Apple announced the 6th Gen iPad (2018) in March. My kids are currently using the iPad Mini 4. Now anything older, Apple no longer support. It made me think about upgrading. At the moment Best Buy and Apple are accepting trade ins for $145. I checked eBay and used are selling for around $150 – 270. But after fees, shipping costs, my time and a possible “picky” buyer who may return it based on the condition, I chose to just trade it in with Apple. Plus, I used the education discount.
Aside from the possible dropping of Apple support in the near future, I was looking forward to the CPU upgrade. The iPad Mini 4 uses the A8 CPU while the 6th Gen iPad uses the A10 Fusion chip (same as iPhone 7 and 7 Plus). This also has the M10 co-processor (check out the full spec sheet) I also liked how it finally supports the Apple Pencil.
My youngest son with benefit largely. He will be starting kindergarten soon and he’s learning to write. Many of his activities consist of tracing so I will be getting apps for him to use that involves tracing letters and numbers. I want him to also practice color. There is supposed to be a crayon from Logitech but so far it looks like it can only be purchased through an education institution. Hopefully, I can buy it from his school. They are currently using Chromebooks so I’m not sure.
But what will I be giving up leaving the iPad Mini 4. You would think all the features are found in the newer model. Not exactly. According to Macworld, here is what I will lose in the new iPad.
- Laminated display
- Both have the same resolution (2048×1536) but the 6th gen iPad has a lower pixel density at 264ppi vs 326ppi
- Anit-reflective coating
- Pay the $169 (with edu discount) plus taxes
I have the 2nd gen iPad Pro and I have an Apple Pencil. I have easily paired between both iPads. I have my own Apple ID on the iPad Pro and I set up my son’s account on his. I can easily pair between the two iPads but plugging in the pencil on the lightning port. It then asks if I want to pair the pencil with the device.
I’m glad it isn’t similar to how the Airpod pairing. Though the pairing of Airpods are easy, my iPad is using my profile while the new iPad has my son’s profile. It would be more of a pain switching.
If you have an aging iPad and don’t mind the trade in value from Best Buy or Apple, you should consider it. We actually have done this before with our 1st gen iPad at Target. We were able to get a $200 gift card – wow!
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