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Model: Smart Folio for iPad mini (2021) - Electric Orange
Deal History
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Sale Price does not include sale prices at Amazon unless a deal was posted by a community member.
Doesn't cover the edges. I'm not careful enough to trust that I wouldn't drop the tablet.
That's totally intentional too. Apple's repair services & AppleCare are a serious profit center.
So they sell a normally overpriced accessory.....which doesn't offer any meaningful protection.....so they can offer repair and warranty, at an additional cost.
A suggestion for a better accessory is the Moshi Versacover. It has front, back, and edge protection. As well as a foldable cover which converts into a stand, but unlike the single upright position that Apple's cover has, Moshi's cover has 3 different positions that are much more stable due to the increased surface area.
And at MSRP, Moshi's Versacover is cheaper than Apple's Cover.
Last edited by LavenderPickle7682 February 5, 2023 at 12:19 AM.
Doesn't cover the edges. I'm not careful enough to trust that I wouldn't drop the tablet.
I notice that about all the Apple cases- they have strategically weak and/or missing protection where devices are vulnerable. The cases look great and hold up, but they are expensive and don't protect the phones and iPads like better designed cases which are also often less expensive. When I'm carrying around something that can cost $1,000-$1,500 or more, I do my best to protect it and that means no Apple cases.
Last edited by Slacky February 5, 2023 at 10:18 AM.
About the Mini, it's a great little iPad for reading and watching YouTube and movies on. I use mine 95% of the time in landscape and it works great for that purpose. I find it easy to notice the "jelly scrolling" issue but only while in portrait mode (5% of the time for me) and don't find it that troubling. Don't get me wrong, I miss the 120Hz display I used to have on the iPad Pro... But find the trade-off worthwhile for the decreased weight and bulk. This thing is my night time reader/consumption device and works excellent for short and long haul flights as well. For anything beyond that, I turn to my 16" M1 beast-master laptop haha. As others have covered, the scaling is a bit weird in iPad OS for this model, but it is partially because the pixel density on the Mini is actually the highest of all iPads.. So yeah, if you have 20/10 laser vision then you will appreciate the slight sharpness bump haha. Sadly, I did pay through the nose at launch for the 256GB model, but 64GB was not gonna cut it for my purposes (downloading half of YouTube and the iTunes Store to my iPad to watch at-sea on my ship where we have no internet capability). To each his own, just know what you're getting into. I love mine and will probably hold on to it until the battery dies some day! At least I have no value in upgrading to an M1 or M2 or using Stage Manager ever at any point on it haha.
About the Mini, it's a great little iPad for reading and watching YouTube and movies on. I use mine 95% of the time in landscape and it works great for that purpose. I find it easy to notice the "jelly scrolling" issue but only while in portrait mode (5% of the time for me) and don't find it that troubling. Don't get me wrong, I miss the 120Hz display I used to have on the iPad Pro... But find the trade-off worthwhile for the decreased weight and bulk. This thing is my night time reader/consumption device and works excellent for short and long haul flights as well. For anything beyond that, I turn to my 16" M1 beast-master laptop haha. As others have covered, the scaling is a bit weird in iPad OS for this model, but it is partially because the pixel density on the Mini is actually the highest of all iPads.. So yeah, if you have 20/10 laser vision then you will appreciate the slight sharpness bump haha. Sadly, I did pay through the nose at launch for the 256GB model, but 64GB was not gonna cut it for my purposes (downloading half of YouTube and the iTunes Store to my iPad to watch at-sea on my ship where we have no internet capability). To each his own, just know what you're getting into. I love mine and will probably hold on to it until the battery dies some day! At least I have no value in upgrading to an M1 or M2 or using Stage Manager ever at any point on it haha.
*Just got my tracking info today!
i got the ipad air for $313 from that td deal but am thinking maybe i should sell it and get the mini. i know on paper it doesn't make sense but i have the base 9th gen ipad and rarely use it because it's just too big and all i ever do is read content. i just wonder if the mini would be more portable and allow me have it be more easily accesible.
at the same time, maybe i shouldn't be using an ipad at all to limit my screen time
I have 3 amazon type $10-$15 covers for my family's minis, but I figured for $15 we can try this.
It's actually way better. What I didn't understand is that it attached magnetically while all the amazon cheap ones surround the sides of the mini, which makes it bulkier and hard to take off, while slowing wireless charging to the pencil.
This one is also very thin, and when you fold it back to open it, it adds almost no thickness unlike the amazon cases.
Ended up buying one of these for each of our family's minis.
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I have 3 amazon type $10-$15 covers for my family's minis, but I figured for $15 we can try this.
It's actually way better. What I didn't understand is that it attached magnetically while all the amazon cheap ones surround the sides of the mini, which makes it bulkier and hard to take off, while slowing wireless charging to the pencil.
This one is also very thin, and when you fold it back to open it, it adds almost no thickness unlike the amazon cases.
Ended up buying one of these for each of our family's minis.
i got the ipad air for $313 from that td deal but am thinking maybe i should sell it and get the mini. i know on paper it doesn't make sense but i have the base 9th gen ipad and rarely use it because it's just too big and all i ever do is read content. i just wonder if the mini would be more portable and allow me have it be more easily accesible.
at the same time, maybe i shouldn't be using an ipad at all to limit my screen time
i had done a PM from bestbuy and yes, it shipped and was delivered. but it sits unopened as i think im going to sell it. as much as i want to use it , i barely use my 9th gen and the 64gb is too low for me as on my 9th gen im already at 45 gigs full.
i had done a PM from bestbuy and yes, it shipped and was delivered. but it sits unopened as i think im going to sell it. as much as i want to use it , i barely use my 9th gen and the 64gb is too low for me as on my 9th gen im already at 45 gigs full.
what about you?
Damn bro you got lucky then. I got to know about the deal late and by then BB had stopped PM, so I bit the bullet and ordered from TD directly. Not sure it will ship but it hasn't been cancelled yet. I ordered the 11" pro and I have a Mini 4 currently. I would have preferred to get a deal for mini 6 but there wasn't one!
I notice that about all the Apple cases- they have strategically weak and/or missing protection where devices are vulnerable. The cases look great and hold up, but they are expensive and don't protect the phones and iPads like better designed cases which are also often less expensive. When I'm carrying around something that can cost $1,000-$1,500 or more, I do my best to protect it and that means no Apple cases.
Late last year I upgraded from an iPad Air 3 to an iPad Air 5. The 3rd gen had edges that were a little more rounded on the back corners, and still had the home button with Touch ID. The 5th gen has more squared off corners, and no more home button on the face---Touch ID has moved to the sleep/wake button on the top right edge (in portrait orientation). The sleep/wake button and the volume buttons are also more low profile than the 3rd gen design.
I had an ESR trifold smart cover case on the iPad Air 3, and it worked well. It provided the tri-fold cover protection and stand features like Apple's Smart Folio case, but the iPad snapped into a clear shell for protection on the back and sides. Zero complaints.
I ordered the same style ESR case for the iPad Air 5--but I am not as happy with it. With the case covering the more squared off edges of the 5th gen, it is not as comfortable or nice to hold in the hand as the 3rd gen. The sleep/wake and volume buttons are also more difficult to interact with. The volume buttons are covered by buttons on the case, making them more difficult to press--I think their low profile and lesser amount of travel cause this. Sleep-wake being recessed in a cut-out in the case makes it a less reliability hit target for Touch ID.
The case functions well as designed, I just don't think the design of the Air 5 lends itself well to that wrap around style of case. I'm going to pick up a Smart Folio---once I find a deal--as I think using the bare iPad will be a better experience, and having protection in a bag or for setting on a table, etc will be sufficient. I handle iPads more like laptops than phones---so it's not as likely to be dropped or damaged on the unprotected edge as my iPhone may be, for example.
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So they sell a normally overpriced accessory.....which doesn't offer any meaningful protection.....so they can offer repair and warranty, at an additional cost.
A suggestion for a better accessory is the Moshi Versacover. It has front, back, and edge protection. As well as a foldable cover which converts into a stand, but unlike the single upright position that Apple's cover has, Moshi's cover has 3 different positions that are much more stable due to the increased surface area.
And at MSRP, Moshi's Versacover is cheaper than Apple's Cover.
*Just got my tracking info today!
*Just got my tracking info today!
at the same time, maybe i shouldn't be using an ipad at all to limit my screen time
It's actually way better. What I didn't understand is that it attached magnetically while all the amazon cheap ones surround the sides of the mini, which makes it bulkier and hard to take off, while slowing wireless charging to the pencil.
This one is also very thin, and when you fold it back to open it, it adds almost no thickness unlike the amazon cases.
Ended up buying one of these for each of our family's minis.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
It's actually way better. What I didn't understand is that it attached magnetically while all the amazon cheap ones surround the sides of the mini, which makes it bulkier and hard to take off, while slowing wireless charging to the pencil.
This one is also very thin, and when you fold it back to open it, it adds almost no thickness unlike the amazon cases.
Ended up buying one of these for each of our family's minis.
at the same time, maybe i shouldn't be using an ipad at all to limit my screen time
what about you?
what about you?
https://www.verizon.com/products/...sku4710022
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I had an ESR trifold smart cover case on the iPad Air 3, and it worked well. It provided the tri-fold cover protection and stand features like Apple's Smart Folio case, but the iPad snapped into a clear shell for protection on the back and sides. Zero complaints.
I ordered the same style ESR case for the iPad Air 5--but I am not as happy with it. With the case covering the more squared off edges of the 5th gen, it is not as comfortable or nice to hold in the hand as the 3rd gen. The sleep/wake and volume buttons are also more difficult to interact with. The volume buttons are covered by buttons on the case, making them more difficult to press--I think their low profile and lesser amount of travel cause this. Sleep-wake being recessed in a cut-out in the case makes it a less reliability hit target for Touch ID.
The case functions well as designed, I just don't think the design of the Air 5 lends itself well to that wrap around style of case. I'm going to pick up a Smart Folio---once I find a deal--as I think using the bare iPad will be a better experience, and having protection in a bag or for setting on a table, etc will be sufficient. I handle iPads more like laptops than phones---so it's not as likely to be dropped or damaged on the unprotected edge as my iPhone may be, for example.
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