In September 2015, Apple introduced the world to its new developments - iPad Pro, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. At the same time, the Apple iPad Mini 4 Wi-Fi was also released, but other new products "eclipsed" the release of this miniature device. Both the press and manufacturers mentioned the iPad Mini Series 4 casually, 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. An overview of this device, the differences between the 4th generation and the previous ones, price and forecasts - all this awaits you in the article.
Performance of the new mini tablet
Everyone bet on a good filling. The performance of other company products has improved quite well, so many were sure that manufacturers would not deprive the mini-tablet of improvements and would please future buyers.
Many expected some fundamental innovations from the iPad Mini 4, or at least some cardinal changes in the filling of the device compared to the Mini 3. But in some moments, Apple not only did not improveindicators, but also “passed back”. Of course, the tablet is better than many others, but it is not very different from previous versions.
Customers 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 can not compete. Although this generation of Mini is still better optimized than many other devices of the same size.
The operating system iOS 9 at first glance does not differ much from previous versions. For an iPad Mini 4 user, it won't be much better than its 8.4.1 predecessor. Moreover, many users have noticed that there are many bugs in the built-in version of iOS 9, as well as some optimization problems, which is why the new device sometimes “freezes” on elementary tasks. Even the updates that were soon released to this version of the operating system, for some reason did not solve the problems.
But playing the app from "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 performance is excellent.
Device appearance
iPad Mini 4 has not changed much in appearance - 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 a few millimeters thinner. Other changes include minorshifting the buttons and changing the holes for the speaker. The port layout, shape and design remain 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 certainly harm the iPad Mini 4 device. The review would be incomplete without this item, but you should not intentionally break the equipment.
Camera, screen and sound
The front camera has been improved to a comfortable 8 million pixels. The color transfer has been adjusted, thanks to which the photos from the device are quite good. The front camera remained 1.2 megapixels, which somewhat upset buyers who expected improvements to 5, like the new iPhone models.
The brightness and contrast of the display have improved nicely, and the viewing angle has also increased. For everyday tasks and entertainment, this is completely enough. And thanks to the anti-reflective coating, this Internet tablet is convenient to use both at home and on the street.
The location of the speakers has not changed - they are located quite close to each other. But this did not affect the sound quality in any way - everything sounds clear and does not hiss. As a multimedia device, the iPad Mini 4 is quite good - the review confirmed this.
Duration of operation 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 a pleasant surpriseusers, the device has been well optimized, so that the duration of the work has not changed much and even improved a little.
A full charge of the battery will last for 3-4 hours of play or hours of 8 movies. 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 running "heavy" applications and prolonged use, the gadget did not heat up above acceptable and comfortable temperatures.
Options
Customers have a choice between 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 option can be purchased with Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi+3G.
The most budget option - iPad Mini 4 Wi-Fi 16 GB. 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 disadvantage of the iPad Mini 4 is the price. It is not so great as it is incomprehensible to potential buyers. For example, the 2nd generation iPad mini version does not differ much in performance from the new one, but now it costs 3 times cheaper.
Overall, this internet tablet is good for both work and play. High-quality display, good performance, battery capacity, design. But bugs in the operating system made buyers think.
Changesnot everyone liked the design either. A lightweight body and a minus a couple of mm in width are 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 the fourth generation iPad Mini and have never held previous models from the series in your hands, then the device will please you. Well, those who de alt with previous minipads are unequivocal in their opinion - connoisseurs of Apple products expected more from manufacturers.
Whatever the manufacturers thought, they failed to create a new iPad Mini 4 - the review showed it. Apple connoisseurs hope that the 5th representative of the series will be different from the previous ones.
