iPad mini iPad mini 7 doubled the RAM and storage and kept the price the same?

[ct2k7]

Absolutely this. Mini can’t have an M Chip, so they need to give the most up to date A chip to avoid users feeling short changed. 128/8 is only as expected, the pleasant surprise being that a storage upgrade is cheaper than on the Mini 6. The cost of storage and cellular upgrades were identical with the 6.

Mini users also know they’re more likely to be kept waiting the longest for the next version.

A17 is not the latest A-series chip.

 

[cateye]

Not my job, or anyone's job, to celebrate Apple's releases. We can both use and appreciate their products and call out their long-standing profiteering and price gouging. A $499 iPad Mini with 128GB storage and 8GB is now what I would call "reasonable," if still a little overpriced with that chintzy 60hz jelly screen. A binned A17 Pro is an odd choice, but not something I see as a problem. Most iPads are vastly overpowered for their traditional use-cases anyway. But overall, it's a better deal than it's been since the redesign and the price hike. If Apple waits another 3 years to update it, however, it will become a bad deal all over again.

No corporation deserves "fans." That's cult behavior.

 

[KPOM]

Absolutely this. Mini can’t have an M Chip, so they need to give the most up to date A chip to avoid users feeling short changed. 128/8 is only as expected, the pleasant surprise being that a storage upgrade is cheaper than on the Mini 6. The cost of storage and cellular upgrades were identical with the 6.

Mini users also know they’re more likely to be kept waiting the longest for the next version.

There’s not that much difference between the A17 Pro and the A18. Yes, the latter is more efficient, but it isn’t as if the A17 Pro is a slouch. Even 3 years from now (the next logical update for the mini) it should still be adequate.

 

[bniu]

I wonder if the jump to 128GB base storage and 8GB RAM was more a case of the A17 Pro literally requiring there to be at least 128GB of storage and it only supports 8GB RAM, no more, no less?

I believe the base iPad had to move up to 64GB storage once they went to A13 since A13 expects to see at least 64GB storage.

Apple’s known for their highly optimized designs, remember the Studio Display technically has 64GB of storage onboard because of that A13 chip that can only support storage sizes between 64-512GB.

Apple’s probably got a lot of binned A17 Pro chips left over from iPhone 15 Pro/Max production, and I guess iPad mini is a low volume product, so it’s a good use of those chips. I wonder if they’ve already closed down A17 Pro chip production and what they have on hand is projected to last them long enough for the next 2-3 years, and if the mini sells quicker than expected, then I’d expect a quiet spec bump to the A18 Pro.

 

[Substance90]

They literally increased RAM and storage to the bare minimum of the tablet industry for 2024 🫤 The mini should have had a better screen!

 

[Starfia]

Note also that they're not even calling it "7," "7th generation," or anything like that. I think they're referring to it only by the chip now.

I might charitably regard "complainers" as people with specific wishes whose wishes weren't granted – I get that. If I had to dig for a complaint, I suppose it might be that the transition from iPad mini 5 to iPad mini 6 was also an unprecedented price increase for iPad mini.

 

[Nautilus007]

Bezels are too big, and 60hz refresh is truly gimping the device.
Also, iOS still doesnt feel optimized for the iPad mini.

 

[Astuces iOS]

Bezels are too big, and 60hz refresh is truly gimping the device.
Also, iOS still doesnt feel optimized for the iPad mini.

60hz is perfect for most of people... I actually don't see the difference... iPadOS is perfect for me (I have mini 6) and I like bezels...(no bezels no FaceTime camera bro)

 

[subjonas]

iOS still doesnt feel optimized for the iPad mini.

(You mean iPadOS) In what ways?

 

[Dianneeraser]

Did I get this right? And people are complaining? Doesn't this kind of prove that no matter what Apple does, people will complain?

The iPad mini 7 isn't a different product, it is a refresh of an existing one. Typically with refreshes at best you get faster Wi-Fi and a faster CPU. They literally doubled the RAM from 4GB to 8GB and doubled the base model storage from 64GB to 128GB and kept it at the same $499 price. This is besides the usual refresh items like a faster CPU.

I don't understand the complaints? I can understand complaints if they released something like an iPad mini Pro that didn't have OLED or something. But this is the same model, just newer. Why are people complaining?

Apple‘s magic marketing worked on you and you didn’t even realize it. The mini should have had these specs and price three years ago. This update should have been 120 hz and AOD AND maybe a price increase. Yet, you celebrate Apple keeping the price the same on three years ago old spec increases😂.

 

[HouseLannister]

It takes zero effort (r&d) to increase ram and storage.

And zero effort to complain about it on a forum.

 

[Kendo]

Apple‘s magic marketing worked on you and you didn’t even realize it. The mini should have had these specs and price three years ago. This update should have been 120 hz and AOD AND maybe a price increase. Yet, you celebrate Apple keeping the price the same on three years ago old spec increases😂.

I get your point but this is a fairly arbitrary statement. "Apple should've included XYZ at price 123 eons ago".

Not to say Apple's employees are 100x smarter than anyone else, but the prices they come up with aren't based on any emotion or throwing darts on the board. I'm sure they take into account every factor of the creation process (design, R&D, manufacturing costs, employee costs, etc.) to come up with a price point that allows the company to make money, their shareholders to make money, and as affordable as possible to the masses.

Unlike us forum members who just state on a whim something like "iPhone non-Pro models should have ProMotion and base MacBook Pros should come with 16GB of RAM because Apple already has enough money".

 

[Starfia]

Apple‘s magic marketing worked on you and you didn’t even realize it. The mini should have had these specs and price three years ago. This update should have been 120 hz and AOD AND maybe a price increase.

Agreed – and a nuclear power generator, a micro-espresso filtrator, a medical-grade dialysis machine, and a modest flying lawn mower. Anyone who doesn't understand this has, as you say, had their objectivity compromised.

 

[macfacts]

And zero effort to complain about it on a forum.

No one is paying me to be here and apple isn't giving hardware away for free.

 

[Abazigal]

The iPad mini feels like the iPhone 13 mini in that sense. It's the smallest device in its category, it's also more inexpensive for a reason, and it is where it is because Apple doesn't expect it to sell well enough to justify better upgrades like an OLED display or 120hz refresh or even a form factor refresh.

Above Avalon: Peak iPad Mini

The iPad mini's best days are behind it. Using app analytics data from Fiksu and Mixpanel, along with my own iOS device sales estimates and projections, I was able to derive iPad mini sales since launch. Over the past two years, iPad mini sales trends have deterio

www.aboveavalon.com

This article is worth a read if you are interested in understanding why the iPad mini is where it is. It's a problem going all the way back to 2015. So not really a new phenomenon either. It's still around because of enterprise use cases, 8gb ram modernises it and gets it ready for Apple Intelligence, and anyone who understands how Apple operates shouldn't really be surprised at this point.

 

[Analog Kid]

Did I get this right? And people are complaining? Doesn't this kind of prove that no matter what Apple does, people will complain?

The iPad mini 7 isn't a different product, it is a refresh of an existing one. Typically with refreshes at best you get faster Wi-Fi and a faster CPU. They literally doubled the RAM from 4GB to 8GB and doubled the base model storage from 64GB to 128GB and kept it at the same $499 price. This is besides the usual refresh items like a faster CPU.

I don't understand the complaints? I can understand complaints if they released something like an iPad mini Pro that didn't have OLED or something. But this is the same model, just newer. Why are people complaining?

Never, ever, open the comment section expecting to find happy people.

 

[Johnny365]

Point being, get the device you want and if the upgrades of a new version are sufficient to you, by all means. There are people who are never satisfied with a new announced product (not worth the upgrade, it's still missing this or that), but what's important is your purchasing decision. Get the device you want and be happy!

 

[bluespark]

The sad fact is apple now treats smaller devices as budget models. Many people like myself would happily pay for better specs in a smaller package (iPad or iPhone), but we are a small minority that apparently apple doesn’t see as being worthwhile to cater to.

Personally I think the new mini is a fine value and solid upgrade, and I’ll definitely pick one up… at the first decent sale 😆

I'm not complaining about the update, but I do agree with this. The first thing I checked when I heard about the update was whether the screen had been refreshed and whether a nano-texture version was available. But I'm not buying a mini as a budget device, but rather as a small device.

 

[boss.king]

Did I get this right? And people are complaining? Doesn't this kind of prove that no matter what Apple does, people will complain?

The iPad mini 7 isn't a different product, it is a refresh of an existing one. Typically with refreshes at best you get faster Wi-Fi and a faster CPU. They literally doubled the RAM from 4GB to 8GB and doubled the base model storage from 64GB to 128GB and kept it at the same $499 price. This is besides the usual refresh items like a faster CPU.

I don't understand the complaints? I can understand complaints if they released something like an iPad mini Pro that didn't have OLED or something. But this is the same model, just newer. Why are people complaining?

It’s a lacklustre update to a product with a long history of infrequent and lacklustre updates. They doubled the storage from inadequate to barely adequate for a 2024 device, and the RAM increase was just so they could force Apple Intelligence on users if/when it ever starts doing anything.

I don’t own an iPad Mini or care much about it, but it’s completely understandable that longtime users would feel let down when Apple continues to give this product line the absolute minimum possible effort.

 

[bluespark]

The iPad mini feels like the iPhone 13 mini in that sense. It's the smallest device in its category, it's also more inexpensive for a reason, and it is where it is because Apple doesn't expect it to sell well enough to justify better upgrades like an OLED display or 120hz refresh or even a form factor refresh.

Above Avalon: Peak iPad Mini

The iPad mini's best days are behind it. Using app analytics data from Fiksu and Mixpanel, along with my own iOS device sales estimates and projections, I was able to derive iPad mini sales since launch. Over the past two years, iPad mini sales trends have deterio

www.aboveavalon.com

This article is worth a read if you are interested in understanding why the iPad mini is where it is. It's a problem going all the way back to 2015. So not really a new phenomenon either. It's still around because of enterprise use cases, 8gb ram modernises it and gets it ready for Apple Intelligence, and anyone who understands how Apple operates shouldn't really be surprised at this point.

Good point. We're probably lucky that Apple keeps the mini alive, because it doesn't fall in the sweet spot for a large number of consumers who already have a large phone and probably have budget for only a single iPad. That said, it is uniquely well suited to many tasks, and I like mine because it is the largest device I have that is still (coat) pocketable.

 

[Dianneeraser]

The iPad mini feels like the iPhone 13 mini in that sense. It's the smallest device in its category, it's also more inexpensive for a reason, and it is where it is because Apple doesn't expect it to sell well enough to justify better upgrades like an OLED display or 120hz refresh or even a form factor refresh.

Above Avalon: Peak iPad Mini

The iPad mini's best days are behind it. Using app analytics data from Fiksu and Mixpanel, along with my own iOS device sales estimates and projections, I was able to derive iPad mini sales since launch. Over the past two years, iPad mini sales trends have deterio

www.aboveavalon.com

This article is worth a read if you are interested in understanding why the iPad mini is where it is. It's a problem going all the way back to 2015. So not really a new phenomenon either. It's still around because of enterprise use cases, 8gb ram modernises it and gets it ready for Apple Intelligence, and anyone who understands how Apple operates shouldn't really be surprised at this point.

Maybe if Apple actually made a device without the crap specs and fully updated it, people would buy it? It might also force Apple to actually do some innovation to come up with something new rather than relying on an outdated spec bump. It’s no wonder it’s not selling. It’s not a compelling product.

And I have the mini 6….

 

[840quadra]

It takes zero effort (r&d) to increase ram and storage. Tim wasted all the r&d money on stock buy backs and the apple car.

Curious, what RAM ceiling are you hitting? App relaunches are usually the candle people hold, but I find it nonsensical as Apple is efficient with RAM on these devices. Why use active memory for an app that is simply idle?

Editing 4k video and batch processing 100s of photos in Lightroom, I have yet to have an app crash, or any memory related errors.

Do wish there were more storage options on these though!

 

[*~Kim~*]

Note also that they're not even calling it "7," "7th generation," or anything like that. I think they're referring to it only by the chip now.

I might charitably regard "complainers" as people with specific wishes whose wishes weren't granted – I get that. If I had to dig for a complaint, I suppose it might be that the transition from iPad mini 5 to iPad mini 6 was also an unprecedented price increase for iPad mini.

Hoping some people think it is more Pro than it is?

Since they pushed the Air as having the ‘Pro’ M chip, the Mini has felt like the poor relation. The Air now has the Pro iPad chip - 1 year, but the Mini doesn’t even get the latest (binned) phone chip to make up for the fact it is on phone chips. It feels as though it’s half way between the base and the Air in some ways, rather than the parity the two had in 2019.

Identifying as iPad by the chip is in keeping with the 2024 way, though I don’t expect them to do the same with the base unless they are transitioning it to the M line and want the headlines.

 

[macfacts]

Curious, what RAM ceiling are you hitting? App relaunches are usually the candle people hold, but I find it nonsensical as Apple is efficient with RAM on these devices. Why use active memory for an app that is simply idle?

Editing 4k video and batch processing 100s of photos in Lightroom, I have yet to have an app crash, or any memory related errors.

Do wish there were more storage options on these though!

I'm not having any problems but I see others complaining about web pages/forums cleared when they multitask momentarily to another app. There's also wanting to future proof.

 

[Isamilis]

I get your point but this is a fairly arbitrary statement. "Apple should've included XYZ at price 123 eons ago".

Not to say Apple's employees are 100x smarter than anyone else, but the prices they come up with aren't based on any emotion or throwing darts on the board. I'm sure they take into account every factor of the creation process (design, R&D, manufacturing costs, employee costs, etc.) to come up with a price point that allows the company to make money, their shareholders to make money, and as affordable as possible to the masses.

Unlike us forum members who just state on a whim something like "iPhone non-Pro models should have ProMotion and base MacBook Pros should come with 16GB of RAM because Apple already has enough money".

We all knew “Apple tax”. Other manufacturers already sell higher spec with same price 3 years ago, while it’s not happen to Apple. I can feel their greedinesses in this case.