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Apple, please bring us an updated iPad mini!

Wirenut said:
Personally, I absolutely love the iPad Mini size and think it’s better than the Nexus 7 that I had. It’s perfectly sized for both function and portability, for me at least.
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Sure, size preference is pretty subjective. The mini is a great size for me a lot of the times (definitely don’t want bigger), but the slightly smaller width of the nexus 7—which made it comfortably palm-able and able to fit in any of my back pockets—for me added so much more mobility (and therefore more scenarios in which I could/would use it) than the slightly smaller screen subtracted functionality.

Wirenut said:
It’s big enough for me to be using right now on my recliner at home but small enough to fit into a cargo pocket and use in customer’s houses.
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Do you hold the mini with one hand in front of your face when you’re reclining? That’s one scenario that always frustrates me. When I’m reading for long periods (ebooks, long articles, etc) lying down or reclining I want a tablet small enough to comfortably palm and hold in front of my face (with my elbow resting beside me). With the mini being far too wide to palm comfortably I find I always need gravity to assist me, which means I always have to hold it below eye level, which means I have to sit up or lie on my side. When I briefly used a nexus 7, I found it perfect for these scenarios.

Edit- punctuation and where I rest my elbow
 
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subjonas said:
Do you hold the mini with one hand in front of your face when you’re reclining? That’s one scenario that always frustrates me. When I’m reading for long periods (ebooks, long articles, etc) lying down or reclining I want a tablet small enough to comfortably palm and hold in front of my face (with my elbow resting on my torso). With the mini being far too wide to palm comfortably I find I always need gravity to assist me, which means I always have to hold it below eye level, which means I have to sit up or lie on my side. When I briefly used a nexus 7, I found it perfect for these scenarios.
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im 5 ft 7 in and I can palm the iPad mini rather readily, although I don’t prefer to use it like that.
 
rkuo said:
im 5 ft 7 in and I can palm the iPad mini rather readily, although I don’t prefer to use it like that.
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Is that because it’s uncomfortable? Comfortable is the operative word. I can palm it too but at best it’s slightly uncomfortable and at worst it’s very painful, depending. If it actually hurts my fingers to hold it above eye level (screen angled toward my face) then I personally don’t consider that comfortably palm-able.
 
sracer said:
In the end, Apple isn't concerned with whether or not people are "happy", but where their money is going. If Apple discontinues the Mini, where will Mini fans go? There really aren't any viable 8" alternatives other than the Amazon Kindle Fire 8" (which is a bit locked down). That means that Apple expects Mini fans to either buy a larger iPhone or a larger iPad.

I'd like to think that Apple understands the importance of the Mini and produces an update soon.
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There aren’t any viable 8 inch tablets around which is exactly why I had to buy the mini 4 in January of this year. The fire tablets not only do not really suit my needs in terms of ecosystem but the quality isn’t really there either as I bought one of the kids ones for my 22 month old at Christmas. It’s ok for a toddler but not for me.

The only other semi decent small tablet is the 8.4 tab S2 but that came out in 2015 like the mini but doesn’t even run on the latest OS and will never be updated to Oreo. At least the mini is current and will most likely see iOS 12 as a last update.
 
subjonas said:
Sure, size preference is pretty subjective. The mini is a great size for me a lot of the times (definitely don’t want bigger), but the slightly smaller width of the nexus 7—which made it comfortably palm-able and able to fit in any of my back pockets—for me added so much more mobility (and therefore more scenarios in which I could/would use it) than the slightly smaller screen subtracted functionality.



Do you hold the mini with one hand in front of your face when you’re reclining? That’s one scenario that always frustrates me. When I’m reading for long periods (ebooks, long articles, etc) lying down or reclining I want a tablet small enough to comfortably palm and hold in front of my face (with my elbow resting beside me). With the mini being far too wide to palm comfortably I find I always need gravity to assist me, which means I always have to hold it below eye level, which means I have to sit up or lie on my side. When I briefly used a nexus 7, I found it perfect for these scenarios.

Edit- punctuation and where I rest my elbow
Click to expand...

While sitting I mainly use it in landscape mode and hold it with 2 hands. I hold it with 2 thumbs at the bottom and my middle fingers on the sides, leaving my pointer fingers to touch the screen from either side.

While standing in a customer's house I will generally hold it in portrait mode with my left hand and tap it with my right finger. I never paml it with one hand (spreading fingers to both sides), I hold it on the edge since the case I use gives me more grip than it naked.

For reading in portrait mode while sitting I would hold it similarly, but put my pinky finger underneath for more support. I cant see myself ever palming it.
 
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One of the big reasons iPad sales were declining over the last couple of years was that the iPad Mini models were largely falling out of favor due to the rise of bigger smartphones. The decline in iPad mini sales was a HUGE part of that overall decline. Samsung started this with the Note, and Apple followed suit shortly after with the 6+. The iPad mini market is now pretty mini itself but has bottomed. You saw sales rise again due to the iPad Pros and baseline iPad updates and no real uptick or slowdown in the already pretty shrunken iPad Mini market.

There is a misconception out there that a Plus model iPhone is almost as big as an iPad mini. It so isn't. But that's the perception. People want a large phone that's still pocketable rather than a smaller tablet that isn't pocketable for most people. There are probably just enough people still buying iPad mini 4 where Apple doesn't want to kill it just yet, but it's a dying product, in my opinion.

Honestly, I love the mini. I gave my mini 3 to my wife when I got the iPad Pro, and she is still using it and loves it. But it really doesn't belong in the lineup anymore when you look at where the market is moving: bigger phones, bigger tablets.
 
ThunderSkunk said:
The Mini4 runs along on iOS10, but with iOS11 it was a sluggish unresponsive jalopy, and I luckily downgraded it back to 10 in time.

It's the only iOS device I even use, but it's the perfect size to be as big as possible while still fitting in a back pocket or jacket, and it can still be held securely in one hand and operated with the other. I use it for everything, including Skype, replacing a phone. If only they'd add an Apple Pencil digitizer in the display stack, we could take accurate notes and sketches on it, making it the single most useful device in the world.

I bet they'll kill it off instead.
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While I really don't fit the mini in my pants pocket - it does fit in a jacket pocket. So pocketable is a good feature.

I posted in another thread - but the thing I like is palmable - which will become more important when the bezels shrink because when you're palming a device, your fingers don't cover the screen as much as when pinching the thing between two fingers.

So there you go - pocket-able and palm-able. It's hard to argue logic like that :). So yeah, you're right, they'll probably just kill it off.
 
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Dear Apple,

Please make me an iPad mini 5 with the A10 processor and pencil support from the 2018 iPad! I will pay the same money for it as the 9.7. The mini is not a lesser product, and can be sold at the same prices.

Many, many of us love our iPad minis! Please bring us a new mini.

Thanks,

Jimbo Limbo

P.S. Sneak it into your next iPad Pro refresh announcement, and give it less than one minute. We do not mind if it does not get hype, we just want the product!
 
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Jimbo Limbo said:
Dear Apple,

Please make me an iPad mini 5 with the A10 processor and pencil support from the 2018 iPad! I will pay the same money for it as the 9.7. The mini is not a lesser product, and can be sold at the same prices.

Many, many of us love our iPad minis! Please bring us a new mini.

Thanks,

Jimbo Limbo

P.S. Sneak it into your next iPad Pro refresh announcement, and give it less than one minute. We do not mind if it does not get hype, we just want the product!
Click to expand...

Are you actually sending them this letter? You should. Every voice may be like a drop in the ocean, but enough drops may make some ripples.
 
spiderman0616 said:
One of the big reasons iPad sales were declining over the last couple of years was that the iPad Mini models were largely falling out of favor due to the rise of bigger smartphones. The decline in iPad mini sales was a HUGE part of that overall decline. Samsung started this with the Note, and Apple followed suit shortly after with the 6+. The iPad mini market is now pretty mini itself but has bottomed. You saw sales rise again due to the iPad Pros and baseline iPad updates and no real uptick or slowdown in the already pretty shrunken iPad Mini market.

There is a misconception out there that a Plus model iPhone is almost as big as an iPad mini. It so isn't. But that's the perception. People want a large phone that's still pocketable rather than a smaller tablet that isn't pocketable for most people. There are probably just enough people still buying iPad mini 4 where Apple doesn't want to kill it just yet, but it's a dying product, in my opinion.

Honestly, I love the mini. I gave my mini 3 to my wife when I got the iPad Pro, and she is still using it and loves it. But it really doesn't belong in the lineup anymore when you look at where the market is moving: bigger phones, bigger tablets.
Click to expand...
Some truth to this, but consumers aren’t total idiots. Few consumers are going to buy outdated tech at an inflated price. The base iPad has gotten two refreshes for pete’s sake. Apple needs to stop creating self fulfilling prophecies and understand how the iPad mini is an important ecosystem piece. Let it ride the advancements in the mainstream form factors if needed, but don’t abandon it.
 
Even just a bump to the chip would be good, though I wouldn't mind seeing four speakers as well, along with smaller capacity options. 128GB is a bit much, especially as the only option, and lower capacities would help bring the price down.
 
GooberMan said:
Even just a bump to the chip would be good, though I wouldn't mind seeing four speakers as well, along with smaller capacity options. 128GB is a bit much, especially as the only option, and lower capacities would help bring the price down.
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I never had a space issue with my 16Gig Mini 2, so 32Gigs would be more than plenty. But why would Apple give me what I want when they can gouge me for 8 times more than I need, and then take the entire product away making me buy another one that I don't want at all?
 
I own a 10.5" iPad Pro but the mini will always hold a place in my heart. It was always the right mix of displayed content and unobtrusive size. The laminated display is still better than the one in the current iPad but the rest of it is so old.

I think this is the Tim Cook effect, something is selling well enough to keep offering but not enough to update. Same reason we have the MacBook Air and the 2015 MacBook Pros still available - they can't bring the high-end features of the new machines down to the prices of the old ones so people keep buying the old ones.
 
https://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html

Dear Tim Cook,

Please make me an updated iPad mini! I would like an A10 processor and apple pencil support, just like the 2018 iPad 9.7.

As the mini is NOT a lesser product, it does NOT need to be sold at a lower price.

Many, many of use love our iPad minis, but want updated hardware to better support new iOS versions and apps.

Please bring the new iPad mini at the next iPad event, later this spring.

In the keynotes, you say that you are listening to customers. Please let this be one of those times.

Thanks,

Here is the letter I sent and the place I sent it. Feel free to do likewise!
 
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Apple is just now not really consumer driven or product driven company. They are more of a reactive company now! If Samsung or another major competitor creates something cool, Apple will wait till it been full developed and then copy it and introduce it as a completely "new" Apple device! I think it a smart strategy since keeps the R&D budget to almost nothing since technology is already being used for several years and Apple just scoops it up for pennies on the dollar.
 
If apple goes bezel less for the next ipad pros, making the 10.5” an 11” screen and the 12.9” ipad pro a 13.5” screen...then wouldn’t it make sense to offer a bezel-less ipad mini pro with an 8.5” screen instead of the current 7.9” screen? That would be so great. The perfect portable ipad for me.
 
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I think you’ll see a new, updated mini at the lower price point. Why? This is based on anecdotal experience, but a mini fits much better into a purse than a 9.7”. My daughter just bought a keyboard for her mini and uses it to take client notes on the go. I just offered to buy my wife the 9.7 iPad to read emails and Facebook in bed at night (she loves her SE but it’s a pain for her to read at night) and instead she offered to switch with my other daughter for her old mini. My wife has friends that carry the 9.7 from the Black Friday sales in their pocketbook and they would have preferred something smaller but this hit the price point. Me? I want the 12.9 but refuse to pay their price for it so I’m at my Air 2 for the moment unless I decide to trade it in... i’ll decide that after I see hers. The way I look at .. the Air2 is worth a $185 in trade in. My daughters new iPad was $410 after AppleCare and tax. So for a little over $200, I get a new device and an extra 2 years warranty. I never take pictures and rarely use it outside so it doesn’t matter.
 
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Dr_Charles_Forbin, Everything you say makes sense, and I agree that there is a market for the Mini due to it's smaller size. But Apple does whatever they want, and it's often not the choice to please customers.

I am still waiting for a Mac Mini or any other desktop computer other than a Pro that I can connect to my monitor. It would be super simple for them just just update the 4 year old Mini with new hardware and sell it. But they won't do it. I see the iPad Mini dying off the same way.
 
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Wirenut said:
Dr_Charles_Forbin, Everything you say makes sense, and I agree that there is a market for the Mini due to it's smaller size. But Apple does whatever they want, and it's often not the choice to please customers.

I am still waiting for a Mac Mini or any other desktop computer other than a Pro that I can connect to my monitor. It would be super simple for them just just update the 4 year old Mini with new hardware and sell it. But they won't do it. I see the iPad Mini dying off the same way.
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I’m still waiting for that too. I have a late 2014 Mac Mini that I’ve debating upgrading vs. buying new. Fortunately for me I use my MBP for almost everything - the Mac mini is almost in a server role. I’d like to swap out the SSD for something larger (I’m on an external HDD with Thunderbolt 2) but it is getting a bit long in the tooth. If I could find someone I trust, I’d have swap out the SSD or keep it as a second drive. I can swap out a drive on a desktop or a laptop no problem, but I’ve heard horror stories about opening up the mini. OWC is not an option... I’ve heard bad stories about their drives. Don’t even think about the accessory storage that plugs into the SD slot - it’s real picky. I had it and sent it back.

Just opened my daughters new iPad - I don’t see the problem other people have had. Looks fine to me.
 
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Jimbo Limbo said:
https://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html

Here is the letter I sent and the place I sent it. Feel free to do likewise!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link! Here's mine:

"I have owned just about every model of iPad, and have given many iPads as gifts to family members. The one I still love the most is the Mini. The size is absolutely perfect (although I would never say no to decreasing the bezel or weight). I've been a proponent of positioning the Mini as the premiere gaming device compared to ANY platform. The Nintendo Switch shows a clear market space for a screen size around 8". With a couple of nice accessories, the Mini could redefine and dominate the portable gaming market space.

Please don't give up on the Mini, even a processor bump to show you haven't dropped the product and allow gamers to play the latest and greatest, would be appreciated!"
 
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