Apple's new iPad Mini is out
Posted by AlexJamesFitz@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 83 comments
For anybody else who's been waiting to upgrade: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apple-introduces-powerful-new-ipad-mini-built-for-apple-intelligence/
Known-Diet-4170@reddit
did they improve the screen?
Aerodynamic_Soda_Can@reddit
What was wrong with the screen on the mini 6?
It's Foreflight. It doesn't benefit from high refresh rate or ultra accurate colors or anything lol. It's plenty bright even in direct sunlight..
What, maybe it could be more crack/scratch resistant? Use less power? That doesn't seem to exist yet though..?
Known-Diet-4170@reddit
doesn't matter i can't stand the idea of spending money on a screen that old, give me a decent refresh rate already it's almost 2025
KITTYONFYRE@reddit
looks like no. zzzzz
Known-Diet-4170@reddit
they can't keep getting away with this, how can a company be so complacent?
Purgent@reddit
Because they can. Hardware forever behind but no one cares because Apple.
ApoTHICCary@reddit
Hardware forever behind?
Apple Silicone 3nm and soon 2nm M chips are insane. Their cheap phones, tablets, and such are for people who don’t care about having the fastest processors, refresh rates, resolution. A pilot buying a new iPad Mini because their 5yr old one is beginning to fail after constant overheating in the cockpit is a good example as to who they target for such hardware. Their high end hardware absolutely boxes in and over its class, especially in optimized software.
To claim the world’s most valuable company doesn’t innovate is simply untrue. Are they holding back releasing the absolute best they can at the time? Possibly. But there is a strong foundation supporting this company and consistently growing it over $3t.
PilotsNPause@reddit
The M chips provide 0 advantage in the iPads (which is only in the iPad pro) because the chips were already plenty fast enough.
Literally no one cares about iPad CPU upgrades at this point, it's meaningless. Maybe in 3 or 4 iOS updates when Apple deliberately makes older iPads slower so you want to upgrade it'll make a difference.
Purgent@reddit
It’s almost 2025. A new iPad without a 120hz screen is inexcusable.
I don’t care what they are worth or how good their new chips are. Being ahead of their competition in hardware over the course of time is exceedingly the exception for Apple.
mduell@reddit
Who has a better screen with the same battery life and weight?
KITTYONFYRE@reddit
i'd bet that the 3.6 trillion dollar company will, in fact, keep getting away with it lol. I don't think the ipad mini is a particularly high volume product. plus, the screen is already pretty darn good. it's not a real standout performer nowadays, but it's certainly not a huge drag, either.
iirc it's pretty standard for every other generation to just be an update of the guts
N546RV@reddit
Frog_Prophet@reddit
Nope. Skip.
gimp2x@reddit
There’s almost nothing changed other than the chipsets and storage sizes
It’s not worth the upgrade
CaptJellico@reddit
Yeah, completely agree. My current iPad mini runs ForeFlight perfectly, so why would I need to upgrade?
fumo7887@reddit
Mini 6 owners are not the target market. I’m not sure why everybody thinks these companies are trying to get people to upgrade every model. Tablets and phones are mature markets. This is a great upgrade for people looking to buy into the Mini or upgrade from the 5 or prior.
burningtowns@reddit
If I don’t have an iPad already, is it worth starting from this model or buying into a previous generation?
N546RV@reddit
I think it's primarily a question of frugality, though it also edges into a buy-it-for-life type of perspective.
On the one hand, buying the latest model means you maximize the amount of time before the device becomes obsolete. It also means you maximize capability, and if you're not a fan of buying used, that'd an intangible benefit.
On the other hand, buying the previous model can save a lot of money. That's particularly true right after a new model is announced; early upgraders will be unloading their old models at a significant discount. For example, right now on Swappa, a Mini 6 256GB cellular model can be had for $500-550, as opposed to the $749 for a comparable Mini 7. A 30% discount is nothing to sneeze at.
Historically, I've tended towards the latter approach when it comes to tech, and felt like it was a good compromise. Like I don't feel like it runs afoul of the boots theory, but I also haven't really sat down and tried to do the math to prove it.
burningtowns@reddit
I have lived the boots theory. Haha. It would be a more powerful sentiment if we were comparing a 5 to a 7, where it would likely be no contest to get a 7. A 6, I agree, you’d have to hedge the time in hopes that the previous owner took good care of the device.
temphandsome@reddit
It is definitely worth starting here! It’s a great iPad and great size for the cockpit.
N546RV@reddit
For those of us on older models (I'm still rocking a Mini 4), this could be a good time to troll sites like Swappa for Mini 6s as the early adopters unload them.
maverickps1@reddit
I have noticed no issues with my cellular Mini4. All it does is foreflight.
N546RV@reddit
ForeFlight seems a bit laggy for me sometimes, but honestly the biggest thing making me want to upgrade is the battery life. I'm lucky if I get two hours with ForeFlight open unless I start doing stuff like cranking the screen brightness down.
It's not awful to plug it into an external battery or a panel port if that's available, but then I have yet another cord snaking around the cockpit. Again, not the most awful thing in the world, but it does bother me a bit.
silvanvon@reddit
Yeah can confirm I have a mini 6 and battery life is great. Just went from about 65% to 45% in a 2 hour flight. Wasn't using battery saver or low brightness
JHG0@reddit
My Mini 4 is kinda dead. Going to upgrade to the 7 since it’ll be a big QoL improvement
AlexJamesFitz@reddit (OP)
It's a big jump from the 5 that I'm using now, though. Once every other generation is about right with iPads - especially the Mini, which goes years without upgrades.
gimp2x@reddit
yes, it is far superior to a gameboy, I'm just sharing there isn't much changed, I'd get a iPad mini 6 at a discount versus shelling out for the new one, and this is rare coming from me, I upgrade all my apple stuff to latest/greatest when it comes out, this one I'm going to forgo
Acceptable-Wrap4453@reddit
That was my first thought when I read your first comment about the chips. My 5 actually does really well still since I only use it for foreflight. Might not actually be worth upgrading at all at this point. Maybe just for the upgraded pencil/magnetic side to write down clearances. Rumors were suggesting a much bigger leap forward in terms of hardware for the 7.
ketralnis@reddit
Not worth an upgrade perhaps but if like me you were holding off to purchase one now is a good time. Apple tends to drop support for perfectly good hardware after 5-7 years so I wasn’t about to buy a four year old device that would only last another year or two
maethor1337@reddit
Did you just make this up? More like 7-10 years.
For iPads released in the past decade, only 1 of the 25 models was supported for less than 7 years, and that was the iPad 6 which was supported for 6.5 years. 20 of the 25 models are still supported, and of the 5 that are unsupported they were supported for an average of 9 years.
dopexile@reddit
The new models might have a better battery life with more efficient power consuming chips. The real benefit for most pilots is it will push down the prices of the older used models on eBay.
UbiquitouSparky@reddit
I’m ok with that, I’m on iPad 2
arikaleph@reddit
Here's hoping that maybe one day they'll add dual band GPS and the matte nano-texture they have on the Pro.
AssEatingCfiReturns@reddit
It's not worth the upgrade unfortunately
ScottPWard@reddit
As an FYI, prior military can get 10% off via the online apple store. Not a monumental update, but its better than my ipad pro 2021 version.
Limelightt@reddit
So screen size is the same ? Sorry too lazy to research
csl512@reddit
https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/?modelList=ipad-mini-a17pro,ipad-mini-6th-gen,ipad-mini-5th-gen
At least you're honest
(yes)
Limelightt@reddit
Lame, thanks.
beepbeepimmmajeep@reddit
This would have been awesome if they gave it a 120hz screen.
csl512@reddit
Makes the 6 jelly
denverpilot@reddit
They couldn't, it would make the iPhone not having it look even worse for not doing it.
bhalter80@reddit
Because you don't like battery life?
Frog_Prophet@reddit
The 120hz displays don’t hurt battery life because they are variable refresh displays. They can go down to 1hz on the newest versions.
soulscratch@reddit
How am I supposed to Slay the Spire at 60fps?
randylush@reddit
he wants to watch the 1hz weather satellite data in 120hz
mduell@reddit
1Hz? Even the most frequent stuff is usually only 0.003Hz
CardinalC177@reddit
120 Hz screens can save battery if used properly like ProMotion on iPhone does with VRR. I’d have loved if the iPad mini got it but I doubted it’d happen.
TwistedConsciousness@reddit
That is not exactly how that works. More Hz always means worse battery life. All that tech you mentioned does is turn down the refresh rate when looking at certain displays.
I'd be worried foreflight would he labeled as a video or a game by the iPad and it would run at 120hz. Which would be problematic.
Frankly though unless you playing games or using the iPad for a lot of stuff other than foreflight than lower refresh rate fine with me.
my_way_out@reddit
Probably for using the iPad for things other than flying....
ElPayador@reddit
FF just emailed me: We want to make you aware that Apple iOS/iPadOS 17 will soon become the minimum-supported iOS for new versions of ForeFlight Mobile. We plan to make this change with an app release early in 2025.
My IPad 4 mini is getting slower laggy and doesn’t help my IFR training / skills I am still debating 6 or 7
srdev_ct@reddit
If there is significantly better battery life, maybe. But otherwise that’s gonna be a pass. Not compelling enough.
tomdarch@reddit
I've been holding off for a while knowing that the next generation was due... and meh. I'll check around and see if there might be a great deal on a 6th gen in really good shape, but I'll probably get a 7th gen for the longevity. Nice that the base model has 128gb so more than adequate for Foreflight. Sucks that you still have to buy the cellular hardware upgrade just to get GPS.
Actually, knowing I'm going to get a Sentry, I'm tempted to get a non-cell/gps model.
jon_4149@reddit
If you need one now, would you get old for $100 off or get the new?
AlexJamesFitz@reddit (OP)
I usually feel like getting the newest possible option makes more sense in the long-term, because it'll be supported for longer and you can likely trade it in for a better value when it's time to upgrade. Apple's offering a $125 credit for my Mini 5.
Vincent-the-great@reddit
Ive been waiting for this for so long. My mini 5 had been holding on for dear life since 2020.
a_totallyRealAccount@reddit
what kinds of issues have you been experiencing with the mini 5?
Vincent-the-great@reddit
Low on storage, it keeps crashing when I run foreflight a lot. It’s overall getting very slow and I think the hardware is starting to fail from nearly 1500hrs of being max brightness in summer heat on my lap charging.
cofonseca@reddit
Hopefully used old ones will go down in price now. I'm still running on a Mini 4 which doesn't even support the Apple Pencil.
Mr-Plop@reddit
I just bought this for my mini 4 two weeks ago (from aliexpress actually). It doesn't have most of the features but it's better than your finger.
cofonseca@reddit
I tried one of those and the pen itself worked fine, but the problem that I ran into was that if my palm touched the screen, the pen would cut out and writing would be interrupted. The Mini 4 doesn't have palm detection like the newer models do, and it's kind of difficult to write without resting your palm on the surface. It drove me nuts!
chasepsu@reddit
Even new 6's with Cellular (and GPS) are down $100-120 at Amazon and BestBuy. So hopefully used ones come down even more than that.
arziben@reddit
650 ? That's cheaper than I expected
Peacewind152@reddit
It’s a very minor upgrade for me and my Mini 6. I’ll sit this one out.
jimbowie10@reddit
Dang. Just bought the “old” iPad mini today…
Frog_Prophet@reddit
Seriously you can still return it.
btgeekboy@reddit
Return it and get the better one.
Aedion@reddit
Rumor mill the past year was no screen upgrade. This confirms I made the right decision to upgrade from my 4 to a used 6 256gb cellular for $380 5 months ago.
ngod87@reddit
Where did you find a used 6 with cellular for $380?
Aedion@reddit
I was able to do a local deal on an OfferUp posting. I tracked r/hardwareswap and Craigslist as well.
flyboy520@reddit
Pretty sad for a 3 year “update”
sssredit@reddit
Only feature I want it a higher temperature before it shuts down .
Mr-Plop@reddit
I just emailed xNaut to see if the Mini 6 cooling case is compatible or they're planning on releasing a mini 7. Seems the same so far.
CUNT_PUNCHER_9000@reddit
I would assume that means I can get any mini 6 mount for the 7?
Though I may just get a 6 anyway if it's $380 vs $500
timfountain4444@reddit
Apple has become the biggest yawn these days. Seriously, this is the state of innovation at Apple? I'll keep my current mini thank you...
Whiteyak5@reddit
Glad I grabbed the iPad Air when it was on sale. Love the big screen.
simplifysic@reddit
Foreflight isn’t a video game. It’s fine as long as the app opens.
DualRatedPilot@reddit
Has battery life been upgraded? Mini 6 battery is no bueno
Anphsn@reddit
Price?
No-Brilliant9659@reddit
128GB/256GB/512GB
$499/$599/$799
Add $150 for the cellular version
Bubbly_Curve189@reddit
499 usd
climbFL350@reddit
The fact that they didn’t improve the screen/refresh rate is reason enough not to buy this. But I understand, the refresh rate is saved to entice you to the Pro.
Good on them for increasing the base storage though. That’s part of the reason I bought the iPad Air instead of the mini last week was because of the storage.
trololol342@reddit
Upgrade time :)
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
For anybody else who's been waiting to upgrade: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apple-introduces-powerful-new-ipad-mini-built-for-apple-intelligence/
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please contact the mods of this subreddit.