What will happen to the iPad minis, Airs, etc used in the business world?

[Adelphos33]

1) I see a lot of Uber Drivers and such using iPad Minis with LTE for their routes
2) Every coffee shop I know uses an iPad with a credit card reader for billing

I'm sure people have a million other examples of "regular" iPad usage in the business world, retail world, etc.

Will Apple keep iterating on the "regular" iPad and iPad mini for these purposes? These are big markets for the iPad

 

[Freakonomics101]

My fiancé is a taxi driver so I totally understand the iPad size thing. He has a Mini and works great for that. He can manage with a 9.7 but it would be more of a hassle.

 

[UOThief]

How ever big the market is for mini-tablets, it feels like the market shrinks every time a Smart Phone gets a little bit bigger.

 

[macduke]

I mean, the recent regular iPad update was decent for the price and good enough for most users. The Mini is the big question right now. I think there is a decent market as I see them around and my wife loves hers and it easily fits in a purse, but who knows what Apple's numbers are showing them. Maybe they'll come out with an 8.5" iPad Pro at 326ppi, having the same resolution as the 10.5" model. Maybe they're waiting to release it when they can cut down the bezels even more to keep the size small.

 

[Badrottie]

Maybe they would be replaced by cheaper Android tablet. They are cheaper.

 

[jschu22]

All this talk about "OMG, but the iPad mini..." is over dramatic and getting old. If Apple does in fact depart from this segment it will be because there's not enough money to be made, which is a sign that it really isn't impacting all that many people.

 

[rui no onna]

Maybe they would be replaced by cheaper Android tablet. They are cheaper.

Software development is expensive. If they already have custom apps for iOS, I doubt they'd welcome a switch to a new platform. Also, Android hardware don't have the consistency and long term support that iPads do.

I reckon for most corporate use, the $329 budget iPad will serve just as well as the iPad mini.

 

[texasstar1981]

My fiancé is a taxi driver so I totally understand the iPad size thing. He has a Mini and works great for that. He can manage with a 9.7 but it would be more of a hassle.

I mostly see iPhones+ and Samsung Galaxy on the windshield as GPS running waze or whatever Uber provides...

 

[mwhals]

My friend drives Uber and keeps a 9.7" iPad mounted in her mini van.