Apple iPad mini 3 review: A touch of gold

21 November 2014
The iPad Air 2 may have stolen all the spotlight, but that’s not because of poor marketing planning. Apple did little to change the third generation of the iPad mini so it got little stage time. But it’s not our job to decide which...

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  • B
  • BritzJay
  • XBE
  • 14 Sep 2023

Where can one find the Sim slot on the Mini 3

    • w
    • wdh
    • EH2
    • 17 Jul 2022

    I have used mine for 7 years and it has been great but the battery died. After only 7 years...go figure!

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • nuD
      • 18 Apr 2021

      sky, 01 May 2015Did anyone notice the display color?Iphone 12

        • A
        • Adik
        • ijs
        • 16 Feb 2021

        why iPad is disabled amd and connect to iTunes

          • D
          • AnonD-540325
          • qam
          • 22 May 2016

          shaun-_-, 21 Nov 2014Why Apple do such stupid things like sell a product with 16... moreThe future goes through cloud storage and cloud computing, so in a few years from now, sd cards will be obsolete and useless. You can still buy higher capacity mini 3 anyways, on a tablet 64 GB should be more than decent.

            • s
            • sky
            • sEx
            • 01 May 2015

            Did anyone notice the display color?

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • 6w@
              • 23 Mar 2015

              is web browsing and video battery life correct? they seem to be exchanged

                • n
                • ntha
                • Ni}
                • 06 Mar 2015

                anyway they are smart but they are too complicated and i cant receive calls or send message please help

                  • n
                  • nemesh73
                  • IaM
                  • 02 Jan 2015

                  apple are overeoverpriced mediocre tablets and phones that work good because IOS is so featureless and simple, but hipsters buy them allright, dont know why though (thats apple for you)...

                    • M
                    • ME
                    • n%g
                    • 18 Dec 2014

                    Thanks for the review,will buy the Sony Z3 Tablet Compact instead.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • uBM
                      • 16 Dec 2014

                      Anonymous, 23 Nov 2014iPad mini 3 is not bad. Its in fact very good. But its n... moreMini 2 ate all the sales of air, they want you to buy the full sized ipad. If mini 3 was like air 2, no one would buy air 2.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • uBM
                        • 16 Dec 2014

                        Anonymous, 24 Nov 2014Its no illusion that this is for profit. And is in no way a... moreIpad air 2 is too thin to have mute button, mini 2 ate all the sales of ipad air, THINK!

                          • R
                          • RedZobe
                          • M$7
                          • 05 Dec 2014

                          Even iB0ys will agree this is the worst iPad upgrade.

                            • J
                            • Juan
                            • v0q
                            • 29 Nov 2014

                            There is no innovation to this version only added touchID and chipset. They should have upgraded both camera to 8mp rear and 5mp front. But then the price goes up to. I might just but Nvidia shield tablet which has more features than a newly release version with no major upgrade or whatsoever. I'll just stick with my iPod touch 5g

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • fxM
                              • 24 Nov 2014

                              Mike, 24 Nov 2014I have the iPad mini 2. What was Apple thinking as already ... moreSamsung did it also. Same chipset multiple devices.. just little differences.

                              However this iPad mini 3, HAS 338 DAYS to add a touchID.. (which SHOULD be standard for iPad Air / iPad mini 2 anyways like iPhone 5S)

                              No Screen improvement like that of iPad Air 2, No improvement in thinness, No improvement in any performance. (IF you see ALL Apple products, they like to put x2 faster then last year.. etc etc.. NOW they have NOTHING.. TOTALLY NOTHING TO SAY about it)

                              Thats what generate so much anger in this product.

                              This year's hardware is especially hurting for all Apple fanboys, no thanks to Intel delay.
                              1. U2 in Apple iPhone event... Seriously??
                              2. Non upgradable Mac mini ... refresh in 723 DAYS.. omg. drop from core i5 2.5Ghz down to dual core 1.4Ghz??? which you need to fork out 200$ ++ for the better version.
                              3. Tim Cook shaking watch infront of you ...taunting you which you will get no sooner then 100 DAYS LATER.

                                • M
                                • Mike
                                • MVg
                                • 24 Nov 2014

                                I have the iPad mini 2. What was Apple thinking as already people have stated that this is the worst upgrade ever by any company known. How have they got away with this, Touch ID apart from that everything I mean EVERYTHING is identical to a tee. Even for new customer thinking of getting an iPad please take note go for the one I have ipad Mini 2, I am more than impressed with it. Battery life is amazing, display, touch sensitivity. Only problems I'm having is with these software updates they still haven't got them right yet but that's just nit picking TBH.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • fxM
                                  • 24 Nov 2014

                                  AnonD-209094, 24 Nov 2014Apple has read your post and is immediately launching a Min... moreIts no illusion that this is for profit. And is in no way an "Apple" approach.

                                  By right, you look at all Apple products, they provide the very best experience, compromising ANYTHING that would destroy THAT experience.

                                  Everything is build with a thoughtful mind. Nothing is wasted. All in hopes that would in turn bring about profit.

                                  But this time round.. they did the worse thing possible.. they place profit first.

                                  iPhone 6 Plus can have A8, but iPad mini 3 they skip it.

                                  iPad Air 2 they remove mute button.. but iPhones they manage to keep it. All this inconsistency and bad management is showing.

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-209094
                                    • Kg%
                                    • 24 Nov 2014

                                    Anonymous, 23 Nov 2014iPad mini 3 is not bad. Its in fact very good. But its n... moreApple has read your post and is immediately launching a Mini 3S with 8GB RAM and octacore CPU, NFC, IR blaster and... This is the point where you wake up in the hospital to find yourself restrained by thick leather straps. In other words, DUUUHHHHHHH... Illusions of grandeur.

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-209094
                                      • Kg%
                                      • 24 Nov 2014

                                      X, 23 Nov 2014The iPad mini had the previous version chipset normally, ex... moreOMG! Your math teacher called and want to refund your tuition fees, all of it, just make sure the schools name will never ever be associated with your name and they may add a few thousand bucks just to cover up the failed student.

                                      iPad Mini 2 32GB is $150 cheaper than iPad Mini 3 64GB, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY! Ipad Mini 2 32GB is also $50 cheaper than 16GB Mini 3.

                                      So is it worth it to save $150? yes, but dont underestimate the convenience of the TouchID, not only does it replace your 4 digit PIN but also your 8 character long password in iTunes/App store and very different from Samsung fingerprint solutions TouchID actually WORKS, a word that probably does not exist in any Korean dictionary, where "done" is impossible to determine if it means half-baked or half-raw.

                                        • X
                                        • X
                                        • mSu
                                        • 23 Nov 2014

                                        Anonymous, 23 Nov 2014iPad mini 3 is not bad. Its in fact very good. But its n... moreThe iPad mini had the previous version chipset normally, except for the iPad Mini 2. The screen doesn't really need to be improved as the resolution is the same as on the Air, on a smaller screen. Apple doesn't run the specs race unless it needs to increase performance over the competition. As I said, it doesn't make much sense to buy the 16GB iPad Mini version. In fact, it doesn't make sanse to buy any iOS device with that memory space anymore. Only from 32GB up. So in that case, iPad mini 2 at 32GB is only 50$ less expensive than the 64GB iPad Mini 3, practically the same device, plus the TouchID. Is the 50$ worth on long run? I would say yes.