Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Are 7-8" mini tablets dead?
- Thread starter AdonisSMU
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Seeing as smaller tablets started proliferating during a time in which phablets were a fringe occurrence I'd say they're definitely under some pressure as a product category. I'd also say there isn't quite as much of an immediate need for them nowadays vs. the way it was a few years back.
Dead? Maybe eventually. Think a niche market for them will remain (notably those who like to read a lot and prefer a device the size of a paperback book but also value the additional functionality a tablet offers.)
I personally would be sad to see it relegated to a niche, but I have a feeling that may happen in a substantial way over the next 5 years or so.
Dead? Maybe eventually. Think a niche market for them will remain (notably those who like to read a lot and prefer a device the size of a paperback book but also value the additional functionality a tablet offers.)
I personally would be sad to see it relegated to a niche, but I have a feeling that may happen in a substantial way over the next 5 years or so.
I don't think it's dead, I think they're fishing for the right combination of price point and features. As close as the iPad Mini was in price to the Air, it shouldn't be surprising that most people opted for the larger model.
What Apple is looking for here is to see if people bite at the $299 Mini 2. It's almost exactly the same as the 3. If they do, which is logical as it's a much better value, next year they'll pop an A8 chip in it, keep Touch ID, call it an upgrade and stick with the $299 price point.
If they don't, we'll probably see the features catch back up to the Air in the next generation (A9, thinner, AR coating etc) and live at the $399 price. I don't see them killing it off though. Lots of people do really like the Mini.
What Apple is looking for here is to see if people bite at the $299 Mini 2. It's almost exactly the same as the 3. If they do, which is logical as it's a much better value, next year they'll pop an A8 chip in it, keep Touch ID, call it an upgrade and stick with the $299 price point.
If they don't, we'll probably see the features catch back up to the Air in the next generation (A9, thinner, AR coating etc) and live at the $399 price. I don't see them killing it off though. Lots of people do really like the Mini.
I think tablets in general are on a decline.
That being said, with Apple coming out with iPad mini 3 a few days ago I don't think mini tablets are dead quite yet.
That being said, with Apple coming out with iPad mini 3 a few days ago I don't think mini tablets are dead quite yet.
i find the phablets very useless and ackward items
this seems the direction apple and google decided to follow
i believe a phone should be the size of a hand (or about) no more
basic information, phone line, to really stay in contact and move easily
while tablets mostly for indoor job (school, kitchen, office, home)
for me the six plus is a totally wrong concept, and i believe Apple is testing what people wants, might turn upside down in 3-5 years, just like when Google offered the nexus 7 and apple bring out the mini
----------
i dont think tablets are in decline
just the actual market is filled/full and the rest of the world cannot afford it.
tablets are the present and future (one x student, kid, teenager,home,kitchen,grandpa)
this seems the direction apple and google decided to follow
i believe a phone should be the size of a hand (or about) no more
basic information, phone line, to really stay in contact and move easily
while tablets mostly for indoor job (school, kitchen, office, home)
for me the six plus is a totally wrong concept, and i believe Apple is testing what people wants, might turn upside down in 3-5 years, just like when Google offered the nexus 7 and apple bring out the mini
----------
i dont think tablets are in decline
just the actual market is filled/full and the rest of the world cannot afford it.
tablets are the present and future (one x student, kid, teenager,home,kitchen,grandpa)
Apple took the time and money to add Touch ID and the gold color option to the iPad Mini 3 and has it in the same storage options as the iPad Air 2. I don't see how that is "killing" the thing.
My guess is Apple focused on the iPad Air 2 because it sells more. The smaller ones go for people who like a slightly smaller one and who are wooed in by saving $100-$150. That $249 iPad mini will syphon some people away from the Kindle Fire and Android tablets. That means more people potentially buying apps and music from Apple.
The market is maturing. The slowdown is because most people who really want a tablet have one. Tablets are more like computers and don't get upgraded as often, compared to phones, which people upgrade about every two years.
My guess is Apple focused on the iPad Air 2 because it sells more. The smaller ones go for people who like a slightly smaller one and who are wooed in by saving $100-$150. That $249 iPad mini will syphon some people away from the Kindle Fire and Android tablets. That means more people potentially buying apps and music from Apple.
The market is maturing. The slowdown is because most people who really want a tablet have one. Tablets are more like computers and don't get upgraded as often, compared to phones, which people upgrade about every two years.
Well what I meant was I don't think we'll be seeing record sales anymore like we did in the past. Everyone that wants one seems to already have one and most don't upgrade often.
as lots of ppl really liked the nexus7 (1 and 2)
and why they are now going for phablets, THEY know that form factor is AMAZING, they are just trying to dress it into another product, eventually pricey.
i see a mini would be more intended for the normal person who likes that form factor
while the 6plus for the businessman (see twice the price and bit smaller)
I'm seeing a saturation in western markets and a bit of phablet cannibalisation, I'd be careful about saying the entire product category is in decline though.
I don't know. Maybe decline is a bad word. I just feel the days of record sales are behind us.
Not surprised since the larger the device, the harder for people to ditch it for a new model. You can easily stack up a few old iPhones at a corner but not so for iPads. For example I'm still using an iMac from 2008 (I mainly use a retina MBP from 2012), solely because I don't know how to throw away the old one. What a waste for the beautiful screen.
I'm speculating this too.
Personally I feel that the tablet is here to stay as a product category, long-term staying power comes at the expense of market saturation though. It's simply not the kind of device that most people would feel compelled to upgrade every year, or (as tablets get ever more powerful) even every few years.
I agree. People upgrade tablets much less often than a phone or a laptop. The product category will eventually become like the iPod IMO.
Not many upgrade a laptop very often. Its not that type of device.
iPhones have a 1-2 year upgrade cycle
iPads are a 2-3 year upgrade cycle
Macs are a 3-5 year upgrade cycle
I agree to some extent. Tablets are an elective device at this point in time but I have a feeling the 9"-10" tablets will canabelize laptops for all but the most heavy users.... Developers, Designers, Multimedia editors... Other countries hold onto their devices much longer than we do here in the US.
That's because we always have to have the latest and greatest. And don't mind going into debt over it!
My friends upgrade on a 3-5 year cycle. Even on here you see people keeping their macs a really long time.
----------
Yeah thats unfortunate. I dont have any CC debts. I just buy it or I dont buy it.
----------
You have the 6+ eating away the need for a mini and the iPad Air is almost as thin as cardboard. Now couple this with the fact that any place you have the mini you could also have the Air....
I hope not. I'm planning to buy one and hope the mini gets a decent upgrade in the future. I regret buying the Air because I have gotten so little use out of it.
A few years ago the 7" tablet was hot and there was speculation it was eating into iPad sells, so Apple seemed force to offer their own small tablet.
With last year's iPad release, I was attracted to the mini form factor but noticed it was heavier than the original mini immediately upon picking it up and while holding it in the Apple store, I didn't think it would be easy to use one handed for hours at a time like a Kindle is.
With so much weight taken off the full size iPad, and with the better color gamut, the Air seemed the way to go; it would be better for PDFs, technical manuals, magazines, comics and surfing the internet.
The Air is my first iPad and I thought I would get lots of use out of it, and to my surprise I hardly use it. I don't carry a briefcase or messenger bag so it didn't just slip into my life. I had to figure out how to carry the thing out of the house, and it never just came with me I had to make a choice to take it. Turns out, I didn't like taking it with me and rarely did.
When I started thinking about what I wanted to do with an iPad, it was to have the internet and my technical manuals with me at all times, which wasn't happening because the Air rarely came with me. I need something easily portable that will just be with me at all times like my iPhone and Kindle are.
So I started thinking about getting a new Mini when they were updated. I was expecting it to be lighter than the second generation and hoping it would have the same processor as the Air 2. When the 6+ came out, I thought that was the answer, my phone and tablet in one device, and I wouldn't need the mini. After looking at the PDFs in the Apple store demos, I don't think PDFs will be easy enough for me to deal with on the 6+.
So I am back to the mini and plan on buying a second gen soon.
If the Air outsold the mini, it makes since because the weight of the mini was more than the original and not much less than the Air, and add in the color issue, I made the decision to go with the Air. Maybe others on the fence went with the Air as as well for those reasons.
In hindsight, I wish I had bought the Rmini last year instead of the Air. I would like to see the mini continued and brought back in line with the Air's specs. It is not cheapness that is bringing me to the mini, rather it is the form factor.
The iPad Mini isn't really dead. It is an awkward year for the device though.
The 7 size is an awkward to design around and the 8+ size tablets, and 5.5+ phones diminish the value that the 7 had.
I expect the 6-7 inch tablet to stick around for a while, but at a lower end of the market. Items like the Kindle Fire HDX, Google Nexus 9, and iPad Mini+ (all of which start at about 8) will slowly consume the e-reader market. The 10+ market will slowly start to cannibalize the productivity market. The Phablet market will be interesting to watch.
I use to have 3 personal iOS devices: iPhone 5S, iPad Mini, and iPaid Air. Now I am down to 2: iPhone 6 Plus, and iPad Air. The iPad Mini for me at least ws truly a device for reading the internet in bed.
These gaps will continue to go back and forth as we find new ways to make better use of the screens we have in our faces.
Im of the belief his mini would stay home like his air did. If the 6+ text was too small my guess is the mini will suffer from the same problems. Its the worst of both worlds it doesnt solve the screen too small iPad issue and doesnt solve the portability issues of the Air. I know this first hand. I had both and realized that any place id have my mini could have my Air. Needless to say the Air got more use because of the lager superior display. PPI alone does not a good display make. I have to hold a mini right up to my face like I would an iPhone....zooming around on web sites and pdfs and whatnot. I gave my black mini to my nephew and took the other mini back to Apple.
Last edited:
I did have a plan for it, but it didn't work out.
Sorry you didn't like your Mini, hopefully the Mini works out for me. We will see soon, I'm going to order it in the next few weeks.
I don't think so. If the Mini 3 had an A8 I would have bought it instead of an Air 2, I love the size of my original mini. What I think is going on is that Apple is devaluing the Mini to push more profitable Air 2 sales. I don't think we will see the Mini and full size model have the same internals again, that was a one time deal.