Any word yet on whether the iPad mini 3 got a RAM upgrade along with the Touch ID? Extra memory is the only thing that could redeem this farce of an upgrade.
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iPad mini Only a 2GB RAM could redeem the iPad mini 3
- Thread starter saintforlife
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I'm sorry but that is pretty much a 'no chance' scenario. On the other hand, an iPad Mini 4 will most likely get 2GB of RAM and at least the A8.
Just think about the people who will be buying an iPod Touch, with an A5 CPU and 512MB of RAM
Just think about the people who will be buying an iPod Touch, with an A5 CPU and 512MB of RAM
I rather have the current Rmini for $299 and perhaps even lower come BF even if the Mini 3 gets the ram increased. It is not worth the extra $100 regardless As I bet Safari tabs still reload!
I'm sorry but that is pretty much a 'no chance' scenario. On the other hand, an iPad Mini 4 will most likely get 2GB of RAM and at least the A8.
Just think about the people who will be buying an iPod Touch, with an A5 CPU and 512MB of RAM
Assuming there is an iPad Mini 4...I think Apple put minimal effort into this year's Mini to gauge the market and see if the iPhone 6+ cannibalizes it in which case they'll kill it off.
Apple didn't update the A7 so no, it will not get 2GB. If they had, for instance, introduced an A7X then yeah. But I really doubt they would re-architect a previous generation chip, and then not mention it, and then give it the same name as before. It sucks bust most of us saw it coming. I fully expected the Mini last year to get an A6, or at least an A7 and then an A7X in the Air. The Mini, going forward, will probably always play second fiddle to the Air. Perhaps Apple is seeing in their data that even many early adopters are on a two year iPad cycle and will adjust to that with new chips every two years. Or that Mini users aren't using it for more powerful, productivity tasks. Then they can average out the cost of materials over two years, and people who don't care about having the latest and greatest will still buy a "refreshed" model. Otherwise they'll probably just put an A8 in it next year.
In spring 2010, Apple gave the iPad 1 the A4 chip with 256 MB RAM. In summer 2010, Apple gave the iPhone 4 the A4 chip with 512 MB RAM. In fall 2010, Apple gave the iPod touch 4 the A4 chip with 256 MB RAM. Adding RAM is as simple as soldering a RAM component of a different storage capacity, but of the same physical size, on the Apple Ax integrated chip.
Because folks got a bone last year, the $100 difference with very little difference between Rmain and Air except screen size which was the most thing cared about from average Joe consumer.
No bone this year.
No bone this year.
Actually no it's not that simple. The A4 chip didn't include RAM in the package, so you could externally add different packages.
Things get even more complicated with the A7. Why? Because there are actually two versions:
APL0698 is used in the 5S and Mini 2. It includes RAM in the package so they would have to redo everything. BUT
APL5698 used in the iPad Air supports chip on-board mounting, which means it can have different RAM packages attached.
So I suppose Apple could potentially move the APL5698 into the iPad Mini 3, but I still think that would require a good amount of work to rework the motherboard layout since you can't just swap an iPad Air board into a Mini and expect it to work. The battery life would also suffer unless they downclock it and just pop on the extra RAM modules. But there's no way it's that easy. I think they want to position the iPad Air as the premium device now, so it will get the upgrade first.
I think so too. Apple not upgrading the iPad mini is a smart move by Apple. People who don't buy the iPad mini will still buy an Apple product, which happens to be more profitable for Apple - either the iPhone 6 plus or the iPad Air 2. Apple is cannibalizing its low profit products with high profit products.
Yeah I was amazed at how closely the performance matched between the Mini 2 and the iPad Air last year. But that was also the first year since the original iPad that they didn't use an X branded chip. Didn't expect that at all, and it's probably unlikely we will see it again unless Apple does a split upgrade cycle to average margins. One year they upgrade both internally, then the next year they just upgrade a feature or two on the Mini. They still save money, and since many iPad owners aren't on yearly upgrade cycles the ones who want to always have the fastest iPad Mini can get one every two years. Or they could just pop an A8 in it next year. But if they do put an A9 in the Mini next year, the Air will probably keep the X class chip. I get the feeling that something didn't go according to plan for Apple last year. They have the two different part numbers for the A7, one which allows more RAM, and yet they didn't put in more RAM for the Air back then. It will be really interesting to read in 15-20 years about what's going on inside Apple right now. I bet they have a few variations that they keep up until they certify it just in case a last second manufacturing problem comes up. The lack of an A7X feels more like an error, especially given the iPad Air 2.