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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > Refurb 32gb mini vs new 16gb retina mini

Refurb 32gb mini vs new 16gb retina mini
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Rod ski
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Nov 20, 2013, 09:51 PM
 
Giving 2 ipad minis for Christmas to 2 kids but not sure what models to give. One is a refurbished 32gb original mini I paid $339 a piece for at the apple store and the other choice is a new retina mini 16gb for the standard $399 a piece. I'm struggling whether the original mini is going to have a shorter usefulness and lifespan for games etc than the new ones and even though the $339 I feel is a good price for 32gb. I'd be losing 16gb going to the new mini and paying $500 for a 32 new mini is too expensive. Any thoughts on what is the better option? These are for 7&8 year olds who do videos pictures etc with their friends. Thanks for any advice!
     
ghporter
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Nov 21, 2013, 07:43 AM
 
Greetings, and welcome to our forums!

Recently, my wife and I replaced her first gen iPad (16GB) with a refurbished 32GB iPad Mini. The screen is way clearer than my iPad 2's, even without being a Retina display. Kids the ages you're talking about should be just fine with that resolution. I'd go that way again for my wife or me.

Again, welcom to the forums!

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
icruise
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Nov 21, 2013, 01:15 PM
 
It's a bit of a tricky question, since I feel that 16GB is too small generally speaking, but the new retina mini is so much faster and nicer overall than the original that it's difficult to recommend going with the original version. You're definitely going to get a longer useful lifespan out of the retina version.

But then again these are 7 & 8-year-old kids, so it's true that they might not really care about the nicer screen. Maybe the extra storage is worth the tradeoff for them, as long as they don't plan to be playing a lot of 3D games, which would be clearly better on the new version.
     
Rod ski  (op)
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Nov 21, 2013, 05:47 PM
 
Thanks for the responses to date! It is a tricky question as you say icruise - 16gb is small these days, but the trade off of having a new mini over the older one with more space might still be worth considering.
     
icruise
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Nov 24, 2013, 02:15 PM
 
Just thought I would add that Staples is currently selling new units of the old iPad Mini for $249, so that might be a good alternative to a refurb for $239.
     
subego
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Nov 24, 2013, 11:50 PM
 
It's a catch-22.

The smaller the storage, the quicker you're going to want to get rid of it for a model with more space. If you're going to get rid of it quickly, you should theoretically get the cheaper one. That has more space, so you'll keep it longer. If you're going to keep it awhile, the retina becomes more important, but it doesn't have as much storage...
     
   
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