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Should I go all in for iPad Mini 4?

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konjecture

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 13, 2015
18
4
So I don't consider myself an Apple or Android fanboy, but have used both types of tablets. I have owned the first generation iPad when it came out in 2010 (I gave it to my mom last year). Since then, I have used mostly Android tablets, however, I was looking for a 7-8 inch tablet that would be perfect for reading books, magazines and papers. So I went ahead and bought an iPad Mini 2 16GB few months from Walmart during the Amazon sales deal. I was skeptical at first but I think I had all my doubts answered. The iPad Mini 2 is the perfect tablet imo for reading with its perfect size, retina display and the OS that it comes with.

So now, I'm tempted to get the iPad Mini 4 as it is a huge step forward from the iPad Mini 2 when it comes to specs. I will still wait to see whether it has a 2 GB RAM before I make the investment. So here are some of my questions (finally) for veteran iPad users that I want to have answers for.

1. I'm thinking of getting either the 64GB or 128GB model. My question is, should I pay the extra $100 for the 128GB model? I mean should I go all in since I plan to use it a lot?

2. This question is related to the first. How long do you think that the mini 4 will be supported. Will I be future proof for the next 3-4 years if I get the 128gb mini 4?
 
Regarding storage capacity, that depends on how much content you intend to actually download onto the device. I don't carry large quantities of videos or books on my tablet, and 64GB is sufficient for me. Your needs may differ. May be better to spend the extra now and be good for the next 4/5 years.

I think if your 2010 model is still working in late 2015, you just answered your own question. I just ordered the mini 4 and expect it will serve me through 2020. My usage is to have an ultra portable tablet for project management (will install 2Do app).

Enjoy your new Mini 4.
 
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No, since the mini 4 has no 3d touch, the next mini will likely have it, and also likely is that ios10 will have more use for 3d touch than ios9, then you'll really miss out on a big part of the interface if you have a 3d touch-less device.
My advice, buy it if you really need one but be prepared to sell it next year!
 
konjecture said:
1. I'm thinking of getting either the 64GB or 128GB model. My question is, should I pay the extra $100 for the 128GB model? I mean should I go all in since I plan to use it a lot?
Click to expand...
It doesn't depend how much you'll use it, but what you plan to use it for. My wife has an iPhone and an iPad mini, both of which she uses quite heavily, and both of which are 16 GB. No problems. I have an iPad mini used for work that is 16 GB that served me well for the first year or two, and then as the number of uses I found for it increased, 16 GB became too little. My next upgrade will be 64 GB. By comparison, I have an iPad Air 2 at home that is 128 GB, which is comfortable; 64 GB would not have been enough. The difference is that the work iPad stores PDF documents and office-type apps (and their data), while the home iPad stores that along with music, videos, and games.

The advice on which size to get ties into your next question:

konjecture said:
2. This question is related to the first. How long do you think that the mini 4 will be supported. Will I be future proof for the next 3-4 years if I get the 128gb mini 4?
Click to expand...
The mini 4 will be supported by Apple for quite some time, but the question is what features it will miss out on compared to the latest technology. We can already predict that the iPads will be getting Force Touch at some point in the future; whether the mini gets it next year or the year after is up for debate (because for the past two cycles, Apple has been giving the mini a one-year lag compared to the standard iPad, which has a one-year lag with the iPhone). How important will Force Touch really become? Nobody can really say. There's also a chance that the technology behind the Apple Pencil will make its way into the iPad Air and iPad Mini lines. While it's unlikely to become an essential part of those devices, it's difficult to say whether or not it would be useful to you.

And those are just two technologies that are already out. Apple could bring out a new must-have feature next year that none of us can predict.

My advice is to try not to worry too much about "future-proofing." You indicate that you had Android tablets and will be coming from a 16 GB iPad mini 2. You should have a sense of what your usage was; what were you storage needs like? Did you find that you had to aggressively manage your storage, or were you somewhat comfortable at 16 GB? Were there things you wanted to do with your iPad but couldn't, because you were limited by storage?

Here's my prediction: 128 GB will be too much for you at this point in time. 64 GB is a big jump from 16 GB. The 64 GB model will probably hold you over for 2-4 years; during that time you'll find new uses for your iPad that will use more storage, and by the time 64 GB becomes too little, you'll probably already be thinking about upgrading your iPad for reasons besides the storage. When that time comes, you'll again be able to reassess whether you want to go with a higher storage option.

Also consider the worst-case scenarios. If 64 GB is too little, you'll have to aggressively micromanage your storage. It's frustrating, but it's still usable. If 128 GB is far too much, well... it's not like you get the money back for having unused space, and then you've just wasted money. But if you can afford to spend the additional $100 without worry and having the extra space will make you happier and/or have better peace of mind, then it may not be a waste for you. That's your call.
 
Viper2005 said:
No, since the mini 4 has no 3d touch, the next mini will likely have it, and also likely is that ios10 will have more use for 3d touch than ios9, then you'll really miss out on a big part of the interface if you have a 3d touch-less device.
My advice, buy it if you really need one but be prepared to sell it next year!
Click to expand...

You are right about the 3d touch, but to me it seems the 3d touch is not as useful in a mini as it would be in let's say iPad Pro. I will only use the mini for reading books, comics, play some occasional games and such.
Ledgem said:
It doesn't depend how much you'll use it, but what you plan to use it for. My wife has an iPhone and an iPad mini, both of which she uses quite heavily, and both of which are 16 GB. No problems. I have an iPad mini used for work that is 16 GB that served me well for the first year or two, and then as the number of uses I found for it increased, 16 GB became too little. My next upgrade will be 64 GB. By comparison, I have an iPad Air 2 at home that is 128 GB, which is comfortable; 64 GB would not have been enough. The difference is that the work iPad stores PDF documents and office-type apps (and their data), while the home iPad stores that along with music, videos, and games.

The advice on which size to get ties into your next question:


The mini 4 will be supported by Apple for quite some time, but the question is what features it will miss out on compared to the latest technology. We can already predict that the iPads will be getting Force Touch at some point in the future; whether the mini gets it next year or the year after is up for debate (because for the past two cycles, Apple has been giving the mini a one-year lag compared to the standard iPad, which has a one-year lag with the iPhone). How important will Force Touch really become? Nobody can really say. There's also a chance that the technology behind the Apple Pencil will make its way into the iPad Air and iPad Mini lines. While it's unlikely to become an essential part of those devices, it's difficult to say whether or not it would be useful to you.

And those are just two technologies that are already out. Apple could bring out a new must-have feature next year that none of us can predict.

My advice is to try not to worry too much about "future-proofing." You indicate that you had Android tablets and will be coming from a 16 GB iPad mini 2. You should have a sense of what your usage was; what were you storage needs like? Did you find that you had to aggressively manage your storage, or were you somewhat comfortable at 16 GB? Were there things you wanted to do with your iPad but couldn't, because you were limited by storage?

Here's my prediction: 128 GB will be too much for you at this point in time. 64 GB is a big jump from 16 GB. The 64 GB model will probably hold you over for 2-4 years; during that time you'll find new uses for your iPad that will use more storage, and by the time 64 GB becomes too little, you'll probably already be thinking about upgrading your iPad for reasons besides the storage. When that time comes, you'll again be able to reassess whether you want to go with a higher storage option.

Also consider the worst-case scenarios. If 64 GB is too little, you'll have to aggressively micromanage your storage. It's frustrating, but it's still usable. If 128 GB is far too much, well... it's not like you get the money back for having unused space, and then you've just wasted money. But if you can afford to spend the additional $100 without worry and having the extra space will make you happier and/or have better peace of mind, then it may not be a waste for you. That's your call.
Click to expand...

Thanks man for the amazing detailed answers to my questions. I agree with what you said about the difference between 64 gb and 128 gb. I guess it's all about the peace of mind. To be honest, I'm not very hyped about having 3d touch or having a pencil for the mini when they release those next year, since I see the mini as a e book/comics reader and occasional gaming tablet. I would be more interested in getting a mini 5 only if it's hardware specs are much much better than the mini 4.
 
X2. Yup, me too. 128gb for me for now on. That alone, future proofs it for me since apps are getting larger. 3D doesn't blow me away as a have to have feature in a tablet.


The Game 161 said:
up to you but all my devices will be 128GB now and going forward
Click to expand...
 
Last thing I want is to ever worry about storage.

least with 128GB there are no worries. Even if you have 40GB left it's better to be safe than sorry.
 
Given the Apple tax for each storage jump, I invested in a wireless portable drive for travel. It means I can load that up with media when travelling and either stream to the iPad or download what I wish to view on the go. I can easily live with a 32GB iPad but opted for a 64GB mini 4 this time purely for convenience.
If the reason you want a higher capacity iPad for the rare occasions when you will be travelling and wish to consume media, I think a wireless drive is a great investment. You can pick one up and a 128GB SDXC card to go in it for not a lot of money and you will always have that regardless of how often you upgrade your iPad, iPhone etc. You can also cheaply by additional SD cards and swap them out as needed for very little additional outlay.
In the UK, it will save you between £80 - £160 each time you purchase an iPad and more if you upgrade multiple devices.
 
my original mini is 32gb... I have filled it, but then I just delete stuff (largest items: magazines, books and most recently the new amazon prime video downloads)

I went back and forth before ordering... part of me wanted the 128, as I ALWAYS have gotten the largest capacity available for my iphones and I usually go over the next increment down in storage. (i'm a terrible photo hoarder!) my reasoning for going 128 with the ipad mini was so I could also have all my photos on it, too!)

than I looked at the price jump and decided I could just continue to manage my space. so I ordered 64GB.

hubby has a 16GB original mini and would have been happy with 32 GB.... but since it wasn't available I ordered him a 64GB over the weekend.

I hope I don't regret my decision.... unlike my phone.... I do just fine not upgrading my ipad mini every year.... so i'm hoping this lasts me just as long as my original one has! (it's still working fine for my uses.... but i'm ready for retina, touch ID and all the other niceties!)
 
It depends on how you can manage the space. Currently, I use under 64GB on my phone, and max my old iPad 2 at 32GB. The problem I run into is that this is used for movies and work on trips. my iPhone is too small to be good for movies, and the iPad has no space for either. Upgrade to 64 and I should be good for one or the other...likely, things will expand. At 2GB a movie, that's 16 movies I can upload between 32 and 64, minus any games I install, minus the several GB of work stuff...that starts to eat into my use. Someone said it earlier, better to have 128 and 40GB free than out of space. It also should sell better. Again, it's entirely up to your use, though.
 
Depends on how you use it. 64gb should be plenty however. Assuming you'll have the occasional wifi connection it's not hard to save/offload stuff to the cloud either. Chances are, since you have to ask, 128gb probably isn't necessary. By the time you find a use for that capacity it'll probably be time to upgrade to a newer generation anyway. Just my opinion.
 
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1. The storage like every one said, is totally depend on your needs,

2. Ios9 supports up to 4s (or should I say down to?), so I'd say 4-5 years of support should be a reasonable guess.
But you should consider mini 4 1 year old already. Since it uses last years a8 instead of this years a9



3d touch may not be a must go for you, but I'd say that a7 to a8 isn't that big a leap, maybe wait for mini 5 if you are still happy with your mini2.

Again, just remember that though it's mini 2 and mini 4, but actually mini 3 does NOT exist, or should not be considered as mini3. 2 and 3 are identically besides the color and Touch ID
 
64GB fine on my iPhone 6. If I was buying a 6s, I would keep it at that.

The Mini 4. I keep iPads longer, so I may just spend the extra $100.
 
I'm also upgrading from a Mini 2. I think you should go for the Mini 4! :)

Reasons for my upgrade are:

- 2GB of RAM, I got tired of Safari tabs getting reloaded if the DOM is of any decent size.
- Split view, in a lot of my usage scenarios split view will really make a huge difference.
- the better display, the display on the Air 2 is amazing, night and day compared to that of the Mini 2.
- Touch ID is nice for unlocking 1Password and apps that have implemented it (Amazon, AMEX, etc).

My mini 2 is 32GB, I'm going with 64GB mini 4. To me the extra money is better spent toward getting the LTE model than an extra 64GB of space. I stream most of my stuff with very fast wifi at home and in office, and when I travel I just sync a couple of movies and TV shows in Plex.

For my iPhone 6s I'm going with 128GB though, because it costs pretty much the same with the upgrade program, and for 4K videos and Live Photos. iCloud Photo Library on the Mini 4 should be smart enough to not take up all the extra space (it should only sync lower res versions until I tap on them, there's a setting for that).
 
Go for the 4, I plan on upgrading as well. If it doesn't set you back financially, why not go all out? Of course if you wait and wait and wait to buy Apple products, you'll never buy any
 
Viper2005 said:
No, since the mini 4 has no 3d touch, the next mini will likely have it, and also likely is that ios10 will have more use for 3d touch than ios9, then you'll really miss out on a big part of the interface if you have a 3d touch-less device.
My advice, buy it if you really need one but be prepared to sell it next year!
Click to expand...

3D touch is nice but its not as amazing as Apple attempted to sell it as at the keynote - they had to go all out pushing it because it was the only real reason to upgrade the iPhones. In reality it just allows shortcuts, which is nice, but not that big of a deal
 
konjecture said:
So I don't consider myself an Apple or Android fanboy, but have used both types of tablets. I have owned the first generation iPad when it came out in 2010 (I gave it to my mom last year). Since then, I have used mostly Android tablets, however, I was looking for a 7-8 inch tablet that would be perfect for reading books, magazines and papers. So I went ahead and bought an iPad Mini 2 16GB few months from Walmart during the Amazon sales deal. I was skeptical at first but I think I had all my doubts answered. The iPad Mini 2 is the perfect tablet imo for reading with its perfect size, retina display and the OS that it comes with.

So now, I'm tempted to get the iPad Mini 4 as it is a huge step forward from the iPad Mini 2 when it comes to specs. I will still wait to see whether it has a 2 GB RAM before I make the investment. So here are some of my questions (finally) for veteran iPad users that I want to have answers for.

1. I'm thinking of getting either the 64GB or 128GB model. My question is, should I pay the extra $100 for the 128GB model? I mean should I go all in since I plan to use it a lot?

2. This question is related to the first. How long do you think that the mini 4 will be supported. Will I be future proof for the next 3-4 years if I get the 128gb mini 4?
Click to expand...

mini 4 is able to do split screen, so it must have 2GIGS
 
konjecture said:
So I don't consider myself an Apple or Android fanboy, but have used both types of tablets. I have owned the first generation iPad when it came out in 2010 (I gave it to my mom last year). Since then, I have used mostly Android tablets, however, I was looking for a 7-8 inch tablet that would be perfect for reading books, magazines and papers. So I went ahead and bought an iPad Mini 2 16GB few months from Walmart during the Amazon sales deal. I was skeptical at first but I think I had all my doubts answered. The iPad Mini 2 is the perfect tablet imo for reading with its perfect size, retina display and the OS that it comes with.

So now, I'm tempted to get the iPad Mini 4 as it is a huge step forward from the iPad Mini 2 when it comes to specs. I will still wait to see whether it has a 2 GB RAM before I make the investment. So here are some of my questions (finally) for veteran iPad users that I want to have answers for.

1. I'm thinking of getting either the 64GB or 128GB model. My question is, should I pay the extra $100 for the 128GB model? I mean should I go all in since I plan to use it a lot?

2. This question is related to the first. How long do you think that the mini 4 will be supported. Will I be future proof for the next 3-4 years if I get the 128gb mini 4?
Click to expand...

I found 32GB was too restrictive, but 64GB is plenty - you would really have to be loading tonnes of movies, music libraries and big games to need 128GB imo
 
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