Not exactly.... I had sold my mini 6 due to fear of having too many iPads. Now I don't care, so I've ordered a mini 7. Embracing the triPad life.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad mini Are you upgrading from mini6 to mini7?
- Thread starter thadoggfather
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Everyone says it’s supposed to, but I wonder why Apple has a category called “A17 Pro Smart Folio” just for the new colors.
Haha, same! I had the 11 inch pro from 2018. Then got the mini 6, but second guessed my choice, sold it and bought the 2021 M1 Pro. Now I’m getting the mini 7, and keeping my pro. If jelly scrolling affects me long term, I can pull out my pro. The purpose for getting the mini again is to use it out and about, work, travel ect.
Yes, primarily so I have access to Apple Intelligence on all my devices. That’s the main reason for the spec bump yesterday. That, and so Apple can phase out the Pencil 2 by standardizing all its iPads on Pencil USB-C and Pencil Pro (except the base model).
The new colors are coordinated to the new colors of the iPad mini. But the new cases also work for the mini 6, so the assumption is that the mini 6 cases will still work on the A17 model.
Yes AI is forcing Apple to put more RAM in than they ordinarily would across all product lines. Whether it's all usable I don't know as I read they may be reserving 2GB for AI only.
Honestly not a good idea if one thinks about it. The price of the refurbished Pro or Pro on sale is comperable to the air. There is no guaranty that the air will get Face ID if we are being honest and thats not touching the promotion and HDR screen or the better speakers etc.
Sam
same situ here - have pencil pro with the M4 iPP 11”, and for me moving to mini 7 from mini 6 means at least the pencil will be usable on both (right now, I have apple pencil 2 which I use for both 13” M2 iPP, and mini 6). Not sure that’s enough of a sway though given the mini 7 still no Face ID, screen not updated etc…
The Pencil Pro support on the mini 7 is intriguing. I currently use a M4 11” with a Pencil Pro (although I don’t really use the Pencil that often), and the idea of having the mini 7 be a tiny A5/A6-like digital notebook to work with the Pencil Pro is exciting. I don’t have a mini 6 but have used it in the past and the jelly scrolling and lower refresh rate really bothered me. Now I also use a MacBook Air so have gotten a bit more used to the lower refresh rate, so I’m curious to see if I can tolerate it on the mini 7, especially since it wouldn’t be my primary iPad anyway.
I had the iPad mini 7 in my cart on the Apple Store app, but I thought about it and I can't really justify the update for my usage, which is basically web browsing, YouTube, note-taking, and a couple of games that have no issue running on my iPad mini 6. I have an Apple Pencil 2 but I only use it to write, so I can't really justify the need for a Pencil Pro. I already have the 256GB model and while cellular/GPS would be nice, I don't want to pay for an extra data line (especially when I can just use a hotspot) and any time I'd need a GPS it's more likely that I have my phone with me. Jelly scroll is noticeable but doesn't really bother me since I'm not reading if the text is scrolling down anyways.
At this point we don't even know if the jelly scroll has been fixed or if it truly has 8GB of RAM. I'll skip this generation and hope the next one brings some of the features I'd like: OLED and/or ProMotion screen, and M-series chip (or at least feature parity with the iPad Air with regards to Sidecar and Center Stage).
At this point we don't even know if the jelly scroll has been fixed or if it truly has 8GB of RAM. I'll skip this generation and hope the next one brings some of the features I'd like: OLED and/or ProMotion screen, and M-series chip (or at least feature parity with the iPad Air with regards to Sidecar and Center Stage).
I think it's because of hype, and iPhone is seen as much more of a necessity.
Most people think of iPads as a secondary / luxury item.
That and tablets have even more incremental updates on average that dont translate to much of a different in user experience if any at all.
I actually pre-ordered the mini 7 and wound up cancelling it about 20 minutes later after I thought more about it. Obviously I would have loved OLED and ProMotion, but neither one of those things were rumored so I didn't expect that.
I would have been happy with just the spec bump, except for the fact that Apple didn't even put this year's processor in it. I know it's not a huge difference, but it's the principle for me. I'm going to stick with my mini 6 for now, pray this isn't the last mini, and hope we can get an upgrade with OLED sooner than 3 years from now.
I would have been happy with just the spec bump, except for the fact that Apple didn't even put this year's processor in it. I know it's not a huge difference, but it's the principle for me. I'm going to stick with my mini 6 for now, pray this isn't the last mini, and hope we can get an upgrade with OLED sooner than 3 years from now.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I'd rather hope for a folding (down) iPad mini. Why? What's the difference?
Folding Phone will have to cost more than iPhones that do not fold. Apple being AAPL: maybe $1999? Probably $2499.
Phone plans are relatively expensive. Average American Phone bill is approximately. $114/month. If one shops around, the average of "low cost" options ends up at about $47/month after short-term promo discounts, etc fall off. Yes, there are some exceptions... but that's national average... which means many are paying much more than that to pull up the super-cheapie rates some others pay.
A folding (down) cellular iPad Mini would have to cost more than Mini. But if we put similar AAPL pricing on it, is that $999? $1299? Probably NOT more than $1299.
There is a 5G cellular data plan for iPad that is only $10 for 5GB or 5 months. If one can be a data miser when using 5G and/or save the heavy consumption (video for example) for when they are in a free wifi zones, they can get by for a year for about $25. I actually do this myself already. Basically that's a little over $2/month for 5G data. VOIP app with buds for calls and I have a $2/month "cell phone" permanently "unfolded" now.
So fold-out iPhone is likely to be very expensive for both device and ongoing 5G service... much more so than fold-down cellular iPad and ongoing 5G service. Both would have a fold state to fit in a pocket. Both would have cellular 5G. Etc.
Given the profit-per-unit opportunity, I'm quite confident there WILL be a wallet-emptying iPhone fold sooner or later. I'm less confident there will be a fold-down cellular iPad Mini. But if the latter does show, I'm first in line. The one great advantage of iPhone over Cellular Mini for me is pocket-ability. Yes, there are some other things too, but that's the only one I really covet... just not enough to pay up for 2 devices, nor pay so much more for ongoing 5G, etc.
Last edited:
While I am disappointed that this update didn't include ProMotion (which I didn't really expect anyway), I am still going to upgrade from the 6 to the 7. Mostly just because I want to, honestly! Not because I can truly justify it. I'd be much happier to buy an iPad Mini Pro! But my reasoning is similar to what gsmornot mentioned above. By the time the 8 comes out, the 6 will probably be at least 6 years old and my battery is already showing its age. Plus, Apple already sees the mini as not selling well...if I quit upgrading every cycle, they might stop making it altogether!
Additionally, between the education pricing and the trade-in value of the 6, total price comes to something like $260 for the base model 7 WIFI only. Takes some of the sting out of the lackluster upgrades. Also, I kept my 13 pro max for another year...so this feels like a "reward" for resisting the call of a new iPhone!
Additionally, between the education pricing and the trade-in value of the 6, total price comes to something like $260 for the base model 7 WIFI only. Takes some of the sting out of the lackluster upgrades. Also, I kept my 13 pro max for another year...so this feels like a "reward" for resisting the call of a new iPhone!
Yeah, jelly was another factor that led to my previous mini selloff. If they didn’t fix the display to not have such egregious jelly scrolling in its portrait orientation for Gen 7 then I’m returning day one, for sure.
No, I’m fine with the 6, for what I use it for. Nothing heavier than what the 6 can handle.
I bring it with me when the iPhone isn’t enough though.
But it have to be a bigger upgrade if I will bite so it can be kept a bit longer.
In most cases, beyond just some scrolling, I reach for my MBA anyway.
Jelly scrolling hasn't been a problem on my 6 either.
I bring it with me when the iPhone isn’t enough though.
But it have to be a bigger upgrade if I will bite so it can be kept a bit longer.
In most cases, beyond just some scrolling, I reach for my MBA anyway.
Jelly scrolling hasn't been a problem on my 6 either.
For what? What are you doing on the mini that double the ram matters…other than to just have it?
It makes a difference, coming from 4GB RAM Apple devices to 8GB, you will notice more apps and safari tabs stay open basically all the time as an example.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Not sure where this comes from but I've seen it in several posts. Last data I saw that appeared to be reliable (not just a variety of opinions written in an online forum) claimed that 1 out of every 5 iPads sold is iPad Mini. There's a LOT of iPads. If 1 out of every 5 is Mini, it's a pretty popular iPad.
While I'm just one guy and thus no statistics can be inferred, it's the ONLY iPad I choose to buy/own. And if they did discontinue it, I'd probably go Android tablet for the small size before going with a bigger iPad or a hypothetical iPhone fold.
I know what ram does, but on an iPad mini, what “computing” are you doing that it really matters…and I’m the king of having Tabs up. 😂. I get having more is always nice.
Even for basic tablet things the jump from 4GB to 8GB is noteworthy, especially in 2024 when apps and websites use increasingly more memory. I feel like safari, music, and a note taking app like Goodnotes / Notability / Apple Notes would be a common use case for a student for example that would benefit from additional RAM.
Plus, it seems that 8GB is Apple’s baseline for machines compatible Apple Intelligence.
I don't think so. It's not like I have performance issues with the Mini 6 and a performance boost is the main thing this new one is touting.
No I don't find, going between the IPP (8GB) and the Mini, that the RAM makes that much of a difference. The OS is too limited anyway.
But maybe "Apple Intelligence" gets launched over here in the EU eventually and maybe it turns out to actually be useful. In that case I might want my entire arsenal to be compatible.
No I don't find, going between the IPP (8GB) and the Mini, that the RAM makes that much of a difference. The OS is too limited anyway.
But maybe "Apple Intelligence" gets launched over here in the EU eventually and maybe it turns out to actually be useful. In that case I might want my entire arsenal to be compatible.
I get that. I guess my point was, the 4 to 8 gigs of ram was a spec update….alone, not really a reason to upgrade.