What's like Apple News and/or an iPad Mini?
July 17, 2023 4:20 AM
I bought an iPad Mini 6 on Prime Day because I’ve been wanting to replace my 10-year-old one and it was a good deal. But I’m a little disappointed, and it’s returnable, so I have two big questions... one about Mini alternatives and the other about Apple News alternatives.
My 10-year-old Mini needs replacing, but I only use it for web-browsing and Apple News. For everything else, I use other devices, and that’s unlikely to change. Those other devices are Apples now, but I may switch in the future. My questions:
1. If you’ve used both, is there a cheap non-Apple tablet that provides a comparable experience for web-browsing? With a nice screen for my aging vision? Or are there reasons to stick with the Mini, even though I won’t use its zillion other capabilities? Between the Prime Day sale and other promotions, the Mini was about $350+tax, before cash back. That’s a great price for a new Mini 6 – it’s less than used or refurbished, and not a ton more than a used or refurbished Mini 5, which is 4-year-old technology. But my impression is that it’s expensive for a dedicated web-browsing tablet in general. There’s nothing wrong with the Mini, but it doesn’t give me that new-Apple-device feeling that sometimes has justified a premium for me before. I don’t know the non-Apple world at all, and I see a bunch of cheap, new tablets, including the ~8”x5” size I’d like. Is there one of those I should get instead?
2. Is there a good substitute for Apple News, with the following qualities, that runs on non-Apple tablets? I use the free version of Apple News. It's far from perfect, but after a lot of both automatic and intentional customization, it’s what I like for my daily news check-in. I know I’ll see the top headlines, and not a lot of clickbait (ahem, Google News), yet it won't be totally dry either (ahem, AP news). I can see a bunch of major news sources in one place, including world and local area news. I can tell before clicking whether a story is subscriber-only, and even then, I can see enough of the headline to know whether to search for another source. In summary: free, customizable, diverse major sources, world and local news, and a nice middle-ground between too click-baity on one side and too dry on the other. Is there an alternative?
My 10-year-old Mini needs replacing, but I only use it for web-browsing and Apple News. For everything else, I use other devices, and that’s unlikely to change. Those other devices are Apples now, but I may switch in the future. My questions:
1. If you’ve used both, is there a cheap non-Apple tablet that provides a comparable experience for web-browsing? With a nice screen for my aging vision? Or are there reasons to stick with the Mini, even though I won’t use its zillion other capabilities? Between the Prime Day sale and other promotions, the Mini was about $350+tax, before cash back. That’s a great price for a new Mini 6 – it’s less than used or refurbished, and not a ton more than a used or refurbished Mini 5, which is 4-year-old technology. But my impression is that it’s expensive for a dedicated web-browsing tablet in general. There’s nothing wrong with the Mini, but it doesn’t give me that new-Apple-device feeling that sometimes has justified a premium for me before. I don’t know the non-Apple world at all, and I see a bunch of cheap, new tablets, including the ~8”x5” size I’d like. Is there one of those I should get instead?
2. Is there a good substitute for Apple News, with the following qualities, that runs on non-Apple tablets? I use the free version of Apple News. It's far from perfect, but after a lot of both automatic and intentional customization, it’s what I like for my daily news check-in. I know I’ll see the top headlines, and not a lot of clickbait (ahem, Google News), yet it won't be totally dry either (ahem, AP news). I can see a bunch of major news sources in one place, including world and local area news. I can tell before clicking whether a story is subscriber-only, and even then, I can see enough of the headline to know whether to search for another source. In summary: free, customizable, diverse major sources, world and local news, and a nice middle-ground between too click-baity on one side and too dry on the other. Is there an alternative?
I'm not sure that there's as much of a difference between 'web browsing' and 'other things' as you might be assuming. Modern websites tend to be pretty computationally intensive - this is arguably a bad thing, but it's still true. "Can run complex apps" and "can deal with modern websites" are not exactly the same thing, but the hardware necessary for a good web browsing experience is also going to just be more expensive, no matter what.
(I do want to call out that you might want to look at the larger "full size" iPad; it's actually cheaper than the mini when non-discounted, with a slightly slower processor you won't mind, and the larger screen will make it easier to bump font sizes up for aging vision. But going new, that's a heck of a good price for the mini that you got.)
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:12 AM on July 17, 2023
(I do want to call out that you might want to look at the larger "full size" iPad; it's actually cheaper than the mini when non-discounted, with a slightly slower processor you won't mind, and the larger screen will make it easier to bump font sizes up for aging vision. But going new, that's a heck of a good price for the mini that you got.)
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:12 AM on July 17, 2023
I bought a Samsung Galaxy A7 when my first-gen Mini started to show its age. I just couldn't justify the price of a new Mini when I mostly used it for web browsing, email, and Libby. And I'm otherwise an Android user, so having everything in the same ecosystem was attractive.
I hate the Galaxy Tab. It just doesn't work well! Laggy instead of smooth, storage is miniscule, random keyboard farts which means emails require a lot of review to avoid sending terrible typos or straight-up wrong words. Part of why I got it was to take notes at conferences/meetings, but it's way too dysfunctional to make that worthwhile. It's not just that I got a lemon, either -- I occasionally use a Mini 4 and a larger Galaxy Tab (I think 10 inch) for work-related purposes, and the difference between them is stark.
In tablet-land, honestly, Apple's the only viable option; all others are redheaded stepchildren.
posted by basalganglia at 9:25 AM on July 17, 2023
I hate the Galaxy Tab. It just doesn't work well! Laggy instead of smooth, storage is miniscule, random keyboard farts which means emails require a lot of review to avoid sending terrible typos or straight-up wrong words. Part of why I got it was to take notes at conferences/meetings, but it's way too dysfunctional to make that worthwhile. It's not just that I got a lemon, either -- I occasionally use a Mini 4 and a larger Galaxy Tab (I think 10 inch) for work-related purposes, and the difference between them is stark.
In tablet-land, honestly, Apple's the only viable option; all others are redheaded stepchildren.
posted by basalganglia at 9:25 AM on July 17, 2023
When you use Google News, are you signed in? You can refine the sources it shows you by removing them and sometimes rating them. In the iOS app, you select the three horizontal dots in the lower right of each story window and you can select "Hide all stories from..." Sometimes you can also pick "More stories like this" or "Fewer stories like this". It may take some time to train it to stop showing you so much clickbait, but it would be worth it.
posted by soelo at 11:18 AM on July 17, 2023
posted by soelo at 11:18 AM on July 17, 2023
I find inkl to be a reasonable alternative to Apple news. It uses a lot of news sources from around the world like The Guardian, The Bangkok Post, Politico etc. Many local news sources around the world are available. It's not free, but less than $10 per month isn't too bad.
posted by monotreme at 12:20 PM on July 17, 2023
posted by monotreme at 12:20 PM on July 17, 2023
If it was me, I'd recommend sticking with the new iPad mini that you got. Apple products can often be overpriced and annoying in their own way, but their screen definition is really nice.
posted by ovvl at 5:14 PM on July 17, 2023
posted by ovvl at 5:14 PM on July 17, 2023
Thank you! Unless something sways me in time, I’m keeping the Mini with a lot less angst about it than before your replies!
posted by daisyace at 6:25 AM on July 18, 2023
posted by daisyace at 6:25 AM on July 18, 2023
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posted by seanmpuckett at 6:56 AM on July 17, 2023