Alright so Apple just released two brand new iPads at their September event..
We’ve got the new iPad 9 for $329 and the fully redesigned iPad Mini 6 for $499..
And on the surface, it seems like the iPad 9 just received an extremely small spec update..
But in reality, the value of Apple’s basic iPad just went through the roof,
which I’m gonna explain in this video!
But then again, for $170 more, you can get the new mini 6 with
the brand new redesign that looks much more modern and future-proof..
So what I’m gonna do in this video is go through all of the new changes
on each iPad and explain why they’re such a big deal, and then I’m gonna compare
the feature differences and give you guys some practical advice on which iPad to buy!
So without further ado, let me first get into the main changes with the iPad 9.
This year, it’s getting the A13 Bionic chip which is from the iPhone 11,
giving it an 18% boost in terms of single-core performance, an over
20% boost in multi-core performance and a much larger 37% boost in Metal graphics performance.
On top of that, the A13 features a better image signal processor
which should improve camera quality.
However, it’s still sticking to the same 3GB of RAM as it had last year.
As far as the display, it now supports True Tune, which basically adjusts the color temperature of
the display to match your environment, just like all of the other iPads have done for a while.
But the most shocking new feature is the upgraded selfie camera,
which now features a 12MP Ultrawide camera directly from the new M1 iPad Pro,
which also supports the new center stage feature for FaceTime calls.
This is a huge deal because the previous iPad 8 had a terrible 1.2MP camera
which sucks for everything from photos to FaceTime calls, so a 10x improvement is awesome!
And finally, the last big feature is that Apple doubled the base storage
to 64GB and they’re now offering a new 256GB storage option.
Now while it seems like this is a small upgrade, this is actually pretty HUGE because Apple didn’t
bump up the price tag at all! It still starts at $329 and you get all of those new features.
And if you don’t believe me, let me remind you that the iPad 8 from last year only had
ONE upgrade from the previous iPad 7, it got an upgraded A12 chip.. That’s all!
So those upgrades are honestly much more than I expected, since Apple fixed multiple issues that
I had with the old iPad, but there is one feature that I was really hoping for that didn’t make the
cut, which is the laminated display.
Now with that said, let’s move onto the changes to the iPad Mini 6,
but first, I want to point something very important out to you guys.
Until now, the design of the mini literally has not changed since the very first model in 2012,
almost a full decade ago!
So when I tell you that the new Mini 6’s redesign is a huge deal.. It is! Because not only has Apple
redesigned it, but they’ve FIXED basically every complaint we’ve had with the old one.
In fact, they made the new iPad Mini 6 so good that it now cannibalizes the iPad Air 4
in multiple ways, so please DO NOT BUY the iPad Air 4 until it gets another update.
But getting back to what’s changed with the mini 6,
it obviously gets the new flat sided redesign from the Air and the Pro,
which includes the removal of the home button and a new rounded corner display.
This change alone is huge because it’s gonna make people feel safe about buying the mini
6 as a long-term purchase, since this design won’t be changed for many years!
On top of that, another game-changing new feature is the switch to the USB-C
port which makes it much more useful and modern.
And because Apple ditched the Lightning port, they also had to make the mini support
the new Apple Pencil 2 with the wireless charging magnetic cutout on the side,
which is 100x better than the old solution.
But one of the most important new features for me is the fact that
Apple finally gave it speakers on both the top and the bottom for true stereo sound,
which completely changes your experience when gaming or watching videos.
Just like the Air and Pro, it now features built-in magnets so it supports Apple’s
super thin magnetic Smart Folio which also covers the front and allows you to quickly stand it up.
On top of that, the new Mini gets the same new 12MP ultrawide selfie camera that comes on the
M1 iPad Pro, which replaces the old 7MP selfie camera which couldn’t even record video at 60FPS.
And as far as the rear camera, it’s been upgraded to a 12MP sensor with a faster
F1.8 aperture which leads to much better camera quality,
and this time, it actually comes with a Flash compared to no flash on the old model.
And for video recording, it can finally shoot 4K at up to 60FPS, compared to 1080P at only 30FPS.
And as far as wireless specs, it features upgraded WiFi 6 support, and you can now finally get a 5G
model, but unfortunately it doesn’t support mmWave for those who have it in their area.
And finally, the last major upgrade is the brand new A15 Bionic chip..
and thankfully, it’s actually the 5-core GPU version from the iPhone 13 Pro models!
Benchmarks for the iPad mini 6 have already leaked and it looks like it scored around 1600
points in terms of single-core performance and around 4600 points for multi-core,
which seems to be a downclocked version of the A15 that’s going into the iPhone 13 models.
But if we compare the leaked scores to the A12 chip from the last iPad mini,
the new mini 6 is now 43% faster in terms of single-core performance and a pretty nice
72% improvement in terms of multi-core.
But the biggest improvement we see is in the metal graphics performance
which matters the most for things like games and productivity work!
The leaked benchmarks for the mini 6 show a Metal graphics score of around
13,700, a seriously massive 2.5x more graphics performance than the old mini 5!
So when I say that this new update to the iPad Mini
is the biggest that we’ve ever seen, I mean it!
Now with all of that said, before I get into my practical advice for which one to buy,
let me quickly list off a few main differences between both the new iPad 9 and the iPad Mini 6.
The Mini is quite a bit smaller which you can see in this comparison image on Apple’s website,
actually making it perfect for kids,
especially since it comes in more fun colors like pink, purple and starlight.
The Mini obviously also gets a much better design,
especially on the display so it’s gonna feel modern for years.
The Mini has a better A15 chip compared to A13, it has a better 12MP rear camera with flash
compared to 8 megapixels without flash, it gets the MUCH better USB-C
port and it gets the 2nd gen Apple pencil which is more convenient to store and charge.
On top of that, the display on the mini is actually much nicer,
with a higher 326ppi resolution, better color support with DCI-P3 wide-color gamut, and the
display has an anti-reflective coating while also being fully laminated so it doesn’t have
a gap between the display and the glass, making it feel more solid and giving it deeper blacks.
And of course, the mini 6 features TRUE stereo speakers on the top and bottom,
while the iPad 9 only has stereo speakers on the bottom side, which don’t sound nearly as good.
And in terms of the wireless specs, the Mini has WiFi 6 instead of regular WiFi 5,
and it has Bluetooth 5.0 instead of bluetooth 4.2.
However, the iPad 9 actually has a couple of features that the mini DOESN’T!
It is now the ONLY iPad that still comes with a headphone
jack, while the Mini 6 has scrapped it this year.
And the iPad 9 comes with Apple’s smart connector which allows it to support
amazing keyboards like Logitech’s Combo Touch which features a full keyboard and a trackpad
that actually works very well, turning it into a laptop replacement.
But the mini 6 unfortunately doesn’t because it’s too small to have a keyboard attached to it.
So with that out of the way, let me finish off with my practical advice on which one to buy!
face
If you’re the type of person who’s been looking at Android tablets for yourself or your kids
but you’re now considering an iPad, the iPad 9 is the one to buy because it’s the cheapest one
at only $329 and it now gets double the storage
and all of the new features for a reliable experience for many years to come.
Or, if you just want an iPad for things like playing games and watching videos
while spending not that much cash, and you don’t really care about the design, the iPad
9 is for you because it comes with the A13 chip which is more than fast enough for most games.
Or if you want to have a portable laptop replacement in combination
with Logitech’s combo touch keyboard case, this is the best and cheapest way to do it.
Now moving on to the iPad Mini 6,
this is the one to buy if you really care about future-proofing for the next few years and you
don’t mind spending an extra $170 to get the updated design and the much better display.
This one is definitely gonna be more convenient to hold in your hands while on the couch because of
the smaller size, making it an absolute dream for gaming because of the stereo speakers and
the blazing fast A15 chip that’ll handle any app or game without issue for many many years.
And when I say future proof, I mean it because it packs modern specs and features
like 2nd gen Apple Pencil support, USB-C and updated wireless specs,
while the iPad 9 is basically using all of the old technology and it obviously looks ancient.
So in my opinion, unless you really need that smart connector for keyboard support,
I would honestly spend the extra $170 on the new mini 6, because I think there’s a good chance
that Apple will totally redesign the iPad 9 next year for the 10th anniversary model
and you’ll be stuck with the old design that nobody wants anymore.
But then again, if future-proofing isn’t a big deal for you and you just want a modern iPad
without spending half a grand on it, the new iPad 9 is definitely a killer value for what you get.
So hopefully this video helped you make a decision, and if it did, go ahead and click
that circle to subscribe for more videos like this one and check out our links to these iPads and the
best keyboard options down below. But if you’re still confused on which iPad to buy, comment
below and we’ll help you make a decision. Thanks for watching and we’ll see you in the next video!