Rumors of a 7.85-Inch 'iPad Mini' Revived (Again) for Late 2012

I think it's been pretty well established that the fire is not "competition" to the iPad at this point.

I don't see it happening for all the same reasons the that iPhone screen size has yet to change.

Another analyst. Another fart. Another stupid prediction.

But hey, it's Digitimes again.

I kinda like it, a bigger iPod Touch but smaller than the ipad. Not very useful though.

The only thing that makes this rumour seem feasible is the fact that the screen resolution is the same, this makes all the apps compatible.

Any size is cool, so sure—someday. Bigger iPads too. But a 7-8" size is different enough to require a different UI for the best experience from apps. That added fragmentation is bad for developers and bad (in some ways) for the platform. Is the platform mature enough yet that this would be worth that penalty? Maybe, in a year, but I’m skeptical. We already have pocket-size and full-size iOS tablets—lots of choice. A size in between doesn’t seem important enough to be worth the hassle (for users too!) of a third class of apps. Some people will prefer 8”... some will prefer 6” or 14”... but very few will prefer 8" enough to boycott the 10” and 3.5” iPad/iPod. Some day, when the iOS market is much larger and more mature, then more sizes may make sense (look at the history of laptop size selections).

Now, Apple might do this “too soon” in SPITE of the pitfalls, if there are good reasons they can’t control. Such as: desperately needing a price point in between the iPod and iPad, or, more likely, an inability to make enough 10” screens. So, if that 10” market is, some day, capped by production, then a totally separate iPad line could be a necessary evil. In theory.

However, in order to cope with increasing market competition including the 7-inch Kindle Fire from Amazon and the launch of large-size smartphones from handset vendors, Apple has been persuaded into the development of 7.85-inch iPads, the sources indicated.

Click to expand...

Since when is Apple a trend follower?

The only thing it would be competing with would be their own products, and undercutting their own profits. As a stockholder, this is the kind of reactionary leadership I'm watching out for as a company without a true leading visionary tries to find its way. Apple needs to lead its following, not answer them. If a bigger iPhone isn't best for the experience and product line stick to what you know. If a smaller iPad is going to be less profitable and a lesser user experience, don't give the masses the disappointing product they're clamoring for.

b166er said:

I think it's been pretty well established that the fire is not "competition" to the iPad at this point.

Click to expand...

I think it's also been established that when it comes to what the competition is doing Apple is a Honey Badger.

They will compete with the Fire by making a better iPad, at 10 inches if that is what they think is better. ANd given Jobs comments, I suspect that is exactly what they think.

arn said:

iLounge said 7", Digitimes said 7.85" and United Daily News said 7.85". Enough places have said it that it doesn't seem just like making stuff up. Whether it actually launches or not is another question, but in my mind it seems clear that Apple has these things at least in prototype form.

arn

Click to expand...

Oh definitely. Apple must be having a number of prototypes. They must have had more than 20 I would assume when they launched the first iPad.
But really, I don't buy any of this.

Apple needs to come out with different models of the iPhone. A bigger one probably as a number of people need it. I definitely do. But as for the iPad – the size seems to be just perfect. Anything less than 9 is just small.

b166er said:

I think it's been pretty well established that the fire is not "competition" to the iPad at this point.

I don't see it happening for all the same reasons the that iPhone screen size has yet to change.

Click to expand...

Oh come on the the Kindle Touch and well Apples own products either side are competition for the iPad. In that people might not consider or drop the table out of consideration due to these devices, but no competition in the tablet space.

arn said:

iLounge said 7", Digitimes said 7.85" and United Daily News said 7.85". Enough places have said it that it doesn't seem just like making stuff up. Whether it actually launches or not is another question, but in my mind it seems clear that Apple has these things at least in prototype form.

arn

Click to expand...

Let's face it: Apple has probably been prototyping tablets between 2" and 24" for five years. They likely have sample parts of every single commercially viable touchscreen panel made since 2005.

There's probably some gorgeous 15" Retina Display iPad in a lab in Cupertino. Unfortunately the current retail cost might end up being $3000 and the panel supplier might only be able generate 500,000 panels in the next twelve months.

Apple likely tests dozens if not hundreds of designs for each potential project. Some Digitimes rumor of a possible 7" iPad is meaningless.

I really wouldn't hurt Apple to have different sizes.

People will still buy them and Apple could crunch the numbers and simply make less of the ones that are not selling.

Like with the iPods.

Kind of a no brainer.

I never understood why some people think that just because THEY personally don't see a need for something ......it shouldn't exist.

I'd buy a smaller iPad in a heartbeat.

I own an HP TouchPad and having played around with the BlackBerry PlayBook, I found that the 7" size felt just right, whereas the 10" size of the TouchPad seems just a tad too big. IMHO obviously.

DouchGod said:

The only thing that makes this rumour seem feasible is the fact that the screen resolution is the same, this makes all the apps compatible.

Click to expand...

For small children with tiny fingers and above average eyesight.

arn said:

Let me clarify. Apple certainly had 20+ empty shells sitting around Ive's office just to play with form factors.

However, for this, it seems clear they are actually putting together a 7.85" device in China in early stages. With actual screens and parts being delivered and tested. That's a step much closer than empty foam shells in a research lab.

arn

Click to expand...

I think you know more than I think you knew. I think something.

I know tons of people who would get the 7" at a 299ish price point.

It would also tap into all the other tablet markets, meee likey

So it will include Apple branded sandpaper in the box?

I don't think the UI will work so well if reduced 15% in size, unless Apple is figuring out a way to reduce our fingers as well.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A405)

The 7" dimension has nothing to do with the Fire's good sales. The $200 price is why people are buying it. Also, I don't think 7" is cheaper to build--at least not by much.

Personally, I'm skeptical Amazon will be able to make the Fire a business success. They probably have to sell an extra $500 in merchandise per unit to justify it. This isn't Apple's business model at all.

Bart

iPad 3 will be launched for what iPad 2 retails for right now (about $499) and iPad 2 will go on sale after launch for about $299 to compete with the prices of Amazon Kindle Fire and Nook.

iPad 3: Retina display, Siri, tweaked look

arn said:

Like I said, these sources are from Chinese suppliers. These rumors are not coming out of the lab in Cupertino.

arn

Click to expand...

No, the rumors are coming from an Asian tech publication purportedly relaying information from suppliers. Both have reasons to "leak" such information: the former for page views, the latter for stock price inflation.

Digitimes' track record is highly suspect, so I'm guessing that they are doing it to promote page views.

We've heard rumors of non-standard size iPhones and iPads for years from the "supplier chain." This is business as usual: nothing believable. Especially because the source is Digitimes.