When was the middle shrink-expansion? I only remember the final shrink.
The writer of this editorial piece has an interesting and very plausible theory as to why the higher capacity was kept: https://www.macobserver.com/columns-opinions/editorial/why-ipad-mini-on-deathbed/
Also as to why Apple hasn't killed it as of yet.
Of course, they're not bound by the laws of physics...wait, what am I saying?! We're ALL bound by the laws of physics! But I get what you're saying. Surely, trends are not the end all be all of what Apple will or will not do. Merely that they're indication of whether you'd be foolish to be willing to go to Vegas and how much you'd be willing to wager on predicting said Apple product line's fate.
And really, I'm sharing your hope as well. I'm freakin' pissed that in order to at least be at an A9, I need to forego the 7.9" iPad form factor. It seems stupid and unfair. But, like you, I'm not holding my breath and probably for the same reasons you're not.
Again, pretty moot seeing as the only way you're buying an iPad mini with the inferior color gamut (i.e. the mini 2 or 3) is if you buy refurbished or used. Whatever floats your boat, man?
Do you even know what you're talking about anymore?
You put the bold-faced word in my mouth. I never said it was for certain. I only said that it was an EXTREMELY SAFE BET, so much so that it almost might as well be. But I never said that it was.
Depends on your definition of "successor model". By your definition, namely something that has the exact same technical specs, no, it has not been replaced by anything. The point of the argument is that by your definition it very likely never will be.
By my definition of "successor model"...which, to be fair, isn't even my definition - so, let's just say from the MARKETING definition, which is to say that from a solely marketing standpoint (because Apple is, after all, a marketing-centric company first and foremost), the iPad mini has been replaced by the 9.7" "Fifth Generation" iPad as the most affordable iPad. This is not the only reason why people buy an iPad mini. I'm also guessing that it isn't the reason anyone participating in this thread buys the iPad mini (certainly not why I've done it). But it's a reason that DOES influence sales numbers and IS significant to Apple because marketing is significant to Apple and that's how they've marketed the iPad mini at the present time. Apple has not historically elevated products in the position the iPad mini is in now back to being ones that are not at the end of the line. Therefore it is an extremely safe bet that it is done.
There you go putting that word back in my mouth again. I never said it was certain. I said it might as well be certain...that it was a safe bet if you wanted to bet money on it. But I never at any point said that it was definite or certain. Apple has yet to put out a press release. That said, I'm not making any technology plans around the future of the iPad mini line because I am, sadly, extremely confident that there won't be one.
I'm totally with you on this one. I'm typically wary of updating anything with the processor family that is second to oldest. And if the oldest, I only do it if it is a test device of some sort. I've done it with iOS 11 and the iPad mini 2 and with iOS 9 and the third generation iPad. It is always crappy to use. Second to oldest processor family devices certainly still function and will often suffice for simple tasks, but the experience sucks, which makes buying one new sort of a crappy proposition (unless you can somehow guarantee that it comes with an older version of iOS).
I get the feeling that given the iPad mini's commercial usefulness (as portable POS systems, among other professional purposes (and widespread deployment), it will make sense for them to do something toward that effort...though perhaps its continued existence, especially at the higher capacity and pricepoint than the baseline Fifth Generation iPad might be for that purpose. Then again, at some point, if I was a business and I needed something of that size to use for those purposes, I'd see about switching to Samsung as they seem to not be stopping the production of mini tablets; having just introduced a new Galaxy Tab A 8.0 that apparently isn't totally underpowered.
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