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New 2021 iPad mini and entry level iPad


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https://www.apple.com/

- both CPUs have been upgraded to the A13 and A15 CPUs

- entry level iPad (A13) keeps the headphone jack and lightning port

- iPad mini (A15) is USB-C, performance sits between the iPad Air (A14) and M1 iPads.

 

The mini might be the price-performance leader vs. the M1 iPads; especially since there aren"t many (any?) iOS apps that really take advantage of an M1. Plus the M1 was based on the older A14 so this new A15 CPU should give the M1 some stiff competition. Heck even the A13 in the entry level iPad is pretty over-powered for all the apps I can think of.

 

But I do have reservations about Apple"s focus on visual arts. Apple always seems to have big enhancements for video, photography and graphics - but audio features for making music always seem to get the shaft, like the step-child locked in the closet - iPad music makers have to do with whatever they can get. I wouldn"t be surprised if one-day we see an iPad with no ports, just wireless charging stations and wireless data/audio - based on what they"ve done before, that sounds very Apple-like. A perfect graphics tablet, not so great for making music.

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I fear the same. Apple has become very much form over function and I'm very much the opposite. I may not get the mini because it looks like they removed the headphone jack. Who gives a flying **** if the screen goes all the way to the edge (apparently a lot of people). I sure don't. I would have waited to see how people fared with usb-c but the lack of headphone jack takes away an important fallback option for audio IMO.

 

The ipad has the potential to be the "brains" of a very good keyboard rig but if it stays around as usable it won't be because Apple made that a priority, it will be dumb luck.

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In terms of iOS music apps, the price performance leader by the metric you lay out (can play any music app without issues) is probably the basic 6th or 7th gen model. When I looked into it, it turned out those do anything you need music-wise â and they"re only a couple hundred each on the refurb market. Anything newer is overkill if you only look at music capacity.

Numa X Piano 73 | Yamaha CP4 | Mojo 61 | Motion Sound KP-612s | Hammond M3

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there aren"t many (any?) iOS apps that really take advantage of an M1.

I thought they all did. I mean, basically, isn't the M1 just the newest, fastest version of the chips they've been using for iOS all along? It's only really "new" (and requiring specific apps to best take advantage of it) for Mac. That doesn't apply to iOS, where it provides the same benefits that faster chips always do. (ETA: I'm thinking you might mean that apps need to be designed to better take advantage of multiple cores, which is true, but I think the M1 chip should outperform the A-chips regardless, no?)

 

In terms of iOS music apps, the price performance leader by the metric you lay out (can play any music app without issues) is probably the basic 6th or 7th gen model. When I looked into it, it turned out those do anything you need music-wise â and they"re only a couple hundred each on the refurb market. Anything newer is overkill if you only look at music capacity.
For live performance, I think a faster model should provide additional benefit when running multiple apps at once, in being able to get the lowest possible latency (though it's certainly very possible that someone may find an older model perfectly adequate here); and also, when running multiple apps at once, models with more RAM should provide better performance/stability (and more of the newer models have more memory, I believe). For recording/DAW use, I suspect that the more capable models (just as on desktops) will do better when adding more and more tracks, applying fx, etc. So while I basically agree with you that, for most users, they can probably get all they need out of an older model, I think there can also be advantages to the newer models, even just from a music perspective. For my own personal use, I'm with you, an older one is probably sufficient (at least for what I've done so far), but I assume there are users who will benefit from better. Though at this point I still wouldn't buy a model without a headphone jack.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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My 5th gen works great for B-3X, but all gear eventually needs replacing. I'd prefer the form factor of the mini both for reading books and for sitting in my keyboard rig. I'd definitely lean toward the regular ipad though now due to the headphone port.
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I'm fairly new to music-making on an i-device but I've mentioned a few times here that my Air 2 - a seven-year old iPad - runs PurePiano and vTines at the lowest buffer setting and max voices I can set. I'm guessing I would have some issues if I wanted to have a large multi-timbral setup with 3 or 4 VIs going, controlled via AUM, etc. I was still surprised I could have a very playable electric and acoustic piano with reasonably low latency on an i-device as old as mine.
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I don't and won't run a stage rig off an iPad so I'm good with it.

 

I felt that way for a long time, but now I'm reconsidering iPad for live. The pandemic blew up the way we must play at our church gig with extreme social distancing, etc. So, I've been trying to go as wire-free as possible with iPad:

 

http://sandsoftwaresound.net/wire-less-part-1-korg-microkey-air-49/

http://sandsoftwaresound.net/wire-less-part-2-belkin-rockstar/

 

If only there was an in-built wireless audio solution other than latency-damaged Bluetooth audio... Apple? I should know better than to ask. :-)

 

All the best -- pj

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I know I'm the odd man out, but I like that Apple focuses on the visual artists with the iPads.

I don't and won't run a stage rig off an iPad so I'm good with it.

 

 

The System on a Chip (SoC) is focused speeding up processor intensive task like camera processing and AI. SoC is also good for your typical consumer apps because their CPU and RAM needs are small enough that the reduced amounts of RAM on a SoC works. SoC gets it's big performance boost from not having to go outside the chip for RAM. That's why there's still a big question about Apple SoC for doing Pro-duction level audio and video that needs lots of RAM and storage thing it would have to leave the SoC to access them.

 

Apple said a month or so ago the Mac Pro will stay Intel for awhile and reading between the lines they are discovering making a SoC big enough for production work is a bigger challenge than they anticipated. I think Apple like they've done in the past will pull back from the production level devices and stick to consumer and prosumer level products.

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I"d love to pick up an iPad. it would be best if the screen was the size of a sheet of paper. only the 12.9 inch models have that screen width/height - which once again is only available on the Pro line. I don"t need the processing power of the iPad Pro to read sheet music. So once again, Apple has used their keen feature and price tiering methods to squeeze maximum customer expense. Not to mention you can get 64gb of storage (ridiculous) or pony up for 256gb. No 128gb model. But they make the best stuff, have the best developer/app support - so time to break the bank again.

 

Maybe we"ll see a 12.9' iPad wifi with 128gb storage when the 14.1' iPad Pro hits. ;)

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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I"ve been waiting for the new iPad mini to be announced so prices can drop on its 2019 predecessor.

 

Cheers, Mike

 

 

That's not a bad idea. The mini has the size I want. it would be easier to place on my keyboard. Actually I'd look at using an iphone for B-3X but it won't run on it. I was hoping for an upgrade to my 5th gen ipad (mainly to future-proof it) but the lack of headphone jack means no sale. The larger size of the one that DOES have a headphone jack means no sale. Apple obviously has done their research and feels that leaving this cheap tiny part out is going to gain them more sales than lose. I'm unfortunately on the wrong side of that :)

 

I reckon I'll just ride my 5th gen until/if it dies and hold off on buying anything at this point.

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Apple obviously has done their research and feels that leaving this cheap tiny part out is going to gain them more sales than lose. I'm unfortunately on the wrong side of that :)

I don't know if it's true, but I read that the logic behind taking out the headphone part was that that it was necessary to reduce the size of the bezel, and people like when the screen goes closer to the edge. Basically, the height of the headphone jack wouldn't fit behind the screen, and at some point that became the limiting factor in how close they could get the screen to the edge without making the device thicker. But I'm with you, I won't buy an iOS device without a headphone jack, for as long as I can avoid it!

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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i'll never understand how the size of the bezel is such a super-important thing. It must offend some inner designer eye. Is it actually a good thing that the screen goes all the way to the edge?

 

The woman who runs our interior design dept at work has a similar mentality, form over function. Everything looks awesome until you go to use it. An example being handle-less cabinets where you have to guess which side to grab to open, and it's still a pain to open even when you guess right. Handles must offend that same inner eye I guess.

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Heads up to those who were waiting for an iPad mini 6 with a headphone jack. Walmart is selling their remaining stock of new mini 5's for $300. I got stuck with the white bezel/rose gold one as it is the only one they had left in stock. Best Buy and Target have yet to do any such action themselves with their remaining stock, but I didn't feel like I couldn't take the gamble. Not ideal, but way newer than my mini 2 that I can't even update to the latest IOS version.

 

F*** U APPLE!!!

The Players:  OB-X8, Numa Compact 2X, Kawai K5000S, cheap Korean guitars/basses, Roland TD-1KV e-drums.  Eurorack/Banana modular, Synth/FX DIY.

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I know I'm the odd man out, but I like that Apple focuses on the visual artists with the iPads.

I don't and won't run a stage rig off an iPad so I'm good with it.

 

I'm a neo-Luddite about them as music tools, although I think it can be a smart synth module in the studio. Its a bit like any other Apple computer. You pick your moment to buy, get all the memory you can and pack it with the best apps for that hardware version. Then semi-sandbox yourself, treating it as a stand-alone. Make Apple happy and buy a second iPad for online cruising. :rolleyes:

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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