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Redesigned iPad Mini Has Increased 4GB of RAM, iPad 9 Remains at 3GB

The two problems here are:

1) 64GB of storage is not enough. An 1-hour Apple TV+ episode takes around 3GB of storage. Some games, even a simple Apple Arcade game like Pinball Party, take 3GB of storage. You'll want at least 128GB, but since that's not an option, you'll have to go up to 256GB.

2) Who will buy an ultra-portable tiny iPad mini with no GPS? You'll have to buy the Cellular version to get GPS.

So here we are with a huge US$ 800 price tag for a tiny device with ridiculously low amount of RAM, poor OS, no keyboard and no trackpad.

I have a 2020 iPad Pro 11" with 256GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, before that I had a 2018 iPad 9.7" with 2GB of RAM, please don't tell me 2GB of RAM is enough, because it's not, I know what I'm talking about.

Unless you have a very specific need for the mini, just forget it and the Air too. Either buy the cheap entry-level iPad or go to the Pro 11" with 8GB of RAM.
 
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qube_TA said:
Dumb question; if they've swapped the port to be a USB-C presentation is it now at Thunderbolt 4 speed or is it still at the USB2 speed of the old Lightning connector?
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Can’t speak to the iPad mini, but my iPad Air 2020 with USB-C is much faster than using Lightning ports, but still not that impressive at transfer speeds. It can read data from an external drive much faster on average than it can write data to the same external drive. Here is one example from a test I did:

I tested my iPad Air 4 with a Samsung T5 2TB USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 External SSD Drive. I formatted this external SSD with APFS format.
  • READ = 195 MB/s, WRITE = 195 MB/s (used 1 GB .mov file for transfer tests).
NOTE: I think the iPad Air 2020 USB-C port is basically using USB 3.0 speeds. USB 3.0 speeds are listed as up to 5 Gbps (or 625 MB/s). The iPad Air 2020 was way below top USB 3.0 top speed, but way more than USB 2.0 top speed of 480 Mbps (or 60 MB/s). As you can see it is a bit more than 3x the top speeds listed for USB 2.0. I also tested a Sandisk external SSD and multiple flash drives, all of which were way slower than the Samsung T5, and on all the other tested drives the write speeds were considerably lower than the read speeds.

I then tested my 2014 MacBook Pro with the Samsung T5 2TB USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 External SSD Drive. MacBook Pro has only USB 2 ports, no USB-C.
  • READ = 357 MB/s, WRITE = 357 MB/s (1 GB .mov file).
  • READ = 448 MB/s, WRITE = 435 MB/s (tested using ATTO Disk Benchmark).
 
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GMShadow said:
Because it's a budget model, which means Apple gives it parts that have been fully amortized to keep costs down. That's why it uses the 10.5" chassis design, and previously used the 9.7" iPad Air chassis design.
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The development costs for these parts were covered years ago, it's all about printing money through high margins for as long as possible. Apple will go down kicking and screaming before they offer you all your computing/phone needs in 2-3 devices, they want you locked into 5+ pieces of hardware that you upgrade regularly and indefinitely.

The new Mini looks nice, but more than ever it reeks of Apple's nickle-and-diming "values": skimpy RAM, skimpy base SSD, no smart connector, average brightness, no Face ID, no ProMotion, no 1st-party keyboard. If you want it for anything else than streaming or surfing (128GB is really ideal for most people for iPads, so that's why Apple didn't include it, to keep the cash flow higher) you need to go with the 256GB for $649. At that price you are within striking distance of a iPad Air or 11" Pro (the latter is superior in every way except size, which is subjective). Add tax, a case, the Pencil, AppleCare and a decent keyboard, and you're close to $1000 for a device that won't replace your iPhone, or your Macbook or Mac and maybe not even a larger iPad for productive work.
 
visualseed said:
You are carrying 3 devices. You can’t carry two cables?
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It’s a hassle and inconsistent. It’s ok for the pro to have usb c but since Apple decided to switch the mini to usb c they might as well ditch lightning altogether. The distinction between professional and consumer is no longer there as a justification.
 
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code-m said:
Seems like these complaining users are just hardware specs junkies, the iPad mini announcement was the best thing from yesterday’s event, even if it is not updated for the next two years it will hold off well considering the last one design was in production for close to a decade.
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It was and it’s the only thing I actually ordered. I have wanted to updated my old one for my drones for awhile. Though, I may buy a watch when they are available.
 
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Datalinks said:
It’s a hassle and inconsistent. It’s ok for the pro to have usb c but since Apple decided to switch the mini to usb c they might as well ditch lightning altogether. The distinction between professional and consumer is no longer there as a justification.
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I still carry devices that use micro-usb and had usb-c devices before apple even used it for anything. This is just complaining for the sake of complaining.
 
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nick42983 said:
The development costs for these parts were covered years ago, it's all about printing money through high margins for as long as possible. Apple will go down kicking and screaming before they offer you all your computing/phone needs in 2-3 devices, they want you locked into 5+ pieces of hardware that you upgrade regularly and indefinitely.

The new Mini looks nice, but more than ever it reeks of Apple's nickle-and-diming "values": skimpy RAM, skimpy base SSD, no smart connector, average brightness, no Face ID, no ProMotion, no 1st-party keyboard. If you want it for anything else than streaming or surfing (128GB is really ideal for most people for iPads, so that's why Apple didn't include it, to keep the cash flow higher) you need to go with the 256GB for $649. At that price you are within striking distance of a iPad Air or 11" Pro (the latter is superior in every way except size, which is subjective). Add tax, a case, the Pencil, AppleCare and a decent keyboard, and you're close to $1000 for a device that won't replace your iPhone, or your Macbook or Mac and maybe not even a larger iPad for productive work.
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So you were expecting a smart connector on the iPad mini 6, think about it are you or anyone else for that matter planning on attaching a keyboard and trackpad to it, the 11” iPad Pro size barely has a comfortable keyboard while the 12.9” being ideal. The entire purpose of the iPad mini is to be extremely portable compared to the other iPad offering and a good screen ratio to make it comfortable to do tablet related activities on-the-go. If someone really needs a keyboard and trackpad then use a Bluetooth one, wait for Logitech to release an updated version as typing on a small keyboard is a gimmick for anything productive to be performed. There is a reason why dictation, swipe keyboard and at last resort Siri exist. Try using the virtual keyboard on the larger iPads it’s not comfortable and the one on the iPhone at times feels cramped the iPad mini virtual keyboard feels just right for portable use without having it on a table or lap to take notes which for good reason Pencil exists. SmartConnector on iPad mini is pointless until an argument and accessory exists that can overcome the shortcomings of present. I don’t think you understand the purpose of the iPad mini or it’s user base as you are trying to make it something or do something with it that can be done but not with what the other options provide. I don’t believe other people are walking around with a larger iPad and trying to mimic what the iPad mini does well.
 
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jwolf6589 said:
Hogwash. 3GB is plenty for me with my mini 5.
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It’s not even noticeable on an iPhone where I went from 4GB to 3GB then to 6GB, the only time it was noticeable was when it was 2GB or less. Not sure who these people who are asking for more than 4GB of RAM are but it seems the product was never designed for them and should just move on to an Android based tablet.
 
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visualseed said:
It was and it’s the only thing I actually ordered. I have wanted to updated my old one for my drones for awhile. Though, I may buy a watch when they are available.
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What I found interesting about AW7 was the reduction of the bezel, something tells me that this improvement maybe added to the 2022 iPhone. Smaller bezels on iPad there is a happy median and I will hold from commenting until the iPad mini 6 is in my palm. At present the bezels on the mini 6 look acceptable.
 
Datalinks said:
It’s a hassle and inconsistent. It’s ok for the pro to have usb c but since Apple decided to switch the mini to usb c they might as well ditch lightning altogether. The distinction between professional and consumer is no longer there as a justification.
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I am looking forward to an IPX rating for a future iPad mini as it is the most portable tablet in the lineup. Having IPX on an Air or Pro is meh as most people place those in covered bags or some protective carrier.

MagSafe for iPad mini would also be welcomed in the future.
 
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fbr$ said:
The two problems here are:

1) 64GB of storage is not enough. An 1-hour Apple TV+ episode takes around 3GB of storage. Some games, even a simple Apple Arcade game like Pinball Party, take 3GB of storage. You'll want at least 128GB, but since that's not an option, you'll have to go up to 256GB.

2) Who will buy an ultra-portable tiny iPad mini with no GPS? You'll have to buy the Cellular version to get GPS.

So here we are with a huge US$ 800 price tag for a tiny device with ridiculously low amount of RAM, poor OS, no keyboard and no trackpad.

I have a 2020 iPad Pro 11" with 256GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, before that I had a 2018 iPad 9.7" with 2GB of RAM, please don't tell me 2GB of RAM is enough, because it's not, I know what I'm talking about.

Unless you have a very specific need for the mini, just forget it and the Air too. Either buy the cheap entry-level iPad or go to the Pro 11" with 8GB of RAM.
Click to expand...
If 64GB is not enough for your usage then get the 256GB. Should Apple have offered a 128GB; sure, should Apple have bumped the base storage; maybe it plans on in the future but for now it’s an economic issue relating to supply and demand as their know the other major changes to the iPad mini is enough to warranty many people to purchase it.

GPS on an iPad or tablet; no, that is why people have a phone in their pocket. The GPS goes mainly unused on a tablet. Offline maps there is a phone for that or AW.
 
nick42983 said:
The development costs for these parts were covered years ago, it's all about printing money through high margins for as long as possible. Apple will go down kicking and screaming before they offer you all your computing/phone needs in 2-3 devices, they want you locked into 5+ pieces of hardware that you upgrade regularly and indefinitely.

The new Mini looks nice, but more than ever it reeks of Apple's nickle-and-diming "values": skimpy RAM, skimpy base SSD, no smart connector, average brightness, no Face ID, no ProMotion, no 1st-party keyboard. If you want it for anything else than streaming or surfing (128GB is really ideal for most people for iPads, so that's why Apple didn't include it, to keep the cash flow higher) you need to go with the 256GB for $649. At that price you are within striking distance of a iPad Air or 11" Pro (the latter is superior in every way except size, which is subjective). Add tax, a case, the Pencil, AppleCare and a decent keyboard, and you're close to $1000 for a device that won't replace your iPhone, or your Macbook or Mac and maybe not even a larger iPad for productive work.
Click to expand...

What kind of keyboard would they offer on the Mini that anyone would want to use?

The Mini is a content consumption size, not creation.
 
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GMShadow said:
What kind of keyboard would they offer on the Mini that anyone would want to use?

The Mini is a content consumption size, not creation.
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Some people are finding fault in a near perfect iPad. Seriously these people have nothing better to do. I am surprised they are not complaining about the lack of 4 speakers, ProMotion, FaceID and the OMG hugh bezels along with no under-display TouchID and OLED. That’s what is called an upgrade cycle.

Oh I forgot an the camera being mounted on the long side of the bezel because you know the components for the magnetic charging for the Pencil will accommodate it. 🙄
 
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MacRumors said:


Apple this week introduced a redesigned sixth-generation iPad mini that looks much closer to the current iPad Air, with slimmer bezels, a Touch ID power button, a USB-C port, compatibility with the second-generation Apple Pencil, and more.

ipad-mini-purple.jpg

The new iPad mini is equipped with the same A15 Bionic chip as iPhone 13 models, and while Apple doesn’t advertise the amount of RAM in the device, MacRumors can confirm that the new iPad mini has 4GB of RAM, an increase from 3GB of in the previous iPad mini. We can also confirm the ninth-generation iPad has the same 3GB of RAM as the eighth-generation model. These amounts were revealed in strings contained within the Xcode 13 beta.

For comparison, the iPad Pro is available with up to 16GB of RAM depending on storage capacity, while the latest iPad Air has 4GB of RAM.

The same type of Xcode strings accurately revealed the amount of RAM in iPhone 12 models last year and in several previous iPhone generations. Teardowns and regulatory filings should provide further confirmation in the coming days.

The new iPad mini and iPad models are available to order now on Apple's website and launch on Friday, September 24.

Article Link: Redesigned iPad Mini Has Increased 4GB of RAM, iPad 9 Remains at 3GB
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"that looks much closer" ???
 
Sensamic said:
I’m interested in the iPad 9, but have big concerns with ram.

I know iPadOS doesn’t have true multitasking, so how important is to have more ram? I don’t know.

One thing is for sure, the base iPad will get a minimum of 4 iOS updates, just like my iPad 6, and maybe even 5.

But will performance be good in 4 years? Is it more important the A13 or the ram to keep performance good in 4 years?
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Entry level iPads are a big deal in education. School Trusts here in the UK specifically acquire them on the basis of the long term iPadOS software support and consistent performance over 5 years. I think anyone with a Gen 9 will be fine in 4 years.
 
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I've ordered the wifi-only mini with 256 GB storage, can't wait! This device looks very powerful and future proof for many years.
 
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sdz said:
Is the iPad Mini good enough for reading books?
Or would you rather prefer the normal iPad for that? Can't decide.
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Actually I'd prefer a kindle, but a kindle is even a little smaller than the iPad mini -- it'll work well for books. Think paperback sized..
 
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visualseed said:
I still carry devices that use micro-usb and had usb-c devices before apple even used it for anything. This is just complaining for the sake of complaining.
Click to expand...
You may carry as many different cables as you like. All I am saying is that this lightning - usb c thing has to end and iPhone 14 and new AirPods should come with usb c. It’s pointless.
 
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