Scott

Would have been nice to see the iPad mini comparison with screens on, really get the idea of usable screen.

Double-sided Lightning port? (I’m giving up on Lightning; I now believe Apple has made the decision to not pursue Lightning as a long-term connector format, so I’d be surprised to see double-sided here (which could be nearly-as-capable as USB Type-C, pin-wise, minus the legacy USB2 channel).)

And, in your expert opinion, how difficult do you folks think it would have been for Apple to have architected this chassis (and the iPad mini 5 chassis) to support the use of both laminated AND non-laminated displays? I would greatly like Apple, at some point, to show that they’re designing simultaneously for the needs of education/low-cost buyers and “$500 tablet” buyers, differentiating by screen quality and repair cost. The iPad mini 5 chassis -looks- like it could fit the mini 3 non-laminated display within it, if the proper standoffs were milled in (weren’t milled out). IMHO, seeing that kind of “long term vision” of chassis reuse would be a good sign. (I hold out hope of seeing the iPad mini 5th gen mobo in the iPad 7th gen.)

Can I just point out how much like a Lightning connector the “guts” of a Type-C connector is? Have we found a double-sided Lightning connector in the wild yet, maybe in the iPad Pro USB 3 Camera adapter?

Wow, ugh. Thanks for the reply. Once again, Apple’s “master” Designers do (seemingly) really stupid things.

Are you certain that the split in that trackpad cable over the center battery wouldn’t allow a bit of “service loop”, just enough to disengage the cable connector from the socket on the trackpad with a spudger without needing to remove the logic board? Seems a rather conspicuous cable design to not provide some benefit. If anything, I’d bet that flexing that cable split does yield some length, yet also leaves permanent (no warranty for you!) evidence it was done.

This is disappointing. I have seen too many iPad Airs with borked charging circuits, with behaviors like battery won’t charge but unit boots or will only boot when powered by a 2.1A block, but won’t sync. Apple has to be aware of this, and it is often attributed to a bad charging controller IC. Considering that many schools are giving iPads to kids to take home, and that parents may be less than judicious about sourcing “good” iPad chargers (Five Below, anyone?) and policing good cable management, this is lamentable on Apple’s part.

As with the battery compatibility, is the LCD panel interchangeable with the iPad 5th gen?

The Lightning connector IS double sided, however the pins are NOT NECESSARILY physically tied together in the connector; ergo it actually supports 16-pins, not 8. So it DOES matter. A double-sided port could hypothetically support Thunderbolt, or 2 USB3 channels. And we have seen, inexplicably, a double-sided port from Apple before in the iPad Pro. A fully 2-sided Lightning connector/port could be functionally as capable as USB Type-C, minus the legacy USB 2.0 lanes. (The Type-C connector ALWAYS maintains a legacy USB 2.0 pair; Apple would have no need for that legacy combination if Thunderbolt was their forward-looking target.)

Is the Lightning connector two-sided? Pins on both sides like we originally saw in the iPad Air 2 (IIRC) and larger iPad Pro?

This says "Always wait at least two minutes before reheating the iOpener", however the iOpener itself has a warning printed upon it that says wait at least 10 minutes. And that 10 minutes warning is also mentioned in Step 2 above.