“I just switched back to the full-sized iPad – in the form of the iPad Air – after over a year of exclusive iPad Mini use,” Charlie Sorrel writes for Cult of Mac. “The Mini is great in many ways, and so you’d think that an A7 Retina-ized version would be even better. But almost since I bought it, the new hi-res Mini has been driving me crazy.”
“Like many nerds, I bought the first Mini just to check it out… I liked it so much I switched to it full time, and gave my old iPad 3 to The Lady,” Sorrel writes. “I ordered the new Mini the day it launched… It’s fat. The cellular Retina Mini is around ten percent heavier than the Wi-Fi-only original, and just a third of a millimeter thicker. This sounds like nothing, but it’s the difference between being pleasantly surprised at its lightness, and disappointment that you’ll have to wait for the next generation for the proper Retina Mini… almost every time I picked it up or pulled off the Smart Case to shed some weight – I’d realize that it just wasn’t that slab of helium-light tech that the first iPad Mini had been.”
“Colors on the Mini are flat and muted. It’s just fine for text, but for video and pictures, it’s just muddy compared to its bigger brother,” Sorrel writes. “The iPad Air feels like the future. It’s the same 7.5mm thick as the Retina Mini, and yet it feels thinner. The whole thing has the same air (forgive me) about it that the original Mini had: when you pick one up you’ll think its a demo model without any electronics inside.”
Read more in the full article here.
Bitch, bitch, bitch.
Wrong. Flat out wrong.
No, he’s not. My wife and I returned both ours, too. Too heavy. Disappointed.
Awww, boohoo. First World Problem personified.
Most people would be glad to just be able to afford one iPad, not just buy on a whim.
My heart bleeds.
..let them eat cake.
Dude, come on. Look at the source of the article. It’s not some random chump bitching about Apple for attention. It’s the Reviews Editor for freaking CultOfMac! This is his JOB!
So yes. I agree that most people would be happy to get their hands on any iPad. But this guy’s livelihood involves judging the strengths and weaknesses of Apple products.
You must not read COM much, they are one of the biggest link baiters around saying all kinds of ridiculous things to get ad traffic. I don’t even bother reading them anymore.
Does that change what I said in any way, shape, or form? It’s not a “first world problems” issue, it’s an “I’m paid to review Apple products” issue. Whether or not he goes about it through clickbaiting is a separate topic altogether, and is perfectly open to criticism.
Yeah but Cult of Mac is infested with neck bearded douchebag iHaters. It’s a google shill site posing as a legitimate Apple news resource. As far as I’m concerned they can take their ‘cult’ BS and shove it.
And that may be a valid point. I just don’t see why people are jumping down my throat because I corrected the guy who dismissed this as “first world problems.”
Because the Internet is anonymous and because when someone is a squillion miles away from you, you can’t “have a few words” with them to “help correct their thinking”;
and 2) You are being too logical.
😉
Thanks. At least someone appreciates it. 😉
You can’t be too logical, but to be more persuasive, season your logic with the sauce of emotion, according to the taste of the diner.
… And at what point in my “this guy’s job is to write reviews of Apple tech” argument did I actually need to tone back the logic or inject emotion? It was a simple point that he’s not some random guy, that he makes a living doing this, so it’s not a case of “first world problems.”
It should have been a simple point, and one that didn’t spark a huge debate over whether or not I’m too logical.
Cult of Mac seems to spend much of its time posting rumors and fake “artist renderings” these days. Schizoid.
If you want third problems to deal with then go and live on a third world country.
If you want third world problems to deal with then go and live on a third world country.
An excellent response! I haven’t heard the phrase ‘First World Problem’ in years, and it is soooo incredibly relevant these days.
Is it that the iPad Mini with Retina Display (which I have, and do not regret even the slightest bit) is “bad,” or that the iPad Air is just really, really, incredibly, indescribably awesome?
It’s because the iPad Air is awesome. I love mine. It’s light, fast, great battery life, and the screen is awesome. I was going to get a mini, but once I picked up the Air, it was no contest. Having the larger screen and the lighter weight is an unbeatable combination.
Both are awesome in my daily experience – I regularly use both and haven’t got a clue what this guy is on about, part from others’ suggestion that it’s purely click-baiting.
I call Bull Shit! I have both minis. Can’t tell the difference in respect to weight and size. The unit is beautiful. The author must have the thinnest of toothpick arms to notice the difference. And who complains about the mini’s weight and goes out and buy the full sized model because the mini just isn’t light enough or small enough????
Exactly what I was thinking.
The author was complaining about the difference between the cellular enabled version versus the Wi-Fi only version, with the added cellular gear apparently overtaxing his pinkie or something.
It is terribly disingenuous of the author go complain about the weight of the maxed out Mini, then prefer the heftier Air.
The only thing I’m left wondering about is his complaint about the screen image quality. I’m willing to bet he never bothered to play with the screen brightness. It is quite possible that the color calibration on his specific Mini is bad or one of the light sources is bad. So talk to Apple about it and get it checked!
This is so stupid I’m not sure if it isn’t satire. I absolutely love my retina mini with cellular..
It’s so stupid I thought it was going to be Wozniak again.
He’s actually spot on. I wish the iPad Mini we use for work had come with iOS 6, with far more legible text and graphics. We didn’t update to 7 on our full size iPad for that reason alone. Call this whining all you like, But if you use them side by side, as we do, there is a marked difference.
Still far and away better than the knockoffs tho’…
I feel like he was given this directive: “You need hits tomorrow. If you don’t get them, you’re fired.”
I have both A7 iPads and love them both. But there’s no substitute for the 12oz light mini Retina when it comes to holding it for longer times. Like in bed while lying on my side or in my lap at my desk. I don’t agree with the reviewer’s negative assessment of the mini Retina’s color. Seems just fine to me.
Perhaps you should also switch medications as well.
Disapointing? Dude, you just don’t have a clue or obviously, a use for the Mini. The Mini ( as is the air) is awsome!
I agree with the premise of the article. I upgraded two minis to minis with Retina. It was expensive, but in hindsight not really an improvement given the additional weight, heat, and the weak colors. Now I prefer to use my older iPad 3 Retina which has a much better display.
He makes it sound like the mini weighs 30 pounds or something. Weakling, better start working out if you think an iPad Mini is actually heavy or something.
I let my wife have my iPad 3 when I bought my first mini. I gave my daughter my mini when I bought my mini retina. Now the regular iPads are way to big. The mini retina is wonderful. We just returned from a week on the beach in Aruba. I read three books on my mini retina while sitting on the beach; great reading even in the bright day time light.
Going to Aruba to read when you can read at work and get paid while you do it?
Get a life!
Jealous much?
I have the retina mini and I f***ing LOVE IT! It is some of the best money I’ve ever spent. If this guy finds it “thick”, he must have insanely sensitive hands. I personally can’t believe how thin the thing is. And color problems? Seriously?
When I made my decision to buy an iPad, I went to the Apple store and handled both a mini and a full-sized iPad. I decided I’d be happier with a mini, because I prefer holding it in my hands to propping it up with a case stand. Like someone else said, if he’s upset about the size and the weight, why in the world would he trade it in for a bigger, heavier device?
——RM
I feel privileged to live at a time when technology gets better year after year and cheaper too. But then I’ve never been one to feel entitled to demand that every product I buy live up to what I believe it should be and not what the current state of the art is.
I didn’t know that cellular (and GPS) added that much weight. Something I will consider in the near future when I squirrel away enough money for one.
Unfortunately it is only your opinion. People have different thought. I love mine because it is easy to carry around. You said that it is fat, heavy? Are you kidding me? Then how do you carry laptop? I think that ipad air is too big. First time you don’t notice to hold ipad air. But as time goes by you feel heavier than ipad mini. Of course, ipad air is much better than mini. But two models equip the same processor and power. I only bring my 15.6 inch laptop when I need. Otherwise, ipad mini is all the way up.
Me,I am a nobody,and I own a mini retina. I know nothing about washed out colours etc.For me,its just right. Holds all my music and video.Easy to set up and use for a 74 year old like me. Its now even heavier,as ive added an amp dac. I am very happy with it so there!!.