New iPads - Wait till November or buy now?

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Martymccasland

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M.McCasland
My iPad1 is really struggling with Foreflight. I've been waiting for the new iPads to be released before buying. However, after seeing new new models, I'm inclined to buy an "old" iPad Mini Wifi+Cellular for the plane.

The only thing I'm giving up is a little processor power and the Retina display -- right? I'd give that up for $100 savings.

Anything I'm overlooking?
 
I have an IPad 3 wi if ,let with Foreflight and stratus. I see no need to upgrade to the newer system at this time.
 
Martymccasland said:
My iPad1 is really struggling with Foreflight. I've been waiting for the new iPads to be released before buying. However, after seeing new new models, I'm inclined to buy an "old" iPad Mini Wifi+Cellular for the plane.

The only thing I'm giving up is a little processor power and the Retina display -- right? I'd give that up for $100 savings.

Anything I'm overlooking?
Click to expand...

Generally you're correct, but I'd say it's more than a little processor power. The "old" iPad Mini has the guts of an iPad 2 -- a dual core A5 processor. The new one got a significant bump to the same quad-core A7 processor found in the iPad Air (iPad 5). Apple claims 4x improvement in the CPU and 8x in graphics. Plus, the Retina display is pretty nice...

What I'm saying is, you're going to pay $429 for a 3G iPad mini that is essentially an iPad 2 on the inside. While that's going to be better than your iPad 1, it's still awfully far behind the current state of the art, considering $100 will get you iPad 5 performance (4 generations newer than yours).

Or, you might also consider an Apple-refurbished full-sized iPad 4 with wifi+4G, which they sell for $479. Remember they come with new batteries, brand new outer shell, and full warranty.
 
dukeblue219 said:
Generally you're correct, but I'd say it's more than a little processor power. The "old" iPad Mini has the guts of an iPad 2 -- a dual core A5 processor. The new one got a significant bump to the same quad-core A7 processor found in the iPad Air (iPad 5). Apple claims 4x improvement in the CPU and 8x in graphics. Plus, the Retina display is pretty nice...

What I'm saying is, you're going to pay $429 for a 3G iPad mini that is essentially an iPad 2 on the inside. While that's going to be better than your iPad 1, it's still awfully far behind the current state of the art, considering $100 will get you iPad 5 performance (4 generations newer than yours).

Or, you might also consider an Apple-refurbished full-sized iPad 4 with wifi+4G, which they sell for $479. Remember they come with new batteries, brand new outer shell, and full warranty.
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Many thanks for the response.

Where do you suggest buying the refurbished iPad 4s? Apple?
 
Martymccasland said:
Many thanks for the response.

Where do you suggest buying the refurbished iPad 4s? Apple?
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Yes -- http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad/ipad4gen/wi_fi_cellular

I have purchased through their refurb store before, and friends who have all agree with me that it's a great deal. They are indistinguishable from new, like I said with new battery, new outer shell, full warranty.

If you decide to go with the "older" iPad Mini with 3G, you can get those refurb'd from Apple for $359 currently: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad/ipad_mini/wi_fi_cellular
 
The whole hoopla about faster processor, faster graphics, the "OMG it's 64 bits!!!" is fairly pointless. Apple decided to join a spec war. The fact that it's 64 bit, it may actually hurt it if memory is not upgraded.

What I WOULD look forward to is the M7 chip, that supposedly is very accurate sensor array. If aviation app takes advantage of it, you could be potentially looking at a cheap backup glass panel that is much more precise than old iPad and does not need Stratus to feed it data.

I would say wait. If you are not in a hurry, you may want to wait for a refurbished "new" ipads to show up, saving a bit of cash.
 
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57608908-94/t-mobiles-new-ipads-with-free-200mb-of-data-a-month-offered-at-$0-down/

T-Mobile I think just upped the ante when it comes to iPads, and it's not on the no money down offer, but the free data for life.
 
Meanee said:
What I WOULD look forward to is the M7 chip, that supposedly is very accurate sensor array. If aviation app takes advantage of it, you could be potentially looking at a cheap backup glass panel that is much more precise than old iPad and does not need Stratus to feed it data.
Click to expand...

My understanding was that the M7 processor is simply a way of handling sensor data with a ultra low power dedicated chip, rather than using the main CPU, and does not imply the sensors are any more accurate than before. The advantage is that a fitness app, for example, could continuously record your movement data while you're running without needing to wake up the main CPU and kill your battery life.
 
dukeblue219 said:
My understanding was that the M7 processor is simply a way of handling sensor data with a ultra low power dedicated chip, rather than using the main CPU, and does not imply the sensors are any more accurate than before. The advantage is that a fitness app, for example, could continuously record your movement data while you're running without needing to wake up the main CPU and kill your battery life.
Click to expand...

That's a bummer. It was presented at their keynote as a separate sensor array that should be more precise. I was not aware that they simply moved your typical sensor array off the SoC and on a separate chip.
 
cowtowner said:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57608908-94/t-mobiles-new-ipads-with-free-200mb-of-data-a-month-offered-at-$0-down/

T-Mobile I think just upped the ante when it comes to iPads, and it's not on the no money down offer, but the free data for life.
Click to expand...

Free data for *their* life, that is... heh... they've already tried to get bought by AT&T once... they're not a healthy business.

But you'll get a few years out of it, probably.

Around here, they haven't added significant coverage in years. They are on about 1/3 of the towers the Big Two (VZ and T) are on.
 
By the way, to answer the original question posed by the title of the post...

You don't have to wait for November, apparently. :) :) :)
 
Martymccasland said:
My iPad1 is really struggling with Foreflight. I've been waiting for the new iPads to be released before buying. However, after seeing new new models, I'm inclined to buy an "old" iPad Mini Wifi+Cellular for the plane.

The only thing I'm giving up is a little processor power and the Retina display -- right? I'd give that up for $100 savings.

Anything I'm overlooking?
Click to expand...
As a current iPad 1 user needing to upgrade, consider that the best way to avoid being in the same spot 2-3 years from now is to go with the newest machine IMO.

Me? I've got an iPad2 which I don't intend to replace at this time because it works well and I have it integrated into my plane and procedures.

For my wife and her cracked IPad2 we'll be ordering the new mini. The mini will be a better fit and the old mini would work fine but I'm thinking that if it lasts 2 years, the speed and display will be welcomed... and the old display and speed a handicap.

Upgrades are always a judgement call. I hope I'm getting better since my first personal machine in '82.

...it's hard to go far wrong as long as it runs FF!
 
I'd agree - you can probably get a killer deal on something now with folks trying to unload ones they just bought to go stand in line like zombies and get the new thing that they have no idea what they need it for.

The only downside to me on the iPad 3 I have is that it tends to overheat quickly...any amount of direct sunlight on it and it's done in 10 minutes (close the cover and let it sit a bit and it comes back of course...). I have no idea if the newest one will do anything to fix that though and it's not worth another $600+ to find out.
 
FastEddieB said:
I don't think you can.
Click to expand...

Guess you're right. Dumb move on Apple's part. You can order the new MacBook Pro.

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You can also order the Mac Pro.

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They must have signed deals with the carriers not to accept orders on the mobile devices until the carriers can. Dumb.
 
Meanee said:
The fact that it's 64 bit, it may actually hurt it if memory is not upgraded.
Click to expand...

You're right in the abstract, that all else being equal 64-bit is worse than 32-bit. But all else is not equal. The A7's 64-bitness has been very cleverly engineered to help, not hurt. Even the Qualcomm exec who was quoted in the press saying that 64-bit was a "marketing gimmick" had to go back on that once he looked more into it.

If you're in the mood for a very technical explanation, Mike Ash does a good job: http://mikeash.com/pyblog/friday-qa-2013-09-27-arm64-and-you.html
 
My partner and I bought iPad minis two weeks ago. I returned them on Friday in anticipation of the retina display etc versions. I personally think it will make a big difference.
 
Once the "Retina Mini" is for sale, I plan to obtain one for use in the cockpit. A buddy in my flying club lets me use his current generation Mini when I fly. I'm getting real curious about performance improvements of the new one and might do a few side-by-side tests on the kitchen table.
 
Retina Mini for me, probably for the holidays.

I use my wife's iPad2 in the Sky Arrow with WingXPro7, but the form factor is just a bit on the large size:

8543377536_61da288f59_c.jpg


I'll be replacing my Gen1 iPad, getting a bit long in the tooth and feature-limited by now.
 
I'm not sure if it's my eyes or what, but I didn't really see a big difference between the Retina and "regular" displays 4 months ago when I bought my mini. If there was a difference, I couldn't justify the significant cost difference and I wanted the smaller size anyways.

Just for S&Gs I'll probably stop by an apple store with my mini when the retina mini is available to play with, and see what the discernible difference is.
 
fiveoboy01 said:
I'm not sure if it's my eyes or what, but I didn't really see a big difference between the Retina and "regular" displays 4 months ago when I bought my mini.
Click to expand...

I suspect I'll find the same thing.

What with aging eyes generally looking through smudged "Save-a-Lot" $1 readers - well, we'll see.

Same thing with BlueRay and High Def and soon-to-be 4k - I guess they're all a bit sharper, but not enough for me to get excited about.
 
fiveoboy01 said:
I'm not sure if it's my eyes or what, but I didn't really see a big difference between the Retina and "regular" displays 4 months ago when I bought my mini. If there was a difference, I couldn't justify the significant cost difference and I wanted the smaller size anyways.

Just for S&Gs I'll probably stop by an apple store with my mini when the retina mini is available to play with, and see what the discernible difference is.
Click to expand...

Good point. And upwards of 90% of the time, I'll be looking at my iPad through sunglasses and wouldn't notice any additional resolution anyway.

Even with my old iPad1, video looks great on it. We upgraded to one of those iOS streaming Tivo boxes at home and very frequently watch TV shows on the iPad1. The picture quality is super. Looking side-by-side at the Apple store, I see a quality improvement with Retina vs non-Retina; however, it's not enough for me to demand it or pay a premium... Triply so when used primarily in an airplane.
 
Even without the Retina display, the new ipad mini is worth it for the faster processing speed.

My iPad 1 is soooo painfully slow and "crashy" that I can't wait to replace it.
 
Brad Z said:
Even without the Retina display, the new ipad mini is worth it for the faster processing speed.

My iPad 1 is soooo painfully slow and "crashy" that I can't wait to replace it.
Click to expand...

Chances are you won't feel any difference at all between anything above iPad 2 and iPad air/mini.
 
Meanee said:
Chances are you won't feel any difference at all between anything above iPad 2 and iPad air/mini.
Click to expand...

Probably not now. Then again, my iPad was lightning fast running the first apps I loaded in April 2010. The machine hasn't gotten slower as much as the apps have become more demanding, processor-wise.

If nothing else, the longer usable life of the new mini is worth the $100 to me.
 
Brad Z said:
Probably not now. Then again, my iPad was lightning fast running the first apps I loaded in April 2010. The machine hasn't gotten slower as much as the apps have become more demanding, processor-wise.

If nothing else, the longer usable life of the new mini is worth the $100 to me.
Click to expand...

Whatever you had in 2010 is a whole different story. iPad Air (in fact, any other iPad) will beat the snot out of iPad 1.

But if you have 3rd gen or above, iPad Air won't provide much of an improvement.
 
Meanee said:
Whatever you had in 2010 is a whole different story. iPad Air (in fact, any other iPad) will beat the snot out of iPad 1.

But if you have 3rd gen or above, iPad Air won't provide much of an improvement.
Click to expand...

But will it provide an improvement in 2016? I plan on holding on to this for longer than the length of the warrantee. Besides, the current mini is the equivalent of a 2nd generation device.
 
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