Image and text | Xiaoguang
Apple announced on March 25 that the “showtime” would begin at its headquarters, Apple Park, but from March 18 to 20, it launched new products online for three consecutive days, completely ignoring the script.
The first product of the spring trilogy is the new iPad mini, a small-sized tablet that has been relaunched after nearly four years, and it was updated on the official website before the press conference.
Many people have been waiting for the iPad mini
This update was sudden, and the response from netizens was enthusiastic. After using the new iPad mini for two days, Sina Digital reported a brief user experience.
2015’s body, 2018’s core
The appearance of the new iPad mini doesn’t have much to discuss, as we have seen this body for four years, the appearance hasn’t changed much, and the color has added rose gold. So if someone pulls out a rose gold 7.9-inch iPad, you can tell it’s the new model just from the color.
Rose gold iPad mini
Since a few years ago, Apple’s strategy for entry-level iPads has been to use the previous design with a new processor to reduce costs and prices. This strategy has been applied to the mini product line as well. Many people are quite willing to buy, and on the Weibo account @Apple, many people expressed that they finally waited for the mini 5th generation and said they would definitely buy it.
If it were another company, using the previous generation mold would definitely be criticized, but the new iPad mini has not faced any backlash. This is mainly because:
1) The appearance of mini 4 is not outdated today, and the craftsmanship is more exquisite than most Android tablets;
2) The fully laminated screen, 3.5mm, Lightning interface, etc., although not the latest, are still usable;
3) The public has been waiting too long, and the A12 chip and the price of 2999 exceeded the original expectations;
6.1mm thick metal body still belongs to the lightweight category today, combined with the 7.9-inch screen, this product remains overall harmonious. The WiFi version weighs 300.5g, and the 4G version weighs 308.2g, which won’t feel too heavy to carry around (after all, the iPhone XS Max is 208g, adding a case isn’t a dream…).
The bezels are not narrow
Compared to flagship new models, its bezels are indeed wider, and high-end features like Face ID are not present, while Touch ID brings back memories of the past, these are the reasons for its starting price of 2999 yuan. The arrival of the A12 chip timely offsets some negative feelings about the outdated appearance. In fact, there were many rumors about the iPad mini before, and many people believed it would be a low-priced product using the A11 processor, but the update brought surprises: A12 Bionic chip.
This chip is two generations more advanced than the A10 chip used in the currently sold 9.7-inch iPad, just that the GPU part is slightly inferior to the A12X chip of the iPad Pro. With 3GB of RAM, its benchmark scores can reach around 4800 single-core/11500 multi-core.
iPad mini benchmark scores
This score is almost equal to the flagship phone iPhone XS (A12+4GB RAM, single-core 4800/multi-core 11500), even compared to the strongest iOS device, the 12.9-inch new iPad Pro (A12X+6GB RAM, single-core 5000/multi-core 17800), it can keep up, and it won’t be a problem for four to five more years.
Apart from the chip, this upgrade also includes…
The addition of the stylus.
On the morning of the 18th, Cook posted a Weibo message, writing the word “hello” on the new iPad mini using the Apple Pencil to announce this feature. (The hello font is the same as the early Macintosh computers, probably a tradition among Apple employees).
Cook’s Weibo post on the 18th
The “Hello” font from early Macintosh computers
Of course, to save costs, the iPad mini does not come with a USB-C port, and the first-generation Apple Pencil logically becomes the new mini’s partner. Although it’s not as cool as the second generation, in the tablet world, the smooth experience of this pencil is still the best in the industry, and it fits the custom of spending less and getting more for entry-level products.
iPad mini and stylus
From the perspective of jotting down notes, the 7.9-inch will have stronger portability than a 10-inch tablet. For example, the well-known paper notebook brand Moleskine also launched an app called FLOW, allowing for quick writing and drawing, and sharing data with other apps.
Quickly record and share data
The iPad mini does not have an official keyboard accessory, which can be inferred from the results:
One reason is that money determines everything; opening a keyboard interface for it would require redesigning the mold;
The second reason is that Apple seems to have defaulted that iPads should be paired with a “full-size keyboard”; the width of a 10.5-inch screen is the baseline for such a keyboard, and if it’s any smaller, it won’t be full-size, making typing uncomfortable, and staring at a 7.9-inch screen for a long time can strain the eyes…
With the A12, there are more things it can do
Although the world of electronic products can talk about emotions, ultimately it’s the configuration + experience that determines the hero. The A12 provides the iPad mini with a good foundation; this chip is the key to unlocking Apple’s existing software ecosystem. With it, the computing power for ARkit architecture is sufficient. Previously, the mini couldn’t run AR games, and the AR furniture display experience from IKEA was poor; with the A12, those are no longer issues.
A12 Bionic chip
The addition of the stylus allows for greater potential in image-related software like Lightroom CC and Procreate. It should be noted that fingers are not unusable, but they are not precise enough; you can scribble, but if these are professional drawing apps, it wouldn’t make sense to use fingers. The precision of Apple Pencil far exceeds that of fingers.
The capabilities of the A12 bring another usage scenario: entertainment and gaming. This device comes with a 7.9-inch large screen + A12 processor, and it’s not too heavy, making it naturally a good fit for gaming.
Using the iPad mini for reading
Summary: The appearance is not new, but it performs well
After the press release of the iPad mini on the evening of March 18, the article on Sina Technology had accumulated 46,000 comments within 24 hours, which is even more than during the iPhone XS launch, indicating that the demand for small-sized tablets is still present, just suppressed for nearly four years until today.
It seems like “just changing a CPU”, but this time Apple set the price at 2999 yuan, making it the most cost-effective product among iPads.
It is currently the most cost-effective product among iPads
Aside from the high-end full-screen iPad Pro, the 10.5-inch iPad Air (64GB WiFi) released at the same time is 1000 yuan more expensive than the mini; below it, the 9.7-inch iPad still uses the A10 chip, which starts at 2565 yuan but only has 32GB of storage, with a processor two generations behind and a screen that is not fully laminated.
Aside from the lack of 128GB storage, the new mini wins overall, and the “little powerhouse” is born, being the lowest-priced A12 Bionic chip device.
The “little powerhouse” is born
Cloud review of iPad Air, as Chinese media did not receive the device:
If the mini 5 is a CPU upgrade of the previous generation, then the iPad Air is just the 10.5-inch iPad Pro renamed, an old product that has been appropriately modified to serve as an entry-level product.
The iPad Air is just the 10.5-inch iPad Pro renamed
The iPad Air is based on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, removing a bunch of speakers, removing the 120Hz screen, but equipping it with A12 processor, and it can also use Apple Pencil and the official keyboard, with a price starting at 3999 yuan.
The iPad Air can use both the stylus and the smart keyboard
We can also guess through imagination that its 95% experience is similar to the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, only that the sound quality of video playback is slightly inferior, and action games might feel a bit delayed on the screen, but the A12 can bring it into the next era, also serving as Apple’s AR ecosystem’s stepping stone. Trading off speakers and a high-response screen for a better chip seems worthwhile, as the latter determines key performance while the former is merely an embellishment.
With the completion of this wave of product updates this year, the iPad has truly achieved comprehensive coverage from the 2500 to 15000 yuan price range, with few low-end flaws and no high-end competitors. This advantage is something even the flagship product iPhone has not achieved.
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