iPad mini My next iPad will be a mini

[hyunlee89]

Initially had iPad2 (loved it!), then switched to first-gen iPad mini, and finally landed on retina iPad mini. I do most of my reading on my iPad, and use it extensively during my bus ride.

 

[Night Spring]

I don't think the display on the Mini is as bad as people say it is. I still find times when I just want to look at a site I am on or a picture I took and am amazed at how great it looks on the Mini. I have an Air also and I use both.

I certainly don't think the rMini screen is bad, but I can understand if some people prefer the Air.

 

[HenryDJP]

The Retina mini actually has more PPI than the Air so in all reality, it has a slightly more sharper display.

Only on paper. In realty the screen quality on the Air is significantly better and that's not subjective. Anyone looking at the Air and the mini side by side can plainly see that.

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Jesus christ, are we STILL on this?

Oh yeah, we're still on this. This thread is still open right? This thread is about the iPad mini right? People that aren't timed out or banned are allowed to post a comment right? Criticism about Apple's products go on daily here on MR does it not? Why are you so worked up about my comment/view of the iPad mini?

 

[Shanghaichica]

I've recently got the air and I have a first gen mini. I still think the mini is the better device for on the go. The air is light but not that light. However at home the extra real estate of the Air is better. If I could only have one and was buying right now I'd probably choose the air.

 

[madrich]

My first iPad was a mini. Although I initially wanted a retina display, I opted for the iPad Mini wo retina because it cheaper and suited my needs. I love it and I hardly use my laptop anymore.

 

[mangomind]

Only on paper. In realty the screen quality on the Air is significantly better and that's not subjective. Anyone looking at the Air and the mini side by side can plainly see that.

Apple wanted to include an iPad Air-quality screen in the rMini just as much as we do. The technology simply wasn't there yet. In fact, the technology was barely there to include any type of retina iPad mini displays. In addition, the color gamut of the rMini is the same as the color gamut of the original Mini. Apple made nothing worse. There's nothing to complain about.

 

[HenryDJP]

Apple wanted to include an iPad Air-quality screen in the rMini just as much as we do. The technology simply wasn't there yet. In fact, the technology was barely there to include any type of retina iPad mini displays. In addition, the color gamut of the rMini is the same as the color gamut of the original Mini. Apple made nothing worse. There's nothing to complain about.

Oh really, Apple WANTED to do that? And you have proof of this? Are you part of their engineering department? And it's funny that you would say there's nothing to complain about. When people spend their money and Apple posts nearly identical specs but the result is not the same between both devices people should complain. Are you even serious apologizing for Apple?

 

[Shanghaichica]

Apple wanted to include an iPad Air-quality screen in the rMini just as much as we do. The technology simply wasn't there yet. In fact, the technology was barely there to include any type of retina iPad mini displays. In addition, the color gamut of the rMini is the same as the color gamut of the original Mini. Apple made nothing worse. There's nothing to complain about.

I know nothing about what is possible or not. However I'm curious as to why other small Tablets have managed to have good displays but the mini can't?

I'm not saying that the retina mini doesn't have a good display, I'm just curious.

 

[maflynn]

[MOD NOTE]
Enough with the bickering. Please stay on topic.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Ok, 1.5 years after its release, I think I get it. The more I play with it at the Apple store, the more I feel that the iPad mini is probably a better fit. I currently have an iPad 3, which I like, but the iPad mini seems to be much more usable for my needs.

I use 'needs' loosely since I really don't need an iPad. I mostly use it to browse the net and run a couple of lightweight business apps.

Always thought 7 inch tablets are too small, it's amazing how much an extra .9 inch, and more importantly a 3:4 aspect ratio, make a difference.

Will the next generation of mini be a redesign? Or will it have one more iteration like its older sibling before it's redone?

The iPad mini is a great tablet and is just as good as the full sized iPad with a few key exceptions. One of them is typing. Much easier done on a full-sized iPad than on a mini. If you do content creation, I imagine a full-sized iPad will be better. If you do more content consumption, a mini is just fine. And all of this is not to say that a mini couldn't substitute for a full-sized iPad for these tasks; the experience just wouldn't be as enjoyable.

Personally, I'm of the mindset that there is a place for both the mini and the full-sized iPads. The cellular mini is the ultimate portable mini-computer and can double nicely as a second cellphone/smartphone for when your actual one dies. Slap it in the car and it's also a perfect Garmin replacement. On the other hand, I'm writing a novel on my iPad Air and even with a retina-model iPad mini, I couldn't do that as easily purely due to the size of the screen and thusly the nature of the keyboard.

As for predictions for the 3rd generation iPad mini, Touch-ID seems to be a popular guess. The Apple A8 processor is probably a safe bet as well. Redesigned body? I'm going to guess not; they probably want to unify the body style and update schedule across the whole iPad line so they'll probably give the iPad Air another go with this body before changing them both out at the same time. Judging from how long the previous body style remained on the market, my guess is that the current one still has some time yet.