Any pireps on the new iPad mini 6 vs the 4?

D

drummer4468

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Jul 5, 2020
Messages
306
Display Name
Display name:
drummer4468
Hey all, so I ordered a new iPad finally, as my trusty ol' mini 4 is really showing its age lately, in terms of battery life and storage capacity. Needing a constant tether to ship power or battery pack is getting old. Frankly surprised 32GB and wifi-only got me as far as it did for so long. But for the $100 bucks I paid for it, I'll upgrade instead of changing the battery.

I'll forego the rant about Verizon's wonderful customer service and being hung up on after over an hour of being on and off hold trying to track this damn "2-day guaranteed" shipment, which is apparently in "processing" purgatory for the past week.

But while I'm sitting here thinking about it(read: itching for the new-gadget fix), any other pilots happy or unhappy with the upgrade from Mini 4 to the 6th gen? I'm looking forward to having a cellular model and not hunting for wifi or burning up my phone's hotspot allotment. Also hoping the overpriced Apple Pencil lives up to the hype, palm rejection will make it much nicer to jot down clearances and notes.

How's the hardware measuring up in real-world use? Is it a huge performance boost? Battery life while running foreflight? Any improvements to overheating tendencies? Any opinions are welcome, just thinking out loud really.

Thanks
 
All I can say is my (not mini) Ipad 4 is stuck on IOS 10.something, apps are starting to be incompatible, and Safari doesn't work correctly with many websites. Don't pour good money in to bad. Upgrade.
 
I'm an apple hater but I broke down and bought a mini 6 because I now fly part 135 for a living. All the cool kids depend on them, and everyone knows foreflight will never be written for Android.
It has very good battery life and I like the size of the device. As long as I turn off the display when on the ground it will last 8 hours of flying. I immediately put it in an otter box with the plastic screen ripped out and use a tempered screen protector instead.
 
I upgraded mine because of the improved screen. I can see my Mini 6 with polarized glasses. I couldn’t see the 4. I guess it’s probably faster but nothing I notice in GP. I bought the small memory cell version. Plenty of storage for flight apps and independent GPS in case the GDL goes dark. I’m happy.
 
aftCG said:
I'm an apple hater but I broke down and bought a mini 6 because I now fly part 135 for a living. All the cool kids depend on them, and everyone knows foreflight will never be written for Android.
It has very good battery life and I like the size of the device. As long as I turn off the display when on the ground it will last 8 hours of flying. I immediately put it in an otter box with the plastic screen ripped out and use a tempered screen protector instead.
Click to expand...

I hear you, I'm not a huge fan of Apple myself. Part of me is still chapped that FF isn't/won't ever be compatible with Android, but it is what it is. I've heard good things about this one but no actual real-world reviews. Good to know the battery life is good, thanks!

Stewartb said:
I upgraded mine because of the improved screen. I can see my Mini 6 with polarized glasses. I couldn’t see the 4. I guess it’s probably faster but nothing I notice in GP. I bought the small memory cell version. Plenty of storage for flight apps and independent GPS in case the GDL goes dark. I’m happy.
Click to expand...

Good to hear, the screen brightness is one of the things that caught my eye, pun intended. Yeah, I never put much faith into their vaguely advertised performance specs, just hoping things run a little smoother for a while. My current unit was getting slower and glitchier with each update on limited storage space and RAM.
 
GaryM said:
A semi-related question: are the minis less prone to overheating than the full-size iPads?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. My only first-hand point of reference is that mine has only ever overheated once, when it was sitting on top of the glareshield in direct sunlight for a while. Otherwise I haven't had any issues with it. I also only keep mine in that thin folio case and not in an otterbox, etc. I'm sure those probably do more to hold the heat in. I've never had a full-size ipad
 
drummer4468 said:
I'm not sure. My only first-hand point of reference is that mine has only ever overheated once, when it was sitting on top of the glareshield in direct sunlight for a while. Otherwise I haven't had any issues with it. I also only keep mine in that thin folio case and not in an otterbox, etc. I'm sure those probably do more to hold the heat in. I've never had a full-size ipad
Click to expand...
Any device that relies soley on PASSIVE cooling can overheat.

My android phone will do it in the car in it holder during summer unless i lut on the ac. My iPad Pro will do it if its left in the sun for more than 5 minutes.

So the answer will always be yes, any passive cooled device will be prone to overheating.
 
I have a new full size I pad wasn’t crazy about having to by new cords because they went to usb-c .prefer the full size as I’m aging easier on the eyes.
 
GaryM said:
A semi-related question: are the minis less prone to overheating than the full-size iPads?
Click to expand...

I feel like my 6 overheats slightly easier than my 5 did, but it's just anecdotal, could be a fluke.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top