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iPad Which compromise?

C

Cassr

macrumors member
Original poster
After going round in circles I'm left with one final compromise decision and wondered what you would do?

iPad gen 8 128g for £400 or iPad mini 5 64g for £350?

More storage and bigger screen or "better screen" but smaller...

I have considered all refurb options so really is a final decision between these two.
 
More storage and bigger screen is better than better screen but smaller storage and screen size. Unless you value portability way more than readability.
 
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Buy the spec you appreciate the most. To many that is storage but who knows as you mention zero priority or use case.
 
Cassr said:
After going round in circles I'm left with one final compromise decision and wondered what you would do?

iPad gen 8 128g for £400 or iPad mini 5 64g for £350?

More storage and bigger screen or "better screen" but smaller...

I have considered all refurb options so really is a final decision between these two.
Click to expand...
Personally, I'd go 256GB mini 5 over any 8th Gen iPad. 😛

But if I'm going specifically between those two iPads, I'd go with the one with greater capacity. The screen quality isn't that big of a deal. It's still a retina display with a decent color gamut. It might be annoying if you do Apple Pencil work, but if that's not on the agenda, I'd just go with the higher capacity iPad.
 
Sorry should have put my use case.

It's a laptop companion that will be used as a planner, note taker, initial idea developer, and content consumption. A tiny bit of editing making content for social media but I edit my product photos (jewellery designer) on my laptop and fancy big screen. Also finalise designs on my laptop too.

I had all but decided on the mini 5 but having a wobble as I am used to my 9.7 pro. This also means I'm used to a laminated screen so not sure how non laminated will differ in the real world and I'm not able to try it out.
 
7th Gen iPad vs Mini 5, I’d have said Mini 5 all day long. The 8th Gen got the same processor as the Mini 5, making the Mini 5 not as good a deal as it was on release, when the base iPad was 2 processor generations behind.

How much storage are you using on your current Pro?

My personal preference is for the Mini (came from a 9.7” myself and only have the one iPad.) Has its downsides as far as content consumption goes (am always using any zoom option that is available on BritBox, Now TV etc) and do have a Chromecast (cost £30) that I can run from the iPad if I really feel the need to watch something on a bigger (TV) screen. Very handy for jotting down notes quickly on the move, though I do this by typing into Notes rather than with Apple Pencil. If you extensively use the Pencil the 8th Gen might be better, despite the downside of no laminated display (apparently the writing experience is superior with it.) The 10.2 is as big a screen in the classic design as you can get without running the risk of the bright spot defect it seems.

Non-laminated displays come with lower OOW repair costs, though the difference is less than £50 at the moment between Mini 5 OOW and 8th Gen OOW.

The Mini 5 has true tone while the 8th Gen doesn’t. As your 9.7 Pro has it, you’ll know whether it’s important to you or not.
 
Personally, I'd go with the 8th gen mainly because I already know from experience that the mini's screen is too small for my liking. Sadly, my eyes just aren't as young as they used to be.
 
Cassr said:
It's a laptop companion that will be used as a planner, note taker, initial idea developer, and content consumption. A tiny bit of editing making content for social media but I edit my product photos (jewellery designer) on my laptop and fancy big screen. Also finalise designs on my laptop too.
Click to expand...
Well, I have always leaned toward having a big screen.

If you looking at it in terms of strictly portability, then yeah.. go with the iPad Mini. But the obvious choice would be the iPad 8th gen considering your potential use cases.
 
Expos of 1969 said:
Perhaps @sracer will offer his opinion. He uses a mini for some of your tasks.
Click to expand...
thanks for the shout-out. 🙂

Cassr said:
Sorry should have put my use case.

It's a laptop companion that will be used as a planner, note taker, initial idea developer, and content consumption. A tiny bit of editing making content for social media but I edit my product photos (jewellery designer) on my laptop and fancy big screen. Also finalise designs on my laptop too.

I had all but decided on the mini 5 but having a wobble as I am used to my 9.7 pro. This also means I'm used to a laminated screen so not sure how non laminated will differ in the real world and I'm not able to try it out.
Click to expand...
I have heavily used the Mini 5, 6th gen iPad, and 12.9 iPad Pro as digital planners, note taking, journal, project notebooks. My current (and only) iPad these days is a 256GB Mini 5. It works great for those purposes.

The big question to ask yourself is, "what size pad and pen do I currently use?" That will help you determine which to choose. I have been using a 5.5" x 8.5" padfolio for my paper notes (that's 1/2 a sheet of US Letter size) and the Mini is so close to the same size that it works great. The Apple Pencil 1 works great with it and there are other alternative active styli that are comparable and don't need pairing.

The interesting thing is that I find myself more free to pinch-to-zoom to write some things where I (obviously) didn't need it on a paper pad. It simply might be a matter of "just because I can".

If you are accustomed to using a full sheet of paper (A4) then the 8th gen iPad would work great... which obviously you'd already know considering that you use a 9.7 Pro.

IMO, the best overall value iPad is the 8th gen. The "classic" form-factor offers some benefits over the newer Air/Pro chassis. The 8th gen supports smart covers (as does the Mini 5). This allows for the lightest and thinnest options that provide screen protection.

The 8th gen also supports the Apple Smart Keyboard cover. That is extremely helpful in switching between a laptop-like device and a tablet/notepad by simply popping one off and attaching the other.

Regarding the laminated vs non-laminated screens.... the difference is noticeable but not distracting IMO. This is highly subjective so each person responds to the difference... differently. I went from an iPad Air 2 to a 6th gen iPad (laminated to non-laminated) and I have no hesitation in going back to a non-laminated screen.

My plan is to keep an eye on what happens in the entry level iPad space. The moment Apple announces that the entry level iPad is moving to the Air/Pro chassis, I'm going to snag the 8th gen, a smartcover, the smart keyboard cover (and probably a refreshed Apple Pencil 1).
 
sracer said:
thanks for the shout-out. 🙂


I have heavily used the Mini 5, 6th gen iPad, and 12.9 iPad Pro as digital planners, note taking, journal, project notebooks. My current (and only) iPad these days is a 256GB Mini 5. It works great for those purposes.

The big question to ask yourself is, "what size pad and pen do I currently use?" That will help you determine which to choose. I have been using a 5.5" x 8.5" padfolio for my paper notes (that's 1/2 a sheet of US Letter size) and the Mini is so close to the same size that it works great. The Apple Pencil 1 works great with it and there are other alternative active styli that are comparable and don't need pairing.

The interesting thing is that I find myself more free to pinch-to-zoom to write some things where I (obviously) didn't need it on a paper pad. It simply might be a matter of "just because I can".

If you are accustomed to using a full sheet of paper (A4) then the 8th gen iPad would work great... which obviously you'd already know considering that you use a 9.7 Pro.

IMO, the best overall value iPad is the 8th gen. The "classic" form-factor offers some benefits over the newer Air/Pro chassis. The 8th gen supports smart covers (as does the Mini 5). This allows for the lightest and thinnest options that provide screen protection.

The 8th gen also supports the Apple Smart Keyboard cover. That is extremely helpful in switching between a laptop-like device and a tablet/notepad by simply popping one off and attaching the other.

Regarding the laminated vs non-laminated screens.... the difference is noticeable but not distracting IMO. This is highly subjective so each person responds to the difference... differently. I went from an iPad Air 2 to a 6th gen iPad (laminated to non-laminated) and I have no hesitation in going back to a non-laminated screen.

My plan is to keep an eye on what happens in the entry level iPad space. The moment Apple announces that the entry level iPad is moving to the Air/Pro chassis, I'm going to snag the 8th gen, a smartcover, the smart keyboard cover (and probably a refreshed Apple Pencil 1).
Click to expand...
Thank you for your detailed reply.

I am keen to keep to this form factor despite the bezels as I like touch ID and also use the headphone jack.

I think the physical notebook analogy is a good one, and I have happily used larger and smaller ones.

Something that attracts me to the mini is that I really don't want something that will compete with my laptop but add to it. I can imagine the mini being something that's easy to grab and not something to commit to using if that makes sense.

I think what I'm going to do is go for the mini (64g is more than enough storage for me) and then accidentally keep hold of my 9.7 pro! I sold some other bits and pieces and don't need to sell the pro to cover the mini. That way I have a larger screen if I need it for a project but the mini for daily use.

If I end up not using the pro I will then sell it.

It's in perfect condition and works well just nearly out of space and fancy something a bit snappier for daily use.

First world problems eh!

Appreciate everyone's feedback 😊
 
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Cassr said:
I think what I'm going to do is go for the mini (64g is more than enough storage for me) and then accidentally keep hold of my 9.7 pro! I sold some other bits and pieces and don't need to sell the pro to cover the mini. That way I have a larger screen if I need it for a project but the mini for daily use.
Click to expand...
The fact that you also own an iPad Pro should have been mentioned in the first post.

Get the Mini if 64GB is enough.
 
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