The iPad Mini 3 is now out on the market as the less hyped younger brother of the iPad Air 2. Both were revealed back at Apple's press event earlier this month, but only the iPad Air 2 got any substantive stage time. Now, it's a little easier to see why.
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Usually in these review round-ups, you'd see a list of review scores from different media outlets followed by quotes about the hardware. For this particular product, though, that might not be the most efficient tactic since every media outlet is saying the same thing: The iPad Mini 3 is just an iPad Mini 2 with Touch ID and a gold color option.
A quick trip to Apple's iPad comparison page is enough to confirm this for yourself. The iPad Mini 3 is functionally identical to the iPad Mini 2 – with the exact same specs and dimension – with two small additions, Touch ID and a gold color option for the case.
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Now, many of these reviews point out that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The iPad Mini 2 is still a relatively competitive tablet. The only problem is that the 16 GB version of the iPad Mini 2 – which Apple is kind enough to keep in production – is $100 dollars cheaper than the 16 GB iPad Mini 3. So unless you absolutely need Touch ID on an 8-inch tablet (or if you need more storage space than 32 GB, as large as the Mini 2 gets), then you're better off saving a little money and picking up an iPad Mini 2.
The only other downside to Apple's lack of innovation in the iPad Mini 3 is that is gets in the way of the message Apple tried to send in the tablet world that bigger isn't always better. As The Verge points out, last year's iPad Air and iPad Mini 2 were identical in performance. The only choice a buyer had to make was which size they preferred. This year, there is no smaller version to match the iPad Air 2. It stands in its own class this year, and those who want a smaller tablet experience once again need to compromise on performance.