iPad mini We want an iPad mini 5 thread

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Money in hand ready to buy.

Never going to happen not when apple is bringing out a 6.5 inch iphone.

Size alone does not make the Mini irrelevant. Very different product. Buy an iPad Mini and it's paid for (in full). Buy an iPhone and you're also buying an ongoing outflow of cash to pay for the service. Mini will cost a few hundred dollars for upwards of at least a few years of use. iPhone 6.5" will cost $1000 + about $500-$1000 more PER YEAR in service. Of course, if I'm Apple, I want my cuts of all that revenue for the phone vs. the one-off revenue (nature) of an iPad Mini. But as a consumer, I'd like to keep most of that money in my pocket while still enjoying a modern-tech, next-generation Mini.
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I think the mini is dead, although I wouldn't mind seeing a new one come out.

Unfortunately, I'm leaning towards you likely being right.

If it's mostly about profit margin, I personally wish Apple would simply charge more for it. For me, I'd rather have a more expensive, modern Mini than try to make something else work in it's place. An even bigger phone is a poor (and much more expensive) alternative- IMO and the next iPad size up has always been an option for everyone that opted to buy an iPad mini instead a bigger iPad.

Too bad. I guess I keep clinging to the old Mini I already have and keep that money ready to buy a new one in my pocket.

 

[lbdesign]

It's hard for me personally to agree with the shifts in how people use these things, but it seems the mass market — which is what Apple caters to now — is opting for one main mobile device. They are happy to have one unwieldy phone that is good enough at all tasks, rather than two (a perfect pocketable phone and a perfect small tablet).
And it does make some sense — you only have to charge and maintain one device, and pay one wireless fee. But I simply will not suffer using websites on a phone screen, or thumb-typing. I want the right device for the task. For me, that's an iPhone SE that fits in my pocket, a tablet, and a good laptop. But Apple is happy to upsell to the most profitable devices, which are overpowered phones and premium tablets, rather than provide low-cost options like a new SE and a refreshed iPad Mini.

So my next tablet might be whatever smaller Android tablet that supports a pen that I can find. That would be a perfectly good note-taking and media-consumption device.

 

[The Samurai]

I think anyone looking for a new mini should just suck it up and buy a real iPad 10.5 or get a large iPhone.

Just my 2 cents

 

[007p]

I think anyone looking for a new mini should just suck it up and buy a real iPad 10.5 or get a large iPhone.

Just my 2 cents

Yeah definetely, these people should just pay 2-3x more for a device that is either too small or too big....

 

[RoadWarrior56]

I cease to be amazed at the "Mini" hate I read in these forums and how polarized the lovers and haters of the product are, not just this one but any forums that discuss the fate of the iPad Mini. I concede that Apple likely will not update the Mini in the future, but that does not make it a bad product or one that deserves contempt. Despite its neglect in the lineup, it still appears to still sell well enough to keep it in the lineup.

I remember that recent survey where 18% of iPad sales are still Minis. Somebody must still be buying it, or it would had been discontinued by now. I have a Mini 4 that I use primarily for movies, streaming video, kindle reading and web page reading. It still runs very well on iOS 11 and does those tasks for me very adequately. If iOS 12 maintains or increases performance on older devices, that would keep the Mini 4 on sale until the fall of 2019. At that point, it would not surprise me to see the the 9.7" iPad shrunk with smaller bezels and possibly a slightly smaller screen. At that point, I could see the Mini discontinued and "merged" with the successor to the current 9.7" model.

 

[eVolcre]

Front page says Mini 4 appears to be the last. Personally I don’t care about the name or screen size. The small physicial chassis size is what’s attractive. The pros go bezelless this year. Perhaps next spring we will see the 9.7 go bezelless. Doubt they’ll extend the screen, takes it too close to the pros, they’ll chop the beZels off giving us a chassis not that much bigger than the mini with pencil support already built in.

Maybe keep the bezelled 9.7 with Touch ID as a bare bones edu model. iPad SE, iPad and iPad Pro. Makes sense to me.

 

[907]

Mini will cost a few hundred dollars for upwards of at least a few years of use. iPhone 6.5" will cost $1000 + about $500-$1000 more PER YEAR in service.

While I agree that a larger phone is not an adequate replacement for the mini how many people actually buy one and then end up not getting some other smart phone where they are still paying that service cost.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Me. Free Google Voice for mobile phone & text needs (& mobile voice mail & vm transcription) AND via wired landline phones + alarm system at home with a cheap obihai device.

Earbuds + mic if I want to take or make a call (nobody can tell I'm not using a phone). Much like how many use their phones, calls are not that abundant, so texting & other data-using apps tend to be the more common way of communicating. A bigger screen makes a lot of that better/easier IMO.

When I need cellular service, AT&T 2GB, 3 months of service for $25 (so max $100/yr for cell service). However, most of the time, I'm in a wifi zone, so I'm using wifi instead (better/faster/no wireless capacity used). At the end of cell service term, I'm sometimes 2-4 weeks before I actually need a cellular connection again (which for re-activation is on-demand wherever I happen to be). So that $100 MAX can become $75 MAX for a year's cell service because wifi covers the base for a while in between cellular need.

iPad Mini is great at doubling for phone uses AND brings on that bigger screen for tablet needs too. One device instead of two. Dramatic cost savings vs. anyone who buys both, especially when cell phone service is factored in... but also dramatic savings vs. those who do not also own a tablet but do own a smart phone with service.

Is this option for everyone? Of course not, but it works exceedingly well for my purposes. And I like all the benefits (nobody can even tell that I'm not interacting with them with a phone) without the heavy costs.

 

[subjonas]

It seems Apple is trying to change the image of the iPad from a casual consumption device—for which the mini was/is the ultimate Apple device—into a laptop replacement (I’m guessing so that they can, just like the iPhones, beef up the size and specs, and charge more money). The mini is a hindrance to that image.

On the other hand it’s still a very useful size and the best Apple device for dedicated casual consumption. This is suggested by its still great sales numbers (according to estimates) for having 3 year old hardware and never being advertised. Taking away the mini would leave a hole in their ecosystem not fully filled by their other products.

I think these are the two polar forces keeping the mini in its current state—neglected by Apple but still offered. This leaves a few questions.

- Should Apple keep it going? Depends on your point of view, but yes.
- Will they? Direction seems like not, but really who knows.
- How long can they sell the mini 4 before they have to make some sort of decision? Well, I believe the longest they sold an unchanged iOS device was 3 years with the iPod Touch. So with that precedent, the mini 4 has until next month, give or take. I think it’s going to be an important fall season for iPad mini fans.

It's hard for me personally to agree with the shifts in how people use these things, but it seems the mass market — which is what Apple caters to now — is opting for one main mobile device. They are happy to have one unwieldy phone that is good enough at all tasks, rather than two (a perfect pocketable phone and a perfect small tablet).
And it does make some sense — you only have to charge and maintain one device, and pay one wireless fee. But I simply will not suffer using websites on a phone screen, or thumb-typing. I want the right device for the task. For me, that's an iPhone SE that fits in my pocket, a tablet, and a good laptop. But Apple is happy to upsell to the most profitable devices, which are overpowered phones and premium tablets, rather than provide low-cost options like a new SE and a refreshed iPad Mini.

So my next tablet might be whatever smaller Android tablet

My sentiments exactly. Dedicated small-as-possible always-on-me device (SE) and dedicated consumption device (mini) and dedicated work device (laptop). All this trying to compromise and combine things may work for others but definitely not for me.

 

[ekuLoN]

Aren’t there a lot of these threads? But yes, I want one too.



But Mini 4 isn’t even 3 years old yet. It came out sept 2015.

Because I’ve been waiting for the ipad mini 3 era
That year I had a iPad mini 2. Than ipad mini 3 and ipad air 2 came together and i choose the air 2 because it was a monster and ipad mini 3 brings nothing. One year later ipad mini 4 came out but still behind the ipad air 2.... I’m still using 2014 ipad air 2 so yeah I’ve been waiting loooong time.

 

[DesertNomad]

Let’s get real. No one wants a mini.

Many hundreds of thousands want a mini 5 - and that is just in the aviation field. It is essential for aviation as it's the same aspect ratio as standard FAA plates and fits on a yoke. I have two of them (always have to have a backup of the required charts).

 

[joeblow7777]

I think anyone looking for a new mini should just suck it up and buy a real iPad 10.5 or get a large iPhone.

Just my 2 cents

Wouldn’t the 9.7” iPad be the closest substitute to the mini, both in size and price?

 

[Zxxv]

See you got pages of support for this

 

[icymountain]

The form factor of the mini together with its screen size make it ideal for many applications. It is very sad that Apple is ignoring this like they do. Even as an iPad mini fan, I am surprised at the 18% market ratio mentioned above!

 

[Greenmeenie]

Let’s get real. No one wants a mini. Logically, it’s not coming back along with the MacBook Air and the Mac mini. Get over it. People with plus size phones don’t even use their minis. I have a mini 4 and a 10.5 and I have only used my mini once in the last year looking up something when my pro died. I could have easily used my Mac but was lazy and it was sitting there. If you want a mini, get the new 6.5 iPhone and call it a day.

With all due respect, your quote “No one wants a mini” and “ People with plus size phones don’t even use their minis.”... are false statements. Thats your bias opinion coming thru and being stated as fact. Not true. I and many other people posting here love the ipad mini and feel thelargest iphonedoesn’t come close to the experience of the ipad mini. Many people feel this way. So for you to say With absolute certainty that nobody wants an ipad mini is ridiculous. What Apple does with the ipad mini is yet to be determined. Just becuse they haven’t updated it in 3 yrs doesn’t mean it will be discontinued. The Mac Pro hasn’t been updatedsince 2013, and Apple just announced that an update will come in 2016...nearly 6 years after it was last updated. Not saying that I know what Apple will do with the ipad mini...but until Apple says it's officially discontinued, i will keep an open mind.

 

[joeblow7777]

So there’s not the huge market for the mini that there used to be. I get that. But given that Apple is still producing and selling the Mini 4, I wonder if it would really be that difficult or expensive for them to just do a silent update and start putting in A10 chips instead of A8. That’s all it actually needs. Yeah, I know, people want Pencil support and FaceID and all sorts of premium features, but let’s be real, it doesn’t look like Apple is ever going to give the Mini premium treatment again. But it would be so easy just to keep it on par in terms of specs like what they’ve done with the non-pro 9.7” for the last two years.

 

[LibbyLA]

You couldn’t GIVE me an iPhone. My main phone app (Pimlical) is Android only, and I’m happy with the Android ecosystem. At least Android has an actual file system.

I have an iPad Mini 4, and iPad Pro 9.7 and an iPad Pro 10.5. I just got a Microsoft Surface Go (about the same size as the iPP 10.5) so my desire for any new iPad is probably mostly for the Mini size. (Won’t know for sure until the new ones are announced, but I don’t care about Face ID or most of the other new features.)

My biggest concern is the speed of the lightning port. The main reason I bought iPads was to use to view photos of trail camera SD cards. The Mini 4 takes four or five times as long to import pictures as the the iPPs do. The Mini 4 is my ideal size for importing, viewing, and selecting photos, but for cards that have several thousand photos on them, it’s just painful to use for importing. I’m using the iPP 9.7 right now because iOS 12 beta has some great features for photo import but it’s bigger than I care to use.

 

[millydog]

I don’t use my iPad mini 2 as much these days due to its slower speed than my Pro iPads, but I’d love a mini 5/Pro and would buy a new one as soon as it’s updated. It would go with me everywhere.
I see lots of children with the mini and it’s used in my local primary and secondary schools as the one to one computer for each child, noting that some use the 9.7” instead.
I also see it used by drive through coffee shops, cafe staff and restaurant staff in many locations. Even the tradesmen that come to my workplace carry iPad minis for their work. I think that Apple would be crazy to not keep it going and update it soon.

 

[charlituna]

this thread is pointless. Apple doesn't come to sites like this to get ideas for what to do. MAYBE hitting tim cook on twitter might make him give it a thought but that's a big maybe.

 

[millydog]

I’m not sure if you are addressing myself or everyone here, but I wasn’t talking to Tim Cook here. I’m talking with MacRumors members about the iPad mini.

 

[varunsanthanam]

I was on team mini for years till I picked up a 10.5" pro. haven't looked back since.

 

[Michael Scrip]

So there’s not the huge market for the mini that there used to be. I get that. But given that Apple is still producing and selling the Mini 4, I wonder if it would really be that difficult or expensive for them to just do a silent update and start putting in A10 chips instead of A8.

That's a good suggestion!

You're right... the Mini might not sell as many units as other iPads... but there's obviously a market for it as evidenced by the fact that they haven't cancelled it completely.

So imagine how many more they would sell if they updated it?

Seems simple to me.

 

[spinedoc77]

It drives me nuts when people claim that iPhone _ Plus is almost as big as an iPad mini. The size difference is significant, and the use cases are much different. I will concede that there is probably no reason to own both a Plus model iPhone and a mini, but they are still very functionally different devices.

Why not? Between a Plus iPhone and the Mini ipad the size difference is huge, especially this upcoming generation with the aspect ratio differences where the ipad will be superior for content consumption. That advantage would only be magnified if Apple released an ipad mini 5 with reduced bezels, meaning an even larger screen.

 

[JPack]

Why not? Between a Plus iPhone and the Mini ipad the size difference is huge, especially this upcoming generation with the aspect ratio differences where the ipad will be superior for content consumption. That advantage would only be magnified if Apple released an ipad mini 5 with reduced bezels, meaning an even larger screen.

The difference may be huge, but there's also a huge inconvenience of carrying and charging two devices.

For many, a phablet is good enough for content consumption. Is a mini tablet better? Sure, but at some point, it's good enough.

 

[ZivaD]

I have a plus iPhone, its not big enough, simple as that, I have an iPad pro (using it now) its too big, heavy and just a pain to type on, I have a mini 2 and its perfect but slow and annoyingly old.
I want a new mini.