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4 Reasons the iPad Mini 1 Is a Bad Deal

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The iPad mini 1 is beginning to age, and that has many shoppers asking whether or not the older tablet is still worth buying, especially considering it’s the cheapest iPad available, but here are five reasons why the iPad mini 1 is a bad deal.

The iPad mini 1 is about two-and-a-half years old, which isn’t bad for an iPad, and Apple is still selling it in stores for $249, which is half the price of an entry-level iPad Air 2, but there are many reasons why that low price is justified.

The first-generation iPad mini was already outdated when it first launched, anyway, arriving with an A5 processor when Apple already had its A6 processor out in multiple devices by then, including the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and the fourth-generation iPad, which included the A6X (a variant of the A6 chip).

Plus, the iPad mini 1 doesn’t include a Retina display, which made it even more outdated, as the fourth-generation iPad that launched beside it included a Retina display, as well as the iPad 3 that preceded it.

Nonetheless, the original iPad mini has been deemed to be a decent tablet for users who don’t need a lot of features, thus saving a bit of cash when it comes time to buy one. When you’re paying so little for an iPad, you’d expect to make sacrifices in these areas, but here’s why you’re better off keeping your money and saving up for a better iPad model.

The iPad Mini 1 Is Slow

The iPad mini 1 can be great for casual usage, like checking email, browsing the web, reading, etc., but if you’re wanting to do anything more than that, like mobile gaming or something that requires a lot of processing power, don’t count on the iPad mini 1 to deliver the performance that you might need.

iPad-mini-Retina

As mentioned earlier, the iPad mini 1 was already outdated when it was released, coming with an older processor and lacking a Retina display. The A5 processor is obsolete, and buying anything obsolete just really isn’t worth it in the long run.

I’ve spoken with a few iPad users who are still rocking the iPad mini 1 (most of whom are casual users) and they’re having no problems with the performance of the tablet thus far, but with even casual apps taking advantage of the processing power on newer iPads, the iPad mini 1 won’t be able to keep up even with basic apps eventually, and that time is getting closer and closer.

The iPad Mini 1 Is Overpriced

If you want to buy an iPad on the cheap, the iPad mini 2 is the cheapest iPad that Apple currently sells, with a $249 price tag, while used versions sell for around $200 on the used market. However, for just a bit more cash, you can get a way better iPad experience.

iPad-mini

The iPad mini 2 comes with a much faster processor, more memory, and a Retina display for just $299. The design is identical to the original iPad mini, so nothing will change there, but it will be faster overall and the screen will look really awesome — all of that for only $50 more.

Don’t Expect Future Software Updates

Perhaps one of the biggest downsides of getting the iPad mini 1 now is that you probably won’t see any future support for the tablet from Apple. iOS 8 is probably the last iOS version that iPad mini 1 users will get. Granted, iOS 8.2 and future iOS 8 updates may still be headed to the older slate, but we can pretty much guarantee that iOS 9 won’t make it.

iPad-mini

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if you enjoy taking advantage of Apple’s newer iOS updates, you’ll probably be disappointed in the future when iOS 9 comes out, since the iPad mini 1 probably won’t end up getting iOS 9. Of course, there’s still a lot that we don’t know about iOS 9, but we can assume that it will come with some new features.

Buying the iPad mini 2 or even a newer iPad will guarantee for support for a longer period of time than the iPad mini 1.

It Won’t Last You a Long Time

In the end, the iPad mini 1 is simply an old tablet, and if you’re going to spend a couple hundred dollars on an iPad, it better be something that will last you a while. The iPad mini 1 is lucky to last another year or two before its capabilities drop into oblivion, just like that original iPad did a couple of years ago.

iPad-Mini

If you buy an iPad, you want it to last you a long time in order to get your money’s worth. Spending $300 on the iPad mini 2 will get you a few years out of it, while spending $250 on the iPad mini 1 will probably only get you another year or two before you’d have to replace it. Keep this in mind as you shop for not only tablets, but pretty much anything else.

11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Steve Lai

    03/11/2015 at 9:01 pm

    Good article. I think you have a typo in the Overpriced section. Should read “iPad mini (not 2). is the cheapest iPad…”

  2. dr boben

    04/27/2015 at 1:26 pm

    half price an 2 years of duty doesn’t look like a bad deal , still
    good for music, movies, photo/editing
    office suites, comunications, web browsing, reading, etc

  3. Jill Marie Young

    06/07/2015 at 5:48 pm

    I have an iPad mini one, and I enjoy this! Don’t. Think they will become obsolete.

  4. iPad Mini

    07/14/2015 at 3:37 pm

    the original ipad mini can get ios 9 just google the compataple devices and you will see the ipad mini 1

  5. Mr. Skib

    12/12/2015 at 12:03 am

    Lmao!! Most idiotic article I ever read! I’m fully rocking iPad mini 1, played heavy duty games as Asphalt 8, GTA Sanandreas, Modern Combat 4/5 and it’s perfection. And about your guarantee,search Google for the basic knowledge!

  6. Sean J

    01/06/2016 at 11:00 am

    I´m still rocking my iPad Mini 1 in 2016. It is not obsolete yet, as it can play Modern Combat 5, GTA San Andreas, Minecraft PE, and Asphalt 8 without any lag.

  7. Tri Training Online College

    01/06/2016 at 5:38 pm

    Some of our students use them for online study and they have been pretty good. No problems that we have experienced. Haven’t tried them with any serious applications yet though.

  8. RobRoc

    04/02/2016 at 1:43 pm

    My iPad mini 1 runs 9.3.1 as of today so you are flat out wrong. I run a business on it an battery life is still about 10 hours using it every day to run the business.

    When it finally gives way, I will definitely buy the same one!!

    Also I have a dell D630 computer which is archaic with an 80 gb HD and 512 mb of ram running Windows 7 perfectly and just updated it to 10

    That being said I believe I “myth busted” this article!!

  9. dylan

    06/10/2016 at 10:45 pm

    i have ios9 on my ipad mini 1, and it works great.

  10. Ethan

    08/12/2016 at 1:38 pm

    Now, about a year after this article came out, it is told that the iPad Mini 1, iPad 2, and iPad 3 are not getting iOS 10, and will become obselete.

  11. Jackson

    10/01/2016 at 6:45 am

    Dumbest article ever, my Mini one is great and I got a great deal. Still works wonderfully for my needs

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