mini in my car. I can use Bluetooth and finally be free of connecting my iPod through the USB cable. I never even have to take my iPad out if it's case since it automatically connect to my stereo and starts playing where it left off when I shut off the car. My podcasts that I listen to automatically download to the iPad and I don't have to sync it often like the iPod to get the latest podcasts.

I can do the same on my Air but the Mini fits if my storage console so I don't have to leave it out.

There was an early version of 7.X.X that broke the function on my stereo where I couldn't control the iPad with the stereos controls but it's working on 7.0.4 (jailbroken). I didn't try it again till today since using 7.0.4 thinking it would not work all this time.

I'm happy I have both iPads. Wouldn't give them up for anything.
 
Or, 10 inch form factor is vastly superior to 8 inch. (8 inch has its places, but experience is not the same)


Those who know, know.


Steve Jobs was absolutely correct.

I totally disagree. Choosing between mini r and air is pretty much a personal choice because they are identical in almost every single aspect, besides the screen size of course. Apple has given us options and everybody is buying what they need or want. I pretty much hate every single ipad besides my r mini because for me it's the perfect balance: small size and very powerful.
 
I totally disagree. Choosing between mini r and air is pretty much a personal choice because they are identical in almost every single aspect, besides the screen size of course. Apple has given us options and everybody is buying what they need or want. I pretty much hate every single ipad besides my r mini because for me it's the perfect balance: small size and very powerful.

Incorrect. While the overall specs appear to be the same it's not just the screen size that separates the two. The Air's screen is better in quality and it's brighter.
 
I got a "free ipad mini retina 64GB Cellular model" with my employer book fund. Already owned 2 iPad Airs.

Ended up returning the ipad mini retina. It's ok. The screen is a little washed up but I could live with that. The portability isn't a major for me. I think the iPad Air is plenty portable enough.

The real reason I returned it was the speaker volume on the ipad mini was too low. I know it's not a defect. Unless it's turned up to the highest, I had trouble hearing it.

Now gotta figure what to do with my remaining book fund before end of June 30th.

I think the iPad mini and iPad air have the same speakers. My iPad Mini Retina seems to be a lot louder than my iPad 3 was. Are you sure it wasn't a defect?
 
The speaker volume on my Retina Mini is lower than my Air. It's not a defect.

I have to agree with the above poster. My retina mini is louder than my iPad 3;both are plenty loud. However, that doesn't mean either is louder than the Air.

If you are an extensive reader, the retina mini's smaller crisper text is preferable to the Air. That is, if you can see it properly. My eyes love the smaller text. In fact, on my Kindle Paperwhite, I set the font to the smallest possible.

Also, in safari with multiple tabs open,my mini doesn't crash very often; it seems that it happens more frequently on the Air.

Neither the mini retina nor the Air is better. Everyone is different and we all have our preferences. Get the tablet that best suits you.
 
I have to say that I love my iPad Air but most of my use is at home, sometimes travel. I have been traveling a lot more lately including a trip to europe where I've been loading up various maps and city information. I realized that I wanted something in a smaller form factor and slightly lighter so I recently bought an iPad mini for my upcoming trip. I think I like it a lot better than the Air but I didn't know that until I had it in my hands.

I think I may be an iPad mini person for life (or as long as they make them).
 
Incorrect. While the overall specs appear to be the same it's not just the screen size that separates the two. The Air's screen is better in quality and it's brighter.

Air's better screen? How? What is your definition of better? The Mini has a higher PPI than the Air. Doesn't that make it better for a start?
Air's screen is brighter? Is more or less saturation in colours better or worse? Do you keep your Air's screen at 100% all the time? I know I don't keep any display at 100%, ever!
My Mini with Retina has a superb screen. Bright, accurate colours to my eye, white whites, no image retention and uniform. Better than the one the Air had which I returned. It's all personal choice and people should not make judgements on quality or "better" remarks. Blanket statements I find annoying, but each to their own I guess.
 
I don't own a Mini but I've played with them at the Apple Store and they are nice. There's no disputing that. Fir me personally the larger screen and a thinner form factor make the Air my choice.
 
Air's better screen? How? What is your definition of better? The Mini has a higher PPI than the Air. Doesn't that make it better for a start?
Air's screen is brighter? Is more or less saturation in colours better or worse? Do you keep your Air's screen at 100% all the time? I know I don't keep any display at 100%, ever!
My Mini with Retina has a superb screen. Bright, accurate colours to my eye, white whites, no image retention and uniform. Better than the one the Air had which I returned. It's all personal choice and people should not make judgements on quality or "better" remarks. Blanket statements I find annoying, but each to their own I guess.

My statement was factual and I'm not alone and you seriously need to calm down. I'm finding so many retina mini owners make knee jerk replies and get all defensive. Seems like so many retina mini owners need to justify their purchase. Air owners don't seem to be that way here. Multiple threads of "Just bought a retina mini, it's the perfect size for me over the Air, Anybody else?". Seems like Air owners are pretty satisfied and don't create posts like that nor do they get all defensive at Mini owners.

I've looked at both machines as I live near 5 Apple stores. I've spent plenty of time looking at both. You're going by specs vs real life performance. I go by real life performance . Several others have said the same about the Air's screen having much better clarity than the retina mini's. Deal with it.

Its a fact the Air's screen is brighter and and has clearer text. It's very easy to see that. If you couldn't tell then check your vision. If you're happy with your Retina mini then good for you but you being defensive gives me the idea that you've heard more than a few times that the Air's screen performance is better. ;)
 
Last edited:
i have the iPad mini 1st gen and a logitech ultrathin keyboard cover. I absolutely love the mini i tried the iPad but it was too big and to heavy.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.