That may be, but how is that not also letting the product languish and stick around way too long without any update? It is just getting older and more out of date every year. Same thing is happening with the Mac mini.
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Why does is iPad Mini 4 still for sale?
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iPad 4 Mini really needs to be updated or die off. What a joke Apple! The new iPads look smexy though.
The iPod Touch went three years before getting an update, so there is a precedent of Apple letting a low priority iOS device sit around for 3 years before reviving it. The mini will be 3yo this fall, so we’ll see if 3 is again the magic number. Perhaps Apple believes 3 years is the longest they can sell an iOS device before it becomes too compromised of an experience for the buyer.
I personally think they’ll update the mini in some form. It’s too useful of a size for too many people and professions. And if they care anything at all about their ibooks store, it seems logical that they’ll keep around their best device for e-reading.
If they do update it, I’m 99% sure it will not go full Pro though (which I guess Pro now means smart connector, quad speakers, laminated screen, promotion, newest chip, and 4gb ram). 40% sure it will get the pencil.
I personally think they’ll update the mini in some form. It’s too useful of a size for too many people and professions. And if they care anything at all about their ibooks store, it seems logical that they’ll keep around their best device for e-reading.
If they do update it, I’m 99% sure it will not go full Pro though (which I guess Pro now means smart connector, quad speakers, laminated screen, promotion, newest chip, and 4gb ram). 40% sure it will get the pencil.
If they followed the 9.7” formula and applied it to the 7.9” mini, it would be the body/screen of the mini 2/3 and basically everything else would be the same as the 2018 iPad. Same processor, same RAM, same camera, etc.
That would be very underwhelming after such a long wait, but it doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
Of course, I’d prefer it to be a Pro, with everything that entails, since that would mean we wouldn’t lose the laminated screen and slimmer body of the mini 4.
I was surprised to still see mini 2/3 cases being sold at Target today. I would think that means mini accessories still sell. That’s a good sign.
That would be very underwhelming after such a long wait, but it doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
Of course, I’d prefer it to be a Pro, with everything that entails, since that would mean we wouldn’t lose the laminated screen and slimmer body of the mini 4.
I was surprised to still see mini 2/3 cases being sold at Target today. I would think that means mini accessories still sell. That’s a good sign.
It just looks like Apple is done with these devices and is just selling off their stock. Anyone buying a Mini would find an old iOS on it for sure.
I bought mine in January and it came with iOS 11 installed. It wasn’t the latest version but it was still iOS 11
Again, that is probably true, but they are still letting the product languish and fizzle out, which was my original point.
What do you think would be a fitting end if Apple no longer is going to sell after stock is depleted?
The Mini is still around, not because Apple has some warehouse full of them that they have to get rid of, but because they’re making money on them. Just like the ipod touch... and maybe like the ipod touch, they’ll give it a little spec bump and continue to sell it.
I have yet to run across an ipad mini thread on macrumors that you don’t make the declaration that the mini is dead. None of us really know what Apple intends to do with it so your emphatic insistence that the mini’s death is a done deal doesn’t really help advance the conversation.
It just seems a little ridiculous to let the products they know they will be discontinuing linger on as relics like they always do. You would think they would figure this out by now if excess stock is the issue, which I don't believe it is most of the time - I think they just want to squeeze every ounce of profit for as long as they can by selling old products as long as they can.
I think it's taking advantage of the consumer when price isn't dropped to reflect the aging hardware offered. The price for the mini at this point is robbery. Is this standard practice for other companies? I honestly don't follow the product strategies of other companies closely so I wouldn't know.
I've got the following iPads in my house: Original iPad, iPad 2, Mini 2, iPad 2017, Mini 4... The Mini 2 & 4 get all the work/love... I've got an iPad 2018 on the way through work, that because of the pencil might get more use... But for my wife and I, the Mini form factor is ideal for what we use it for and especially for traveling...
I'd love a Mini Pro, and would be 1st or 2nd in line for one, but I don't think it's likely... the Mini 4 runs 11 plenty well... the Mini 2, there's a little lag, and I won't update it past 11... A Mini 5 w/ an A10 and Pencil support would be killer... IMHO
Coachingguy
I'd love a Mini Pro, and would be 1st or 2nd in line for one, but I don't think it's likely... the Mini 4 runs 11 plenty well... the Mini 2, there's a little lag, and I won't update it past 11... A Mini 5 w/ an A10 and Pencil support would be killer... IMHO
Coachingguy
Yeah can’t beat the mini for travelling. I’ve tried using the bigger sized iPads but they are just too big no matter how slim Apple make them. I always come back to the mini. I’ve owned every generation of the mini.
I’ll be going into hospital in a few weeks to have a baby and I’ll be taking the mini with me.
I was just in an Apple store - getting a new battery in an old iPhone 6P (soon to be handed down). While there, I tried out the sizes of the 10.5 Pro and new 9.7.
The main reason I like the mini so much is that you can comfortably palm it. While you (I) can palm the bigger iPads, it's not very comfortable. Alternatively, if you hold on with one hand by 'pinching' the iPad between two fingers, you wind up covering the part of the display - especially with the small bezels on the 10.5. This would be even more uncomfortable if you were trying to stand and pinch the iPad with one hand, and draw with the pencil in the other... That seems like an ergonomic problem.
Palming on the other hand - is a piece of cake.
So why not just make a 'mini' close to the same physical size as the current mini (about 9.5") and make that more full screen like the iPhoneX. Call it the iPad Pro 8.9". Just keep it palm-able and upgrade the specs.
The main reason I like the mini so much is that you can comfortably palm it. While you (I) can palm the bigger iPads, it's not very comfortable. Alternatively, if you hold on with one hand by 'pinching' the iPad between two fingers, you wind up covering the part of the display - especially with the small bezels on the 10.5. This would be even more uncomfortable if you were trying to stand and pinch the iPad with one hand, and draw with the pencil in the other... That seems like an ergonomic problem.
Palming on the other hand - is a piece of cake.
So why not just make a 'mini' close to the same physical size as the current mini (about 9.5") and make that more full screen like the iPhoneX. Call it the iPad Pro 8.9". Just keep it palm-able and upgrade the specs.
Why's it a joke? It's still a pretty good little tablet, especially with no real competition in its size except low end Amazon Kindle tablets. The Mini 4 is just a bit over priced, is all, but I guess enough people are buying it that Apple doesn't feel a price cut is necessary to move stock.
People like the smaller size!
[doublepost=1522452286][/doublepost]
https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/tablets/all-other-tablets/sm-t713nzwexar-sm-t713nzwexar/
Samsung has the Tab S. It a step above the iPad Mini with more RAM and Amoled HD screen.
[doublepost=1522452286][/doublepost]
https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/tablets/all-other-tablets/sm-t713nzwexar-sm-t713nzwexar/
Samsung has the Tab S. It a step above the iPad Mini with more RAM and Amoled HD screen.
Comfortably?? How big are your hands? I’m on the smallish side and I can barely palm the mini but it’s far from comfortable. It’s actually painful if I’m reclined and holding it in front of my face. I don’t think the mini was really designed to be palmed (unless they designed it to only be palmed by large hands or for short periods in certain situations). I read that Apple chose that size simply because it was the smallest they could shrink the 9.7” UI and have it still be usable, just as an easy way to enter the small tablet market.
The Tab S2 came out the same year as the Mini 4, and by comparison, has slipped into obscurity. When the S3 came out Samsung didn't even bother with an 8" model.
So I stand by what I said, the Mini 4 is pretty much without competition in its category.
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I'd actually agree that the Mini is quite comfortably palmable. I'm a man of average height, about 5'10" or so, and I think my hands are pretty average.
Interesting. My hands are smallish, but not far from average. The other thing is I think people have different definitions of “comfortable”. For me, comfortable means I can recline or lie on my back and palm the device above my face (elbow resting beside me) and read that way for an hour+. In those cases the mini starts straining my hand after a few seconds.
The tab S2 came out in 2015 and doesn’t even run Oreo and won’t get updated to it let alone android P. At least the mini 4 runs the latest os and will most likely get one final major OS update.
I just bought a used one of ebay for a specific task. Still a good little pad. I couldn't justify the new price.
Just done the same on one 7 months old at around 60% of the Apple store price with an Apple smart cover thrown in. Got “full size” iPads but fancied a mini for travel and a potential regular commute. No way I would have paid full price which is £399 in the UK, reduced by a “whopping” £20 this week from £419.
Best Buy is selling the 128gb Mini 4 for $299 right now. I’m thinking about picking one up during the sale.
I have a hand-me-down Mini 1 but it’s slow and has a low resolution. I like the size though and want to keep one to pair with a new 12.9 model (or whatever it will be this summer).
It sounds like current Mini 4 users still find them capable which is encouraging.
I have a hand-me-down Mini 1 but it’s slow and has a low resolution. I like the size though and want to keep one to pair with a new 12.9 model (or whatever it will be this summer).
It sounds like current Mini 4 users still find them capable which is encouraging.
I find the 12.9+mini a great combo. And I agree, iOS 11 runs very adequately on my mini 4.
