A history of the iPad Mini, from life to limbo

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 45
    I love my mini 4. It's great for photo editing purposes using Lightroom mobile- all the important key commands from the Mac version work the same way on the iPad and the tiny size of the thing allows me to have it on me more frequently than a larger iPad would. I think they could make a "Pro" version just so they can still have a wee tiny iPad in the line-up and keep the $329 "normal" sized iPad around for the budget minded.
    GeorgeBMacargonautwatto_cobra
  • Reply 22 of 45
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,328member
    Love the Mini. Still have the first version and it has a lot of travel miles on it and still works okay, kind of slow but still a decent e-reader, music player, and email machine. A Mini with a keyboard, in my case a Logitech Folio, is a great travel companion even when flying in livestock class with the miniature tray tables. Just about every time I’m at the Apple Store I play with a Mini 4 and want to buy one. The 4th gen may be a few years old but they are still snappy little buggers and I may pick one up anyway, even if Apple officially announces that the Mini is discontinued. I knew when the iPhone 6+ hit the streets the iPad Mini’s days were numbered, but I hope I’m wrong. The Mini is kind of like some versions of the iPod Nano, the good ones, an exercise in pure genius of packaging and functionality in a bite sized package. I have a soft spot for miniature products and gadgets, reaching all the way back to BASIC programmable pocket computers, several of which I still own, and the Mini somehow touches on that same vein of fascination. C’mon Apple, please indulge me with at least one more kickass Mini release. 
    GeorgeBMacargonautwatto_cobraraoulduke42
  • Reply 23 of 45
      I too love my mini iPad 4. I hate the thought that Apple feels like these wonderful devices that they have incorporated into our lives are now obsolete.  I had an  A larger size iPad and sold it and bought the smaller version and have loved it ever since.   I need a phone that I can put in my pocket and I need an iPad that I can hold in one hand and I doubt very seriously after seeing all the comments above that I am the only one that feels this way .  Apple will sell their larger iPads and their large your phones but if they were to offer an upgraded version of the many people would buy it too  and be willing to pay the price for it .   Too bad no one at Apple will ever see these remarks  😕
    GeorgeBMacwatto_cobraraoulduke42
  • Reply 24 of 45
    macapfel said:
    This sounds like chicken and egg: I use my mini daily and would love to upgrade it - yet, there is no upgrade. Second the price is ridiculously high compared to the other iPads. So, of course Apple doesn’t sell many iPad minis. Maybe this would change with a decent upgrade and more appropriate price tag. 
    Compared to the $429 128GB 9.7” iPad with the non-laminated screen, is the $399 mini 4 really that overpriced?  Sure the CPU is outdated at this point but the 2GB of RAM covers for that to a fair degree and the screen is beautiful. As Eric_WVGG mentions above, Apple hasn’t updated it yet because they haven’t had to. It’s a low volume product and Apple’s going to stretch the refreshes. btw, iOS 12 beta users say it’s much faster. 

    I think they'll update it next spring. Hope it goes “Pro” with minimal bezels, rounded corners, smaller form factor with same size screen, FaceID, ProMotion, better speakers etc. $479 maybe for 64GB. Or just a CPU refresh; an A11 would give it at least 3 more years of shelf life. 
    edited August 2018 dewmeargonautwatto_cobra
  • Reply 25 of 45
    firelockfirelock Posts: 238member
    My wife and daughter love their iPad minis. I work in creative, and ALL of the women ADs that I work with who have iPads own iPad minis. While anecdotal, I think Minis are very popular with women. I suspect if no other reason because women tend to have smaller hands than men. Something that men are prone to forget. The minis is also perfect as an e-reader, and it is a statistical fact that women read more books than men. And I also don’t buy the argument that larger iPhones somehow fill this niche. My daughter, for example, loves her iPhone SE. She doesn’t want a big phone, she wants a mini iPad.
    irelandGeorgeBMacdewmeargonautwatto_cobra
  • Reply 26 of 45
    I’m an old Blackberry fan. I still use my PlayBook for some things. I also have an original smaller keyboard Kindle. Yet, my daily go to for many things, including schooling and linking through OneNote, using TeamViewer, ForScore (in both choral music and orchestral on the stand) is done on my Mini4. Sadly I only have the 16GB version, but I only wish that they would add pencil capability. I even when on the road with my 11.6” PC use it with XDisplay to give me a second touchscreen extended display. And my phone is a 7+, and it’s definitely not a suitable substitute, as some software doesn’t play well on that form factor. So when it’s abandoned, I’ll probably pick up a refurbished 128 GB, maybe with LTE. There’s still a great role for them, especially since I have used  Tweakbox to load Kodi and can now stream to my ATV4. 
    Not all of us want or need a Slablet. 
    GeorgeBMacdewmeargonautwatto_cobra
  • Reply 27 of 45
    How can it be dead?  Still account for around 18% of all iPad sales even with no update going on 4 years!
    irelandGeorgeBMacdewmewozwozavon b7watto_cobra
  • Reply 28 of 45
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Eric_WVGG said:
    nunzy said:
    Now that Apple makes phones with normal sized screens, there's little need for iPadMini. So few people buy them that they are not worth making anymore.
    Megaphones are still too small to comfortably read books. And regular iPads too big.

    "so few people buy them" dude they're everywhere, hugely popular. But everything they're good at — books, basic web browsing, cash registers — just doesn't demand a good CPU. And with iOS 12 they're even faster than new.

    Apple isn't updating them because they don't have to. Sucks, but whatever.
    Read the book? There’s $50 Kindle for it. However, Android in kindle is pos!
  • Reply 29 of 45
    Damn shame if Apple eventually axes. It is one of Apple's best decisions ever in terms of form factor. I use mine as a dedicated e-reader, and it's exactly perfect for that purpose.

    Apply some or all of the most recent 9.7-inch iPad design decisions, drop the price, market it correctly. The form factor slots into the the space between the iPhone Plus and iPad, neither of which is great for long-term e-reader use.
    GeorgeBMacdewmeargonautwozwozwatto_cobra
  • Reply 30 of 45
    HyperealityHypereality Posts: 58unconfirmed, member
    SWMBO likes her mini because unlike a 9.7" iPad it fits in her handbag

    As she is small, its also easier for her to hold to read books in bed (her main use)

    You cannot read ebooks comfortably on an iPhone (at least not if you are of a certain age) with a large screen and anyway such phones are too large for many normal or slightly small womens hands. 

    The feminine influence seems missing in Apple's considerations. 

    Had there been better news on the mini I would be buying one to upgrade the mini she has dropped, instead we will be getting the screen glass replaced.
    watto_cobraraoulduke42
  • Reply 31 of 45
    HyperealityHypereality Posts: 58unconfirmed, member

    AI_lias said:
    If they give it the iPhone X treatment, the screen can get bigger within the same frame size, and it will be that much more useful. The other iPads will get correspondingly bigger too.
    I'd buy one if they did this, heck I might get two as both me and my other half could both use them as book readers
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 32 of 45
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,036member
    I would love to see Apple make a device the size of the iPad mini with the current top spec GPU/CPU and be able to function as a full telephone- as in the manner of the iPhone. That also means syncing with the watch, CarPlay capability, etc.

    I would keep my LTE Watch and the device above- call it an iPad or call it an iPhone, I don't care. Would not buy a regular phone again.

    Your mileage may vary, but I imagine more than a few of us would fit into that category.
    watto_cobraraoulduke42
  • Reply 33 of 45
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    I'm among the many who love the Mini.  I bought the Mini 2 so I could read books and magazines on it (electronic subscriptions are so much cheaper and the photos really sing on a Mini) but now I do lots of other things on it, including building design proposals in 3D.  I replaced it with the 4 last Fall.  

    I really hope they don't phase it out and I can see from the comments here that a lot of people would be very disappointed.  I do wonder, though, about the cost compared to some of the other iPads.  And no, I don't think a large format iPhone is the same thing.
    GeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 34 of 45
    IreneWIreneW Posts: 303member
    Too bad, if true. I love my mini 
    GeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 35 of 45
    wozwozwozwoz Posts: 263member
    iPad mini = Best size tablet
    GeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 36 of 45
    macapfel said:
    This sounds like chicken and egg: I use my mini daily and would love to upgrade it - yet, there is no upgrade. Second the price is ridiculously high compared to the other iPads. So, of course Apple doesn’t sell many iPad minis. Maybe this would change with a decent upgrade and more appropriate price tag. 
    From my limited pint of view I’d agree. However, I feel if it would be that easy and obvious they’d do it. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 37 of 45
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    As we see in phones, a small difference in external size can make big differences in usability.   The Mini obviously hits that sweet spot for many.

    My Mini 2 meets my needs quite well.   I have zero complaints with it.   Maybe that is why the Mini has not been updated:   for  most, it simply didn't need to be updated, and Apple doesn't update something for no functional reason.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 38 of 45
    If they'd update it, I'd buy 2 of them the same day... but I need a better CPU, and would LIKE 256GB option.
    The Mini4 is just too laggy on ForeFlight to be worth using. (IMO... compared to the new iPad)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 39 of 45
    I love my mini 2 even though it’s dated now I could not imagine being with out it.
    watto_cobraGeorgeBMac
  • Reply 40 of 45
    I'd love to upgrade our 3 iPad Minis as they struggle with the latest apps and the earlier ones are stuck on iOS 9. It's not only size but weight - the 9.7" iPad is 1.5x heavier and it's VERY noticeable in the hand.

    I also stick to my iPhone SE until Apple replaces it with a similar form factor. Had a 6S for almost 2 years and just couldn't get used to it's enormous size.
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