iPad mini Would you buy an iPad mini pro

[phoenix-mac-user]

I am a very happy iPad mini owner that can't stand any of the other models because I feel they are too big for what I use the iPad for for, basically consuming content on my couch and using it as a larger iPhone (ironically my iPhone has started annoying me since I got the mini and have become accustomed to the larger screen, they really need an iPhone fold).

I had an iPad Pro and it just gathered dust because was just too big and heavy and you couldn't really use it one handed. If I want that size screen I will grab my Macbook.

But I don't think an iPad Mini Pro would improve on what i use it for: Surfing Facebook and whatever Elon calls Twitter these days, watching Baseball while pretending I am interested in whatever reality show my wife has on the TV, and general web browsing.

But I would love some of the features that are only available on pro devices.

So it depends on what you consider "Pro".

Do I need an M3 chip and 16gb of ram? No.

But a mini with that awesome camera and FaceID? Sign me up!

 

[cthompson94]

Totally agree. It really won’t make a huge difference on how people use it.

with the exception of outdoors, because in my use with mine the brightness capability is horrible to use outdoors unless you are always in the shade which is unrealistic even for regular use like reading. You could be lounging outdoors reading on a partly cloudy day and have moments of not really being able to see the screen

 

[rui no onna]

Q: Would you buy an iPad mini pro?
A: No. Why? Because those "Pro" features won't appreciably improve the user experience on that form-factor but will increase the price.

Even fans of the iPad Mini occasionally complain about the price of the Mini compared to other iPads in the lineup. A hypothetical iPad Mini Pro would begin at $599 for 64GB. (for reference, a little over a year ago, I predicted that the iPad 10th gen would be based on the Air and cost $50 more than the 9th gen... turned out the Air part was correct, but the price increased by $120)

Probably closer to $699 than $599. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the iPad Pro mini cost the same as the iPad Pro 11.

The price gap between 10.9” Air 5 and 8.3” mini 6 is just $100. Same for the 2019 10.5” Air 3/mini 5, 2014 Air 2/mini 3 and 2013 Air/mini 2.

The mini 4 (A8/2GB) was released in 2015, a year later than the Air 2 and was priced at $399 - the same as the Air 2 (A8X/2GB) after its price reduction. Yes, both Air 2 and mini 4 were being sold at the same price.

 

[3Rock]

iPad Mini 7 (dump the pro stuff - it will never be a pro)
FaceID
128 gb ssd
🙀A bunch of useless apple stickers🙀​

 

[geta]

The only “pro” feature the Mini 6 need is 8GB RAM.

Also 128GB storage for the base model would be nice, but not necessary.

And no FaceID, unless its additionally and not instead of TouchID.

 

[IJBrekke]

The only “pro” feature the Mini 6 need is 8GB RAM.

Also 128GB storage for the base model would be nice, but not necessary.

And no FaceID, unless its additionally and not instead of TouchID.

I would happily accept 128GB just as an option on the Mini. Fully in agreement that it needs more RAM, plus move jelly scroll back to landscape orientation a la Mini 5. That’s all it needs.

 

[Digitalguy]

The only “pro” feature the Mini 6 need is 8GB RAM.

Also 128GB storage for the base model would be nice, but not necessary.

And no FaceID, unless its additionally and not instead of TouchID.

Honestly I would also take quad speakers. But RAM is indeed what it needs most. Having said that even 6GB would make a huge difference.
I hate using Safari on 4GB RAM iPads (that's also why I will not upgrade my mini 5 to a mini 6). They reload tabs all the time. However 6GB is a totally different story and is much closer to 8GB (which I have too) in terms of reloads than to 4GB.
I am confident that even just with A16 it should get 6GB just like A16 iPhones

 

[VaruLV]

Mini with 8GB of RAM is the main reason Pro model or M3 model would be to my liking.
That way I could leave my base 12.9 M1 at home when travelling, I really wished I had Mini when I spent months in SEA last winter instead of my huge 12.9.
I also had laptop with me, which I rarely used, so that might have played into 12.9 seeming too big.

 

[Jonr515]

The only really 'pro' feature I'd like on the Mini is more RAM, honestly.

This and M series chip so you could plug into an external monitor for larger screen when needed.

 

[subjonas]

I’m pretty good with my Mini 5. There are several features I want but I don’t know if I’d call them pro features. Btw I prefer the 5 over the 6 because it has a headphone port (needed for multitrack music recording) and bigger bezels (I find them handy).

My wishlist for the Mini 5 is:
- less app refresh (so I guess more ram)
- more viewable in the sunlight (so I guess brighter)
- front facing speakers
- waterproof (I often use it around water in the bathroom/kitchen)
- contact charging with a charging stand (it can be magnetic inductive charging like Qi but I prefer just metal pins like the Smart Connector for a more direct efficient connection)
- built-in kickstand with adjustable angles
- maybe folding (not necessarily to use as a phone but just to make it easy to put in my pocket and take around the house)

More ram is probably the only typical “pro” feature in my list. The rest are probably pretty niche wishes.

 

[Digitalguy]

I’m pretty good with my Mini 5. There are several features I want but I don’t know if I’d call them pro features. Btw I prefer the 5 over the 6 because it has a headphone port (needed for multitrack music recording) and bigger bezels (I find them handy).

My wishlist for the Mini 5 is:
- less app refresh (so I guess more ram)
- more viewable in the sunlight (so I guess brighter)
- front facing speakers
- waterproof (I often use it around water in the bathroom/kitchen)
- contact charging with a charging stand (it can be magnetic inductive charging like Qi but I prefer just metal pins like the Smart Connector for a more direct efficient connection)
- built-in kickstand with adjustable angles
- maybe folding (not necessarily to use as a phone but just to make it easy to put in my pocket and take around the house)

More ram is probably the only typical “pro” feature in my list. The rest are probably pretty niche wishes.

I also have a mini 5 and the headphone jack is important to me for 2 reasons.
1. It allows me to play virtual instruments without an audio interface (camera connection kit for midi + headphone jack), and it's perfect since it's very small and takes very little room on my music rest.
2. In one of the rooms where I teach dance the sound system only works via a jack (I could bring a lightening to jack adapter, but I cannot leave it there so I would need to never forget it, and I would not be able to charge the iPad if battery is low...)
So there are definitely use cases that make the audio jack pretty useful.

Other than that I would love the other features but I don't see them ever coming to the mini, but they will come to a foldable iPhone which will cost at least 4 times as much, but will happen at some point.
And already today they are mostly available on Android foldables. I am on Android with my phone and I am letting the foldable market mature, but in a 3-5 years I could absolutely see myself replacing my S23 with a foldable, especially if the size and aspect ratio are similar to my S23 when closed.

 

[mpetrides]

I’ll buy one once Apple stop supporting the Mini 6 with iOS updates. Until then, I’ll happily use my mini 6 as I do now everyday.

Oh, I'm not giving up my mini 6 until it either drops dead or stops getting updates. But I'll likely get whatever new iPad AAPL offers in the mini size because I think it's perfect for reading books (same size as a trade paperback) and the like.

 

[subjonas]

I also have a mini 5 and the headphone jack is important to me for 2 reasons.
1. It allows me to play virtual instruments without an audio interface (camera connection kit for midi + headphone jack), and it's perfect since it's very small and takes very little room on my music rest.
2. In one of the rooms where I teach dance the sound system only works via a jack (I could bring a lightening to jack adapter, but I cannot leave it there so I would need to never forget it, and I would not be able to charge the iPad if battery is low...)
So there are definitely use cases that make the audio jack pretty useful.

Other than that I would love the other features but I don't see them ever coming to the mini, but they will come to a foldable iPhone which will cost at least 4 times as much, but will happen at some point.
And already today they are mostly available on Android foldables. I am on Android with my phone and I am letting the foldable market mature, but in a 3-5 years I could absolutely see myself replacing my S23 with a foldable, especially if the size and aspect ratio are similar to my S23 when closed.

I’m just an occasional hobbyist musician, I imagine the headphone jack is even more important to more serious musicians, which sound like you probably are. Very cool you teach dance too!
Yeah the lightning adapter is not a perfect solution. Like you mentioned, you have to remember to bring it. As an alternative you could fasten it somehow to your headphones cable so that it’s always available to those headphones. But besides now being an eye sore, you still always have to attach/detach it to/from the jack based on which device you're using it with, so it’s not a “set it and forget it” solution. And if you use different headphones with your iPad then you’d have to do this for each of your headphones, which could add up in cost. And you always have to bring and use your headphones, you can never borrow. Either way, these are permanent ongoing annoyances/limitations. As you also mentioned, you can’t simultaneously charge, but I believe there are some adapters that do allow you to simultaneously charge. But they’re more expensive and bulkier, so if you affix one to each of your headphones, the expense adds up and you have bulkier things hanging off your cables.
These are just such unnecessary added hassles for the iPad. For a phone, ok maybe the tradeoffs are worth it to most (not to me), but for an iPad I don’t think the tradeoffs are benefitting many people, but they’re inconveniencing many.

Yeah not even a long shot for most of my wishlist for the Mini. I wouldn’t mind getting a folding phone/tablet in place of my Mini, but for me it would have to be an Apple device for the ecosystem convenience. But the other thing is when folded it would still be a big bulky phone, and I don’t like big phones, so I would only use it as a non-phone peripheral device like my Mini. And the possible complication there is that so far, Apple phones don’t work well as peripheral devices specifically when it comes to Continuity features. Eg. You can’t get call or SMS forwarding from one iPhone to another via wifi. I tried using a large non-activated iPhone as my small tablet for awhile, but got too annoyed and went back to a Mini because I’ve come to depend on Continuity too much. I assume it’s something Apple could change in software but it’s too much of a niche. But if Apple makes a folding phone/tablet, maybe that niche will get bigger.

 

[Digitalguy]

I’m just an occasional hobbyist musician, I imagine the headphone jack is even more important to more serious musicians, which sound like you probably are. Very cool you teach dance too!
Yeah the lightning adapter is not a perfect solution. Like you mentioned, you have to remember to bring it. As an alternative you could fasten it somehow to your headphones cable so that it’s always available to those headphones. But besides now being an eye sore, you still always have to attach/detach it to/from the jack based on which device you're using it with, so it’s not a “set it and forget it” solution. And if you use different headphones with your iPad then you’d have to do this for each of your headphones, which could add up in cost. And you always have to bring and use your headphones, you can never borrow. Either way, these are permanent ongoing annoyances/limitations. As you also mentioned, you can’t simultaneously charge, but I believe there are some adapters that do allow you to simultaneously charge. But they’re more expensive and bulkier, so if you affix one to each of your headphones, the expense adds up and you have bulkier things hanging off your cables.
These are just such unnecessary added hassles for the iPad. For a phone, ok maybe the tradeoffs are worth it to most (not to me), but for an iPad I don’t think the tradeoffs are benefitting many people, but they’re inconveniencing many.

Yeah not even a long shot for most of my wishlist for the Mini. I wouldn’t mind getting a folding phone/tablet in place of my Mini, but for me it would have to be an Apple device for the ecosystem convenience. But the other thing is when folded it would still be a big bulky phone, and I don’t like big phones, so I would only use it as a non-phone peripheral device like my Mini. And the possible complication there is that so far, Apple phones don’t work well as peripheral devices specifically when it comes to Continuity features. Eg. You can’t get call or SMS forwarding from one iPhone to another via wifi. I tried using a large non-activated iPhone as my small tablet for awhile, but got too annoyed and went back to a Mini because I’ve come to depend on Continuity too much. I assume it’s something Apple could change in software but it’s too much of a niche. But if Apple makes a folding phone/tablet, maybe that niche will get bigger.

I don't consider myself a serious musician since I only play, I don't compose music, and I do it as a hobby, not for money. As a dance teacher, I cannot let adapters attached to the cable since I am not the only person using the sound system. And I cannot leave the adapter there otherwise anyone could steal it (other teachers I don't know or learners), so I would just need to never forget to bring it and to take it back or there is no music, which is terrible for a dance class. Same thing when I do dance animations at parties etc, Bluetooth is not always an option and some sound systems only work with a headphone jack. At home I leave my wired headphone with a USB C jack on all the time since most of my tablets have a USB C port.
As for phones, I also prefer small ones, 6" or less, and that's why I mentioned size. The Samsung Z fold is not an option, but the Google pixel fold is 5.8" when closed, so that could be it, but it's a first generation. But I would prefer Samsung to make a similar foldable, since I have always had a Samsung smartphone (since the Galaxy S1) and I have 2 Samsung tablets (S7FE, S8 ultra) in addition to my iPads. Not a real ecosystem, but a partial one. And my main computing platform is Windows (my Macbooks are just used as Chromebooks for youtube, and my M1 mini is basically just a Plex server)
So an Android foldable could make sense for me at some point as long as when closed it's small enough. Maybe initially I'd use it just as a small tablet, before putting my main SIM in it...

 

[StaceyMJ86]

Oh, I'm not giving up my mini 6 until it either drops dead or stops getting updates. But I'll likely get whatever new iPad AAPL offers in the mini size because I think it's perfect for reading books (same size as a trade paperback) and the like.

I absolutely love my Mini 6 and will not depart with it until Apple stop updating it.

 

[hippopotamusglorypig]

I wouldn't want an iPad Pro Mini. But my totally unrealistic hope is that the next iPad Mini:

• have a 90Hz display (to keep 120Hz a "pro" feature)
• nix the rear cameras (I can live with a camera bump on a phone, but a device with stylus input shouldn't wobble)
• get more RAM (iOS RAM "optimization" is to ruthlesly kill background tasks - fine on a phone, but annoying on a "desktop" OS)
• make it flicker-free (I can live with PWM flicker on a phone, but I stare at tablets all day long)
• support external monitors (I don't care about Stage Manager on the device, though)

Any further changes and it would bump up the price such that you may as well get a nicer iPad with a more usable screen. But an iPad the size of a small novel that you can connect up to a monitor for longer-duration use would be amazing and genuinely novel.

 

[subjonas]

I don't consider myself a serious musician since I only play, I don't compose music, and I do it as a hobby, not for money. As a dance teacher, I cannot let adapters attached to the cable since I am not the only person using the sound system. And I cannot leave the adapter there otherwise anyone could steal it (other teachers I don't know or learners), so I would just need to never forget to bring it and to take it back or there is no music, which is terrible for a dance class. Same thing when I do dance animations at parties etc, Bluetooth is not always an option and some sound systems only work with a headphone jack. At home I leave my wired headphone with a USB C jack on all the time since most of my tablets have a USB C port.
As for phones, I also prefer small ones, 6" or less, and that's why I mentioned size. The Samsung Z fold is not an option, but the Google pixel fold is 5.8" when closed, so that could be it, but it's a first generation. But I would prefer Samsung to make a similar foldable, since I have always had a Samsung smartphone (since the Galaxy S1) and I have 2 Samsung tablets (S7FE, S8 ultra) in addition to my iPads. Not a real ecosystem, but a partial one. And my main computing platform is Windows (my Macbooks are just used as Chromebooks for youtube, and my M1 mini is basically just a Plex server)
So an Android foldable could make sense for me at some point as long as when closed it's small enough. Maybe initially I'd use it just as a small tablet, before putting my main SIM in it...

Yeah in your situation a lightning adapter is a real hassle. It’s unfortunate. (Also when I said “headphones cable” I should have said any speaker system cable.)
Haha when I say I like small phones, I mean really small, like 2016 SE or even original iPhone. I’ve been using a 2022 SE for several months now but I still think it’s way too big. No chance for me, but I’m sure they’ll get folding phones down small enough for you.

 

[Digitalguy]

Yeah in your situation a lightning adapter is a real hassle. It’s unfortunate. (Also when I said “headphones cable” I should have said any speaker system cable.)
Haha when I say I like small phones, I mean really small, like 2016 SE or even original iPhone. I’ve been using a 2022 SE for several months now but I still think it’s way too big. No chance for me, but I’m sure they’ll get folding phones down small enough for you.

I have the original 4" SE and my first smartphone (Galaxy S1) was 4.3in". I would have been fine with the size if they were full screen, like the current mini, but 4" is too small, I need at least 5". My perfect compromise would be a 5.7" all screen phone. So a little bigger than the mini and a little smaller than the regular size iPhone. The iPhone 11 pro was the closest to the size, as is my current phone, the S10e (same size but lighter, which is an added bonus). I bought the S23, which is the same size as the regular iPhone but I mainly use it as a secondary device for social media at home and for taking pictures on the go. I can't get rid of my beloved 5.8" S10e, despite the battery life not being stellar.
The Pixel fold is 5.8" when closed so great but I don't trust Google with reliability so I hope Samsung copies the concept and there are rumors that it will.
I would be fine with a 5.4" iPhone mini, and I actually prefer that to 6.1, although something in the middle like 5.7 would be my sweet spot.
Unfortunately we are in a minority. People want big phones as they do on them what we do on tablets (watching videos, documents etc.)