These are clearly more appealing to most people than Apple's 2018 iPad or iPad Pro.
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iPad Air and iPad mini 2019 review: Apple’s tablets strike an ideal balance
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I agree 100%. This is one of my biggest gripes with Apple right now. Easy interoperability between Apple products used to be one of the core value propositions of the ecosystem, and it has all gone to hell. I was really hoping that with the iPad Pro moving to USB-C after Macs did, every Apple product would follow. I'm frustrated that's not the case, because when I travel I have to basically carry at least two "ecosystems of cables and accessories" for lack of a better term with me. That's a lot of bag space and confusion.
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Samuel,
You didn't mention it but the 2019 Air and mini also get Apple's updated cellular radio, which supports more LTE bands, including T-Mobile's newer, low frequency bands 12 and 71: https://www.apple.com/ipad/LTE/
You didn't mention it but the 2019 Air and mini also get Apple's updated cellular radio, which supports more LTE bands, including T-Mobile's newer, low frequency bands 12 and 71: https://www.apple.com/ipad/LTE/
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I wouldn't normally include a product in the benchmarks that is both no longer part of the current lineup, nor a device a reader is likely to be considering upgrading from. But the refurb store/aftermarket is kind of an edge case.
I'll share them with you here though... here are all the benchmark slides with the 2017 iPad Pro included. That said, just note that these results are from our benchmark database and were done in iOS 10.13.2, not iOS 12.2, which could have an impact. (I don't have a 2017 iPad Pro to test presently, I'm sorry.)
Geekbench single-core: https://meincmagazine.com/wp-content/uplo ... ingle.jpeg
Geekbench multi-core: https://meincmagazine.com/wp-content/uplo ... multi.jpeg
Geekbench Compute: https://meincmagazine.com/wp-content/uplo ... mpute.jpeg
GFXBench Metal: https://meincmagazine.com/wp-content/uplo ... Metal.jpeg
Browser (Octane): https://meincmagazine.com/wp-content/uplo ... ctane.jpeg
Browser (Kraken): https://meincmagazine.com/wp-content/uplo ... raken.jpeg
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What I don't get is why Apple is the only company that appreciates the utility of the 4:3 form factor for tablets. I'd love to get a Core-M powered Windows slate in the 8-10 inch 4:3 range but they basically don't exist. It's ideal for browsing the web, reading ebooks, and especially reading comics.
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I decided to upgrade from an iPhone 6s to an Android phone (to save money). Not because the phone was slow (it's not) but because I wanted a bigger screen and didn't want to pay $500 for an iPhone 6s Plus.
When I get a little cash I'll be getting a 2018 iPad. It's a LITTLE faster than the iPhone 6s, but has a nice, big screen.
Benchmarks I have seen recently show three year old phones and brand new phones have almost identical load times for apps, and only bleeding-edge power hungry games (and commercial-strength applications) can use all that extra power.
If you have a BUSINESS and get a tax write-off go for the business class obviously. Same if you are using it to play games. But for someone like me the cheap option is the best option.
I can't afford to pay $500 for a tablet. I work for a Fortune 500. I don't own or run one.
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I'm considering an upgrade... to a 2018 iPad. I'm using an iPad Mini 2.
According to benchmarks a 2018 iPad is about twice as fast as a Mini 2 for about a hundred bucks more than I paid. But to upgrade to one of these...no way. They are just too expensive.
I often wonder who upward mobility figures into sales. I would consider these new devices..if I had quadruple the income that I do. And even then I would hesitate. There just isn't that much additional value for the additional cost.
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I bought a couple of IPads as people wanted them for Sales Presentations on client visits.
On their first day of use some of the sales people tried to stick a USB stick into the iPad.
I explained how they can get documents onto the iPad.
Needless to say, the devices have not been used since (I have tried!!!!!).
I run a couple of websites that have online training, sales specific.
I get loads of call for help of iDevice users "cannot download the mp3" so they can listen to them in the car.
I explain how they can do it - I can hear the sigh when they read their emails.
Enough said.
On their first day of use some of the sales people tried to stick a USB stick into the iPad.
I explained how they can get documents onto the iPad.
Needless to say, the devices have not been used since (I have tried!!!!!).
I run a couple of websites that have online training, sales specific.
I get loads of call for help of iDevice users "cannot download the mp3" so they can listen to them in the car.
I explain how they can do it - I can hear the sigh when they read their emails.
Enough said.
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If your sales people think a USB stick is something you’re still allowed to use in polite company, you have bigger problems than the iPad.
In the last few years, I’ve tried using a USB stick to pass files to clients a few times because the Internet connection was too flaky; every single time the proposal was denied due to their internal security policy. Which is understandable; I’m not allowed to plug in other companies’ USB sticks into my PC either.
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I disagree a bit with the bezels on the iPad mini. they way I hold my thumb covers almost the whole lower bezel, so I think the size is all right, if that would be smaller I would already touch the display itself.
And hey, be glad they still have lightening or else apple would have taken the headphone jack away
And hey, be glad they still have lightening or else apple would have taken the headphone jack away
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If it is clock or throttling, I'd expect the Air to be faster than the mini in both cases, not "Air is ~20% faster than mini in T-Rex, but mini is ~20% faster than Air in Manhattan" ...
(and to answer the other poster: the tests are offscreen 1080P so screen resolution difference should not matter)
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"And given the stasis of Android tablets and the nascent state of Chrome OS tablets ..."
I have observed that, at least for some time, now Ars pushes again and again this idea that Android tablets are dead. That is far from the truth from my observation. Maybe it is if you judge only by the efforts of Google's hardware division. However, Google hardware was never exciting and was never a leader in the market or the innovation fronts. On the contrary, it was manufacturers like Samsung that have been advancing the Android platform both on software but also on hardware that compete exceptionally with Apple and importantly they continue to do so.
Personally, I don't see Android dying any time soon. Google will have to push seriously hard so that ChromeOS overthrows Android and still I am not sure that all the players that are responsible for Android success are on the same page with that.
I have observed that, at least for some time, now Ars pushes again and again this idea that Android tablets are dead. That is far from the truth from my observation. Maybe it is if you judge only by the efforts of Google's hardware division. However, Google hardware was never exciting and was never a leader in the market or the innovation fronts. On the contrary, it was manufacturers like Samsung that have been advancing the Android platform both on software but also on hardware that compete exceptionally with Apple and importantly they continue to do so.
Personally, I don't see Android dying any time soon. Google will have to push seriously hard so that ChromeOS overthrows Android and still I am not sure that all the players that are responsible for Android success are on the same page with that.
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Thank you very much for this valuable information. <a href="https://www.technewsal.com/2019/03/restaurants-with-free-wifi-near-me.html">Tech News Al</a>
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"Stasis" doesn't mean "dead". It just means that there's nothing moving there and this certainly is true. Yes, Android works on tablets and you can buy Android tablets, so they're not dead. But there are very few Android apps that actually are optimized for tablets and there are very few halfway decent Android tablets (which then are often at least as expensive as iPads). And this is not improving in any way. So, "stasis".
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Thanks Samuel, that's very interesting data. Thanks for providing the updated graphs.
With the caveat that the 2017 Pro was tested on a different version of iOS, the new Air beats the Pro 10.5 by a healthy margin in most tests, losingout only in OpenCL, and the memory tests (likely due to the Pro's extra RAM, but it's close)
I guess it shows that the gains in processor more than offset the small reduction in RAM, and the new Air is likely the better machine for most people. Unless you really want the 120Hz display and 4 speakers.
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64 GB is more than enough for me, I don't see why I would store movies on an iPad. I need the wide bezels to hold the thing without launching stuff I don't want. I was afraid that they would disappear, and was determined to never buy an iPad again if they did.
I like the button, I use it all the time to switch applications, much easier than swapping with ( how many ?) fingers. And I don't want Face ID. So this new iPad is perfect, except for the disappointing placement of the speakers, which wastes them.
I like the button, I use it all the time to switch applications, much easier than swapping with ( how many ?) fingers. And I don't want Face ID. So this new iPad is perfect, except for the disappointing placement of the speakers, which wastes them.
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I was about to ask the same thing: where's the comparison to the 10.5" iPad Pro?
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Bezel focus bothers me too. Maybe it's a case of semantic satiation but I'm lost on what the problem with bezels are.
Bezels are so easy to talk about and quantify their size that I think they get unintentionally way way too much attention. It's the case of something that is easily measured being deemed important if only because it is easy to measure.
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If you have one of the USB-C macs, there is even less frustration as the right cable ships in the box of the usb-c ipad pro.
It's been a long time since I saw someone plug something other than a charger into an iphone. Bluetooth became standard in something like $12,000 cars about 4 years ago and has been standard in higher-priced modes even longer than that. Most home audio playback device have had either bluetooth or airplay support for just as long too.
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The market has spoken and the reality is that Apple represents about 1/3rd of the market for tablets whereas Android represents about 2/3rds
The reason is mostly price.
The reality is that for non-business use the vast majority of users have a tablet for media consumption, light web browsing, emails, e-books and kids games. There really has not been a good reason for tablet design to change for several years.
Every one is different but I will not for the forseeable future buy a tablet without (a) headphone jack and (b) micro-sd slot. The reason is that I spend my holidays in places with dodgy wifi or capped wifi and sticking a load of films and TV series on a micro-sd card is a simple solution. A 400GB micro-sd card can be had for $80. That gives me everything I might need for 3 weeks. As for the headphone jack, I have good quality noise cancelling headphones - perfect for planes
The reason is mostly price.
The reality is that for non-business use the vast majority of users have a tablet for media consumption, light web browsing, emails, e-books and kids games. There really has not been a good reason for tablet design to change for several years.
Every one is different but I will not for the forseeable future buy a tablet without (a) headphone jack and (b) micro-sd slot. The reason is that I spend my holidays in places with dodgy wifi or capped wifi and sticking a load of films and TV series on a micro-sd card is a simple solution. A 400GB micro-sd card can be had for $80. That gives me everything I might need for 3 weeks. As for the headphone jack, I have good quality noise cancelling headphones - perfect for planes
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The Apple Pencil section was confusing. Several paragraphs pass but the text never states "the 2nd gen Apple pencil DOES NOT WORK WITH THIS"(?). Then there's a concluding sentence for the section that says "It's too bad it doesn't work." I re-read and skimmed it repeatedly. The section praises the 2nd gen Apple pencil, which is confusing when it's not clearly that it doesn't work with the products under review until the last couple lines.
Anyway, yes, the darn old Mini hardware design. The bezels are bad today, but what is worse that is the angled strip of cheap-looking shiny plastic that intervenes between the screen glass and the side/rear shell. It looks terrible and cheap, it has always looked terrible. I'm in disbelief about that part every time I look at my iPad Mini or the new iPad Minis at the store. That part is stunningly un-Apple-like. What I really want is new iPad Mini that has the same curved sides as the iPhone 6 - iPhone 8.
The "64 or 256" option is trolling. Clever, but trolling.
Anyway, yes, the darn old Mini hardware design. The bezels are bad today, but what is worse that is the angled strip of cheap-looking shiny plastic that intervenes between the screen glass and the side/rear shell. It looks terrible and cheap, it has always looked terrible. I'm in disbelief about that part every time I look at my iPad Mini or the new iPad Minis at the store. That part is stunningly un-Apple-like. What I really want is new iPad Mini that has the same curved sides as the iPhone 6 - iPhone 8.
The "64 or 256" option is trolling. Clever, but trolling.
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"The market has spoken. People like Chevrolet more than Ferrari."
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Might look cheap to you, but I don’t think that’s plastic. Polished aluminum I believe. Part of the rear housing too I think if we’re talking about the same thing.
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About your rant - agree. However, I am truly amazed at how many people I see watching landscape movies/content with their mobile device (of ANY brand) in portrait mode!
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It absolutely is polished aluminum, and saying that it's "un-Apple-like" reveals an ignorance of the history of Apple design. The chamfered edge of the iPhone 5/5S/SE is cited as one of the important elements of its critically-acclaimed design.
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There is no "shiny plastic" there, it's just a polished part of the aluminum shell (and on the new mini and Air just aluminum, without polishing). The only plastic on the iPads are the antenna lines, even the buttons are metal.
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I personally have a frustration with the dated design because I feel like Apple could do better. While revolutionary at the time, it does look old, especially since there's only been minor updates to the design over the years. Being known as a company with great design, I wish Apple would try and update their design to something more modern. It's not that the design is bad, I just feel like Apple is being lazy and saying it's good enough. I think they could be so much more.
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Whether people "like" Chevrolet or Ferrari is irrelevant, the facts are that Chevies sell more than Ferraris because they do what people need more than a Ferrari and a price they are willing to pay. Now I am not saying an Android tablet is more practical than an iPad, but for what the majority of people want a tablet for, the Android tablet is a cheaper option that with headphone jacks and micro-sd slots has more flexibility than the Ipad
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Only the pro option doesn't have headphone jacks. The rest do. And Apple has a tablet for 329USD. Functional android tablets are actually more expensive from a quick search.
This narrative is mentioned all the time. I cannot recommend android tablets because they simply do not work as well as an iPad and the iPad is cheaper in total cost of ownership and upfront costs now.
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We have a very wide variety of iPads in the house and have owned most past models. Current models include iPad mini 4, iPad mini 5, 2018 iPad Pro 2018.
To be clear as some people seem to get upset about opinions. Below are just my opinions and what works for you might be very different than for me.
USB-C vs Lighting: Despite the fact I have a USB-C iPad, I like lightning ports a bit more. With the port female and the cable male - it's just a little easier to plug in. I do like the versatility of the USB-C port, but haven't used it much.
Pencil: The Pencil 2 is head and shoulders above Pencil 1 in usability and charging, a bit of a loss on loosing the damn thing (I'm on #3).
Mini 5: This is primarily my wife's iPad. There is only one app that she notices the speed difference and that's Simple Control. We use it to control all the A/V in the house and the guide view is a long scrolling list. The Mini 4 would stutter a bit, my Pro and her mini 5 don't. Side by side the 5's screen is noticeably better.
To be clear as some people seem to get upset about opinions. Below are just my opinions and what works for you might be very different than for me.
USB-C vs Lighting: Despite the fact I have a USB-C iPad, I like lightning ports a bit more. With the port female and the cable male - it's just a little easier to plug in. I do like the versatility of the USB-C port, but haven't used it much.
Pencil: The Pencil 2 is head and shoulders above Pencil 1 in usability and charging, a bit of a loss on loosing the damn thing (I'm on #3).
Mini 5: This is primarily my wife's iPad. There is only one app that she notices the speed difference and that's Simple Control. We use it to control all the A/V in the house and the guide view is a long scrolling list. The Mini 4 would stutter a bit, my Pro and her mini 5 don't. Side by side the 5's screen is noticeably better.
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Uh no, 64GB is definitely fine for most people.
Not that it excuses Apple’s eternally shitty practice of skipping over the mid-tier capacity, though.
Not that it excuses Apple’s eternally shitty practice of skipping over the mid-tier capacity, though.
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Why, seriously why, is anyone debating what’s good for other people? Why don’t we just say it’d be nice if more people agreed with me?
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Simple google search:
Ipad mini 256GB $549
Samsung tab s2 + 400GB $419. Which is only $20 more than the Ipad mini 64GB (you could probably get a good 256GB + the tab s2 for less than the new Ipad mini).
No matter how you cut & dice it, an Android tablet (and the Samsung is one of the more expensive ones) is significantly cheaper than the Ipad in upfront costs. Whether an Android tablet or an Ipad works best for you really depends on what you use it for. If like most people it is media consumption, web browsing, emails, ebooks then the Android is more than adequate.
If you use it for business and your business server only allows access using the Ipad not an Android tablet then the Ipad is the only choice - that was not the market I was suggesting most people who buy tablets are interested in
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The iPad product line is turning into a fucking mess. Some have USB-C, others don't. Some have a headphone jack, others don't. Some have second-gen Pencil support, others are still on first-gen (like, seriously???? why the hell are they keeping two Pencil lines). And then there's all those different names, including one model that doesn't have any suffix. A sane person would have expected the "Air" line to be phased out after the iPad no-suffix, but apparently no, Apple gotta keep it more confusing.
Watching current day Apple fumble around like this is kinda sad.
Watching current day Apple fumble around like this is kinda sad.
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Also can this moronic obsession with wanting to get rid of bezels just fuck right off? I like being able to hold the damn thing without getting constant accidental taps.
Hell, I often use my iPad in bed, with the screen facing down. With a bezel-less model that would literally be impossible.
Hell, I often use my iPad in bed, with the screen facing down. With a bezel-less model that would literally be impossible.
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Why are you comparing the latest version of iPad mini to a tablet from 2015 that doesn’t even support Android Pie? If outdated products are fair game, you can buy a 128GB iPad mini 4 from Amazon right now for $299 with full support for iOS 12.
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That does worry me and still keeps me undecided whether or not I should buy the 10.5 Pro or the 2019 Air.
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