[Rewarded Review] iPad Pro 11 Replacement
★★★★★
Thefozz· Review provided by
bestbuy.com ·
May 5, 2024My previous iPad was the 11-inch Pro and that is the baseline to what I'm comparing this 6th Gen iPad Mini. I'll spare you all the nitty gritty details that can be found elsewhere online and just summarize by saying that the newest Mini is everything I like about having a tablet and there is nothing about my Pro that I miss. Since the Mini 6 has a full speed, full function USB-C port, I'm able to plug in external SSD drives whenever I need to copy things to/from the iPad. It supports Apple Pencil 2 for those rare times I actually use the pencil. It is fast, small, lightweight and has excellent battery life. I mainly use this Mini for viewing schematics or watching streaming video content. I do some light web work on it and even less office productivity - I use a Mac for that stuff, which brings me to my final point:
My iPad Pro with all the accessories I had for it (Magic Keyboard/Trackpad case, Pencil 2, etc) was so close to being a laptop but at the end of the day it just wasn't. Brilliant as iPad OS is, it is no replacement for a full on laptop/desktop OS. So here I am lugging around this big heavy iPad and my MacBook Pro or MacBook Air with the only redeeming benefit of the iPad being that I could write on the screen - which, again, I rarely did. What I really wanted was not a laptop replacement tablet but rather a sidekick companion that was light-hearted and easy take along. For me, the Mini is the Robin to my Batman Laptop. They're not fighting over who gets to do what, instead they play well together. My Macbook is the workhorse and the main productivity tool. When I need to go out and fix a system, I Airdrop the schematic to my iPad mini and go do thing I need to do, leaving the big Macbook at my desk. When I get back from doing the thing, I Airdrop back to my Mac any photos I may have taken, sync some notes, and redlines to schematics and then I resume my work from there. That is how I imagine Apple originally envisioned all of this working and it does work brilliantly. The iPad Pro does have a place in some people's workflow but I think in all honesty most people are those "some people". Just get the Mini and enjoy not spending as much while still getting 99% of the same features.
ALMOST PERFECT !
★★★★★
TonyG· Review provided by
johnlewis.com ·
June 14, 2024I always avoided Apple product because of their lack of expansion capacity (no SD card slot). However, I was eventually forced to buy an iPhone (as it was the smallest smartphone I could find - Android are just getting bigger and bigger) and I realised just how good Apple products really are. Everything about them is sleek and sophisticated - a real users tech device.
So I decided to get this iPad. Like the iPhone it is an amazing bit of tech and, as an added bonus, it can link to the iPhone so that the iPad can access the internet via my iPhone when I cannot get onto wifi. I was very happy, UNTIL:-
The one flaw on the iPad is iTunes and Apple's Music player. I can sync all my music with my music on my PC (a bit fiddly with iTines but OK). BUT, iTunes, randomly, separates tracks from their albums! So some of my albums appear as albums but some are in single tracks or groups of tracks. This is a real problem for lovers of classical music or opera as you need all the tracks together playing in the right order! I didn't notice this on the iPhone as I do not use that for music playback, which is one of the main things I use my iPad for - or would do if I could access all my albums rather than fragments of them.
Looking into this online, this is a common problem that Apple have so far failed to fix. Some users have suggested that editing all the details of all the tracks affected can consolidate albums back together. However, this should not be up to the user (who has paid Apple a lot for the tech), in my experience does not work anyway (and there are two many tracks affected! I have better things to do!
So, in summary, a brilliant tablet but possibly not if you want to play music albums.
[Rewarded Review] Best Mini yet (with room for inprovment)
★★★★★
Chris· Review provided by
bestbuy.com ·
December 30, 2023Small but mighty, the iPad Mini 6th gen makes it way to the forefront to those that wants an iPad… but smaller. It does almost eveything a full sized iPad does, and does it with ease rocking the same processor found in both the iPhone 13 Pro and the regular iPhone 14. With it’s 8.3 inch display, it has capable room to pair with the 2nd gen apple pencil for those that likes to draw, or jot down ideas just a note pad. Though a great iPad, some elements fall short. You are locked to two storage options: 64 Gb or 256 Gb. When fully set up in the 64Gb option, you’re left with ~44Gb of usable storage. If you’re willing to shell out an additional $150, then go for the 256Gb. Other shortcomings is the lack of pro features found in the pro models such as 90hz variable refresh liquid retina dispaly. Additionally, you’re left with the older tech fingerprint reader as means of biometric autherntication; unlike the FaceID feature found in the iPad Pro. If thats a deal breaker, then look for other options. TL;DR: You have to want to get this because its a compact iPad that can used 2nd gen Apple Pencil. Otherwise, consider the similarly priced iPad Air.
[Rewarded Review] 64GB in 2024 is a joke
★★★★★
Matthew· Review provided by
bestbuy.com ·
January 18, 2024If you're like me, you did some research and read opinions, etc etc on how bad 64GB storage is. You'll read how ppl say 64GB is enough. It is not. 64GB in 2024 is an absolute JOKE. personally, I thought 64GB was a joke in 2021.. but apple needs to buff their profit margins, I guess.
Let me say, the display is okay when it comes to colors and sharpness. However, you can tell apple cheaped out on the display, or cut corners, because it has that very indicative quality of water under the display when you press on it. I've had many cheap android tablets, and they also do this. it's a sign of going with lower quality. ALL IPS displays do this to some degree... but the lower quality they are.. the more it happens. i.g. my ipad mini 5 display NEVER did this with touches. the ipad mini 6 does this with very light touches... so apple cut corners on the storage and the display... I LOVE the MINI line of ipads. but the 256GB model is insanely overpriced.. (as is the 64GB but it's the only other option; apple wants to up-sell the more overpriced 256gb model so they didn't make a 128GB model like every other company does.)
anyways.. I digress from my main frustration. 64GB is absolute TR**H. I installed the main apps that so many ppl will install.. the classic social media apps, snap, insta, twitter, bluesky, discord, etc etc etc etc. the main streaming apps, netflix, hulu, disney+, prime, twitch, kick, etc etc etc. the classic productivity apps like goodnotes, notion, procreate, etc etc etc. I EVEN UNINSTALLED all the appl bloatware like TIPS, BOOKS, STOCKS, etc etc etc. I installed a few small games and genshin impact....
guess how much space I have left? 4.34GB of free space !
WOW ! so much space !
I consider myself a light/casual user... I don't do video editing... I don't take/store tons of videos/photos. and that's a good thing.. bc you can't store Jack on this 64GB model..... I don't even think I'll be able to install any iOS patches/updates without uninstalling a ton of my apps.....
I'll never be able to use features like, offline video watching that netflix, hulu, prime offer if I wanna watch shows/movies offline.. bc there isn't any storage left...
I can't store videos or photos.. bc 64GB is, or rather should be, a crime. I honestly think selling something like this that isn't 128GB base, or 256GB base, should be illegal.
last, the battery isn't good at all. this thing drains so fast. I'm almost inclined to believe this has a faulty battery, but I wouldn't be able to get solid evidence.
There isn't actually anything physically wrong (not counting the cheap IPS panel and illegally low battery screen-on time, but ig apple considers this a feature), so I don't think I can return it.
Like I said, I absolutely love the mini line. but 64GB of storage... at this price... how is this legal? if I can't even install the patch/ios updates without uninstalling all my stuff... how is this a premium experience?
it's absolutely insane that apple still sells 64GB models on their website, still, in 2024. ... the 9th gen 64GB.. the newly 10th gen has a 64GB... and the mini has the 64GB... this amount of storage is border-line useless. anyone who disagrees prob doesn't even actually use their tablet...
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