All iPads iPad mini 6: Who is downsizing and why?

[Shanghaichica]

I had a client that raved on the Kindle. 'It's better than sliced bread! you will love it! I don't go anywhere with out it!'.

BLEECH!!!

Hated it. The UI was so abusive, the wifi was pointless, the screen was primitive, the who experience was such a hot mess of 'I DON'T WANT THIS!' that I gave it to my mom, and she loved it. Yeah, I had a hard time figuring that out. She loved it, and when she died, my sister stole it. (Family, huh) Not that I missed it, but I wanted to spend some more time with it to see if I missed anything. Still, I didn't even think of buying a new one. Yeah, I wasn't THAT curious... Some others tried to get me to take the puce pill, and I just nodded and ignored them. But it's like those really cheesy and hard to use MP3 'players'. They were for people who said no to Apple's iPods, and stubbornly refused to see the light... *shrug*

The kindle is good for reading novels. Not for textbooks with pictures and diagrams. Different devices for different use cases. For reading novels I wouldn’t use anything but my kindle. However if it’s a textbook or a journal or a newspaper I prefer my iPad.

 

[StageMomma]

I decided today that I am selling my pro and likely going to buy a mini. Not right this second but in the near future.
I have tried to make the pro valuable to me and use it for work, but as a teacher, I end up using my laptop anyway. The ipad has been nice for simple on the go stuff but for what I paid, it has not been worth the hassle of trying to make my workflow work for the ipad.
I use it for Netflix and Disney plus....my phone or laptop is used for everything else
I also bought my pro right before WWDC in hopes that they would announce some awesome stuff for the M1 enabled ipad....but I was disappointed. I'm done forcing myself to use it for work when my laptop does what I need.

Mini 6 here I come!

 

[JohnnyQuest]

I just don't use my Pro for anything...Pro. I watching YouTube/movies/tv in bed, surf the web a bit, and use it as a laptop replacement while traveling. Plus, when I am using it casually, it sometimes feels too big and bulky to cuddle up.

I feel like the new iPad mini can do all that and more, as it's so portable and easy to hold that I can even iMessage and use it as an e-reader. And now that the screen is larger, I feel like it's the perfect size for me.

 

[KennyJr]

Trading a 2018 12 Pro Max for a 2021 iPad mini - literally (trade in value $3 higher than the iPad mini price).

The new iPad mini features are exactly what I want on an iPad .. and .. with usb-c I can just plug it into my monitor and use it like an iMac.

 

[PowerMac5500]

Backstory...
I've always wanted a mini but I've never "needed" one, and I'm generally a frugal bastard (but I got one HomePod and old Erfon was pretty convincing 2 would sound good...). For work, I'm equipped with the OG 12.9 Pro & Pencil, 2016 27" iMac, and 2017 15" MacBook Pro. Similar devices swimming around at home, including a heap of older devices that still function, but not as well as what I have. A 5-year-old Chromebook, Google Nexus tablet, a stack of assorted kindles, etc. Actually, yesterday I formatted a bunch of these devices and gave them to friends and family I knew could use them. I'm really rather tired of being weighed down by devices I no longer use. Usually, because I've moved onto something better, but sometimes because it never quite lived up to my expectations (*cough* GoPro Hero Black III Deluxe+ PlatniumBS). I'm newly resolved to lighten my load, to own less stuff, to no longer hold on to tech after it receives no use for years. And quite honestly, a few months of no use should be a sign, why hold on to it until it becomes some legacy? Am I going to open the Museum of Deprecated Cables? No. I do have a mint PS2 to COM port mouse adapter, still in the package though... so maybe.

The Downsizing...

(2016 OG iPad 12.9")
I'm tired of lugging that 1.5lb iPad (more with cover and accessories) around. I'm tired of lugging my laptop charging brick around too. The iPad works fine, I don't do anything uber intense with it. It's my go-to for SnapSeed, radar weather, magazines, doodling, etc. I have it nicely organized with all my adobe apps (which I never use, but I keep them there cuz someday...) The OG iPad 12.9 is meh at taking pictures. It has the WORST microphone in the world. I create a lot of media, so everything basically needs to be created on something else, then to the cloud, then to the ipad. When I'm in a hurry the ipad doesn't come out, it's a hassle, but when I do get into work on the iPad it's great. I do things in new/better/different ways. Fun fact, that scene in Back to the Future 3, where Marty gets shot in the duel with Biff Eastwood... that was a 2016 12.9" iPad Pro Marty had under his poncho. Not the door of cast iron stove.

(The Plan)
I ordered the Spay Gray 256/5G, case, and pencil. Arrives Friday. I also ordered a second MacBook Pro Charger. Starting this past Friday the OG iPad is now a permanent companion on my desk at work. Duet runs nicely, it makes a good control/lyric screen for music playing on my HomePod, I can view instructional videos on YouTube, or check reference content when needed... but mostly I just like keeping an eye on those suspicious-looking cloud formations in the South Atlantic. The second charger will eliminate me needing to lug that big focker back and forth, and my intent is to just not bring the laptop unless I need it. Which I don't expect will be often given the mini's power, the cloud and the fact that I can now plug a USB-C hard drive in. Now, those multi-gigabyte video files suddenly become a little less awkward to manage.

In Closing...
This is the first iPad I've wanted or needed to buy in a decade, I intend to make the most of it. To have something that small and powerful... it's going to open some new creative opportunities. And, unlike my current iPad or Macbook... it's going to go a lot more places with me.

(Hope ya'll don't mind that I felt like being loquacious. I thought it added a little something-something. Oh, and does anyone need a waterproof action camera? I've got like 4 or 5 I don't use. Priced to move. ?)

 

[Htsi]

Planning to get one as a compliment to my 2018 12.9.
Was confused between the mini and 11’ pro but the comments here about the size and weight of the 11 are weighing down on me lmao

 

[Hello...]

I had the iPad Air 4, and wanted to downsize a little as I'm getting older a smaller iPad seems like it will work for me.

 

[ScanTheNavian]

Hated it. The UI was so abusive, the wifi was pointless, the screen was primitive, the who experience was such a hot mess of 'I DON'T WANT THIS!' that I gave it to my mom, and she loved it.

I would have bought a Kobo Libra if it wasn't for the iPad Mini 6 showing up this early. I think if you go in with the right expectations and needs ereaders are great companion devices to tablets. My need would have been to be able to buy ebooks online for a cheaper cost and quicker delivery than snail mail. It would make my home library more manageable than having lots of book in storage. Having backlight would make it easier to read the book at night. The big differentiator to a tablet would of course be e-ink. I get tired eyes from electronical devices so an ereader would alleviate that and also allow me to read lengthy articles in Pocket.

Now that I've ordered the new Mini I'm going to wait a while before I order the Kobo, but it will most likely happen some time in the near future.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

The kindle is good for reading novels. Not for textbooks with pictures and diagrams. Different devices for different use cases. For reading novels I wouldn’t use anything but my kindle. However if it’s a textbook or a journal or a newspaper I prefer my iPad.

But why have both?

 

[Shanghaichica]

But why have both?

Why not lol

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Why not lol

You do you, but the extra 'stuff' to carry, and the extra drama too. I checked into a room a few years ago that had a Kindle charger still plugged into the wall. Oops... I added it to the mental list of all of the stuff (detritus) that I've found in hotel rooms. I found a Microsoft Pencil at a conference, but someone came looking for it. (Yeah, I gave it to him. What use was it to me)

Chargers, books, CDs, underwear, condoms, bottles of water, food (yuck), a mini fridge where all of the liquor bottles were carefully put back in the fridge, refilled (I always check now, after finding that. I called within minutes of hitting the room, and they 'serviced' it, again)...

Tangent: Do I miss traveling? Yes, and no. Finding used items in the room was always skeezy... (Eww...) But seeing the sun come up in a different city/state/country is a pretty amazing feeling, and seeing the stars, and being on the phone with a loved one, looking at the same sky from a slightly different point of view.

Flying is easy: Just throw yourself at the ground, and miss. -- Douglas Adams

 

[PowerMac5500]

I decided today that I am selling my pro and likely going to buy a mini. Not right this second but in the near future.
I have tried to make the pro valuable to me and use it for work, but as a teacher, I end up using my laptop anyway. The ipad has been nice for simple on the go stuff but for what I paid, it has not been worth the hassle of trying to make my workflow work for the ipad.
I use it for Netflix and Disney plus....my phone or laptop is used for everything else
I also bought my pro right before WWDC in hopes that they would announce some awesome stuff for the M1 enabled ipad....but I was disappointed. I'm done forcing myself to use it for work when my laptop does what I need.

Mini 6 here I come!

I'm with you. I've tried for 5 years to use the iPad Pro 12.9" as an on-the-go notebook, media creation, and productivity tool but it's been a struggle. And I often reach for my Macbook first because it's just going to be easier. Photo editing is great, just not as portable as I'd like. Note-taking is functional but too big for a whim. It weighs 1.5lbs... That's a lot of weight to carry around solely for a giant touch screen. I know, I know even legacy iPads still have plenty of function left in them, that's not the point though... I've never taken a photo worth keeping with this iPad. Every single time I've tried to record audio with it, it's the worst sounding audio file. iCloud is great, but using it for dozens of multi-gigabyte video files is not. So, right off the bat, on-device photography, videography, podcasting, and video editing are pretty much non-starters.

Honestly, what I really use the big iPad for...
SnapSeed (Even though I have all the Adobe apps, this is my go-to for quick edits.)
MyRadar Weather
Analytics Pro 3
Apple Music (Control of, and lyric display, for whatever my Homepod is playing.)
Files / OneDrive (Having a file, email, etc. open to read from while typing/working on another screen.)
Duet (Third display when needed.)
Entertainment (Netflix, Hulu, Ted Lasso, etc.)

That's pretty much it. That's why my 2016 iPad Pro 12.9" will now forever live on my desk, and my new iPad mini 6 will go with me everywhere.

 

[Fred Zed]

Downsizing from a pro 12.9" portability is the name of the game.

 

[rovex]

Typing on the 10.5 is awkward, the device itself is also unwieldy. I feel like I don’t lose much in going down in size, even if the video watching experience isn‘t quite as immersive.

 

[scotsmandc]

Typing on the 10.5 is awkward, the device itself is also unwieldy. I feel like I don’t lose much in going down in size, even if the video watching experience isn‘t quite as immersive.

I think it will be more immersive for content. less black bars So content fills the screen more.

 

[Htsi]

I think it will be more immersive for content. less black bars So content fills the screen more.

I find the aspect ratio of my 12.9 to be crap for videos for what’s it worth

 

[Hello...]

I’ve had my iPad Pro 12.9” for a few years, and I’m finding that an entry-level iPad would be much more suited to my needs. The large pro is just a bit uncomfortable to hold and type with, and I use a very limited selection of simple apps so dont really need pro-level speed or display. At the time I was seduced by the large screen but really it’s more cumbersome than it has been useful.

I have to agree my 12.9 was the first iPad I ever cracked on the corner it was just too big for me and I'm getting older

 

[Crow_Servo]

I have the Air 4 and have no intention of getting rid of it (until a new 11" Pro is released with MiniLED and some other upgrades), but the Mini 6 calls to me as a perfect secondary iPad. I haven't officially decided if I'll get one, but I'm leaning in its direction. I guess I'll watch some of the video reviews tomorrow.

 

[sonstar]

Would never buy another iPad without 120HZ

 

[scotsmandc]

I find the aspect ratio of my 12.9 to be crap for videos for what’s it worth

the mini is different which is why im excited. There’s a thread regarding aspect ratios and someone drew a diagram to show what content would look like.

 

[rovex]

I think it will be more immersive for content. less black bars So content fills the screen more.

Good point. Compared to the Mini 5, how much smaller will the black bars be ?

 

[UltimateSyn]

Good point. Compared to the Mini 5, how much smaller will the black bars be ?

I don’t know a % difference on the size of the black bars, but I know the screen real estate occupied by a 16:9 movie will be roughly 20% larger.

 

[LibbyLA]

But why have both?

Because reading e-ink is much easier on the eyes. I have both the smaller and larger Oasis. If I’m just reading for pleasure, the Kindle Oasis is much better than an iPad. There are no distractions/disruptions from notifications of FB posts or cell cam photos rolling in, just pure reading pleasure.

When we go to our camp, I carry the Oasis (in a soft touch case) and iPad Mini 5 in the same sleeve.

 

[LibbyLA]

You do you, but the extra 'stuff' to carry, and the extra drama too. I checked into a room a few years ago that had a Kindle charger still plugged into the wall. Oops... I added it to the mental list of all of the stuff (detritus) that I've found in hotel rooms. I found a Microsoft Pencil at a conference, but someone came looking for it. (Yeah, I gave it to him. What use was it to me)

Chargers, books, CDs, underwear, condoms, bottles of water, food (yuck), a mini fridge where all of the liquor bottles were carefully put back in the fridge, refilled (I always check now, after finding that. I called within minutes of hitting the room, and they 'serviced' it, again)...

Tangent: Do I miss traveling? Yes, and no. Finding used items in the room was always skeezy... (Eww...) But seeing the sun come up in a different city/state/country is a pretty amazing feeling, and seeing the stars, and being on the phone with a loved one, looking at the same sky from a slightly different point of view.

Flying is easy: Just throw yourself at the ground, and miss. -- Douglas Adams

I don’t carry anything with my Kindle, just the Kindle in its cover. I do have a multi port charger block and some cables that I carry in my purse, but that’s for several electronics that I carry. The Oasis battery lasts a very long time and I take short trips so I just make sure it’s charged before I go.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Downsizing from a pro 12.9" portability is the name of the game.

And not looking like you are attacking someone who you are trying to take a photo of.