There’s a topic I’ve wanted to touch for a long time: the iPad Mini. I bought it exactly 5 months ago. I kept telling myself I’d write about it. It finally happens today. I bought the iPad Mini from MediaMarkt. It cost around 729 TL when I bought it. Now I see they’re selling it for 599–600 TL. I attribute this price drop to the new iPads about to be announced — stock needs to clear, hence discounts.
One of my favorite things about Apple is how they package products — clean and graphically pleasing. The moment I opened the box, the iPad Mini was right there; underneath are compartments containing the charger and info cards about the tablet. Then it’s time to play with it.
Before this, the first “smart” device I owned was a Samsung Galaxy S3, so I plan to keep this post as a bit of a comparison too. I won’t go heavy on specs — Google “iPad Mini specs” and you’ll get plenty. I’ll share my personal observations.
iPad Mini’s appearance
Talking about the home screen: graphically, Apple’s designs are somehow always easy on the eyes. That’s my favorite thing about Apple. But spec-wise, it’s hard for them to even hold a candle to the other brands. I don’t get it — why can’t Apple match the technical foundation that Samsung and LG provide? Is it just for higher margins? Honestly, if they could match Samsung specs, I’d lean Apple. Android is great — you can do whatever you want, but its security holes can be excessive because it’s open source. On the Apple side, it’s a black box and the customization is very limited. Anyway — moving on.
Honestly, with a tablet, I don’t fuss about specs. I’m mostly on social, plus a few games, and I write notes during video tutorials, etc. But because my school is in Kütahya, I want to load films onto it. Since I went with the 16 GB model, and the OS already eats 4–5 GB, I’m tight on space. I’d just drop the films and watch them, but the whole iTunes situation also irritates me. If only it would just let me transfer them, instead of “connect to iTunes so I can show you your folders” — that drives me crazy.
And not adding a Micro SD or normal SD slot to these Apple products — just to push higher capacities — really annoys me. I’m getting worked up again. Right now Samsung is starting to look more appealing again. Hats off to Samsung — they do make great stuff. Another thing I don’t understand: when a new iPhone or iPad comes out, the older models should drop a lot in price. But they don’t drop much. Samsung prices fall fast — I don’t know how they manage that.
Aside from this, another thing I like on the Mini is how notifications stay organized on the home screen even when it’s locked. The camera didn’t impress me. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a great camera on it. I don’t shoot photos or videos with the iPad — there’s barely any space, and if I filled it with media there’d be none left. Plus, taking photos or videos with a big-screened device has always struck me as odd. Side note, unrelated: even the whole selfie thing feels strange to me.
iPad Mini box
Something I don’t quite understand — while Samsung gets occasional freezes, the iPad never seems to freeze. Are they doing something special, or is it because they custom-tune the software for the device? I don’t know. No issue on that front. Also, there’s no full-screen Instagram for iPad Mini — couldn’t they have spent five minutes resizing it?
Overall, I’m about 70% satisfied with the iPad Mini. I now do most of my daily social stuff from it. The games I play are also more fun on the iPad Mini than on the S3. Online series feel better on the iPad too. Since my laptop is 2.5 kg and uses more energy, the iPad Mini wins on portability — that’s another reason I went for it. If only it had an SD slot, it would’ve been amazing — really, what would adding an SD slot even cost them? That’s it from me. Stay well. Peace be with you. Catch you later.
