I’m soliciting your opinions on getting an iPad for my grandson. He is 5.5 yrs old, an avid reader, and thinks that reading his Bible and books on his little iPhone 5 (not the S) is the coolest thing ever. Whenever we talk on phone or via facetime, he reads to his gramma. Anyhow, with the announcement of the new iPad mini’s, I’m considering getting a new mini for myself. The question is what to do with my current iPad mini 4 . It works fine, but needs a new battery.
So the kids and I are debating:
get new battery in current iPad mini 4 & give to grandson
trade in current iPad and buy grandson a new iPad mini 5
One thing we’ve discussed is whether the iPad mini 4 might become obsolete software wise. There’s no point in giving him something that may be totally out of date in a few months or a year and unable to handle updates to the apps they are going to install for him.
I have enough in tax refund to cover the expense either way, so I’d appreciate your opinions.
I have a Mini 4 myself, and won’t be trading up just yet, but I would think that the Mini 5 is the best bet if you can afford it. The Mini 4 uses the same processor as the iPhone 6, and while it’s likely that it will see iOS 13 this fall, that may be the last update that it sees. Especially if the battery is shot on the 4 right now, the Mini 5 looks like it will be a great solution, and will receive iOS updates, for many years to come.
I’m soliciting your opinions on getting an iPad for my grandson. He is 5.5 yrs old, an avid reader, and thinks that reading his Bible and books on his little iPhone 5 (not the S) is the coolest thing ever. Whenever we talk on phone or via facetime, he reads to his gramma. Anyhow, with the announcement of the new iPad mini’s, I’m considering getting a new mini for myself. The question is what to do with my current iPad mini 4 . It works fine, but needs a new battery.
How wonderful that your grandson is an avid and intelligent reader, especially at such a young age, rather than being an obsessive game player! And he’s lucky to have such a devoted, kind and generous gramma.
So the kids and I are debating:
get new battery in current iPad mini 4 & give to grandson
trade in current iPad and buy grandson a new iPad mini 5
Either of these options are good, I think. I’m typing this on my 4th generation iPad I got when it was released in 2012. I’ve just started thinking about upgrading because just recently Netflix isn’t quite as snappy on it as it used to be after binging on a few episodes of a show in a row. But I’m not in any rush, even though it’s been a few years since Apple issued a system upgrade we could download. I have not had any problems with anything I’ve downloaded from iBooks, read on the Kindle App or online from the library. No problems with PDFs, Word or Pages documents, or anything else. And the apps I use regularly still get upgraded (including Netflix) even though my system hasn’t been upgradable for about about 3 years or so.
One thing we’ve discussed is whether the iPad mini 4 might become obsolete software wise. There’s no point in giving him something that may be totally out of date in a few months or a year and unable to handle updates to the apps they are going to install for him.
My thinking is that with a battery upgrade he’ll be more than thrilled with the Mini 4 and it will keep him busy with reading, puzzles and age appropriate apps and games for a few years. You can check at the App Store to see what system versions his favorite apps require.
Anyhow, with the announcement of the new iPad mini’s, I’m considering getting a new mini for myself. The question is what to do with my current iPad mini 4 . It works fine, but needs a new battery.