iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 4: Which Should You Buy?

Apple quietly announced and launched the iPad mini 4 during the company’s iPhone 6s event last week, and if you’re considering getting a new iPad, should you buy the newer iPad mini 4 or the iPad Air 2?

While the iPad mini 4 isn’t a big announcement from Apple, the device that comes with Apple’s A8 processor and up to 2GB of increased memory still received a pretty generous hardware refresh.

Essentially, due to the fact that the iPad Air 2 has the A8X chip, the iPad mini 4 is now almost on par with the performance of the iPad Air 2, except for a small drop in the processor. But both tablets run at the same 1.5 GHz.

When it comes to performance, you can see that both tablets are pretty much on par. They even have Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint home button, but the most obvious difference is that the iPad mini 4 has a much smaller screen size than the iPad Air 2. The iPad mini 4 has a 7.9-inch screen, while the iPad Air 2 has a 9.7-inch screen — almost two inches larger.

Other than screen size, the similarities between these two devices can make choosing one or the other quite difficult, so if you’re in the market for a new iPad, which should you buy? iPad mini 4 or iPad Air 2? In the end, it all depends on two things.

Screen size

The first thing is screen size. While the iPad mini 4 and iPad Air 2 have similar specs and matched performance, the biggest difference between the two is screen size.

The iPad Air 2 is the largest of the two tablets, with a 9.7-inch screen, while the iPad mini 4 has a smaller 7.9-inch screen that’s a bit more portable, making it a good option for those who need the most portable iPad. doing. available.

iPad mini 4 is a tablet that can be easily held with one hand. The iPad Air 2 can also be held in one hand, but it’s about a third heavier than the iPad mini 4, making it the least preferred choice if you plan to use it with one hand, unless you have strong hands. This can remove a pound of metal, glass and circuitry for as long as you plan to play with your iPad.

The display difference between the two screens is definitely noticeable, but it’s probably not something that will make a huge difference. It’s certainly not as drastic as switching from an iPhone to an iPad screen, so if you want a small and portable tablet, you won’t be giving up too much screen space by choosing the iPad mini 4.

Price

Perhaps the biggest factor when deciding between the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4 is the price between the two tablets.

The iPad mini 4 starts at $399 for the 16GB model, and the iPad Air 2 starts at $499 for the 16GB model. That’s a $100 price difference between the two listings. In other words, you pay 25% more by choosing the iPad Air 2.

However, if you need more than 16GB of space, the price difference gets smaller with each new storage tier. For example, if you want a 64GB iPad, you’ll pay 20% more by purchasing the iPad Air 2, and if you decide you want a 128GB iPad, you’ll pay almost 17% more for the iPad Air 2. .

So the higher the storage tiers, the smaller the price gap between these two iPads, so this definitely influences your decision about which iPad you should buy.

All in all, the iPad mini 4 is the obvious choice if you want to save money. However, if price isn’t a huge factor for you and you have the money to spend, the iPad Air 2 is the ultimate winner with screen size alone.

Of course, it’s also possible that a 9.7-inch screen is too big for your needs, so that’s where the iPad mini 4 comes into play. So if you prefer the iPad mini 4 to the iPad Air 2 because of the smaller screen, we’ll also save a few bucks on the price, which is a win-win situation.