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Apple Announces New Fifth-Generation iPad Mini With Apple Pencil Support, Revamped Retina Display and A12 Bionic Chip
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I haven’t read all 300+ comments, but there won’t be a change because hey - Apple uses them in their stores. No need for new cases and all that.
I’m happy, I have a 2017 12.9 and I think the mini will work well as a compliment in a bunch of circumstances. It’s on my list.
But I’d love for them to magically activate original Apple Pencil support on my Xs Max.
I’m happy, I have a 2017 12.9 and I think the mini will work well as a compliment in a bunch of circumstances. It’s on my list.
But I’d love for them to magically activate original Apple Pencil support on my Xs Max.
Even better solution would be to add support for SD memory cards (like Samsung tablets have) but I guess Apple still don't know how to do it.
No one using a tablet is a power user. A tablet is the anti-thesis of power user.
Tell that to all the artists & professionals out there who are using their ipad pros in powerfully creative ways.
I'm far from being mistaken for an Apple fanboy, and I've made it known that I'm on a progressive journey to leave Appleland, but... dang, these new iPads are causing me to press pause on my departure for a little longer. 
Thank goodness the mini has a modern CPU/GPU instead of last time when it was obsolete on release. I'll be willing to pay extra.
OTOH, this is likely the last ipad mini update. You're looking at the ipad mini Classic like the ipod classic which was phased out...
OTOH, this is likely the last ipad mini update. You're looking at the ipad mini Classic like the ipod classic which was phased out...
You don't have to charge a pencil 1 that way. It comes with a lighting male-female adaptor so can simply just charge it with same power charger would use on phone/ipad. Folks like to narrowly look at that because a "danger" point, but it isn't necessary. If trying to charge both at the same time you can't use that approach at all. ( if have more than one iPhone changer because have had more than one iPhone then finding an "extra" charger for the pencil so can do in parallel isn't that hard. ) Charging two devices with charger is more elegant, but two chargers isn't a huge roadblock either. ( or even single tracking with 30 min on pencil and 30 mins on iPad for a 2-3 hour edu session later. )
It has different feel but the Logitech solution is more affordable.
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HMGA2/logitech-crayon-for-ipad?fnode=37
$69 versus $99 ( versus $129 ). That's $30 in the other direction. So there is $60 gap between lowest and highest options. $60/69 is close to 100%. While market dynamics forced Apple into allowing an alternative Pencil 1 devices, I doubt they are going to let that happen to Pencil 2 any time in the immediate future. ( that was heavily edu driven and the newest iPad Pros are definitely not aimed at that market. )
I expect specials like.
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/02/28/apple-pencil-amazon-discount-80/
to keep popping up rather than Apple move on office price any time soon.
The pencil 1 came out in 2015 and here it is 4 years later it is still stuck 100% at the introductory official retail price of $99. I wouldn't count on anything shorter than another 3-4 years for the pencil 1 to disappear.
Apple made the Pencil 2 incompatible with the previous iPads (and everything current but lower down on the product line up). That puts it out on a very isolated island. I think Apple wants (or at least likes) that moat. That will also help it hold its price point for a longer time too.
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A former coworker of mine has a 2018 iPad Pro 12.9” although I marvel at the size of the actual device, it is a royal PITA to live with, IMHO.
My reasons:
- Difficult to pick up with no case. I tried to pick it up off of a laminate desk top and it started to slide, I flipped out as it was just two days old. I had to carefully lift it by the raised camera bump edge which was not that easy as I keep my nails very short.
- Finding a case that both adequately protects the iPad Pro and allows charging of the Pencil 2 is challenging. Having no other wireless charging option for the iPad Pro than to stick it to the top of the device is slightly annoying.
- The lack of any bezels ensure more fingerprints on the screen.
- The slab sided design just does not impress me and seems too minimalist.
- The rounded corner screen does nothing for me in this device. I have an iPhone XR, so this may sound strange.
Again, most of this is my personal preference.
Hmm...some of you guys are tough customers. I would imagine Apple is doing what any premium brand would do. They are going to test the boundaries of what people will pay. If there is enough resistance from the consumer base I'm sure Apple will be forced to make a price adjustment.
The new iPad mini is very tempting and for me I think it could possibly fill a niche in my push towards a more mobile collection of devices. At the current price point, the value is not there for me but I can definitely see it being reasonably priced for another user. Like any other consumer, I hope the market will force Apple to lower its price but I'm certainly not surprised or offended about the pricing. This is what Apple has always done.
The new iPad mini is very tempting and for me I think it could possibly fill a niche in my push towards a more mobile collection of devices. At the current price point, the value is not there for me but I can definitely see it being reasonably priced for another user. Like any other consumer, I hope the market will force Apple to lower its price but I'm certainly not surprised or offended about the pricing. This is what Apple has always done.
Dang. Apple arrival dates already pushed back to end of March early April. Does anyone know when I can purchase one in a Best Buy store?
My mini 2 can still run the apps I need. The main shortfall is the 32GB storage. I was really looking for a 128GB mini base model. If I see a mini 4 again for $249 or maybe even less now it will be hard to pass. The spec bump, albeit modest, and the storage would meets my needs, not to mention Touch ID and vastly improved display from mini 2.
Other than the A12 to future proof the mini 5 I’m not terribly stoked at the price point.
Other than the A12 to future proof the mini 5 I’m not terribly stoked at the price point.
This basically replaces the 10.5” Pro.Ah well, want your iPad to replace a laptop, start by making your ipad lineup as convoluted as your laptop lineup, I suppose.
Here we go again. The good news is that if people keep predicting the demise of the Mini they will eventually be right.....even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Sorry about that.
Table on wikipedia.org for iPad mini in general has them separate. (perhaps an editing goof... another part of the page lines them up).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad_Mini#Model_comparison
More than annoying that Apple's support site won't clearly let you drive down into the tech specs for the iPads from the iPad section. [ After digging harder there found the Mini 4. Should have keep digging instead of jumping off to Wikipedia.org ]
You’ve summarised my position exactly.
I currently have an iPad mini 2 and was pondering the iPad mini 4 before rumours of the iPad mini 5 came along.
I didn’t go for the iPad mini 4, because £399 was too much for little difference beyond Touch ID and 128GB RAM.
I’m glad to see the upgraded specs on the iPad mini 5 and, if I didn’t have an iPad mini already, I’d be very quick to order one.
But, I’m left with the same question. What is it that my iPad mini 2 doesn’t do that justifies spending £399 on the new model? The answer is that the price is simply not justifiable to me.
I will buy the iPad mini 5 one day - but that day isn’t today, because my iPad mini 2 isn’t £399 less value (for what I use it for) than the new model.
Or perhaps Apple have given up on meaningful innovation (which costs money) and are solely reliant on extracting the maximum amount of profit from each unit sold in order to maintain their share price. Just a thought.
This latest iPad Mini doesn't surprise me in the slightest given the state of Apple in 2019. They could have spent some of their billions on R&D and made a really nice product (increase screen size/reduce bezels etc.) but decided to get away with the minimum.
Lol. I’m sorry. You can’t convince me. Any way you try to spin it, the first gen Apple pencil is still very awkward to charge. Period. The ease & simplicity in the way the apple pencil 2 charges is so elegant in comparison. I totally get why Apple did this. To help seperate the regular ipads from the pros. I get it. And I am totally happy that they finally updated the mini and will buy one for sure. Just saying, when i use the mini, i will definitely miss the convenience of the apple pencil 2 that i use with my pro ipad.
The keyword there is PROS. The pro models come with more storage. Those people using pros probably don't have interest in the mini.
Implicit assumption there though that there will be no pencil 3 in 3-4 years.
[ perhaps put an 'eraser' on it and change to different induction charging system. Pencil and iPad charge by Area 51, touchless wireless charging ... or something more expensive. ] I think there is possibility Apple tied something about Promotion to the Pencil 2 so that would also make it more difficult over the immediate term.
AMEN!!! I am mystified why Apple “Tech Specs” for the iPad read more like marketing copy than technical specifications...I should not have to consult Wikipedia to find basic information such as dimensions and weight.
So what? They looked good in 2013 and they will still look just as good here in 2019, with a much better display to boot.
Awesome!!! What a big update, bigger than expected. Of course this means it won’t get updated again for another 3-4 years, but that’s fine with me since I like keeping my devices at least that long.