Last week Apple announced their latest tablets: the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3. Both tablets are on pre-order now for £80 more than their predecessors, but only one is worth buying. Here’s why.
The Air 2 is something of a technical triumph for Apple, incorporating a faster processor, Touch ID sensor and improved camera in a dramatically thinner frame. Apple spent the bulk of their presentation over the Air 2, and it makes sense – the tablet is a significant advancement over the original Air, and is now probably the most desirable tablet in the world.
Conversely, the iPad Mini 3 was touched upon with uncharacteristic haste. That’s because there simply aren’t any real substantive changes between the Mini 3 and the Mini 2. In fact, the list of useful changes is precisely two items long: the tablet now includes the Touch ID fingerprint sensor and is available in gold. That’s it – no thinner chassis, no upgraded processor, and no improved camera.
If you had a choice between the two tablets at the same price, then you’d pick the Mini 3 – why not? But instead, Apple are selling this tablet for an £80 premium, which makes no sense at all.
So my advice to you is this: if you want a small Apple tablet, pick up the Mini 2 while you still can, and avoid the Mini 3 unless you simply must own a tablet rendered in champagne gold. At £239 the Mini 2 is simply the far better deal.
n.b. If you have an iPhone 6 Plus, you may want to steer clear of the Mini line altogether. The increased screen size of the newer iPhone models means you’ll get much less of a boost in screen real estate when moving from an iPhone to an iPad Mini than owners of previous iPhones did. Already many 6 Plus owners are leaving their iPad Minis at home because they already feel they have a big enough screen in their pocket.