Haven’t we been here before?

THE NEW IPAD MINI HAS FINALLY APPEARED. GOOD NEWS, BUT IT SEEMS AWFULLY FAMILIAR...

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TOUCH Y SUBJECT GO FOR GOLD INNER SPACE Use TouchID to secure your The mini 3 is available Muchos movies? Too many innermost thoughts and get in gold. Austin Powers’ third tunes? You’ll need the ready to pay online using enemy wouldn’t be able extra 128GB space only the only your finger next year to contain himself mini 3 can offer

Apple’s iPad mini will always sit in the (now slightly smaller) shadow of the iPad Air.

That was OK last year as, like the meaner sidekick to the clever lead, it packed more than enough punch. But things have changed. This year, Apple must have thought it was onto a good thing by pretty much changing nothing bar peeling off the ‘mini with Retina’ label and slapping a ‘mini 3’ sticker on top, before placing it back on the shelves.

After all, the mini 3 has the same processor, same screen, same shell, same battery and even the same smell (allegedly) as its predecessor. In fact, all that’s changed is its ability to scan your digits. And it comes in gold.

But does that make it a bad tablet? No, it doesn’t. This is still an iPad we’re talking about – it matters not what appears on the spec sheet, but what you can actually do with it. And with access to Apple’s bewilderingly brilliant sweet shop of apps, the mini 3 has the ability to perform admirably no matter what task you’re attempting, and we’re yet to find a game it struggles to play.

But here’s the kicker: Apple’s selling last year’s model (now officially called the iPad mini 2, which should save a few mistaken purchases) at a much cheaper price, so unless you’re desperate to secure your shiny precious with only your fingerprint we’d argue you’re better off with the almost-indentical-butcheaper mini 2. FROM $499, APPLE.COM/AU, OUT NOW LOVE Compact size. Secure TouchID. Nice design HATE Pretty much unchanged from iPad mini 2. Old CPU. The price is high T3 SAYS: A brilliant iPad, last time. With very few upgrades and the last model still available, it’s hard to recommend the new mini