I just dont get it. Some people truly are of a different breed. I will never understand that there are such a majority that is settling for less and they are just eating it all up, happily also :S
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iPad Mini 7 Has These 6 Smaller Changes, Including a Faster USB-C Port
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It would have necessitated being designed a year or so ago. This has been in the pipeline much longer. The real discussion is around why this was the product of Apple’s pipeline and no one had the courage to say “ hey wait a minute this is a dog of an update that doesn’t stop incurring our technical debt”
Interesting to see the replies to this thread and how detached so many of the tech heads here are from reality. Firstly, tablet sales in general are down, people aren't buying fully loaded tablets in huge numbers so expecting Apple to put a bunch of development money into a niche product in a declining product category is just throwing away money. Secondly, for the common consumer, bigger is better and when you compare the price of a iPad mini with its smaller screen to an iPad Air at the same or lower price, most people are going to go for the full sized screen rather than agonizing over losing the extra power and functionality that thy are probably not ever going to need or use. Finally, tablets are the device that people refresh the least. People are willing to upgrade phones every year or two and computers every two or three but most hold on to their tablets for years and history has shown that no matter how much new tech you put into a tablet, people aren't really going to change their upgrade cycle with tablets.
I purchased an iPad mini 5 shortly before the 6 came out. I probably should have waited but I was traveling and had a need and was willing to pay less to get it quicker. Earlier today, I put in my order for an iPad mini 7. The main reason? I have just bought a pair of XR glasses and have been using it with my iPad Pro M4 13 but it will reduce my EDC down to carrying a mini that I can plug in to the glasses if I need a bigger screen. It will still primarily be a consumption device, but in a small package, I can use the mini, a folding bt keyboard and touchpad and the glasses for a full computing experience. Sure, it's a niche use but that is what the iPad mini is, a niche product that is versatile enough to have available all the time and still have power in that small package. And I am buying it for the same price that the older model 6 was selling for at release!
Maybe more development and power would have been nice in this form factor but really, do people here think that the ROI would justify the upgrade or that Apple could charge the substantial price increase for a mini to put in all the tech that they are now putting into on their high end tablets that sell for $1k to $2K?
I purchased an iPad mini 5 shortly before the 6 came out. I probably should have waited but I was traveling and had a need and was willing to pay less to get it quicker. Earlier today, I put in my order for an iPad mini 7. The main reason? I have just bought a pair of XR glasses and have been using it with my iPad Pro M4 13 but it will reduce my EDC down to carrying a mini that I can plug in to the glasses if I need a bigger screen. It will still primarily be a consumption device, but in a small package, I can use the mini, a folding bt keyboard and touchpad and the glasses for a full computing experience. Sure, it's a niche use but that is what the iPad mini is, a niche product that is versatile enough to have available all the time and still have power in that small package. And I am buying it for the same price that the older model 6 was selling for at release!
Maybe more development and power would have been nice in this form factor but really, do people here think that the ROI would justify the upgrade or that Apple could charge the substantial price increase for a mini to put in all the tech that they are now putting into on their high end tablets that sell for $1k to $2K?
Which Apple price is lower price you pay overall. Where, on what product? 🤣
Apple deserves credit for lower prices? Is still super high? They're apparently about as high as the person im quoting.
I get your point it's basic business talk but you seem to be missing the trees for the forest. This is apple. Nothing's cheap (er).
You can talk about components cost all you want, but that doesn't work with apple because of their extreme scale and they're extremely high margins. So I think that's all laughable when it comes to apple. Companies want to make money so they keep prices high that's all there is. There's no magic formula that tells them they have to keep things higher. Come on man that is naive plus naive sauce with a side of naive biscuits 😬
Especially when you change almost nothing about a model after 3 years
I guess I look at it like the Lightning connector it was always mentioned even when it didn't change because that was always an issue for many users.
I don't know anyone who uses any tablet where screen brightness isn't an issue good bad or sideways it's just the nature of the tablet's environmental ergonomics. A question I believe every tablet user probably immediately wonders when hearing of updates (not complaining about mini - just seems like the article left off the biggest question for actual users)
Huh? It was rumored that this was an issue that they were particularly looking at. So this is not true at all? Wow.
Tough for tiny old apples to support two pencils. Simply asking for too much. Don't you understand that these are difficult times?
"Consumers are going to be consumers. We will still keep our prices higher that anyone expects."
~ Apple Timmy
Honestly, what is their (and Apple fanboys') excuse to eliminate the physical SIM tray in iPads? It's big enough that there's no space constraints, and there's no official water resistance rating...
No kidding
Just makes the devices far less adaptable to different needs and puts more power back in the hands of carriers
I hate it
With the removal of the SIM tray, I'm no longer considering any cellular iPads for purchase. Wi-Fi only going forward.
I’d be slapping myself if I held out for a couple years waiting on mini7 to bring the ruckus
Still better than mini2 to 3. That was the most atrocious thing with merely the addition of touchID instead of home button and not a single thing more internally or cosmetically
Still better than mini2 to 3. That was the most atrocious thing with merely the addition of touchID instead of home button and not a single thing more internally or cosmetically
Noting that even though the latest iPad Pros have Thunderbolt 3, it can only connect to computers using USB 3.1 Gen 2
I went back and looked at my previous iPad purchases:
iPad original (2010): 499
iPad 2 w/3G (2011): 629
iPad mini 2 (2014): 399
iPad mini 4 (2016*): 399
iPad mini 5 (2019): 399
iPad mini 6 (2022*): 399
iPad mini 7 (TBD): 499
*purchased months after official release
Other than the iPad 2 with cell, I've been pretty consistent about my price range and the kinds of features I am willing to pay for. I don't splurge on storage. The $500 market has a lot of competitors, from other tablets to convertibles and regular laptops. iPad for me and for many is a third device use case. If I'm going to spend a lot more, I won't get a spiffed up mini. I'll get the base model Pro instead. I also time my purchases to alternate years with iPhone and MacBook to ease the pain a little.
iPad original (2010): 499
iPad 2 w/3G (2011): 629
iPad mini 2 (2014): 399
iPad mini 4 (2016*): 399
iPad mini 5 (2019): 399
iPad mini 6 (2022*): 399
iPad mini 7 (TBD): 499
*purchased months after official release
Other than the iPad 2 with cell, I've been pretty consistent about my price range and the kinds of features I am willing to pay for. I don't splurge on storage. The $500 market has a lot of competitors, from other tablets to convertibles and regular laptops. iPad for me and for many is a third device use case. If I'm going to spend a lot more, I won't get a spiffed up mini. I'll get the base model Pro instead. I also time my purchases to alternate years with iPhone and MacBook to ease the pain a little.
Oh no… As usual, Apple will do whatever China tells them to do
The Cupertino dog knows who its master is
It reads like Cantonese to me. Anyway? Yes you are correct
They've been doing it for years. It's one of those myths that die hard.
If you want a 6, there are plenty still for sale. If you want to buy a 3-year-old iPad, have at it.
Or, hear me out it sounds crazy, don’t buy an iPad at all. It’s a hardware powerhouse let down exceptionally by software. I don’t know why anyone gets an iPad outside of creative use-cases. Mac is better by just about any measure
You do you. I have plenty of uses for iPads both for work and entertainment.