My original low-res mini isn't that great, yet my new retina version with its image retention, isn't much better. Apple seems to be slacking off. Now that they know exactly how much latitude the buyers give them before buyers will actually complain, they've driven profits higher by building to the lowest standard customers will buy.
I think you're wrong on ALL accounts. The original mini was great. The new line of A7 units are fantastic (Air, rMini, 5s) and if anything, the engineering that went into not only building an SoC (first 64bit) off the shelf from ground up, A8 instruction set, iOS 7 re-write...as well as the XCode update for 64bit conversion (for developers) to easily convert their software to 64bits and take advantage of the new A8 instruction set, I'd say Apple is doing just the opposite of 'slacking off'. They're leading the pack. They're innovating, delivering amazing products and continue to revolutionize portable computing.
'Lowest standards customers will buy'. My apologies to the mods. Easily the most ignorant comment I've read in some time. And that's saying something lately about the RAM, storage and display conversations rampant on the forum... So many of which have been 'started' by
new members
I think your entire statement can be disproven by the sales of the cheaper 5c in comparison with the flagship 5s
I owned the original Mini as well and now have a rMini. Was it worth it? It's a personal thing, but to me yes.
Original Mini didn't handle iOS 7 as well, it was usable for sure but I sense this rMini is smoother running iOS7.
The resolution alone was worth it for me. To me it makes a big difference.
The additional memory to me makes a difference. I don't game at all on it but Safari doesn't reload tabs as much as the original Mini did, original Mini got much worse at that when I went to iOS 7.
Cons?
It's a tad heavier and I do notice it, but I'm not portable with it, for my use case it doesn't matter.
Cost, yes I list this as a Con, it's $70 more than the previous generation. People will say "but it has an A7 chip and retina screen and more memory so it has to cost more", but as I noted in another thread here Apple has never done this. They have never increased the cost of their next generation tablets or iPhones for that matter. Their new phones and tablets have always followed the previous generations pricing. People aren't used to paying more in this regard.
They should have included TouchID in both the Mini and Air. Boggles my mind that they didn't do this or were not able to do this (supply issues maybe). They are saying we care about security and ease of use when you use an iPhone but well not so much when you use your iPad.
I own the Air and the original mini. Waiting on the rMini to show up in the mail. Gift for my wife. Right now I'm not noticing the difference between the two as very significant (running iOS 7). My OG Mini seems to be working and handling the iOS update very well. As are all of the apps available at this point on the App Store. Keep in kind, up until now all apps have been targeted mainly at the A5 engine, 512mb of memory and still carry 32bit instructions even with the 64bit updates. So they'll run well for some time. As well, as far as refreshing apps in Safari, I again don't see much difference. Keep in mind the larger 64bit footprint on memory with the A7 devices. When it comes to actual available memory, the two are closer in parity then your think because of the display, A7 and updated apps taking advantage of the extra bandwidth.
Again...no noticeable 'tab reloading' either on out iPad 2 or original Mini in comparison with the new Air and a friend's rMini.
As far as Touch ID, iPhones were or had already become the Most stolen product in major markets and crowded areas. Worth a LOT on the black market as they were, for the most part untraceable when 'wiped'. I think the technology will come to the iPad down the road, but right now, Apple wanted to find a more efficient way to address security of the iPhone. Constraints aside, thefts of the iPhone HAD to be addressed
I didn't try zooming in on an app icon, but why would I ever need to do that in regular use? Nothing that I see in regular use on my Mini is fuzzy.
I don't play games, but pics, videos, text, apps, etc. looked the same to me when I compared the two, and yes, it was a retina iPad Mini I was comparing.
My point is that while some may see a benefit from the retina screen, some of us find the regular screen quite sharp enough for our purposes and our vision.
Right with ya. I'm very happy with my original Mini. I know my wife will enjoy her retina version....but all in all the original is an excellent tablet, with extremely efficient performance regardless of the 'older' components, again...because all of the software being written for iOS is aimed at the masses, the iPhone 4/4s/5 owners...iPad 2/3 & 4 owners. The Air, the rMini and the 5s are essentially brand new products with incredible power that has yet to be tapped. As far as 'readability', find a browser you're happy with (I use Mercury, it remembers my text size choice for each site I visit...iCab is incredible too with gesture control for increasing or decreasing text size) and you're good to go. Even Safari is very 'readable in portrait' but a bit better in landscape. Pics, vids, writing and messaging, email and occasional games, to me....I'll be fine to wait out a generation on the 2014 Mini. Imagine the improvements. What they managed to pull of this year, next year with extra/faster RAM, maybe larger storage bases, color gamut refinement, second generation 64bit processing, I'm finally going to 'wait one out'
J
