Seriously, I think there's some serious overlap between these two. To wit, a lot of people have a 12.9 Pro for heavy work and multitasking, and then they want another iPad for portability. Before the Mini 6, their main options were either the 11" Pro or the Mini 5 or regular iPad 8. Here are some of the factors that influence that decision:
- Desire to share the same Apple Pencil 2 between bigger and smaller iPads.
- Desire for portability that the 12.9 doesn't have.
- Wanting a modern all-screen design.
- Affordability.
Before the Mini 6, any choice involved major tradeoffs.
If you went for the 11" Pro as a second iPad, you got the all-screen design and got to swap your Pencil 2 between the 12.9 and the 11, but you lost out on portability and affordability.
If you went for the Mini 5, you got a small form factor, but you gave up the all-screen design and had to buy a separate Apple Pencil 1.
With the Mini 6 as a second iPad (companion to the 12.9), you get closer to having the best of both worlds, albeit with a few compromises (e.g. lacking ProMotion and FaceID).
Gotta completely agree here, but would go even further. In my case the mini 6 is a direct replacement for the 2018 11” Pro I have now, not taking the 12.9” into account. It’s a companion device for my M1 Mac mini, not another iPad, and my main portable personal computer. Also will replace the 11” Pro as a companion work machine in a finance department work setting alongside an M1 MacBook Air.
On paper, the new Mini 6 is just as capable as the 2018/20 Pro’s, if not more so, and definitely more capable than the Air 4, which you forgot to include in your comparison above. In fact, I said on here months ago that if they made the next Mini a smaller version of the Air 4 that would be perfect for my use case (heavy, large complicated spreadsheet use across multiple tabs simultaneously in the browser, as well as video editing in Luma And iMovie). Well they basically made a supercharged version of the Air 4 in a smaller package, so outdid even what I had hoped for by giving it the Centerstage front camera and the higher spec’d A15 variant, so if I didn’t get this immediately on pre-order, I’d just be blowing smoke! ?.
I don’t even know what the Air 4 is doing there now in the lineup. Its too expensive for what it is. Apple should’ve just silently upgraded it with the front camera and the A15 chip to give it parity and justify its $100 premium for the bigger screen size over the mini. That’s its only “advantage” over the Mini 6 now.
If you are into the smallest and most portable devices like I am, there isn’t even a discussion.
Now I will be commuting and traveling for work with the M1 MBA and Mini 6 in my briefcase and the 12 mini in my pocket! Just wish they would have revived the 12” MB with the M1, that would have been sweet.