Apple announces new iPad mini 4 with iPad Air 2 internals

Posted:
in iPad edited September 2015
At the tail end of the iPad Pro presentation on Wednesday, Apple announced an updated iPad mini with a slimmer profile, lighter weight, and higher-performance internal components.

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Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said that the iPad mini 4 weighs in at just 0.65 pounds, but packs the same internals as the iPad Air 2. That means Apple's A8X processor, M8 motion coprocessor, Touch ID sensor, and 1 gigabyte of built-in RAM.

For iPad-friendly photographers, the new mini also includes an updated 8-megapixel rear camera.

The iPad mini 4 will slot in toward the lower end of Apple's iPad lineup, starting at $399. The iPad mini 3 will no longer be sold, while the iPad mini 2 will hit the bottom of the product line at $269.

There is no word yet on exactly when the fourth-generation mini will go on sale, or what the storage options will be once it does. It seems a good bet to mimic the 16-, 64-, and 128-gigabyte options of the balance of the iPad lineup.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member
    Ah, RIP the much maligned Mini 3
  • Reply 2 of 21
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    Neutered the specs to sell more iPad Pro models. Should at least have an A9 CPU.
  • Reply 3 of 21
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    The big unanswered questiom is, does it have an "oxide TFT" display? Or in common parlance, izzit IGZO?

    I suspect so, since it's thinner. That's big news.
  • Reply 4 of 21
    I am surprised they didn't ditch the mini2 and air1.
  • Reply 5 of 21
    ipod lineup is too big for the team for focus on all products. interesting.
  • Reply 6 of 21

    OMG another giant iPod! For $800 one would expect it to run OS X. 

  • Reply 7 of 21
    kevtkevt Posts: 195member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider


    Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said that the iPad mini 4 weighs in at just 0.65 pounds, but packs the same internals as the iPad Air 2. That means Apple's A8X processor, M8 motion coprocessor, Touch ID sensor, and 1 gigabyte of built-in RAM.

     

    On the Apple website in the compare iPads section it says A8 processor rather than the A8X. 

  • Reply 8 of 21
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    schlack wrote: »
    ipod lineup is too big for the team for focus on all products. interesting.

    I think iPad sales are really going to fall off the cliff since they are running year old hardware despite the iPad pro
  • Reply 9 of 21
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by K2kW View Post





    I think iPad sales are really going to fall off the cliff since they are running year old hardware despite the iPad pro



    The Air 2 was so far ahead last year that I think it will be fine - at least for people who just go to Best Buy and use the device (rather than spec-hunters).  The Mini 4 is quite a nice little deal now.

     

    Looks like a tick-tock cycle for iPads, where they introduce something new (first it was the Air) while letting last years linger (before it was the mini) then catching back up (like the mini did now).  Interesting to see if that continues, and if the Air will receive 3D touch/Stylus capability next year with little improvement to the Pro (or not)

  • Reply 10 of 21
    CORRECTION!
    "Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said that the iPad mini 4 weighs in at just 0.65 pounds, but packs the same internals as the iPad Air 2. That means Apple's A8X processor, M8 motion coprocessor, Touch ID sensor, and 1 gigabyte of built-in RAM."

    The iPad Air 2 has 2 gigabytes of built-in RAM!

    Thus far there has been NO confirmation of the RAM in the iPad mini 4 besides the Note 1 at the bottom of the iOS 9 What's New page, http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/, stating "Split View is available on iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 4." That would seem to indicate the feature requires at least 2GB of RAM, as it precludes the iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air and mini 2 (both with 1GB, but same screen resolution). However that ALSO means it precludes the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
  • Reply 11 of 21
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by joelsalt View Post

     



    The Air 2 was so far ahead last year that I think it will be fine - at least for people who just go to Best Buy and use the device (rather than spec-hunters).  The Mini 4 is quite a nice little deal now.

     

    Looks like a tick-tock cycle for iPads, where they introduce something new (first it was the Air) while letting last years linger (before it was the mini) then catching back up (like the mini did now).  Interesting to see if that continues, and if the Air will receive 3D touch/Stylus capability next year with little improvement to the Pro (or not)


     

    I want to find out if Air 2 has 2GB RAM.   If so maybe I will get it.    I don't like how Safari has gotten slower on my iPad 3 with each new version of iOS.    This seems to be a problem that bothers lots of other people too.   I'll will trust that the problem goes away if the RAM is up to 2GB.

     

    I've got to admit that I have been thinking out the iPad Pro.    I would love to get this if I could also get the base of a Windows laptop with SkyLake i7 processor that I could  pop this onto like some convertibles made before.    Of course the software on both the laptop and iPad Pro would need to be optimized to be able to use the hardware seamlessly and optimally.   (Of course if Apple did this with OSX it would be best), but for now I need to get a windows laptop because of my work and will probably then get a Surface Pro 4.

     

    I would have like the Pro to have a USB Type C port because I think it has faster charging, but I think the lightening connector is thinner so that makes sense.    

  • Reply 12 of 21
    saarek wrote: »
    Neutered the specs to sell more iPad Pro models. Should at least have an A9 CPU.

    no, that isn't what they did. if you want a pro you're not in the market for a mini. totally different use cases.
  • Reply 13 of 21
    k2kw wrote: »
    I think iPad sales are really going to fall off the cliff since they are running year old hardware despite the iPad pro

    yes, because specs.
  • Reply 14 of 21
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    I thought the Air 2 had 2GB of RAM?
  • Reply 15 of 21

    Wow, thinner and lighter than the gen 1 mini, with retina, a much faster chip and more RAM, I'm sold! When does this device go on sale?!?!

  • Reply 16 of 21
    they should have dropped the Mini 2 not the 3, and put the A9 in the 4 :P :P

    If the Mini 4 has only A8 not A8X, and also only has 1 GB RAM, not 2 GB, then they should be sued for saying it has the same internals as the Air 2, this is called false advertising.

    It is a bit disappointing, but, makes it "seem" to the average consumer that the Mini is going to cost less, but be less, and the Air 2 and then the Pro (gawd I hate that name on an iPad) cost more and are upgrades. Rather than saying these all have the same internals but different size screens.

    I think it's kind of cheap for apple to make smaller lesser and bigger better, some of us want the latest tech with a smaller screen, it's really terrible marketing suited only for simpletons IMO.
  • Reply 17 of 21
    nolamacguy wrote: »
    no, that isn't what they did. if you want a pro you're not in the market for a mini. totally different use cases.

    So what did they do? It appears that they're following "bigger = better". I liked when the mini had the same specs (other than size, obviously) than the normals iPad. Since some time the mini always has a less capable chip. That cannot be just due to chip availability.
    Same with iPhone. The Plus has better camera and the UI offers more.
  • Reply 18 of 21
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Everyone get these for your kids this Christmas.

    These sound awesome!
  • Reply 19 of 21
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NolaMacGuy View Post





    no, that isn't what they did. if you want a pro you're not in the market for a mini. totally different use cases.



    I suspect that the iPad Air didn't get upgraded because of the capacity constraints to produce the A9 and A9X chips.   They probably are planning for most of the runs to go into the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.    They probably also don't have enough people to work on resigning and re-engineering each product so they will wait till next year.   Obviously the Apple Watch is more important and gets more attention.

  • Reply 20 of 21
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by K2kW View Post

     



    I suspect that the iPad Air didn't get upgraded because of the capacity constraints to produce the A9 and A9X chips.   They probably are planning for most of the runs to go into the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.    They probably also don't have enough people to work on resigning and re-engineering each product so they will wait till next year.   Obviously the Apple Watch is more important and gets more attention.


    They could've simply delay the launch of iPad Pro to allow the iPhone 6S sales to go through  which is how Apple has traditionally held iPad as an October event.  I think Tim is afraid the 6S sales this quarter could be softer than the last year so they decide to get the iPad Pro out the gate sooner than later to lump in 6S and iPad Pro sales into this quarter.

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