The latest iteration of Apple iPad Minis, the new iPad Mini 4 released September, 2015, is considered both an innovation over the lack-luster and dismal iPad Mini 3 and an upgrade overdue to iPad Air 2.  Both iPad users and critics had their say on the latest iPad Mini 4 and most of them agree on some of its negative and positive points.

The new iPad Mini 4 runs on current iOS 9 which, as many attested, is the best operating system for the latest iPad Mini version to date.  According to Chris Velazco of Endgadget, however, there are few let-downs accorded the iPad Mini 4, to wit:   rotation lock is gone, less powerful than the iPad Air 2, and its base model only carries 16GB of storage.  On the other hand, Velazco cited some of the unit's strong points; namely, vibrant screen, respectable battery life, iOS 9 on-board, and solid performance.

Despite these minimal deviations, the overall charisma of the new iPad Mini 4 still ends up not as engaging as its older (and bigger) iPad siblings most especially the iPad Air 2.  The iPad Air 2 design has been carried over to the iPad Mini 4 chassis making them appear as "twin siblings" albeit without the more powerful processor the former had as stacked up against the latter. 

Velazco also cited that the iPad Air 2 had an A8X chipset while the iPad Mini 4 has an A8.  Likewise, the processor of iPad Air 2 was a triple core type as compared to iPad Mini 4 that is only a dual core type.  Both iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 4, nevertheless, carry the same 1.5 Ghz Typhoon processor providing speed and lag-free interaction for both units.  This lone plus point makes iPad Mini 4 still a worthy device to purchase.

On the performance side of the iPad Mini 4, the Apple device continues to appeal to the senses delivering unequalled computing prowess while maintaining unrivalled visual aesthetics.  According to Chris Welch of The Verge, images are presented in glorious full high definition and watching movies or videos is a charm.  Taking photos is likewise lovely with the iPad Mini 4 thanks to its HD camera and pictures come out crisp, alive, and crystal clear it's almost 3D-like. The sound takes a backseat, though, due to its dual tinny speakers but remains acceptable to most.  Both base and treble sounds are "good but can be better" Welch commented afterwards.

The iPad Mini 4 is not physically "ground-breaking" as described by Welch.  He said that the iPad Mini 4 looks identical to the iPad Mini 3 in terms of dimensions.  He further cited that no major makeover was committed to the new iPad device and storage still has a measly 16 GB on-board as its base.

All in all, Welch concluded that this could almost be a mini IPad Air 2 but unfortunately isn't.

Finally, for the new iPad Mini 4, user experience is rated as "so-so" and received lukewarm response based on benchmark scores.  iPad Mini 4 compared to iPad Air 2 are "worlds apart". This is primarily due to the slower CPU installed inside iPad Mini 4 and thus, makes user experience a bit painful for most iPad followers accustomed to the robustness and speed of older iterations of the iPad series as revealed by Eric Slivka of Mac Rumors.  Although equipped with a gracious 2 GB on-board RAM, still the iPad Mini 4 falls short of meeting the set standards by the iPad series.

Overall, the new iPad Mini 4 is a hybrid between an improvement over the very disappointing iPad Mini 3 and a much-needed upgrade but overdue to iPad Air 2.  Users will definitely enjoy using the iPad Mini 4 for all its worth and, as always, will always remain to be on top of the competition.