All iPads Upgrade my iPad or hold off and upgrade my iPhone 1st?

[TopGuy1104]

My Apple ecosystem currently contains an iPhone 13 and iPad Mini 6. I use my Mini at times to play games or watch shows but mostly, as a secondary device to my already powerful gaming laptop when i'm traveling, meaning its not used as often as my phone or my main gaming desktop at home which are both used daily. I've tried all iPad models and the Mini is by far my most fun experience considering it actually feels like a tablet. I know the iPad Mini 7 is likely coming soon. A bump up in RAM, M series chip and Apple Intelligence are major selling points for me if any of those happen but idk if we'll ever see the Mini with a Mac level processor rather, A17 or 18 is a rumor. That with a RAM bump while not bad, wouldn't be as convincing in my situation and I would much rather upgrade my phone and have those capabilities used more offen. I have a budget to upgrade 1 of my iPad or iPhone this year and I'll upgrade the other at a later time. The Mini 6 is still a great device and im willing to wait till the OLED Mini 8 launches. I was also thinking to go up to Air and Pro but that may be overkill for my situation. In short, which would be the best move. Upgrade my iPhone or iPad 1st (including whether I should switch to Air or Pro or stick with Mini)?

 

[JaraCz]

Definitely go for iPad Pro M4, this year it is awesome device with big improvements (OLED, jump from M2 to M4).
iPhone this year is just change of colour and no improvements.
There is nothing to thinking about.

 

[*~Kim~*]

While Mini 6 -> Pro M4 is likely to be a huge upgrade and more noticeable than iPhone 12 -> iPhone 16, you express a preference for the Mini form factor and currently have the latest model as far as that goes. I wouldn’t want to travel with a 1k+ iPad, so that would rule out the Pro for me if I were in your position.

I’m also waiting for an OLED Mini so if upgrading your iPhone now is not going to affect you being able to afford the Mini 8 when launched, I would go with that or put the money in a savings account (in the UK it is Savings Week so some decent offers.)

 

[User #07242024]

Hi, what do you use your phone for? Any specific work apps?

 

[TopGuy1104]

Hi, what do you use your phone for? Any specific work apps?

I use my phone for general use ex: work group chats, emails, documents, gaming, casual use, etc.

 

[TopGuy1104]

While Mini 6 -> Pro M4 is likely to be a huge upgrade and more noticeable than iPhone 12 -> iPhone 16, you express a preference for the Mini form factor and currently have the latest model as far as that goes. I wouldn’t want to travel with a 1k+ iPad, so that would rule out the Pro for me if I were in your position.

I’m also waiting for an OLED Mini so if upgrading your iPhone now is not going to affect you being able to afford the Mini 8 when launched, I would go with that or put the money in a savings account (in the UK it is Savings Week so some decent offers.)

In a world where my iPad would be better utilized for college/work, i'd get a pro. Since I have the laptop, the Mini in my case is better cuz its more like a tablet than the bigger iPads trying to be pc replacements. Based on all the rumors, do you think the Mini 7 would be a good upgrade or holding off till the OLED Mini 8 is better. At the moment, i'm leaning towards upgrading my iPhone to get the new Apple Inteligence features.

 

[TopGuy1104]

Definitely go for iPad Pro M4, this year it is awesome device with big improvements (OLED, jump from M2 to M4).
iPhone this year is just change of colour and no improvements.
There is nothing to thinking about.

Its an awesome device but at the end of the day (and i've made this mistake before), I would only buy a Pro if its going to replace my laptop or if it was my primary device for college. I've owned the M1 Air before realizing the weak material and switching to the M1 Pro. Definitely a fascinating experience using something so flashy, fast and powerful. At the end of the day though, it felt like a laptop replacement that was limited by its software. While the 11 inch is great which I also had with the Air, it wasn't as exciting for me compared to using a Mini which has been my most fun iPad experience to date. Maybe in the future, I would get an iPad Pro/Air as a work iPad or laptop and stick with the Mini as a more personal device.

 

[rui no onna]

Which device is giving you more problems? I’d replace that one.

 

[muzzy996]

On my personal mobile device side I have a 13 Pro Max, Mini 6, an old 12.9" iPP gen 2 and a Surface Pro 9. My 13PM and Mini 6 are my most used devices followed by the SP9. The old iPP gets used occasionally for media consumption only.

To me it boils down to what I would get out of an upgrade. I've been on iOS 18 public beta for a while now so I know what to expect out of my 13 Pro Max for the next year and I'm fine with it. I have zero interest in the AI features that are coming so the only measurable benefit for me in upgrading my phone at this time would be the change to USB-C. Everything else would be nice to haves but not earth shatteringly different for my daily use to justify the cost. So for me I've already made the decision to wait for the iPhone 17 Pro Max next September. I've made a similar decision with regards to upgrading my Apple Watch Series 9 to an Ultra . . had they announced an Ultra 3 I'd be on it but they didn't so I'll stick with my 9 for another year.

As for the Mini, I use my Mini 6 a lot for web browsing and media consumption both at home and when traveling. If the Mini 7 gets a display improvement and added RAM I'm going to be interested in that - anything beyond that will be gravy for me and likely push it into an instant buy for me.

OP - you've mostly talked about your Mini but haven't really identified any shortcomings of your iPhone. Makes one wonder if maybe the Mini is already at the forefront of your decision. If so - then you're not alone.

 

[User #07242024]

I use my phone for general use ex: work group chats, emails, documents, gaming, casual use, etc.

Since you use iPhone and laptop more than iPad mini, then you should focus more on those two. iPhone 13 still works fine in a few years but you can upgrade now to 16 before its value deprecates more. However, don’t expect much from Apple Intelligence because iPhone 16 is first gen product—as they say, they’re still ironing out the kinks.

 

[*~Kim~*]

In a world where my iPad would be better utilized for college/work, i'd get a pro. Since I have the laptop, the Mini in my case is better cuz its more like a tablet than the bigger iPads trying to be pc replacements. Based on all the rumors, do you think the Mini 7 would be a good upgrade or holding off till the OLED Mini 8 is better. At the moment, i'm leaning towards upgrading my iPhone to get the new Apple Inteligence features.

One of my reasons for holding off for the Mini 8 is the likely removal of the SIM slot. eSim provision is poor here so by definition an upgrade to the 7 would remove one of the main uses of the Mini - portable connectivity in a single device. I do like the form factor so would go for a WiFi OLED mini as I see it as an upgrade worth taking that downgrade for. Maybe in that time eSim offers will improve, but as it stands I plan to vote with my wallet as far as that change is concerned.

Mini 7 is likely to be an unchanged form factor (some cases are now listed as Mini 6/7), jelly scrolling fix (doesn’t bother me), updated chip, extra RAM and extra storage. All of which would be nice but don’t seem worth shelling out the money for when I would want to get the 8 as soon as it is released (rumoured to be less of a wait than the Mini 6 to 7; in some ways the Mini 7 feels like the A12Z Pro - a placeholder, because if they waited until 2026 it would be 5 years without an upgrade. Another 6 months from now give or take, it will be as long as the Mini 4 to Mini 5 gap.

If the Apple Intelligence features are important to you, I can understand upgrading the phone. You can always return it within 14 days if it’s not a worthwhile upgrade to you (if buying from Apple of course.)