The iPad Mini 3's best feature is its ability to knock $100 off the price of the Mini 2. If you get a refurb one like I just did, you save a total of $180. Also 32 GB is only $50 more than 16 GB. With tax I got a cellular iPad Mini 2 with 32 GB RAM and AT&T cellular data for $433.92 including tax.
Pretty much. The Air and Mini 2 are now amazing values for the price. I'm recommending the 32GB versions to people who don't care about TouchID or need the horsepower of the Air 2. (May pick one up myself!)
That being said, it looks like the Mini 3 did get a better display, or at least that's the impression Anandtech got from their hands on.
The iPad Air 2 is another winner right out of the gate. I sold my iPad Air along with my iPhone 5S to help fund my new iPhone 6 Plus. The screen size of the Plus is exceptional, and that's why I wasn't planning to purchase the Air 2, but it's such a thing of beauty that I might have to reconsider. Love my Plus, and whoever recommended the silicone case over the leather one because it was less slippery was right on the money!
I saw this article in Computerworld that was essentially praising Tim Cook's business model of offering products at all different price points. I'm not sure I agree. Right now Apple is selling five different models of iPad. I'm sorry but I thought Apple was all about simplicity and focus. Why is Apple still selling the non-retina mini? And what is the purpose of the new retina mini that is exactly like last years mini except for Touch ID? Based on what was announced today this should be Apple's iPad line up in my opinion:
iPad mini 2 $299 iPad Air $399 iPad Air 2 $499
Or if Apple feels they absolutely have to offer an iPad under $299 then:
iPad mini 2 $249 iPad mini 3 $349 (or $399 with A8 and better display) iPad Air $399 iPad Air 2 $499
I don't see anything particularly genius about more affordable prices via keeping products around past their sell by date. Or by offering products with 8GB storage when the most recent software update required at least 6GB for OTA update. I think Apple is needlessly complicating their product lines by doing this. Last year keeping the iPad 2 around was a head scratcher this year the original mini and mini 3 are head scratchers. Get back to simple Apple, not complex.
Huge mistake ipad mini 3 has not the same specs with ipad air 2. Also, personally i was waiting for an upgrade in resolution. If not a 4K (the double from current), at least something new. The time Apple held the best resolution in screens has gone. Excepr the iMac (for now).
I need to see the iPad Air 2 in person. It's so incredibly thin! thinner than an iPhone 6 and iPad mini 3! Someone out there is definitely going to try and bend that!
Wish they had dropped an A8X into the iPad mini.. I was looking to buy one of those but may now go for the iPad Air 2. 437grams is pretty sweet.
Soooo, the main reason to get an iPad mini 3 is the Touch ID sensor which it could and should have had last year anyway.
Thanks for neutering the iPad mini update Apple, real crappy move.
That along with the removal of the 32gb option instead of making 32gb the default option annoys me.
I know they're a business, I know they are neutering the mini and removing the 32gb option on their iDevices so that people move up the line & pay more. But I can't help but feel that this is going to bite them in the ass, they already make more money per device than anyone else.
I believe that a big reason for slow iOS 8 adoption is the memory issue, selling 16gb devices makes no sense long term.
I agree, I haft to wonder what was apple thinking, they seem to want IPad mini sales to be killed, the IPad mini was behind full iPad by a year, then tied, now they call it an upgrade but it's really just a year old tech add on, going to be honest it's overpriced, etc. If they simply put an A8(not even A8X) people would have been happy. Now we see this and they should have priced it $330 and called it iPad mini retina T(or with Touch ID) to make it seem useful, (like first IPad mini was), maybe apples goal is to make cheap tablet lovers go after an iPad? If you get the ok one for $250 or good one for $300, who cares about the good one with Touch ID?
Except that the iPad Mini 3 provides the cheapest possible entry point to Apple Pay.
I agree that, at least for me, the numbers don't make the Mini 3 compelling. So get the cheaper Mini 2. Or drop another C-note on the Air 2. Or wait a few months to see how their mini product line shakes out. Can't imagine the original mini is going to be around more than about 6 months.
I wonder what, "It's been a long time..." meant? Anybody?
I agree, the 16 GB low-end is crappy. But I just got a 64 GB iPhone 6 for the same price as my usual 32 GB, so... I can put a lot of music on it, and not have to stream it over LTE.
Why would they price iPad Mini 3 $100 more than the iPad Mini 2 and only offer Touch ID and dual microphones for that price? Sure, margins get a huge boost for the iPad Mini 3 by doing this, but demand is going to very low! Unless Apple plans on manufacturing the iPad Mini 3 in low quantities, or phase out the iPad Mini 2 and selling off existing inventories, this isn't making much sense to me.
Further, I don't understand why the iPad Air 2 hasn't gotten an increase in resolution, making its pixel density on par with at least other Apple Retina Display products!
ANSWER: Because Apple wants you to buy the Air2. Eventually Apple will discontinue the Mini form factor. The Mini has horrible gross margins and profit margins. With the 6 PLUS there is no reason to have a Mini.
2. Why doesn't the iPad have a simuliar resolution PPI as iPhone?
ANSWER: Because the iPhone is EXPENSIVE!!! The 6 starts at $650-$950. iPadAir starts at $499. iPad already has weak gross margins compared to iPhone. Be grateful.
........
Looking at these decisions from a business perspective you will see Mr Cook is doing the right thing. The key is to avoid commodization. All the Android makers are getting lower and lower average selling prices. Apple cannot go down that same road. If Apple does than they won't have money to continue to build out the best eco-system the world has ever seen.
What you clowns want is unsustainable.
You want the iPadMini3 to have the same internals as the Air2 for $100 less.
You want the iPad's to start at 32GB.
Guess what?
Then 80-90% of iPad sales will be Mini3 with 32GB at $399.
That will KILL iPad average selling price and profit margins.
One, you assume every decision is based only on price. I disagree. I would never own an iPad mini because the screen is too small for me. But honestly I think Apple should be focused on making the best products not on ASPs and margins. Jony Ive once said Apple's goal isn't to make money, the goal is to make great products and be operationaly efficient and the consequence of that is making money. Tim Cook has said revenue is not Apple's North Star, making great products is. Are Cook and Ive just BS-ing us? Fact is, Apple isn't struggling to make profits or generate cash. The last thing Apple needs is to be seen as greedy or consumers thinking they're more focused on profits than selling the best products.
Initially I was critical about the current iPad line up. But I've thought more about it and this is my thesis:
*Original iPad mini is still around to clear out inventory and will most likely be gone within 6 months.
*A7 in the iPad Air was an outlier and the Air (plus any possible "pro" product) will use the X variant of the A series chip.
*If Apple was planning to kill off the mini they wouldn't have released the mini 3. They would have dropped the price on the mini 2 and called it a day. This leads me to believe the mini will utilize the iPhone chip and perhaps be moved to a spring upgrade cycle (when phone chips aren't as supply constrained). So the current mini 3 may be a placeholder and could be upgraded this spring with an A8 chip. But Apple couldn't keep it at the $399 price and do nothing with it so they gave it a minimal upgrade (Touch ID) but know that not many people will buy it right now.
*Next spring the original mini is quietly removed from the lineup. The mini 3 gets updated with A8 chip (and possibly improved screen) and the mini 2 perhaps drops to $249 in price.
Of course these are all guesses on my part, but I see no reason why the iPad mini 3 exists if Apple is planning on killing the mini line. I think the A8 chip is destined for this device but supply constrain issues prevented Apple from adding it now.
What's really annoying though is the bean counter moves on storage. The whole point of going 16 > 64 is just to increase ASPs. My guess is there's a lot of people who don't need 64GB but 16GB isn't enough. 32GB would be perfect for them but Apple doesn't offer it. Considering the fact that iOS 8 adoption has slowed because of a lack of storage for OTA updates Apple's storage configurations should be 32 > 64 > 128. And for businesses that don't need the latest specs or a lot of storage keep around a cheaper iPad with 16GB storage.
I have several times opted for the smaller memory and as I became aware of the capabilities of the iPad (or iPhone) wanted or needed space I did not think I needed to purchase at the outset. However on the OTA updates I very much see your point.
Also, personally i was waiting for an upgrade in resolution. If not a 4K (the double from current), at least something new. The time Apple held the best resolution in screens has gone.
Please learn how your eyeballs work before whining about meaningless things.
Do you ever get the feeling we are being manipulated at these product reveals. Think about it, how many people actually use the cameras on their iPads? I'm just left with the impression that they are trying to pull focus off other aspects of the new machine.
For instance the A8X processor. Just try finding info about that chip. They claim it has an extra billion transistors relative to the A8 so those extra transistors have to be doing something.
Honestly I'm excitedly waiting for the first reviews or tear downs of this new iPad and the Mac Mini. Because frankly Apples technical information has gone from poor to useless. We can infer that the GPUs are beefed up significantly but I want details just out of curiosity.
Manipulated how? The CPU is 40% faster than last year, the GPU 2.5 faster!!! One year later. That means the Ipad more than doubled in speed in 2 years, with the GPU increasing 4 times! People are starting to get blase about massively quick improvements. Good Laptops from 2011 had those performance; yet this thing is minuscule. I remember when we had to wait 5-7 years to get similar improvement in PC speeds.
BTW, I still have a working XP computer (not my main one) with 512MB of memory from 2005. That tablet has a higher performance than that. My 2002 Toshiba Laptop that cost me $1200 dollars was slow as a dog and heavy as a dog too, compared to this tablet.
Hard to believe how little memory people have. This kind of pocket mobile power (smart phones, tablets) will eventually revolutionize things in ways we can't even imagine (that's always the case, nobody has any clue were the next big thing is)
Please learn how your eyeballs work before whining about meaningless things.
Anything above about 330 ppi on a tablet is ridiculous (that's my opinion). Of course, some spec jockey company (Samsung) will release 10 tablets with 400 ppi next year.... The screen is improved considerably, just not in resolution. Just removing reflections (thus improving contrast) and laminating the display improves perceived sharpness of the display a lot more than an extra 70ppi more would.
Comments
Pretty much. The Air and Mini 2 are now amazing values for the price. I'm recommending the 32GB versions to people who don't care about TouchID or need the horsepower of the Air 2. (May pick one up myself!)
That being said, it looks like the Mini 3 did get a better display, or at least that's the impression Anandtech got from their hands on.
Love my Plus, and whoever recommended the silicone case over the leather one because it was less slippery was right on the money!
iPad mini 2 $299
iPad Air $399
iPad Air 2 $499
Or if Apple feels they absolutely have to offer an iPad under $299 then:
iPad mini 2 $249
iPad mini 3 $349 (or $399 with A8 and better display)
iPad Air $399
iPad Air 2 $499
I don't see anything particularly genius about more affordable prices via keeping products around past their sell by date. Or by offering products with 8GB storage when the most recent software update required at least 6GB for OTA update. I think Apple is needlessly complicating their product lines by doing this. Last year keeping the iPad 2 around was a head scratcher this year the original mini and mini 3 are head scratchers. Get back to simple Apple, not complex.
Just ordered a Refurbished iPad Mini 2 for $250.
This is the real deal.
I need to see the iPad Air 2 in person. It's so incredibly thin! thinner than an iPhone 6 and iPad mini 3! Someone out there is definitely going to try and bend that!
Wish they had dropped an A8X into the iPad mini.. I was looking to buy one of those but may now go for the iPad Air 2. 437grams is pretty sweet.
Except that the iPad Mini 3 provides the cheapest possible entry point to Apple Pay.
I agree that, at least for me, the numbers don't make the Mini 3 compelling. So get the cheaper Mini 2. Or drop another C-note on the Air 2. Or wait a few months to see how their mini product line shakes out. Can't imagine the original mini is going to be around more than about 6 months.
I agree, the 16 GB low-end is crappy. But I just got a 64 GB iPhone 6 for the same price as my usual 32 GB, so... I can put a lot of music on it, and not have to stream it over LTE.
Further, I don't understand why the iPad Air 2 hasn't gotten an increase in resolution, making its pixel density on par with at least other Apple Retina Display products!
It has dual microphones as well. Any other differences, anyone?
EDIT - Nevermind. The iPad Mini 2 also has dual mics.
One, you assume every decision is based only on price. I disagree. I would never own an iPad mini because the screen is too small for me. But honestly I think Apple should be focused on making the best products not on ASPs and margins. Jony Ive once said Apple's goal isn't to make money, the goal is to make great products and be operationaly efficient and the consequence of that is making money. Tim Cook has said revenue is not Apple's North Star, making great products is. Are Cook and Ive just BS-ing us? Fact is, Apple isn't struggling to make profits or generate cash. The last thing Apple needs is to be seen as greedy or consumers thinking they're more focused on profits than selling the best products.
Initially I was critical about the current iPad line up. But I've thought more about it and this is my thesis:
*Original iPad mini is still around to clear out inventory and will most likely be gone within 6 months.
*A7 in the iPad Air was an outlier and the Air (plus any possible "pro" product) will use the X variant of the A series chip.
*If Apple was planning to kill off the mini they wouldn't have released the mini 3. They would have dropped the price on the mini 2 and called it a day. This leads me to believe the mini will utilize the iPhone chip and perhaps be moved to a spring upgrade cycle (when phone chips aren't as supply constrained). So the current mini 3 may be a placeholder and could be upgraded this spring with an A8 chip. But Apple couldn't keep it at the $399 price and do nothing with it so they gave it a minimal upgrade (Touch ID) but know that not many people will buy it right now.
*Next spring the original mini is quietly removed from the lineup. The mini 3 gets updated with A8 chip (and possibly improved screen) and the mini 2 perhaps drops to $249 in price.
Of course these are all guesses on my part, but I see no reason why the iPad mini 3 exists if Apple is planning on killing the mini line. I think the A8 chip is destined for this device but supply constrain issues prevented Apple from adding it now.
What's really annoying though is the bean counter moves on storage. The whole point of going 16 > 64 is just to increase ASPs. My guess is there's a lot of people who don't need 64GB but 16GB isn't enough. 32GB would be perfect for them but Apple doesn't offer it. Considering the fact that iOS 8 adoption has slowed because of a lack of storage for OTA updates Apple's storage configurations should be 32 > 64 > 128. And for businesses that don't need the latest specs or a lot of storage keep around a cheaper iPad with 16GB storage.
I have several times opted for the smaller memory and as I became aware of the capabilities of the iPad (or iPhone) wanted or needed space I did not think I needed to purchase at the outset. However on the OTA updates I very much see your point.
I don't get the point of the retina mini 3. What did it get besides Touch ID?
The number "3".
Please learn how your eyeballs work before whining about meaningless things.
Do you ever get the feeling we are being manipulated at these product reveals. Think about it, how many people actually use the cameras on their iPads? I'm just left with the impression that they are trying to pull focus off other aspects of the new machine.
For instance the A8X processor. Just try finding info about that chip. They claim it has an extra billion transistors relative to the A8 so those extra transistors have to be doing something.
Honestly I'm excitedly waiting for the first reviews or tear downs of this new iPad and the Mac Mini. Because frankly Apples technical information has gone from poor to useless. We can infer that the GPUs are beefed up significantly but I want details just out of curiosity.
Manipulated how? The CPU is 40% faster than last year, the GPU 2.5 faster!!! One year later. That means the Ipad more than doubled in speed in 2 years, with the GPU increasing 4 times! People are starting to get blase about massively quick improvements. Good Laptops from 2011 had those performance; yet this thing is minuscule. I remember when we had to wait 5-7 years to get similar improvement in PC speeds.
BTW, I still have a working XP computer (not my main one) with 512MB of memory from 2005. That tablet has a higher performance than that. My 2002 Toshiba Laptop that cost me $1200 dollars was slow as a dog and heavy as a dog too, compared to this tablet.
Hard to believe how little memory people have. This kind of pocket mobile power (smart phones, tablets) will eventually revolutionize things in ways we can't even imagine (that's always the case, nobody has any clue were the next big thing is)
Please learn how your eyeballs work before whining about meaningless things.
Anything above about 330 ppi on a tablet is ridiculous (that's my opinion). Of course, some spec jockey company (Samsung) will release 10 tablets with 400 ppi next year.... The screen is improved considerably, just not in resolution. Just removing reflections (thus improving contrast) and laminating the display improves perceived sharpness of the display a lot more than an extra 70ppi more would.
Yeah. On displays greater than 32” in size.
Do you want a 32” iPad?
Your opinion’s backed by some good research.