Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The size of the products when comparing the Air to the mini probably doesn't have a lot of bearing on the actual cost of the materials. The panel gets cheaper, I'd imagine (although keep in mind it is a physically smaller panel with a higher pixel density), and maybe they spend 10 cents less on aluminum, but nothing else really scales down. Same cameras, same USB-C connector, same microphones, similar speaker setup, same storage modules, same Pencil magnets, same TouchID sensor, same WiFi and Bluetooth modules, same cellular radio, same gyro/accelerometer, etc. Oh, I guess the battery is smaller too. I'm not really displeased with the price difference from the Air.
 
The size of the products when comparing the Air to the mini probably doesn't have a lot of bearing on the actual cost of the materials. The panel gets cheaper, I'd imagine (although keep in mind it is a physically smaller panel with a higher pixel density), and maybe they spend 10 cents less on aluminum, but nothing else really scales down. Same cameras, same USB-C connector, same microphones, similar speaker setup, same storage modules, same Pencil magnets, same TouchID sensor, same WiFi and Bluetooth modules, same cellular radio, same gyro/accelerometer, etc. Oh, I guess the battery is smaller too. I'm not really displeased with the price difference from the Air.
And a few cents on the smaller battery, but add a flash for the camera to the cost. Overall $100 cheaper makes a lot of sense I think.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UltimateSyn
The size of the products when comparing the Air to the mini probably doesn't have a lot of bearing on the actual cost of the materials. The panel gets cheaper, I'd imagine (although keep in mind it is a physically smaller panel with a higher pixel density), and maybe they spend 10 cents less on aluminum, but nothing else really scales down. Same cameras, same USB-C connector, same microphones, similar speaker setup, same storage modules, same Pencil magnets, same TouchID sensor, same WiFi and Bluetooth modules, same cellular radio, same gyro/accelerometer, etc. Oh, I guess the battery is smaller too. I'm not really displeased with the price difference from the Air.
I think this perceived higher value of bigger (vs minimal actual manufacturing cost of bigger) is generally a major reason that small devices don’t get much attention or get axed completely. Part of it is many people want bigger devices but another part of it is companies are happy to sell more of the bigger devices to them for higher profit.
 
The pricing is actually pretty good for the increased storage. I bought my mini 6 at launch and it was £479 for 64GB. Later on the price increased to £499 here. So now it's £499 for double the storage. The mini is smaller and people buy it for the size so I think people are willing to pay more to get a good small sized device.
 
The mini is smaller and people buy it for the size so I think people are willing to pay more to get a good small sized device.

Oh I definitely agree! I was so p*ssed when Apple decided to discontinue the iPhone Mini. Some people prefer smaller form factor, while retaining the power and quality of the bigger ones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shanghaichica
Well considering Apple increased the Pro prices to start from a grand this year!!! The new Mini is a bargain. Although compared to the Air it is a bit expensive but it’s a nice size.
Personally I’ve been toying with upgrading my M1 11” Pro. I looked at the new M4 and fell in love with its OLED panel. But it’s a little confusing. I got my iPad when my Mac was really really really old and I hardly used it. So my iPad became my main device, so the size made sense. But now I have a new 14“ MacBook Pro, not so sure about the iPads size these days although I still use it daily. Been using it naked to see how it goes. Trouble for me is I love Pro Motion and really notice going back to devices without it.
But, whether I can drop to a Mini iPad or not I’m not sure, cause the new Pros are twice its price! They are over £200 more then my M1 Pro cost.

But I am very happy Apple has kept the Mini around, it has a dedicated fan base and some use it as a phone. A much appreciated device I think.
 
Last edited:
Thinking about buying a new mini myself. The price is hefty though. I own an iPad mini 5 but it seems to get slow.

Anyone experiencing the same?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Le0M
Sure, but wasn't the iPhone mini sold at a cheaper price than the iPhone regular?
Then if that logic applies, I would expect the iPad mini to be cheaper than the iPad regular. Unless they renamed it the iPad Air Mini or something. You know what I'm saying?

This being said, I do believe there is a place for a real iPad mini, similar in specs to the iPad regular, but with a smaller form factor.
The iPhone mini took the previous iPhone’s price, which increased the price of the regular iPhone and the iPhone plus by $100 each. Those prices didn’t come back down after the mini was cancelled either.
 
Thinking about buying a new mini myself. The price is hefty though. I own an iPad mini 5 but it seems to get slow.

Anyone experiencing the same?
I just upgraded my wife's Mini 5 to a Mini 7, but not so much for performance issues but because battery max capacity was down to about 75% and it wasn't worth it to do a battery service. But she has no interest in a larger form-factor iPad, so this is perfect for her. It's her primary computing device - she rarely uses the Mac, and uses her phone mostly as for calls and occasionally for messaging (she prefers the iPad for the). She should get 4 years at least from this.
 
I hadnt intended to upgrade my Mini 6 to a 7 but I ended up gifting my 6 to my dad and getting myself a 7. I can tell the difference in performance; it isn't a huge difference but there is generally more smoothness switching between apps etc and I believe less page reloads on web browsing. Had I not had another use for my old Mini I don't think I'd have made the upgrade.
 
I notice it waking up from sleep. Also when I like ask Siri something. My country is about to tax Amazon too so I wonder if I shouldn’t buy a new one too.
 
I just upgraded my wife's Mini 5 to a Mini 7, but not so much for performance issues but because battery max capacity was down to about 75% and it wasn't worth it to do a battery service. But she has no interest in a larger form-factor iPad, so this is perfect for her. It's her primary computing device - she rarely uses the Mac, and uses her phone mostly as for calls and occasionally for messaging (she prefers the iPad for the). She should get 4 years at least from this.
Where can you see how much battery is left?
 
  • Like
Reactions: _Mitchan1999
Where can you see how much battery is left?
If you have a Mac, you can use the app Coconut Battery to remotely see it.

But in my case I turned on Analytics on the iPad and was able to read from the log file the reported battery capacity and did the math versus the original capacity. See https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/how-to-check-your-ipads-battery-health for a good description for the method. (That page also has a shortcut that can do most of the work for you.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Le0M and grandM
It is not the size - it is how you use it that matters.

Mini is basically an Air with less screen size and for 100 dollar less - that had always been the case. Even now m2 in air is slower in single core and wins in multicore, so call it a draw.
 
What everyone else said about the specs of the mini being significantly better than the base iPad.

But also it’s important to remember there has been very little competition in the small premium tablet market for quite a while. If you want a small tablet and you want something better than an Amazon fire tablet the choices are really limited (non-existent?).

So Apple has very little incentive to be competitive with either specs OR price for the iPad mini which really sucks for those of us that value this size.

I was still happy to pay $449 (ed discount) on the iPad mini 7. I have no use for a larger tablet. I only wanted a mini. The mini is only a bad deal if you don’t value a small tablet. That’s kind of the main point of the iPad mini.
 
I'm holding onto my Mini 6, only thing I'd change about it is going to the 512 in storage, currently at a 256, I think it's enough to wait for the 8 which I'm hoping will be the Mini Pro, crossing fingers.
 
Since apparently screen size should be the only thing that determines the cost of a device, why are iPhones so much more expensive than the base iPad? Their screens are way smaller.
 
I'm holding onto my Mini 6, only thing I'd change about it is going to the 512 in storage, currently at a 256, I think it's enough to wait for the 8 which I'm hoping will be the Mini Pro, crossing fingers.
I'm even good with the (256GB) stotage on my mini 6.
So for the usage it will be good untill 8 comes.

I have a 5 (64GB) too, but that I surely needed to upgrade to 6 of more reasons - USB-C and storage.

7 didn't feel enough of an upgrade to me, so I considered the M-chip Air a moment, but I'm all good with the 6 mini - the 5 is more or less a dedicated meditation timer - until 8 arrives.

I have way more use for my Mac's - the iPad mini us just for the scrolling in bed, more or less.
 
Since apparently screen size should be the only thing that determines the cost of a device, why are iPhones so much more expensive than the base iPad? Their screens are way smaller.
Interesting question. I'd say cameras, display quality, antennas.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.