[kscherer]

Best iPad ever? 709 thinks so, and that's all that matters.

[709]

Viva la mini!!!

[turtle]

I'm going to get one of these for Mrs T. The question is do I get her cellular or not. She won't put a SIM in it, but it gives true GPS which is REALLY handy.

She likes the pink color now too.

[chucker]

Yeah, tempting to get this. I'm still on an iPad mini 2 (lol).

[turtle]

Ok, I ordered the Pink 256GB Cellular for Mrs T. I figure the sooner I get it for her the better since it might have the delivery date push.

[kscherer]

The only iPad I have ever owned was a Mini 2. I loved it, but I just couldn't find a regular use for it that justified getting something new. I just can't get my head around owning one for the use I have. My iPhone fills my portable needs, and a Mac is required for everything else.

I really like the new Mini, and I really want one, but I just can't come up with a reason to own one other than "I want it", and that's not good enough for $499.

[turtle]

The mini is a good 1st world thing when you don't want to sit at a computer but want a screen bigger than a phone. Mrs T mostly plays games and basic photo editing on her mini. This give more skills with the Pencil as an option. Does she need it, no but she has been looking forward to an upgrade to her current mini with the extra storage too. I didn't ask her about GPS, I just know it is handy and worth having.

[psmith2.0]

Another mark in its favor.

New iPad mini has 4GB RAM, the new 9th-generation iPad remains at 3GB).

There's just really nothing to dislike about this new mini, is there? A solid upgrade all around, this one.




Talking like Yoda, I am...

[kscherer]

Only mini in your mind, it is!

[chucker]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Another mark in its favor. New iPad mini has 4GB RAM, the new 9th-generation iPad remains at 3GB). There's just really nothing to dislike about this new mini, is there? A solid upgrade all around, this one.

A bit much of a bezel, IMHO. But pretty great for its price.

[kscherer]

I think it's the same bezel width as the Air, but because it's so much smaller, it looks a bit … ungainly.

Still smaller than it was.

[psmith2.0]

I've been looking at pictures. It would've been cool if it were thinner and more "all screen", but that's very minor with me. That bit of bezel, since this device is larger than an iPhone (duh) and will require two hands to hold/operate (unless you just set it on a table or on your lap/knees) might give you a place for your thumb or hand to be without crossing over to the screen?

I know iOS (or iPadOS in this case?) is supposed to ignore that, but why not help it out by not having your thumb constantly parked on the display?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by kscherer I think it's the same bezel width as the Air, but because it's so much smaller, it looks a bit … ungainly. Still smaller than it was.

Yeah. The ratio of bezel to screen is a bit off.

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 I've been looking at pictures. It would've been cool if it were thinner and more "all screen", but that's very minor with me. That bit of bezel, since it's larger than an iPhone and will require two hands to hold/operate (unless you just set it on a table or on your lap/knees) might give you a place for your thumb or hand to be without crossing over to the screen?

Yup.

[709]

I know you guys have conspired via PMs to goad me and I'm not falling for it.

[psmith2.0]

I grabbed one of those nice, large straight-on PR shots from Apple's site and scaled it down to be 5.3" wide and 7.69" (dimensions given for the new mini at Apple's site) and printed it out, cut it out, spray-glued it to some foamcore (the number of times I've done this in my Apple-using life is just...well, sad ) but it's a great way to get a very accurate, dimensional mockup in hand of a new product that hasn't hit the streets yet. I've done this with various iPhones over the years...a nice little collection of foamcore/paper iPhones in my nightstand.

Yes, ladies...hard to believe I'm single, I know.

At 5.3" wide, it fits nicely in the hand, and then then it's mostly screen of course. That bezel shouldn't be any problem or hassle to deal with. Looked real nice. A great couch/bed kinda device, but a bit larger than the biggest iPhone but still well under the Air or Pro iPad and, therefore, maybe more comfortable/easy to use when slugging around.

Every time I mess with a normal-sized iPad (including the one I briefly owned back in late 2012/2013), it just seems like "there's no real good way to hold this thing" (lying in bed, reclining on couch). The mini has always kinda appealed to me, but I never liked how it often seemed like a neglected afterthought at times.

This new one seems like they really wanted to put out the best small iPad they could (A15, bigger display, Pencil 2 support, USB-C, 5G (I assume the previous model had neither of these), Center Stage and all the rest.

Sorry, 709...

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by 709 I know you guys have conspired via PMs to goad me and I'm not falling for it.

Damn straight! You know we conspire to sabotage each other all the time. It's just your turn.

[turtle]

Pre-order sale already from Apple!

[psmith2.0]

That didn't take long.

[709]

90% probability that I go with the Space Gray (again), but I really want to see Starlight in person before I pull the trigger. Could change my mind if it's as nice as it looks in the promo photos.

[Yontsey]

Not gonna lie, kinda tempted to grab one of these......

[turtle]

This is really cool. Apple thinks the new mini is for me since I ordered it on my account. I'm not going to do the migration this way though. I'm going to use Finder/iTunes method since it retains all settings and apps from the old iPad.

It is really nice to see the migration improvements though.

[PB PM]

Cloud moving to a new device has been around for many years now. Guess it’s just the email that’s new?

[kieran]

This message shows up in the settings app now as well when you order a new phone.

I think it's pretty cool and it's nice to see a listing of things to do before you get a new phone.

I've been doing the cloud transfers for a few years now and haven't plugged in and backed up an iPhone in forever. The iCloud transfer even retains logins and settings I believe.

[Yontsey]

iCloud migration is by far the easiest. Just takes awhile for everything to re-download.

[PB PM]

The only down side to an iCloud transfer is that is if you have apps that are no longer on the App Store, they will be gone.

[turtle]

That is exactly why I'm going to do the Finder migration. I was also under the under standing that authenticated apps don't require the password again with the wired migration as long as the backup is encrypted. I don't recall being able to do that for iCloud transfers. I'm trying to make it as painless as possible on Mrs T.

My son has to use the Finder migrations for his iPad (when he finally saves enough to buy it) because he can't get Mincraft Storymode anymore and it is still on his old (current) iPad.

[chucker]

My understanding is iCloud migration doesn't restore as many credentials as Finder or Wi-Fi migration does.

As for apps, I don't think that's a thing any more either way; you can't restore old apps (except maybe with the very old iTunes version).

[turtle]

You can if they are still on your current device, at least as I read the articles that talk about it. I'll find out for sure once we try to upgrade his. Mrs T might have some old apps that aren't available anymore, but most of those have likely been offloaded and now gone forever if so.

[turtle]

Mrs T's mini is here. I'm not diving into it yet because she is out and has her old mini with her so I can't really do the backup and restore yet. I suppose I could to the OS update that is pending though.

[Yontsey]

I'm thinking about picking one of these up with the 256GB. I have an old Air from....geez.....6 years ago maybe? It's really showing its age. This would be the perfect bridge between my phone and MBP. Would be great on the couch/bed and great to travel with. I'm heading over seas in November so this would be real handy to have for some movies. Plus the front camera upgrade for FaceTime is a huge plus for me. They'll still give me $120 for my old iPad too so not too shabby.