I'm an owner of the iPad Mini 4 and use it at work five days a week with a third party bluetooth keyboard as my version of a mini iPad Pro. I love the size and the speed for the most part is fine. My wife has my original mini and it has gotten too long in the tooth. She has declared it too slow for browsing and it has been downgraded to Kindle books, Audible and light games like solitaire.
I'd probably stay with the Mini forever given my druthers. However I'm starting to have to upsize everything thanks to middle-aged eyes. I own the iPhone 7 now and will try to hold on to that size and just hope for a bigger screen in the future. I don't want to carry around a larger phone. I like the mini iPad. Bigger isn't always better or shouldn't be.
Apple knows better but would have been good to keep ipad mini at 32GB or 64GB and reduce price under $300
No.
Apple hates the iPad Mini. That is a fact. Why?
1. Margins suck. Really does. Shrinking the ipad does not make it cheaper to make 2. Don't sell enough units. So costs go up 3. It canibalizes iPhone Plus - this is the main reason. Apple does not want the Mini at $399 to canibalize iPhone Plus at $769. It just isn't good business
If sales of the Mini drop again this year, I will not be surprised if they just drop the Mini altogether.
Now look at next year. Apple will be releasing the iPhone X1 Plus. That will have a screen size over 6 inches. At that point the Mini is not needed at all.
Tim Cook used to say that "never fear canibalizaiton" was part of Apple's core philosophy. That is, they wouldn't cancel a product because it was taking sales from another Apple product.
If you're right, then that means a core part of what makes Apple has changed, and in a way that I don't think is good.
Hmm yes, that or Sog is the last person you should consider more trustworthy than Cook when it comes to how they manage their company. Seeing as Cook is actually there doing that, and Sog is just an anonymous blowhard on a rumors forum. So...
Apple knows better but would have been good to keep ipad mini at 32GB or 64GB and reduce price under $300
No.
Apple hates the iPad Mini. That is a fact. Why?
1. Margins suck. Really does. Shrinking the ipad does not make it cheaper to make 2. Don't sell enough units. So costs go up 3. It canibalizes iPhone Plus - this is the main reason. Apple does not want the Mini at $399 to canibalize iPhone Plus at $769. It just isn't good business
If sales of the Mini drop again this year, I will not be surprised if they just drop the Mini altogether.
Now look at next year. Apple will be releasing the iPhone X1 Plus. That will have a screen size over 6 inches. At that point the Mini is not needed at all.
Tim Cook used to say that "never fear canibalizaiton" was part of Apple's core philosophy. That is, they wouldn't cancel a product because it was taking sales from another Apple product.
If you're right, then that means a core part of what makes Apple has changed, and in a way that I don't think is good.
Apple does not fear canibalization in general. But there comes a point where having 2 similiar products becomes more destructive than good.
Its a clear pattern. Since the Plus phones came out the Mini has fallen out of favor. You cannot deny that. Since the Plus came out the Mini has gotten crappy pricing and crappy upgrades. Its pretty obvious that Apple is steering people away from the Mini.
That's not indicative of Apple fearing cannibalization. It could very well be that the mini isn't selling as well so they're backing off it. Very different than suggesting they're causing the decreased sales.
You miss the point. Apple will not earn a phone sale from me if the iPad mini is discontinued. I don't want a phone; I want a tablet. The choice is sale or no sale, not sell one product instead of another.
Apple looks at the market as a whole not a single user like you.
Its obvious that Apple hates the Mini. Just look at the pricing of the Mini the last 3 years. Its super obvious. They are steering people away from that product.
And once the 6.5 inch phone comes out they will discontinue it all together.
Apple can't keep products that have been made obsolete by other models. Basically since the Plus phones came out the Mini has been obsolete for most of the market.
Apple has never released a product that it will hate later.
Apple has a strong commitment to the iPad. The reason iPad Mini survived so long it is an initiation to the iPad realm. It is very unlikely that an iPad Mini owner sells it or gives it away without shifting to a larger model. The owners of Plus iPhones are most likely to choose 9.7 inch iPad but what is the percentage of phablets in the total of 6 and 7 series combined? I don't think the phablets' percentage is large enough to justify the dismissal of iPad Mini. Phablets are niche products. iPad Mini is a mainstream product. Your reasoning is flawed in that you compare a niche product to a mainstream product and claim that one cannibalizes the other. Phablets can only cannibalize themselves, not the iPad.
You miss the point. Apple will not earn a phone sale from me if the iPad mini is discontinued. I don't want a phone; I want a tablet. The choice is sale or no sale, not sell one product instead of another.
Apple looks at the market as a whole not a single user like you.
Its obvious that Apple hates the Mini. Just look at the pricing of the Mini the last 3 years. Its super obvious. They are steering people away from that product.
And once the 6.5 inch phone comes out they will discontinue it all together.
Apple can't keep products that have been made obsolete by other models. Basically since the Plus phones came out the Mini has been obsolete for most of the market.
Apple has never released a product that it will hate later.
Apple has a strong commitment to the iPad. The reason iPad Mini survived so long it is an initiation to the iPad realm. It is very unlikely that an iPad Mini owner sells it or gives it away without shifting to a larger model. The owners of Plus iPhones are most likely to choose 9.7 inch iPad but what is the percentage of phablets in the total of 6 and 7 series combined? I don't think the phablets' percentage is large enough to justify the dismissal of iPad Mini. Phablets are niche products. iPad Mini is a mainstream product. Your reasoning is flawed in that you compare a niche product to a mainstream product and claim that one cannibalizes the other. Phablets can only cannibalize themselves, not the iPad.
I never said Apple hates the iPad. I said they hate the iPad Mini form factor. Just like they hate the 3.5 inch iPhone. Hate is a strong word. Lets just say they found a better replacement for the 3.5 inch phone and Mini.
So you think Phablets don't cannibalize the iPad Mini? Well don't take my word for it, take Tim Cooks:
Yes, the iPad is being cannibalized, says Tim Cook
"Have we had cannibalization? The answer is yes......We're clearly seeing cannibalization from iPhone"
"from iPhone...." not just the Plus iPhones... and not just the iPad Mini, all iPads... What Tim Cook said does not support your claim "iPad Mini cannibalized by iPhone Plus".
Tim Cook also said "As I've said before, we've never worried about that." That means they won't haphazardly drop a product just because of markets' internal adjustments to new products. If iPad Mini has competitive power in the overall mobile computing market, it will survive. The iPad range competes directly against PCs, not against the iPhone and the existence of the Mini form factor is a competitive strength for the iPad range, why would Apple drop it?
1. Apple thinks 7.9" iPad is a poor user experience, and having had one of them in my house to observe over time, it is in fact a terrible iPad. They would rather you get a real iPad for $329 and actually enjoy the product.
2. Apple has no interest in $299 price points or lower because it is not profitable. They tried it. Didn't work. And the 8 people who bought and love the iPad mini are not factors, sorry.
3. Today's change to the lineup tells you all you need to know. The mini is nearly done, and is only being kept around to appease the few that insist upon the usefulness of the form factor, but only at a price point they feel comfortable with. Hence the change to 128 GB, which doesn't cost them much more, but justifies the pricing at $399.
All this prophesying that the Mini is dead is HILARIOUS. The mini will live a long and healthy life because there is demand for it. Just as those who said the iPhone SE w/ it's 4" screen is dead. I went from a 4 to a 6 and HATED it. When the SE came out, I jumped all over it. There is a market for small, convenient products & Apple knows this. The mini is a prefect size for traveling. On the train in the AM, or waiting @ the airport, the mini is small and unobtrusive. An iPhone 7+ is obnoxious as a phone, and a full size iPad is obnoxious to travel with.
You miss the point. Apple will not earn a phone sale from me if the iPad mini is discontinued. I don't want a phone; I want a tablet. The choice is sale or no sale, not sell one product instead of another.
Apple looks at the market as a whole not a single user like you.
Its obvious that Apple hates the Mini. Just look at the pricing of the Mini the last 3 years. Its super obvious. They are steering people away from that product.
And once the 6.5 inch phone comes out they will discontinue it all together.
Apple can't keep products that have been made obsolete by other models. Basically since the Plus phones came out the Mini has been obsolete for most of the market.
Apple has never released a product that it will hate later.
Apple has a strong commitment to the iPad. The reason iPad Mini survived so long it is an initiation to the iPad realm. It is very unlikely that an iPad Mini owner sells it or gives it away without shifting to a larger model. The owners of Plus iPhones are most likely to choose 9.7 inch iPad but what is the percentage of phablets in the total of 6 and 7 series combined? I don't think the phablets' percentage is large enough to justify the dismissal of iPad Mini. Phablets are niche products. iPad Mini is a mainstream product. Your reasoning is flawed in that you compare a niche product to a mainstream product and claim that one cannibalizes the other. Phablets can only cannibalize themselves, not the iPad.
I never said Apple hates the iPad. I said they hate the iPad Mini form factor. Just like they hate the 3.5 inch iPhone. Hate is a strong word. Lets just say they found a better replacement for the 3.5 inch phone and Mini.
So you think Phablets don't cannibalize the iPad Mini? Well don't take my word for it, take Tim Cooks:
Yes, the iPad is being cannibalized, says Tim Cook
"Have we had cannibalization? The answer is yes......We're clearly seeing cannibalization from iPhone"
"from iPhone...." not just the Plus iPhones... and not just the iPad Mini, all iPads... What Tim Cook said does not support your claim "iPad Mini cannibalized by iPhone Plus".
Tim Cook also said "As I've said before, we've never worried about that." That means they won't haphazardly drop a product just because of markets' internal adjustments to new products. If iPad Mini has competitive power in the overall mobile computing market, it will survive. The iPad range competes directly against PCs, not against the iPhone and the existence of the Mini form factor is a competitive strength for the iPad range, why would Apple drop it?
Oh don't be dense.
Tim Cook only brought iPad cannibalization AFTER the Plus phone came out.
Just admit you are wrong and carry on.
Your selective attention is very selective.
Tim Cook also said the cannibalization comes also from Mac. So your claim "phablet chasing away iPad Mini" doesn't hold water...
Apple looks at the market as a whole not a single user like you....
Well, now you're just playing with semantics. The market at root is all single users, even for corporate purchasers. I grant that there may not be enough users who feel as I do to keep the mini going, but my perspective isn't flawed because I happen to be the one who describes it.
Apple knows better but would have been good to keep ipad mini at 32GB or 64GB and reduce price under $300
No.
Apple hates the iPad Mini. That is a fact. Why?
1. Margins suck. Really does. Shrinking the ipad does not make it cheaper to make 2. Don't sell enough units. So costs go up 3. It canibalizes iPhone Plus - this is the main reason. Apple does not want the Mini at $399 to canibalize iPhone Plus at $769. It just isn't good business
If sales of the Mini drop again this year, I will not be surprised if they just drop the Mini altogether.
Now look at next year. Apple will be releasing the iPhone X1 Plus. That will have a screen size over 6 inches. At that point the Mini is not needed at all.
Tim Cook used to say that "never fear canibalizaiton" was part of Apple's core philosophy. That is, they wouldn't cancel a product because it was taking sales from another Apple product.
If you're right, then that means a core part of what makes Apple has changed, and in a way that I don't think is good.
Apple does not fear canibalization in general. But there comes a point where having 2 similiar products becomes more destructive than good.
Its a clear pattern. Since the Plus phones came out the Mini has fallen out of favor. You cannot deny that. Since the Plus came out the Mini has gotten crappy pricing and crappy upgrades. Its pretty obvious that Apple is steering people away from the Mini.
That's not indicative of Apple fearing cannibalization. It could very well be that the mini isn't selling as well so they're backing off it. Very different than suggesting they're causing the decreased sales.
Tim Cook himself mentioned that the Plus Phones have cannibalized ipad sales.
So its not such a big leap to think cannibalization can happen in the reverse....
Bottom line is the Mini is obsolete. Just like the 3.5 inch iPhones of the past.
Take what Tim says with a grain of salt. The only way an iPad can take sales away from a phone is if it has cellular capacity and even then it's highly unlikely to be a reason. My guess is that the vast majority of iPad sales are Wi-Fi only. A phone is a phone and a tablet is a tablet. A phone can do some tablet tasks acceptably well but tablets have to jump through hoops to pull off phone functionality.
In my case, I decided to form a duet. Decent Android phone for phone, web and text communication and iPad Mini 2 for the heavy lifting tablet work.
The Mini is an excellent form factor and its biggest enemy is Apple itself. Since the Mini 2 it has been given a rough ride in terms of specs and pricing. Most Mini 2 owners are still perfectly happy with their devices.
No large screen phone can fully compete with a Mini type tablet in terms of comfort for certain tasks. In the same way that the small form factor iPhones are useless for many large fingered users who will always prefer a larger (but manageable) phone screen.
There are workarounds but they are compromises in one way or another.
I don't want a phone; I want a tablet. The choice is sale or no sale, not sell one product instead of another.
You are going to need to buy a phone eventually
You, Schrödinger-like, presume simultaneously that I don't already have a phone and that I don't want one. I say only that, if I buy a mini, it's because I want a tablet. If I want a phone, I'll buy a phone.
1. Apple thinks 7.9" iPad is a poor user experience, and having had one of them in my house to observe over time, it is in fact a terrible iPad. They would rather you get a real iPad for $329 and actually enjoy the product.
2. Apple has no interest in $299 price points or lower because it is not profitable. They tried it. Didn't work. And the 8 people who bought and love the iPad mini are not factors, sorry.
3. Today's change to the lineup tells you all you need to know. The mini is nearly done, and is only being kept around to appease the few that insist upon the usefulness of the form factor, but only at a price point they feel comfortable with. Hence the change to 128 GB, which doesn't cost them much more, but justifies the pricing at $399.
Your points would come across better if they weren't so snarky. But in response:
1. Apple used to think that anything larger than a 3.5" screen was a poor user experience for the iPhone. Seems that they warmed up to the idea. There is nothing wrong with the user experience of the Mini. It works fine, and especially for women. What a lot of men seem to forget is that many women have smaller hands than men and the iPad mini works very well for them because it fits their hand size better, is lighter so it puts less stress on the hands while holding it, and it fits in their purses better. I've bought two iPad Minis, one for my wife and one for my daughter, and they both love the size. I doubt they would be happy with the larger size. My son, however, prefers the larger iPads. Same thing at work: The women who have iPads all have iPad Minis, while the men have the larger sizes.
2. You might be right about the profitability, I really don't know. (And unless you have inside information, I don't think you do, either.) But I do know that a lot more than eight people bought them and I'm not sure that Apple would be doing itself any favors by dropping this size in the lineup UNLESS they could make the 9.7 model smaller by reducing the bezel size.
3. I'm not sure that this change tells us everything. It could be that Apple is saving an new updated Mini for a bigger event, for all we know.
You miss the point. Apple will not earn a phone sale from me if the iPad mini is discontinued. I don't want a phone; I want a tablet. The choice is sale or no sale, not sell one product instead of another.
Apple looks at the market as a whole not a single user like you.
Its obvious that Apple hates the Mini. Just look at the pricing of the Mini the last 3 years. Its super obvious. They are steering people away from that product.
And once the 6.5 inch phone comes out they will discontinue it all together.
Apple can't keep products that have been made obsolete by other models. Basically since the Plus phones came out the Mini has been obsolete for most of the market.
Apple has never released a product that it will hate later.
Apple has a strong commitment to the iPad. The reason iPad Mini survived so long it is an initiation to the iPad realm. It is very unlikely that an iPad Mini owner sells it or gives it away without shifting to a larger model. The owners of Plus iPhones are most likely to choose 9.7 inch iPad but what is the percentage of phablets in the total of 6 and 7 series combined? I don't think the phablets' percentage is large enough to justify the dismissal of iPad Mini. Phablets are niche products. iPad Mini is a mainstream product. Your reasoning is flawed in that you compare a niche product to a mainstream product and claim that one cannibalizes the other. Phablets can only cannibalize themselves, not the iPad.
I never said Apple hates the iPad. I said they hate the iPad Mini form factor. Just like they hate the 3.5 inch iPhone. Hate is a strong word. Lets just say they found a better replacement for the 3.5 inch phone and Mini.
So you think Phablets don't cannibalize the iPad Mini? Well don't take my word for it, take Tim Cooks:
Yes, the iPad is being cannibalized, says Tim Cook
"Have we had cannibalization? The answer is yes......We're clearly seeing cannibalization from iPhone"
"from iPhone...." not just the Plus iPhones... and not just the iPad Mini, all iPads... What Tim Cook said does not support your claim "iPad Mini cannibalized by iPhone Plus".
Tim Cook also said "As I've said before, we've never worried about that." That means they won't haphazardly drop a product just because of markets' internal adjustments to new products. If iPad Mini has competitive power in the overall mobile computing market, it will survive. The iPad range competes directly against PCs, not against the iPhone and the existence of the Mini form factor is a competitive strength for the iPad range, why would Apple drop it?
Oh don't be dense.
Tim Cook only brought iPad cannibalization AFTER the Plus phone came out.
Just admit you are wrong and carry on.
Your selective attention is very selective.
Tim Cook also said the cannibalization comes also from Mac. So your claim "phablet chasing away iPad Mini" doesn't hold water...
Stop being dense.
You seriously think the iPad Mini is being cannibalzied by the Mac? I've never meet a single person who was deciding between an ipad Mini and a Mac. Come on. The decision is between an iPad/iPad Pro and a Mac. Mac's and Mini's don't cannibalize each other.
The cannibalization of the Mini's is with the Plus phones.
You seriously think Tim Cook mentioned iPad Mini? He talked about the cannibalization of overall iPad range from both the iPhone and Mac without underlining any specific model.
I correct myself: Your selective attention is very unselective.
1. Apple thinks 7.9" iPad is a poor user experience, and having had one of them in my house to observe over time, it is in fact a terrible iPad. They would rather you get a real iPad for $329 and actually enjoy the product.
2. Apple has no interest in $299 price points or lower because it is not [as] profitable [as other products]. They tried it. Didn't work. And the 8 people who bought and love the iPad mini are not factors, sorry.
3. Today's change to the lineup tells you all you need to know. The mini is nearly done, and is only being kept around to appease the few that insist upon the usefulness of the form factor, but only at a price point they feel comfortable with. Hence the change to 128 GB, which doesn't cost them much more, but justifies the pricing at $399.
Point 1 is pure personal opinion. Many other people think the mini is a great iPad.
Point 2a: Apple (and many other companies) sell plenty of products for less than $299. So point #2a is invalid.
Point 2b, that the mini did not sell in large enough quantities to justify continued manufacturing, is something that requires insight into Apple's sales info - which I doubt anyone here has. Anecdotal evidence in this thread is that there are many happy owners (my family is one) and many usages where the mini is felt to be superior to a full-sized iPad or iPhone.
IMHO, Apple has made a mistake here. They are going to lose purchases of minis to Android tablets. It may well be that Apple wasn't selling enough minis to warrant the continued manufacturing costs, and they are content to lose those purchases. It's their business to run. And my option as a consumer to complain that I liked the product they're killing off (an entry level iPad mini).
Apple knows better but would have been good to keep ipad mini at 32GB or 64GB and reduce price under $300
No.
Apple hates the iPad Mini. That is a fact. Why?
1. Margins suck. Really does. Shrinking the ipad does not make it cheaper to make 2. Don't sell enough units. So costs go up 3. It canibalizes iPhone Plus - this is the main reason. Apple does not want the Mini at $399 to canibalize iPhone Plus at $769. It just isn't good business
If sales of the Mini drop again this year, I will not be surprised if they just drop the Mini altogether.
Now look at next year. Apple will be releasing the iPhone X1 Plus. That will have a screen size over 6 inches. At that point the Mini is not needed at all.
Tim Cook used to say that "never fear canibalizaiton" was part of Apple's core philosophy. That is, they wouldn't cancel a product because it was taking sales from another Apple product.
If you're right, then that means a core part of what makes Apple has changed, and in a way that I don't think is good.
Apple does not fear canibalization in general. But there comes a point where having 2 similiar products becomes more destructive than good.
Its a clear pattern. Since the Plus phones came out the Mini has fallen out of favor. You cannot deny that. Since the Plus came out the Mini has gotten crappy pricing and crappy upgrades. Its pretty obvious that Apple is steering people away from the Mini.
That's not indicative of Apple fearing cannibalization. It could very well be that the mini isn't selling as well so they're backing off it. Very different than suggesting they're causing the decreased sales.
Tim Cook himself mentioned that the Plus Phones have cannibalized ipad sales.
So its not such a big leap to think cannibalization can happen in the reverse....
Bottom line is the Mini is obsolete. Just like the 3.5 inch iPhones of the past.
Take what Tim says with a grain of salt. The only way an iPad can take sales away from a phone is if it has cellular capacity and even then it's highly unlikely to be a reason. My guess is that the vast majority of iPad sales are Wi-Fi only. A phone is a phone and a tablet is a tablet. A phone can do some tablet tasks acceptably well but tablets have to jump through hoops to pull off phone functionality.
In my case, I decided to form a duet. Decent Android phone for phone, web and text communication and iPad Mini 2 for the heavy lifting tablet work.
The Mini is an excellent form factor and its biggest enemy is Apple itself. Since the Mini 2 it has been given a rough ride in terms of specs and pricing. Most Mini 2 owners are still perfectly happy with their devices.
No large screen phone can fully compete with a Mini type tablet in terms of comfort for certain tasks. In the same way that the small form factor iPhones are useless for many large fingered users who will always prefer a larger (but manageable) phone screen.
There are workarounds but they are compromises in one way or another.
So why did Apple get rid of 3.5 inch iPhones?
Its the exact same reason why they will get rid of 7.9 inch iPads.
You can argue all you want, but its clear as day that Apple has been phasing out the Mini the last 2 years. And I expect it to be totally gone next year when the 6.8 inch iPhone comes out.
The phones were already too small. The only way to make them more comfortable to use for more people was to up the size. They did. Then they said that even larger screens would fail. They didn't and Apple jumped on board larger screens too (a move that pushed the last quarter results to new highs - Apple doesn't always know best).
The iPad Mini is not too small. It is perfect for many users and use cases.
And end up with a phone that is too big to fit in a shirt/pants pocket and is therefore a pain to carry. And a screen that is a bit too small for reading books, playing games, or doing other things while at home. The use cases for phones & tablets are different. They overlap some, but there are plenty of places where they don't.
How about you just go buy an MS Surface and have a PC, tablet, & phone all in one convenient package?
sog35 said: So why did Apple get rid of 3.5 inch iPhones?
Because the manufacturing cost of screens came down to a point where making larger screens was economical. They could sell a larger device with acceptable profit margins.
Apple knows better but would have been good to keep ipad mini at 32GB or 64GB and reduce price under $300
No.
Apple hates the iPad Mini. That is a fact. Why?
1. Margins suck. Really does. Shrinking the ipad does not make it cheaper to make 2. Don't sell enough units. So costs go up 3. It canibalizes iPhone Plus - this is the main reason. Apple does not want the Mini at $399 to canibalize iPhone Plus at $769. It just isn't good business
If sales of the Mini drop again this year, I will not be surprised if they just drop the Mini altogether.
Now look at next year. Apple will be releasing the iPhone X1 Plus. That will have a screen size over 6 inches. At that point the Mini is not needed at all.
Tim Cook used to say that "never fear canibalizaiton" was part of Apple's core philosophy. That is, they wouldn't cancel a product because it was taking sales from another Apple product.
If you're right, then that means a core part of what makes Apple has changed, and in a way that I don't think is good.
Apple does not fear canibalization in general. But there comes a point where having 2 similiar products becomes more destructive than good.
Its a clear pattern. Since the Plus phones came out the Mini has fallen out of favor. You cannot deny that. Since the Plus came out the Mini has gotten crappy pricing and crappy upgrades. Its pretty obvious that Apple is steering people away from the Mini.
That's not indicative of Apple fearing cannibalization. It could very well be that the mini isn't selling as well so they're backing off it. Very different than suggesting they're causing the decreased sales.
Tim Cook himself mentioned that the Plus Phones have cannibalized ipad sales.
So its not such a big leap to think cannibalization can happen in the reverse....
Bottom line is the Mini is obsolete. Just like the 3.5 inch iPhones of the past.
Take what Tim says with a grain of salt. The only way an iPad can take sales away from a phone is if it has cellular capacity and even then it's highly unlikely to be a reason. My guess is that the vast majority of iPad sales are Wi-Fi only. A phone is a phone and a tablet is a tablet. A phone can do some tablet tasks acceptably well but tablets have to jump through hoops to pull off phone functionality.
In my case, I decided to form a duet. Decent Android phone for phone, web and text communication and iPad Mini 2 for the heavy lifting tablet work.
The Mini is an excellent form factor and its biggest enemy is Apple itself. Since the Mini 2 it has been given a rough ride in terms of specs and pricing. Most Mini 2 owners are still perfectly happy with their devices.
No large screen phone can fully compete with a Mini type tablet in terms of comfort for certain tasks. In the same way that the small form factor iPhones are useless for many large fingered users who will always prefer a larger (but manageable) phone screen.
There are workarounds but they are compromises in one way or another.
So why did Apple get rid of 3.5 inch iPhones?
Its the exact same reason why they will get rid of 7.9 inch iPads.
You can argue all you want, but its clear as day that Apple has been phasing out the Mini the last 2 years. And I expect it to be totally gone next year when the 6.8 inch iPhone comes out.
I'm a bit worried that the SogPhone has grown .3 of an inch since the start of this thread. If we don't wrap up soon then the next iPhone will have the same screen size as the current iPad Mini.
Comments
I'd probably stay with the Mini forever given my druthers. However I'm starting to have to upsize everything thanks to middle-aged eyes. I own the iPhone 7 now and will try to hold on to that size and just hope for a bigger screen in the future. I don't want to carry around a larger phone. I like the mini iPad. Bigger isn't always better or shouldn't be.
Apple has a strong commitment to the iPad. The reason iPad Mini survived so long it is an initiation to the iPad realm. It is very unlikely that an iPad Mini owner sells it or gives it away without shifting to a larger model. The owners of Plus iPhones are most likely to choose 9.7 inch iPad but what is the percentage of phablets in the total of 6 and 7 series combined? I don't think the phablets' percentage is large enough to justify the dismissal of iPad Mini. Phablets are niche products. iPad Mini is a mainstream product. Your reasoning is flawed in that you compare a niche product to a mainstream product and claim that one cannibalizes the other. Phablets can only cannibalize themselves, not the iPad.
Tim Cook also said "As I've said before, we've never worried about that." That means they won't haphazardly drop a product just because of markets' internal adjustments to new products. If iPad Mini has competitive power in the overall mobile computing market, it will survive. The iPad range competes directly against PCs, not against the iPhone and the existence of the Mini form factor is a competitive strength for the iPad range, why would Apple drop it?
Couple of things are pretty clear:
1. Apple thinks 7.9" iPad is a poor user experience, and having had one of them in my house to observe over time, it is in fact a terrible iPad. They would rather you get a real iPad for $329 and actually enjoy the product.
2. Apple has no interest in $299 price points or lower because it is not profitable. They tried it. Didn't work. And the 8 people who bought and love the iPad mini are not factors, sorry.
3. Today's change to the lineup tells you all you need to know. The mini is nearly done, and is only being kept around to appease the few that insist upon the usefulness of the form factor, but only at a price point they feel comfortable with. Hence the change to 128 GB, which doesn't cost them much more, but justifies the pricing at $399.
Long live the iPad Mini!
Tim Cook also said the cannibalization comes also from Mac. So your claim "phablet chasing away iPad Mini" doesn't hold water...
The existence of “other products” doesn't make the mini obsolete; Apple's internal decision to channel resources in other directions does.
In my case, I decided to form a duet. Decent Android phone for phone, web and text communication and iPad Mini 2 for the heavy lifting tablet work.
The Mini is an excellent form factor and its biggest enemy is Apple itself. Since the Mini 2 it has been given a rough ride in terms of specs and pricing. Most Mini 2 owners are still perfectly happy with their devices.
No large screen phone can fully compete with a Mini type tablet in terms of comfort for certain tasks. In the same way that the small form factor iPhones are useless for many large fingered users who will always prefer a larger (but manageable) phone screen.
There are workarounds but they are compromises in one way or another.
1. Apple used to think that anything larger than a 3.5" screen was a poor user experience for the iPhone. Seems that they warmed up to the idea. There is nothing wrong with the user experience of the Mini. It works fine, and especially for women. What a lot of men seem to forget is that many women have smaller hands than men and the iPad mini works very well for them because it fits their hand size better, is lighter so it puts less stress on the hands while holding it, and it fits in their purses better. I've bought two iPad Minis, one for my wife and one for my daughter, and they both love the size. I doubt they would be happy with the larger size. My son, however, prefers the larger iPads. Same thing at work: The women who have iPads all have iPad Minis, while the men have the larger sizes.
2. You might be right about the profitability, I really don't know. (And unless you have inside information, I don't think you do, either.) But I do know that a lot more than eight people bought them and I'm not sure that Apple would be doing itself any favors by dropping this size in the lineup UNLESS they could make the 9.7 model smaller by reducing the bezel size.
3. I'm not sure that this change tells us everything. It could be that Apple is saving an new updated Mini for a bigger event, for all we know.
I correct myself: Your selective attention is very unselective.
Point 2a: Apple (and many other companies) sell plenty of products for less than $299. So point #2a is invalid.
Point 2b, that the mini did not sell in large enough quantities to justify continued manufacturing, is something that requires insight into Apple's sales info - which I doubt anyone here has. Anecdotal evidence in this thread is that there are many happy owners (my family is one) and many usages where the mini is felt to be superior to a full-sized iPad or iPhone.
IMHO, Apple has made a mistake here. They are going to lose purchases of minis to Android tablets. It may well be that Apple wasn't selling enough minis to warrant the continued manufacturing costs, and they are content to lose those purchases. It's their business to run. And my option as a consumer to complain that I liked the product they're killing off (an entry level iPad mini).
The iPad Mini is not too small. It is perfect for many users and use cases.
How about you just go buy an MS Surface and have a PC, tablet, & phone all in one convenient package?
I'm a bit worried that the SogPhone has grown .3 of an inch since the start of this thread. If we don't wrap up soon then the next iPhone will have the same screen size as the current iPad Mini.
And BTW, a large iPhone is a not a replacement for an iPad - my kids don't need an iPhone yet.