Am also bummed by this lackluster launch. A8 and TouchID with maybe updated WiFi and that would've been enough. A screen with better color gamut would've been good too. The physical redesign, thinness, loss of the mute/orientation switch definitely wouldn't have been necessary at all. As it stands, JUST TouchID and an ugly gold color option added into the mix isn't enough. A bummer really as I do feel the A5 in my first generation iPad mini is due for an upgrade. With any luck 2013 doesn't become the only year in Apple history where Apple updates the iPad mini with CURRENT hardware.
I never said people can't vent. Nor can I stop it. I'm just pointing out how sad it is that people are such babies.
Look, when you wait for something in anticipation and are told that it won't be coming after all, that's very naturally disappointing. People are only cruising through this thread and expressing their disappointment. Some people are more animated about it than others. Welcome to the human race; this is what we do. No need to be disrespectful.
So many whiners. This is what they are offering. Take it or leave it, if they would have updated it more, people would complain. Not update it enough, people will complain.
I'm pretty sure that if they had updated it more, the volume of complaints here would be substantially less. As it stands, 99% of the comments in this thread are complaint. If they had put out an A8 or A8X version of an iPad mini that was, to the iPad Air 2 what the "iPad mini 2" or "iPad mini with Retina Display" was to the original "iPad Air" or "Fifth Generation iPad", I'm sure that volume of complaint would've lessened to about <15%. Easily. You gotta understand the nature of the complaints before you generalize about their existence in the first place.
Seriously, this is the most inconsequential update since iPad 3 to iPad 4. People scoffed at that update, but iPad 4 still had more changes than Mini 2 to 3.
Actually, I'd beg to differ on that one. Third Generation iPad to Fourth Generation iPad brought you (a) A6 (in the form of A6X) which is huge over A5, (b) Lightning, which ushers in the future of accessories, and (c) under-the-hood wireless capabilities and features that were not immediately apparent, such as support for AirDrop (not apparent until iOS 7) and Continuity (not apparent until iOS 8). More importantly, like the iPad 2, iPad Air, and iPad Air 2, and "iPad mini 2" or "iPad mini with Retina Display" (and UNLIKE the third generation iPad, first generation mini and now, the third generation mini), the fourth generation iPad used current Apple A-series chips out of the gate, giving it the benefit of a longer OS support life-cycle, which is huge. The third generation iPad still used the A5 architecture in A5X, which, aside from having a retina display and double the RAM, yields similar performance to the iPad 2.
The great news for us Mini 1 owners is that the Mini 2 dropped in price. I'm not interested in paying an extra $100 for Touch ID, and I'm not into the gold color.
Seriously, this is the least exciting update I've seen yet for any Apple device. I don't need an Air, I need a Mini that's future-proof for 2-3 years. I'm already having enough issues with the original on 7.1.2...I don't dare take it up to 8. Yeesh.
It's not stellar news for iPad mini 1 users, because we're still buying hardware that's one year old out of the gate. Really, if anything, it makes me feel stupid for (a) buying my original iPad mini and (b) not buying the "iPad mini with Retina Display" or "iPad mini 2". (Man what a marketing mess those names are.)
Well... it's pretty obvious Apple is no longer interested in the smaller tablet market now, they don't want to damage their iPhone 6 Plus sales I guess? The new Nexus 9 comfortably beats this iPad IMO but I would say that's what Apple wants? Because it wants to sell the new 6 Plus more.
That brings up a fantastic point. The Nexus 7 was the iPad mini's chief competitor next to the Kindle Fire (which has never held a candle, in terms of usability and functionality, to the iPad mini), and even Google scrapped it in favor of the Nexus 9, a tablet much closer to the size of the iPad Air. Similarly, it seems as though, even Samsung's Galaxy Tab efforts are more focused on the 8.9" and larger tablets than the 8.4" and smaller tablets.
All of this is making me wonder if the 7.0" to 8.4" tablet market that was so vibrant in 2012 and 2013 is simply going to be cannibalized by Phablets and just shrink to the point of disintegration. The iPad mini may only have a limited run while the "mini-tablet" also has a similarly limited run.
Personally, I see unique purposes for each device - full-sized (8.9" and larger) tablet, mini (8.4" and smaller) tablet, Phablet (5.3" to 6.5"), and smartphone/media player (5.1" and smaller) - though I think the amount of people that would have a device from each category would be very very limited, and it is the job of tech companies to optimize their line-up for the greatest common denominator.
The mini was short-changed so they can steer demand toward the better upgraded and more expensive machine (Air2). Once those sales begin to dwindle, they will introduce an upgraded mini during mid-cycle, Apr/May.
I was wanting a Mini retina with an improved camera.
Somehow, I'm doubting that Apple will do anything that drastic that soon. I've been wrong plenty of times though. But I'd say that if complaint over the lackluster nature of this update is broadcasted loudly enough to them, they will do something about it. Some other poster in this thread suggested leaving Apple feedback. Not a bad idea, especially if we don't want the iPad mini to start meeting the current fate of the iPod touch.
https://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html
