Apple iPad mini 3 review: A touch of gold
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- Anonymous
- fxM
- 23 Nov 2014
X, 22 Nov 2014If the iPad mini is so bad why is everyone, including Googl... moreiPad mini 3 is not bad. Its in fact very good.
But its no excuse for Apple NOT to use A8 / A8x in the product. There is not even wifi ac!! Its practically the same chipset.
They did not even BOTHER to improve the screens.. its the same old version from 2013.
This is the FIRST time in Apple history, they did something like this in their products.
Its very alarming indeed. If Apple is reading this, they better change FAST.
What i see in 99% of the post, iPad mini 3 is just a iPad mini 2.. No effort = No buy = no profit..
- X
- X
- mSu
- 23 Nov 2014
"Of course, the €100 cheaper Apple iPad mini 2 is the one lots of people will choose over the iPad mini 3 because the price premium for the new Touch ID sensor is hardly worth it. "
This is valid only for the 16G versions. However, for the next level, the iPad Mini 3 has 64 GB instead of 32 and is only 50 bucks more expensive. Since nowadays 16 GB is not sufficient the only options are those with more memory space.
- m
- mir
- 7Xc
- 23 Nov 2014
Shaun-_-, 21 Nov 2014Apple, your products logging way behind in the hardware dep... moreThe 192 core nvidia gpu got beat by the gpu on the Air 2. So in terms of hardware power, apple is not behind. They are even currently in the lead!
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- Anonymous
- 4K2
- 22 Nov 2014
Too bad Apple gimped it without the iPad Air 2's 2GB DRAM and A8X tri-core. Guess we'll wait until Mini 4.
- X
- X
- mSu
- 22 Nov 2014
If the iPad mini is so bad why is everyone, including Google, trying so hard to copy it?
If you never used an iPad you should not complain about it. I use iPads (2, 4, Air 2) and I have no complaints about any of them. I would not buy any other tablet. Surface is too heavy and too expensive, the others are just cheap copies of an iPad, not worth the money.
- A
- Apple 2014 Junk
- fxM
- 22 Nov 2014
AnonD-263429, 21 Nov 2014One of the worst, most 'couldn't be bothered' updates I can... moreI blame the rest of the tablets of this size...
None of them are improving. NONE. Thats why Apple lax in this one.
As for Apple: "Good product first, then profits will come". Your current leadership shows your lacking.. BADLY
This device is a epic facepalm
See what happens in 2014 for Apple.
1. U2 for iPhone event.. another facepalm
2. Crap Mac Mini refresh
3. Tim Cook showing off his iWatch in front of us... yet cannot provide one.
4. iPad remove one of the signature mute button.
The only release worth looking at is that 5k iMac.
Its a very very surprise they still remain relatively ok. Tim Cook you need to wake everyone up!!
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- AnonD-142922
- n5y
- 22 Nov 2014
ipad mini 2 better cheaper
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- AnonD-263429
- rIK
- 22 Nov 2014
Anonymous, 21 Nov 2014Let me know when the Nexus 7 2014 edition gets released. Oh... moreOf course it has competition - you named them yourself! The biggest of all being last year's model for significantly less outlay.
With this half-hearted update, they've simply pushed people to the Air 2 (for specs) or last year's Mini 2 (for price).
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- Anonymous
- U22
- 22 Nov 2014
Why no mention of the Z3 Tablet Compact as a competitor?
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- Alpeza
- gxm
- 22 Nov 2014
Where is th Nokia N1 on rivals list? I think Nokia is more relevant as Xiomi or this was writen before Slush event
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- Anonymous
- Hkt
- 22 Nov 2014
Shaun-_-, 21 Nov 2014Apple, your products logging way behind in the hardware dep... moreYou really need to checkout the performance bemchmarks on a good site like anandtech and you will realize that ipads and iphones are doing just fine hardwarewise.
Limited customizable software has nothing to do with performance.
My friend has a "dualcore" iphone 5 is smoother than my "octacore" galaxy s4 for most parts.. Which makes me feel that the android spec race for higher core count and ram is more hyped than what apple does..
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- Anonymous
- Hkt
- 22 Nov 2014
shaun-_-, 21 Nov 2014Why Apple do such stupid things like sell a product with 16... moreI think you haven't been following devices too well.. Everyone except samsing are going away from sdcards. So the other way round is true.
Though I think Apple should have dropped 16gb instead of the 32gb one at the same price. God knows what they were thinking when they dropped 32gb..
- s
- super
- b5e
- 22 Nov 2014
yeah, IMO ipad mini 3 not worth the price, especially when you can grab ipad mini 2 for 100$ less.. That's why I grabbed the ipad mini 2, because it is a good deal..
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- Anonymous
- UD{
- 22 Nov 2014
shaun-_-, 21 Nov 2014Why Apple do such stupid things like sell a product with 16... moreHey kid you call the Apple's Hardware 2012 specs? But it did crash the newest specs on android laggy phones right?
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- AnonD-80904
- nqh
- 21 Nov 2014
I find the lack of innovation disturbing.
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- asder
- dQT
- 21 Nov 2014
Anonymous, 21 Nov 2014Let me know when the Nexus 7 2014 edition gets released. Oh... moreXiaomi tablet looks like iPad, but they got their own interface. Apple changed it's UI later, so you can say that iPad is Xiaomi clone as well. Also, Xiaomi got better spes for far lower price ($200).
Nexus 9 is between iPad and iPad mini, so he can compete with both of them. Stil, iPad Mini loose against Nexus9.
- S
- Shaun-_-
- kiQ
- 21 Nov 2014
Apple, your products logging way behind in the hardware department in comparison with the flagship specs of todays and only look good in some performances because of your very limited customizing small software
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- Anonymous
- nyy
- 21 Nov 2014
AnonD-263429, 21 Nov 2014One of the worst, most 'couldn't be bothered' updates I can... moreLet me know when the Nexus 7 2014 edition gets released. Oh, wait...
The iPad Mini 3 has no competition in this category. Look at the recommended alternatives listed at the end of the review: a Xiaomi clone, a Galaxy Tab S 8.4 with last year's Snapdragon 800 processor, or the fullsize Nexus 9 (an iPad Air 2 competitor).
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- shaun-_-
- kiQ
- 21 Nov 2014
Why Apple do such stupid things like sell a product with 16GB of memory and you can't upgrade memory capacity in this day and age? Are they that ashame to follow suit by adapting what the other companies are doing by letting us able to upgrade our memory capacity via SD card? Hey Apple, just hang your head low and continue to follow. You just did by increasing the size of your phone screen which you were against. And you also need to follow the phone flagship hardware trend and pull away from the 2012 hardwares you been feeding your customers and calling it innovation
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- AnonD-263429
- rIA
- 21 Nov 2014
One of the worst, most 'couldn't be bothered' updates I can remember. Touch ID only - really?
We tend to use tablets less than phones so the speed and benefits of TouchID here are less obvious. Added to that, few people will be using iPads for Apple Pay (if it ever appears in non-US markets) which further diminishes adding TouchID as a selling point.
As a retina Mini owner from last year, there's no way I'd go for this. And, as the review concludes, if you're buying first time or upgrading, save your money and get last year's model or look elsewhere.