Wednesday April 20, 2022; 10:16 AM EDT
- I received the iPad Mini 6 last Friday and it is meeting my expectations. Moving the Apple Pencil between the Mini and the iPad Air is a simple matter of attaching the pencil and waiting for the battery life notification to display, which confirms the Pencil is communicating with the iPad. The switch is nearly instantaneous so sharing the Pencil between the two will not be a problem. #
- Watching video is not a problem, though a larger screen is preferrable, but I definitely won't want to use it for reading sheet music. Sheet music is readable but basically on par with marching band music, which normally is closer to one's eyes than regular sheet music that is on a stand with two or three feet of distance between my eyes and the music. I also find handwriting on the screen feels cramped, it is ok for quick notes but writing for any length of time will be fatiguing. #
- I was pleasantly surprised that Apple included a charger and USB-C cable with the iPad Mini 6, given they stopped including chargers with other devices, I wasn't sure what to expect. We still have a few older iPads that require lightning cables, so I can't get rid of them entirely, but I can now travel with only one charger and one cable for all of my devices except my watch. If Apple would just make their watch either work with iPads or Android phones, I would seriously consider switching to the Apple Watch. I am looking forward to the upcoming Google I/O when Google will reveal their Pixel watch to learn about how it charges. Regardless, it is highly likely I'll be buying one but I am hoping it either charges wirelessly or via USB-C.#
- A note about the Out Of Box experience. I've got to note that at least for me with new iPads, Apple's OOB has become worse. First start was delayed by the installation of iPadOS 15.4.1 that took much too long to download and install, and there was no way for me to bypass that update for later. Next was the appearance of all the home screen widgets as white boxes after I finally got past the initial setup. It took me a while to figure out the problem is that none of the associated applications where installed and I have to install each app individually. Apple does at least transfer the icons and put them in the same place where they are on the "source" device. I really think Apple ought to include some information on first startup about the appearance of widgets until apps are installed, and I really wish Apple would make a way for one to easily reinstall all the apps that I transfer. In my mind if I choose to clone a new iPad from one I already own I am giving it permission to fully install the apps. As a compromise, with App Library now being available, how about at least letting the user specify installation of all apps within a group? Something must be easier than having to go through each and every app. #
- Bottom line, if I could only own one iPad, given that my primary use case is reading, I would pick the iPad Mini 6. I would make do with the limitations on some of the other use cases. I think in reality, I could replace the iPad Air with a standard, and lower cost, iPad given its larger screen and support for the Pencil. Surely the next iteration of standard iPad will include USB-C and support for Pencil 2, time has come to end them.#