In my opinion, better chance of Apple delivering an iPad Mini Pro with a better screen and M-based processor this fall than a standard update of the Mini 6. But neither is all that likely, based on recent history.
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 iPad mini 7?
- Thread starter EnigmaticZee
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Nobody? You know this for everybody, somehow?
Apple seems to only use iPhone-equivalent A chips in the Mini so far. Even after the Air 2 was given A8X, the subsequent Mini 4 received the iPhone 6-equivalent A8.
The iPad Mini has felt like it's close to being phased out for years, and then Apple gives it a decent refresh time and again. They let the 2015 Mini 4 languish for years before replacing it with the Mini 5 in 2019, alongside the release of the Air 3.
So when the Air 4 was announced in 2020, I was prepared to also see a Mini 6 alongside it. Instead, it took a year for the Mini 6 to release after the Air 4. Then six months later, we got an Air 5, so who knows what to expect when it comes to a Mini 7.
We'll either see the Mini 7 this Fall (2022), next Spring (2023), next Fall (2023), the following Spring (2024) or beyond that or no more Minis at all. I doubt the Mini is finished. Hopefully the Mini 6 is selling well. I don't see a refresh this year being likely. Next year is a maybe.
If Apple is waiting for a couple generations of A chips to separate the Mini 6 and Mini 7, we could see a Mini 7 with A17 either in the Fall of 2023 or Spring of 2024. I'm not expecting an M chip, but maybe 8 GB RAM.
The iPad Mini has felt like it's close to being phased out for years, and then Apple gives it a decent refresh time and again. They let the 2015 Mini 4 languish for years before replacing it with the Mini 5 in 2019, alongside the release of the Air 3.
So when the Air 4 was announced in 2020, I was prepared to also see a Mini 6 alongside it. Instead, it took a year for the Mini 6 to release after the Air 4. Then six months later, we got an Air 5, so who knows what to expect when it comes to a Mini 7.
We'll either see the Mini 7 this Fall (2022), next Spring (2023), next Fall (2023), the following Spring (2024) or beyond that or no more Minis at all. I doubt the Mini is finished. Hopefully the Mini 6 is selling well. I don't see a refresh this year being likely. Next year is a maybe.
If Apple is waiting for a couple generations of A chips to separate the Mini 6 and Mini 7, we could see a Mini 7 with A17 either in the Fall of 2023 or Spring of 2024. I'm not expecting an M chip, but maybe 8 GB RAM.
If Apple would release a new iPad mini later this year, it would basically just be the current model with an A16. But if they don’t even put the A16 in the regular iPhone 14, then putting it in the iPad mini right away seems unlikely.
I don’t think we can expect to see an M1 in the iPad mini but it’s not out of the question since it is essentially an 8.3" version of the iPad Air with a few exceptions. I wouldn’t bet on it though.
8GB RAM? No. 6GB at the very best. The mini 7 will probably get the same amount of RAM as the then current iPhone (non pro)
This. I don’t for one minute think that the Air 5 would have got 8GB if it wasn’t for the M1 starting at that.
The Mini has the shortest wait time for new orders (bar in stock configs of the Pro) so I’d guess that the 4GB vs 8GB disparity is putting people off. I gave them the benefit of the doubt that maybe they didn’t realise how many still wanted a Mini until the 5 launched, because very few would have still been willing to buy outdated tech at a single storage capacity just for the form factor. Then fair enough, with COVID, perhaps updating three iPads in September 2020 just wasn’t going to happen. But not giving the Mini 6 6GB RAM when they must have known the Air 5 would get 8 really says they don’t care about it. Air is too big for me really but those specs are so much better that it isn’t worth the compromises needed to have a Mini.
If the Mini 7 doesn't get an M chip, it doesn't really need 8 GB RAM either, since it won't be able to do Stage Manager or tap into any other M-exclusive features. 6 GB seems sufficient for the Mini, but we'll see what Apple does.
I hope they do it sooner rather than later.
I’d like one that has a better screen and perhaps goes back to the different orientation of the jelly scroll
I’d like one that has a better screen and perhaps goes back to the different orientation of the jelly scroll
100% agree. I am a iPad mini forever person now.
I have occasionally handled a 9.7 again, which I used forever, and I just can’t believe I used to use it enjoyably. It is so large and heavy in comparison
-mini makes a good DSLR external screen and camera control/focus monitor. good if you have a drone.
-but for productivity I find its great for reading books, documents and to type vertically with both thumbs.
-I didnt find the big iPads any more productive unless you draw. My handwriting is terrible so I didnt use the pencil.
also I just wasnt motivated to take bigger iPads out of the house. mini I can put in pocket or my man purse
An under clocked M1 or M2 depending when the next mini comes out makes the most sense. It's probably cheaper to produce M chips than the iPhone chip.
What would this conclusion be based on? M-series chips generally have more transistors and additional components, and iPhones outsell both Macs and iPads by a large margin, meaning that far more A-series chips are produced (bringing the costs further down). There's no way an M-series chip would cost Apple less than an A-series CPU.
Just a guess but an older generation M1 chip will cost less than the latest current generation A-Series CPU. This is just the basic M1 chip that was put in the iPad Air, this is not the M1 Max chip.
I dunno, I kind of struggle to see this happening given the mini already has an A15, of which the M2 cores are based on (I know there's many other differences as well from A series to M series).
I love the mini form factor but I fear Apple won't give it consistent updates. Getting the A15 at the same time as the iPhone 13 makes me think it's going to sit for a good 3 years without an update.
My Mini is the next in line to be upgrade I realized today.
Anymore news or rumors on the Mini 7 or Mini Pro?
Or is it a good thing to buy one now or fairly soon?
Will waiting to the next Apple event this fall be worth it?
Anymore news or rumors on the Mini 7 or Mini Pro?
Or is it a good thing to buy one now or fairly soon?
Will waiting to the next Apple event this fall be worth it?
if you have the 2 month returns with Best Buy than if you buy now you can return in October and get flexibility to see if new item comes out. I bought a mini wifi 64gb and two Cellular 256gb models open box. Saved more than $200 on the top end models when BB has the $100 off deal. I also found that the 256 has 3 times faster SSD than the 64 when benchmarking.
People complain about the jelly but after you use this iPad, you forget its there. its not like you read as you scroll. I prefer to save $200 on this iPad and it has the speed of the 2018 iPad Pro. Even if a new one comes out, I dont want to pay $800 + tax for almost the same thing. I guess if the screen was OLED and 120 hz that can mean something but isn't necessary. the phones have OLED and I cant really tell the difference.
I'll keep this iPad until Apple forces it to slow down but seeing that apple may release new iPhones with the current chip, seems its login to preform well into the future. Its a great device and having the Cellular/GPS top end model makes it an excellent portable computer. I get up to 620 gbps with t-mobile.
Thanks for your concern, but I'm not in US, no Best Buy in Sweden
I threw out some junk apps on the Mini, it will be fine a little while longer.
I hang in and see what's new on next event. Could be worth waiting for the 7, if it comes with M-chip, yay.
Found some rumors; https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-unlikely-says-display-analyst.2349502/page-3
Last edited:
Would be nice to get one without jelly scrolling...
Was really sad to finally have the perfect Mini format and then i had to return it, because it annoyed me too much.
Was really sad to finally have the perfect Mini format and then i had to return it, because it annoyed me too much.
As much as I'd love to the an M-series CPU iPad mini, I doubt it's going to happen anytime soon.
And with their higher transistor count and being geared more towards desktop/notebook use, M-series chips should also use more power. Given the form factor, putting in an M-series or more RAM isn't going to be free. There's trade-offs not only in terms of cost but also in terms of battery life. That's why I expect iPad mini to feature to use the same or chips derived from the iPhone lineup.
...unless they're moving their entire iPad lineup to M-series chips, just to have a consistent feature set across models - they didn't with the 10th gen iPad.
Agree.
And with their higher transistor count and being geared more towards desktop/notebook use, M-series chips should also use more power. Given the form factor, putting in an M-series or more RAM isn't going to be free. There's trade-offs not only in terms of cost but also in terms of battery life. That's why I expect iPad mini to feature to use the same or chips derived from the iPhone lineup.
...unless they're moving their entire iPad lineup to M-series chips, just to have a consistent feature set across models - they didn't with the 10th gen iPad.
Performance upgrades trickle down eventually. The A15 on the 2021 iPad mini 6 performs significantly better than the A10X on the 2017 iPad Pro. Actually, I think even the A12 on the 2019 iPad mini 5 beats the A10X (albeit by a smaller margin).
