In September 2015, Apple introduced the world its new developments - iPad Pro, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. At the same time, they released the Apple iPad Mini 4 Wi-Fi, but other new products “overshadowed” the release of this miniature device. Both the press and manufacturers mentioned the iPad Mini 4 series by chance, without any details.
And when this Internet tablet fell into the hands of connoisseurs, many were surprised by the interesting, but at the same time not very clear functions and features of the iPad Mini 4. Overview of this device, the differences of the 4th generation from the previous ones, price and forecasts - all this awaits you in an article.
New mini-tablet performance
Everyone was betting on a good filling. The performance of other products of the company also improved not bad, so many were sure that manufacturers would not be deprived of improvements and would please future buyers.
Many expected from the iPad Mini 4 some fundamental innovations, or at least some dramatic changes in the filling of the device compared to the Mini 3. But at some points Apple not only did not improve performance, but also “passed it back”. Of course, the tablet is better than many others, but it is not very different from previous versions.
Buyers were not happy that the number of processor cores decreased from 3 A8 to 2. Of course, their power increased, and the 4th generation works better than the 3rd and 2nd, but, for example, with the iPhone 6s and iPad Air 2 he does not have to compete. Although this generation of Mini is still better optimized than many other devices of the same size.
Operating system iOS 9 at first glance from previous versions is not very different. For the user, the iPad Mini 4 will not be much better than its predecessor in version 8.4.1. Moreover, many users have noticed that in the built-in version of iOS 9 there are many bugs, as well as some optimization problems, which is why the new device sometimes freezes up on elementary tasks. Even the updates that soon came to this version of the operating system for some reason did not solve the problems.
But playing the application with EpStora and surfing the Internet is easy. Even if the user turns on several programs in the background, there will be no problems with the device, the speed is excellent.
Appearance of the device
iPad Mini 4 has not changed much outwardly - all the same 3 colors (gray, white and gold), the same as the previous generation, the screen diagonal is 7.9 inches, the same design.
The tablet lost 20 grams and became thinner by a few millimeters. Other changes include a slight button shift and a change in speaker holes. The port layout, shape and design remained the same.
The assembly of the new device is of high quality, the tablet does not crack, nothing shakes inside. The crash test, as in previous times, is unlikely to pass - even a fall from a small height will probably harm the iPad Mini 4. The review would be incomplete without this point, but you should not intentionally break the equipment.
Camera, screen and sound
The front camera has been upgraded to a comfortable 8 million pixels. The color transfer has been established, so the photos from the device are pretty good. The front camera remained 1.2 MP, which slightly upset buyers who were expecting improvements to 5, like the new iPhone models.
The brightness and contrast of the display pleasantly improved, and the viewing angle increased. For everyday tasks and entertainment this is completely enough. And thanks to the anti-reflective coating, it is convenient to use this Internet tablet both at home and on the street.
The location of the speakers has not changed - they are located close enough to each other. But this did not affect the sound quality - everything sounds clean and does not hiss. As a multimedia device, the iPad Mini 4 is pretty good - the review confirmed this.
Duration and heating of the device
Alas, due to the fact that the dimensions of the device have changed, the battery capacity has also decreased. Now it is only 19.3 W / h against 23.8, as was the case with the iPad Mini 3. But to the pleasant surprise of users, the device turned out to be well optimized, due to which the operating time remained practically unchanged and even improved slightly.
A full battery charge is enough for 3-4 hours of play or hours for 8 films. This is a very good indicator for a small Internet tablet.
Testing the tablet showed that the thermal conditions in it are optimized. Even when launching "heavy" applications and prolonged use, the gadget did not heat up more than acceptable and comfortable temperatures.
Options
Customers have a choice between the iPad Mini 4 64 gb, 16 gb and 128 gb. As usual, there is no support for memory cards, so devices with a lot of memory are still the most popular. Each of the options can be purchased with Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + 3G.
The budget option is the iPad Mini 4 Wi-Fi at 16 gig. It costs 32,990 rubles. Well, the most expensive of the iPad Mini 4 series, the price of which is almost 59 thousand rubles, is also equipped with a 4G function. However, this is a typical difference for Apple devices.
Did this iPad live up to expectations?
The main minus of the iPad Mini 4 is the price. It is not so great as incomprehensible to potential buyers. For example, the mini-version of the 2nd generation iPad is not much different in performance from the new one, but now it costs 3 times cheaper.
In general, this Internet tablet is not bad for work and entertainment. High-quality display, good performance, battery capacity, design. But bugs in the operating system made buyers think.
Design changes, too, did not appeal to everyone. A lightweight case and minus a couple of mm in width is not bad, but there is nothing “fundamental” in this either, the device remains “mini” anyway. There is no need to talk about a more convenient option either - that the 2nd, that the 3rd “Mini iPad” are light and thoughtful.
If you decide to purchase a fourth-generation iPad Mini and have never before held the previous models in a series, the device will please you. Well, those who dealt with previous mini-pads are unambiguous in their opinion - Apple connoisseurs expected more from manufacturers.
Whatever the manufacturers thought of, they couldn’t create a new iPad Mini 4 - a review showed it. Apple connoisseurs hope that the 5th representative of the series will be different from the previous ones.