What ya going to do when they stop making the iPad Mini??

I don't like the mini. I like the larger formats.

That said, if you really do like the mini, then I suggest that when you can't upgrade the hardware any more, you relegate the best mini you have to only doing EFB functions. ie, delete all other apps and restore the OS to an initial state and only load your preferred EFB software. Part of the reasons the old hardware slows down is that it it trying to run too many different apps.

This may only help for a little while, but it will stretch the life out of your mini for as long as possible.
 
Can you restore an old OS on Apple devices? If so, a used Mini might be the ticket.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Can you restore an old OS on Apple devices? If so, a used Mini might be the ticket.
Click to expand...

Not easily and then the new flashy cool features of the latest Foreflight release or whatever may not work... I would love to see a Mini Pro..


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Note that ForeFlight goes into dorky mode on iPhones, even the ones like the 6+/7+ with large screens. I suggested that FF offer an option to run in the iPad mode on these devicxes.
 
flyingron said:
Note that ForeFlight goes into dorky mode on iPhones, even the ones like the 6+/7+ with large screens. I suggested that FF offer an option to run in the iPad mode on these devicxes.
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Yes, I really wish foreflight could run the same on iPhone. It takes forever to pull up a plate on the phone if needed.
 
I use the iPad Pro 9.7. I put it on my left thigh, similar to the keyboard on my right thigh. I have a strap holder, but it holds heat, which isn't good for the iPad, so I rarely use the holder.



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wayne said:
I use the iPad Pro 9.7. I put it on my left thigh, similar to the keyboard on my right thigh. I have a strap holder, but it holds heat, which isn't good for the iPad, so I rarely use the holder.
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The problem with the thigh holder is it's not angled towards you unless you lift you leg off the pedals. Be nice to have one that does that, it would also allow air to pass under it.
 
RAM makes a mount that can be strapped to your leg, but by the time you get it all assembled it's really bulky and only useful if you have a ton of room between your leg and the Yoke. So maybe useful for a Cirrus or other side-stick.

Looks like a couple of the other straps also have pads for angle like the AppStraps which apparently I own... somewhere...
 
I have an Air2 works great. Battery lasts about 3 hours with ForeFlight running wifi for Stratux and Bluetooth for BadElf GPS.
I have a couple of battery packs that will recharge the iPad while still running everything.

I've thought of the mini, to bad Apple is giving up on it. I really don't want to go bigger.
 
How do we know Apple is giving up on the Mini? They often move products to a slower refresh cycle if there isn't as much demand. Their MacBook Pro went 4 years without an update until last year, the iPad Mini 4 is less than 2 years old.

There's one rumor from someone calling himself, "Boy Genius" who thinks the Mini is doomed, if you believe, Mac Otakara instead, a new improved Mac Mini is forthcoming. It's possible Apple will discontinue the Mini but I haven't heard/read anything directly from Apple, if you have, please link.
 
I'll pick up a spare mini, and simultaneously pick up a decent spec android tablet and start migrating myself away from the Apple ecosystem. And if ForeFlight can't adapt away from Apple, away from them.

Apple hasn't done any serious innovation since Jobs died. Cook cashed out $42M last week out of typical "cycle" for Silicon Valley execs. He's funding his personal bailout plan while profits are high and before the Board of Directors crap-cans him.

Meanwhile Android devices are getting more and better feature sets, and Android itself continues to be refined and enhanced.

iOS is a dead end. It's a very big wide road with lots of users and lots of revenue leading to the dead end, but it's a dead end right now. All it has done for a number of years is get bigger and slower.

A spare mini 4 will work fine for a couple more years if no emphasis is placed on getting control of iOS bloat. Plenty of time to get out cleanly.

I'm already on Google Suite for work, home, and a play user or two. The Android integration is far less buggy and sloppy than the IOS app equivalents of the native android apps.

Next step is to replace the in flight software with something that runs on an android tablet. It's a year or two away for me, or it could happen tomorrow.

Can't justify the "Apple tax" anymore just to run ForeFlight. The competition is nearly caught up in the EFB space.
 
denverpilot said:
Can't justify the "Apple tax" anymore just to run ForeFlight. The competition is nearly caught up in the EFB space.
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I have held off for some time now. It's like we're in the transition phase where (both EFB's and ADS-B solutions) are rapidly developing, but just slow enough to not know which way to go yet.
As of right now, I like the looks of FlyQ, but I think it's iOS only now also?
With the mini 4 on sale it's hard to find an Android tablet that looks as reliable and capable for less or even the same money. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place....

I'm going to need something soon though.
I have resorted to these two things.. which get the job done. But, I'd much rather just keep them in my bag for backup.
Also can use my phone a little, but not a fan of that either, and it will die in a heartbeat if I don't have an additional power source.

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Cogito said:
How do we know Apple is giving up on the Mini? They often move products to a slower refresh cycle if there isn't as much demand. Their MacBook Pro went 4 years without an update until last year, the iPad Mini 4 is less than 2 years old.

There's one rumor from someone calling himself, "Boy Genius" who thinks the Mini is doomed, if you believe, Mac Otakara instead, a new improved Mac Mini is forthcoming. It's possible Apple will discontinue the Mini but I haven't heard/read anything directly from Apple, if you have, please link.
Click to expand...
Macrumors.com did not have anything promising to say about future mini upgrades. Almost hinting that the mini 4 would be the last.
 
iOS to me a much more elegant solution than Android and recently purchased another mini for a very reasonable amount. Sorry, tried Android but I did not like it at all, it ain't my cup of tea. If it is true that mini will no longer be produced - I still have years of ownership of two minis, I am not going to be bothered by 'rumors'. If necessary I switch to full size IPad, no big deal, I don't mount iPads to a yoke, I use it only as a backup for charts and flight planning in my motel rooms. No big deal for me either way.
 
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Dunno how this affects the iPad mini issue - but last week Best Buy had a Verizon deal - $229.99 for a 128gb cellular verizon - any color - store pick up - AFTER September 13!!

Either the mini is being discontinued or the new one is coming out and its in a different league . . .
 
denverpilot said:
I'll pick up a spare mini, and simultaneously pick up a decent spec android tablet and start migrating myself away from the Apple ecosystem. And if ForeFlight can't adapt away from Apple, away from them.

Apple hasn't done any serious innovation since Jobs died. Cook cashed out $42M last week out of typical "cycle" for Silicon Valley execs. He's funding his personal bailout plan while profits are high and before the Board of Directors crap-cans him.

Meanwhile Android devices are getting more and better feature sets, and Android itself continues to be refined and enhanced.

iOS is a dead end. It's a very big wide road with lots of users and lots of revenue leading to the dead end, but it's a dead end right now. All it has done for a number of years is get bigger and slower.

A spare mini 4 will work fine for a couple more years if no emphasis is placed on getting control of iOS bloat. Plenty of time to get out cleanly.

I'm already on Google Suite for work, home, and a play user or two. The Android integration is far less buggy and sloppy than the IOS app equivalents of the native android apps.

Next step is to replace the in flight software with something that runs on an android tablet. It's a year or two away for me, or it could happen tomorrow.

Can't justify the "Apple tax" anymore just to run ForeFlight. The competition is nearly caught up in the EFB space.
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I can completely agree that Apple has been pretty stale since Jobs died. Few comments though...manufacturers are notorious for implementing tons of bloat and unnecessary settings/features into their Android phones. Samsung is a good example of this. Then to top that off some of the cellular providers (*cough Verizon *cough) are notorious for putting tons of stupid apps on the Android phones that can't be deleted unless you root (which has been increasingly difficult as the cellular providers don't like it). It is one reason why I used to always root my Android phones and run custom ROMs. It was amazing how much of a difference it made. It has been about a year and a half since I had an Android, but I can honestly say I don't miss it at all. And I was a die hard Android guy. Every iOS app I have ever used has been a step or steps ahead of the Android equivalent. Yes Android typically has better hardware then Apple and I wish Apple would step it up a bit, but it is somewhat offset by Apple's smooth software.

I had a Samsung Galaxy Tab and it is a total POS compared to the iPad. Also tried an Asus tablet that was slower than dirt after about a year or two.

Not trying to be biased by any means - I have honestly had a lot of experience with both platforms. Android could very well take the cake in the future if Apple doesn't step up.
 
How is everyone else’s performance on the iPad mini connected to a Status 2 and using synthetic vision? Mine was near unusable.. it would be delayed 1-3 seconds.. tried all the remedies they recommended.. it used to be very fluid..


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Indiana_Pilot said:
How is everyone else’s performance on the iPad mini connected to a Status 2 and using synthetic vision? Mine was near unusable.. it would be delayed 1-3 seconds.. tried all the remedies they recommended.. it used to be very fluid..


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Click to expand...

What model of iPad mini?
 
iPad Mini 4. It’s unusable... used to be great.. kinda the reason I went with pro but am back and forth so bought a new mini 4 and it’s still slow and unusable.. it’s the same way if I emulate a device using a game on my home WiFi network too. Figure it’s something to do with the mini 4??


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Indiana_Pilot said:
iPad Mini 4. It’s unusable... used to be great.. kinda the reason I went with pro but am back and forth so bought a new mini 4 and it’s still slow and unusable.. it’s the same way if I emulate a device using a game on my home WiFi network too. Figure it’s something to do with the mini 4??


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Hmm maybe because of the new update it could be a bug. I'm not at home so can't check it with mine
 
CC268 said:
Hmm maybe because of the new update it could be a bug. I'm not at home so can't check it with mine
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It’s been like that since the aircraft performance update.. worked with their support and they never were able to help


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The software is getting fat. Mini 2 is "reasonable" but I wouldn't call it a "great" experience. If you're sticking with mini it probably needs to be the 4 now... slightly faster processor and more RAM... but Apple is busy filling it with iOS garbage code that's also making the OS insanely fat. Downward spiral.
 
denverpilot said:
The software is getting fat. Mini 2 is "reasonable" but I wouldn't call it a "great" experience. If you're sticking with mini it probably needs to be the 4 now... slightly faster processor and more RAM... but Apple is busy filling it with iOS garbage code that's also making the OS insanely fat. Downward spiral.
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Problem is when I am connected to my Stratus is literally takes 2-3 seconds to update the synthetic vision screen... it’s a brand new iPad mini 4. I’m guessing it’s my Stratus


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Indiana_Pilot said:
Problem is when I am connected to my Stratus is literally takes 2-3 seconds to update the synthetic vision screen... it’s a brand new iPad mini 4. I’m guessing it’s my Stratus
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Yeah, wouldn't know. My stratux setup seems to work fine. Haven't ever been real impressed with the stratus branded stuff. But also not big on the synthetic vision even though I pay for the full kaboodle. The map and the hazard advisor have always been just fine for me.
 
I'm not exactly impressed with the performance of my Mini 2 any more. Some things are painfully slow - I think it started with the iOS 10.2 or 10.3 update.

I really hope the Mini doesn't go away, but I rarely use it except for aviation any more.

I'd be OK if they made a similarly sized iPad and didn't call it the Mini... "iPad Pro 8 inch" or somesuch would be fine.
 
So it gets even more odd... if I take my Stratus out of the plane it seems to work fine... in the plane I have it connected to external power, GPS, and ads-b antenna (mounted on the belly). Maybe to many traffic targets slowing it down? I pick other aircraft 300+ miles away.. maybe I should turn on hide distant traffic and see what happens..


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Maybe it’s something simple like the charging cable.. I have seen cables do funky stuff


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Indiana_Pilot said:
So it gets even more odd... if I take my Stratus out of the plane it seems to work fine... in the plane I have it connected to external power, GPS, and ads-b antenna (mounted on the belly). Maybe to many traffic targets slowing it down? I pick other aircraft 300+ miles away.. maybe I should turn on hide distant traffic and see what happens..
Click to expand...

Probably should. It's just more data and more CPU to process targets that aren't close enough to care about anyway.

Just think, a large chunk of the fleet isn't ADS-B equipped. Think any of these manufacturers tested any of this stuff at maximum target numbers to see if their code was efficient enough to handle it on current hardware? Fly into the busiest airspace in 2020 and watch your devices all lock up...

But they'll happily sell you another one by then with faster hardware. And who knows what Apple will be selling by then. If Cook hasn't been fired by then, not much worth buying.
 
denverpilot said:
Probably should. It's just more data and more CPU to process targets that aren't close enough to care about anyway.

Just think, a large chunk of the fleet isn't ADS-B equipped. Think any of these manufacturers tested any of this stuff at maximum target numbers to see if their code was efficient enough to handle it on current hardware? Fly into the busiest airspace in 2020 and watch your devices all lock up...

But they'll happily sell you another one by then with faster hardware. And who knows what Apple will be selling by then. If Cook hasn't been fired by then, not much worth buying.
Click to expand...

That’s the only thing that makes sense to me as to why the pro can handle it and the mini can’t... I’ll give it a shot next time I fly... I have been back and forth from the mini to the pro so many times it makes me sick... lol the mini does “fit better”.
22cfecb590966e25826acc85b489a861.heic
 
I just had no luck on my plan to have 3 or more tablets in the cockpit, because I need more time to hack on Garmin Pilot, and I haven't worked out the complete setup with RAM mounts. I had 2 Android tablets plus my Nexus 6 phablet to try on the flight yesterday but I need more ground setup time for a real test.

I figure that I'll keep the Pad mini as an aux screen after I get the 10.5" iPad Pro next year. I'll wait until a product refresh in the Spring and pull the trigger.

As I posted, I'm having enough of a climb mastering ForeFlight. I don't need to confuse things much by trying to sync Garmin Pilot.
 
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