ipad Air 2 or iPad mini 3

Robert walker · Jun 21, 2015

In anticipation of my Inspire 1 arriving in a few days, I am trying to figure out which one of the ipad Air 2 or iPad mini would be optimal. I plan to use my iPhone 6+ for my initial flights. I'm pretty sure I would benefit from a larger screen.

John Alan · Jun 21, 2015

Be aware of the iPad Air 2 not liking to work well on real hot days,,,

Several threads in here with reports of this now known issue...

the latest...
http://www.inspirepilots.com/threads/maximum-operating-temperature.3869/

That said... I like my Air 2 for it's size...

Have used my iPhone 6 (not plus) once... to confirm it works as my backup...
But wow everything is so small...

Have not flown behind a mini...

Robert walker · Jun 22, 2015

Good info there on higher temps. I'll now keep all equipment in the air conditioned car as much as possible in the field.

Still wondering if an iPad mini would provide a big enough picture - I'm tending to think the full size iPad's larger screen might be well worth being slightly more cumbersome.

Merci45k · Jun 22, 2015

I currently have the iPad 4. mini 3 and iPhone 6+ out of all of them I feel the mini is just the perfect size and weight. I haven't tried the air 2, but the iPad 4 and air 2 are fairly close to the same dimension specs.

Robert walker · Jun 22, 2015

Good to know - I may just go pick up an iPad mini 2 - cheaper and supposedly the only diff between the 2 an 3 is the 3 got the fingerprint feature.

Mike Ellgood · Jun 22, 2015

I use the IPad mini 3. And it's fine. I did try the IPad Air 2. But feels to cumbersome and awkward. So the IPad 2/3. Would be my choice to

sirnikolas · Jun 22, 2015

I've got the Air 2. Can't go wrong with screenestate

I've used mine in 40 degrees C days and it's never missed a beat.

rilot · Jun 22, 2015

I have a Mini 2 and an Air 2. The Air 2 is awesome but does suffer from the occasional reboot caused by the hardware decoder in the Pilot app. The Mini 2 has no such issue.
My preference is for the Mini 2 as it's a fair bit cheaper, fits easily in the little slot in the Inspire case, and is less cumbersome.

Forget the Mini 3. It's the same as the Mini 2 but with the fingerprint sensor for a lot more money.

Jeroen van Craaikamp · Jun 22, 2015

To avoid latency (delay in on screen display of what the drone camera sees), you need a heavy processor in your tablet/phone. The iPad Air 2 is the only apple tablet with an A8 processeor. iPhone6 also has an A8. iPad Mini's all have a A7 processor (which is not fast enough to deal with the HD video, especially if you have other stuff running on the mini).

In September most likely Apple will come out with a iPad Mini-4, which will get an A8 as well. If you have an iPhone6 and don't want to buy a rather bulky iPad Air 2, i recommend your to fly this summer with the iPhone6 and buy an iPad Mini-4 in September.

I had exactly the same dilemma but choose to buy the iPad Air-2 4G/64GB for the Pilot Controller, since i don't mind that the iPad Air-2 is a bit big (I also use the tablet for other purposes). On the camera controller I have a Flysight Black Pearl 7" HD monitor with sunshade plus an iPhone6 Plus. Display of FBP7" is brighter than any tablet/phone and there is little to no latency with a HDMi monitor. De iPhone6 Plus is set to map view and Monitor displays camera view.

dreadwing · Jun 22, 2015

iPad mini 2/3 works really well. I also have an Air 2, but like others, I've had it shutdown mid flight due to overheating issues. I do love the size of the Air 2, but for reliability, with still excellent video, I would go with the mini 2 or 3.

Jeroen van Craaikamp · Jun 22, 2015

I don't doubt for a second that dreadwing is truly happy with the mini 2/3. The mini's with the A7 are indeed already much faster than the early ones with an A5. If you turn off wifi/bluetooth, close all open apps and just run DJI Pilot App (i.e. no Zhou screen recording) mini 2/3 will probably work fine. When i did some research on the matter, I stumbled on quite a few people who were not so happy with their mini 2/3's (e.g. look at http://forum.dji.com/thread-7867-1-1.html).

Other thing: IOS9 will soon come out. Usually new versions of IOS are more processor hungry than the previous version. Maybe the A7 mini's can handle the video well on IOS8, but will they still be able to do so on IOS9 ? I really don't know but I wouldn't risk it and buy iPad Air-2 now or wait 2 months for a mini-4 with an A8 processor. According to my Apple Dealer: "The A8's will love IOS9".

note: Since i don't have a glass bowl and failed the fortune-teller exam, the views herein are based on rumours that I have heard/read/seen on http://appleinsider.com/articles/15...on-update-ipad-mini-with-a8-cpu-80211ac-wi-fi. I.e Apple officially did not announce IOS9 or the mini with an A8 yet.

Outta Control · Jun 22, 2015

I currently run with an A2 but unlike the other have yet experienced an overheat shut down. I am in the belief that the reason mine doesn't overheat is because my setup includes an iPad case cover. This acts as an insulator against the sun's heat. Both are also attached via a Secraft mount which has the ability to secure both iPad and case cover.

dreadwing · Jun 22, 2015

I'll probably skip the IOS9 update for awhile. I do want 8.4 so I can still jailbreak. It will be interesting to see when the iPad 4 is released and to make sure that doesn't have the same heating issues as the Air 2 and you can turn hardware decoding without issues like you can with the Mini 2/3.

I do not keep a case on the A2, but probably should at least try a sunshade.

rilot · Jun 22, 2015

Jeroen van Craaikamp said:
I don't doubt for a second that dreadwing is truly happy with the mini 2/3. The mini's with the A7 are indeed already much faster than the early ones with an A5. If you turn off wifi/bluetooth, close all open apps and just run DJI Pilot App (i.e. no Zhou screen recording) mini 2/3 will probably work fine. When i did some research on the matter, I stumbled on quite a few people who were not so happy with their mini 2/3's (e.g. look at http://forum.dji.com/thread-7867-1-1.html).

Works perfectly for me too. The frame rate is a bit better with my Air 2 than my Mini 2 but there's little in it. I'd hardly say that the Mini 2 was not powerful enough.
You do have to turn on hardware decode with the Mini 2. Maybe that's why people thought the performance was bad. In software decode it's very bad indeed.

I never turn off anything else and just and just fly.

I fly with the Air 2, Mini 2, and Nvidia Shield regularly. I rate them in that order too for performance but the Mini 2 wins it for convenience.

dreadwing · Jun 22, 2015

I really wanted to like the Shield, but it always crashed and could not run OSD and HDMI out form the controller at the same time which was a deal breaker itself.

I now use the mini 3 exclusively.

Yogi · Jun 22, 2015

I use both IPad mini2 and Air 2

I love the bigger screen of the Air2, but both work great. Air2 has a bit of anti-glare coating that helps. Mini2 is a little bit easier on the arms.

Don't think there's a right or wrong answer to this one.

FangsCPO · Jun 22, 2015

You guys have my head spinning!!! LOL!!! Air 2, Mini 2, Mini 3, Nvidia Shield, etc. I guess they all have their pluses and minuses. I just have to bite the bullet and see what I finally decide on.

Ascender · Jul 3, 2015

Outta Control said:
I currently run with an A2 but unlike the other have yet experienced an overheat shut down. I am in the belief that the reason mine doesn't overheat is because my setup includes an iPad case cover. This acts as an insulator against the sun's heat. Both are also attached via a Secraft mount which has the ability to secure both iPad and case cover.

Can you use a sunshade for the A2 with the Secraft mount? If so, which one?