iPad Mini Shopping? Buy the iPad mini 2, Not the iPad mini 3

Gold iPad mini 3
Gold iPad mini 3

The iPad mini 3 adds a gold color option and not much else. (Getty Images)

Usually, when people ask me if the new iPhone, or iPad, or i-whatever, is that much better than last year’s, I’m compelled to say it is.

Even if the design doesn’t change, the newest i-device generally gets a better processor, which makes it faster than last year’s model; a nicer screen; a better camera; and dozens of other little tweaks that make it a noticeably improved product over whatever came before it.

Using the device, you can tell how much quicker, sharper, and more capable it is than last year’s model. Once you use it, you get it.

This year’s iPad mini marks a notable departure. The iPad mini 3 is basically the same device as the iPad mini 2, with no noticeable performance upgrades in any of the places you would want or expect Apple to improve. The iPad mini 3 features the exact same design as the iPad mini 2; it comes with the exact same screen and the exact same cameras. It didn’t get any thinner or lighter; its processor and graphics chip are the same.

READ: iPad mini, iPad Air, iMac All Updated at Apple Event

The only changes? This year’s iPad mini adds the Touch ID fingerprint scanner. It is also available in a gold color option.

And that’s it. The iPad mini 3 still costs $399, same as last year. 2013’s iPad mini — which, remember, is essentially the same device as the iPad mini 3, except without Touch ID — saw its price drop to $299.

So, you might be wondering, why buy the iPad mini 3? Is the Touch ID feature, and the option to get your iPad mini in gold, really worth $100?

If you’re the type of person who blows her nose with $100 bills, then go ahead and drop a Benji on a fingerprint scanner. For the rest of us, however, the iPad mini 3 is not worth the extra cash. The iPad mini 3 is a Scrooge McDuck device; the iPad mini 2 is for Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Many tech writers agree with me — if not with the Donald Duck comparisons, then at least with my point about the iPad mini. Reviewers have been lukewarm on the iPad mini 3, many of them noting how similar it is to the iPad mini 2. Brian Barrett of Gizmodo, in an article headlined “The iPad Mini 3 Is a Terrible Deal and You Shouldn’t Buy It,” suggests that “If you’re going to buy an iPad Mini,” you should buy the iPad mini 2. Chris Welch at The Verge reached a similar conclusion, finding that “the iPad mini 3 just isn’t a good deal for most people.” He, too, recommends the iPad mini 2 over the iPad mini 3.

Buying screen for iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 3
Buying screen for iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 3

You want the one on the right. (Apple)

I do as well. The iPad mini 3 simply isn’t enough of an improvement over the iPad mini 3 to justify spending $100 more on it.

READ: iPad mini 3 vs. Galaxy Tab 8.4: The Apple-Samsung Tiny Tablet Tussle

$399 for the iPad mini 3? Forget it. With this year’s iPad mini, you’re better off going for miniature numbers: The iPad mini 2, not 3, for $299, not $399. In this case, smaller is better, in more ways than one.

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