Apple Rumored to Discontinue iPad Mini

[scott911]

we have a big family trip planned i! europe - and getting a new mini was - actually is - still near top of my list as our main electronic device to support that endeavor.

That was my favorite form factor - at home, I used my mini more than my larger ipad and my laptop and desktop all combined!

 

[tech4all]

OK, you offered reason #2 yourself: you can buy a tablet to use as a tablet for much less cost than buying a cell phone to use as a much smaller-screened tablet.

And really, people think 5.X" phone screen vs. 7.9" iPad Mini screen is very close but that is not true. See the post (#209) that puts them side-by-side. The screen real estate difference is huge... yet the mini form factor is still much more portable than the 9.7" (or bigger) iPads. The attraction to the mini might be summed up as the attraction to "medium" (size) in general: obviously bigger than a phablet and noticeably smaller than an iPad. For some, it's a "just right" size. Thus, you have this thread filling with people who obviously like this form factor.

My original intent was not factoring in cost, just the product itself. A phone is a nano tablet, cost aside.

 

[SBlue1]

No!!! Its the perfect iPad when we travel! No!

 

[Zarniwoop]

I'm old myself, but we old folks still read books. And if those books are in electronic form, we would read them on book-sized tablets. If the Mini disappears, that probably will mean the Amazon Kindle for many, which would be a blow to iBooks.

Yes, sorry, didn't put the /S tag there - but will fix it.

Edit: done.

 

[Bromeo]

iPad Mini 2 is my EFB, charts, and flight planner using Foreflight. Fits perfectly in the typical cramped cockpit on a RAM Mount without obstructing view of flight instruments. If the size is cancelled, I hope something equally svelt replaces it. If not, iPad Mini 4 will be my next upgrade.

I have a plus size phone and it does not function well as a small tablet for displaying charts large enough so you can glance at quickly. Even the phone UI of Foreflight is so different, I prefer the iPad version for quick access.

 

[JPack]

God some of these people here are obnoxious. Quoting sales etc when people are talking about the aspect ratio and benefits. Really annoying super Apple fanboys. If Apple discontinues it, it must be correct.

Mini tablet fanboys: "Aspect ratio and benefits, portability, display size! It's bigger and there's no substitute! Apple is wrong."

Rest of world: "Hey, neither Samsung, Apple, nor any major Android tablet manufacturer has refreshed their mini tablets since 2015. Sales of tablets and especially mini tablets have gone down. Maybe Apple's not alone here and consumers are using phablets or choosing 9.7-inch?"

 

[Chris Meyers]

Mini tablet fanboys: "Aspect ratio and benefits, portability, display size! It's bigger and there's no substitute! Apple is wrong."

Rest of world: "Hey, neither Samsung, Apple, nor any major Android tablet manufacturer has refreshed their mini tablets since 2015. Sales of tablets and especially mini tablets have gone down. Maybe Apple's not alone here and consumers are using phablets or choosing 9.7-inch?"

Remember I said obnoxious? X 100 here. It even felt the need to stick in it's same basic point for the one hundredth time.

 

[blackcrayon]

I would recommend a Galaxy Tab S2 8 inch while they are still available and cheap. Vastly superior AMOLED display, and the perfect size. I love mine. Apple really needs to step up with AMOLED and ditch the bulky inferior LCD screens with unneeded backlights. Maybe thats why they are talking discontinuing the Mini, because they will shrink the ipads size and weight

Not for that particular AMOLED screen. Some people actually find its Pentile matrix to be intolerable and a step down from the screen in the mini 4. Not to mention the processor and flash speed which is going to lag way behind any comparable iPad tablet. And then you'd have to want Android.

I *do* have a little retro computer emulator project where I need mouse support but on a small tablet. That might be the way to go as I don't know how many half decent Android tablets are actually a 4:3 ratio like the iPad (and retro computer displays).

 

[Fixey]

Waiting for an iPad mini 5? You may be disappointed. BGR, citing a source close to Apple, claims the 7.9-inch tablet is being phased out. The report doesn't offer a timeline as to when the iPad mini will be discontinued, and its sources couldn't confirm if the iPad mini 4 will remain on sale for a period of time.

Apple is rumored to introduce a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro as early as the WWDC 2017 keynote on June 5, so it's conceivable to think the iPad mini could be axed then if the report is accurate. Apple's tablet lineup would then consist of the iPad Pro in 12.9-inch, 10.5-inch, and 9.7-inch sizes, and the new low-cost 9.7-inch iPad.

Apple launched the original iPad mini in 2012. Since the iPhone 6 Plus launched in 2014, it's been speculated that the 5.5-inch smartphone may be at least partially cannibalizing sales of the iPad mini, but Apple doesn't break out its tablet sales numbers on a model-by-model basis, so it's hard to say for sure.

Nearly two months ago, Apple discontinued the iPad mini 2 and stopped selling a 32GB version of the iPad mini 4. It also lowered the starting price of the 128GB iPad mini 4 to $399, which was previously the 32GB model's price point.

Japanese blog Mac Otakara claimed Apple would release a 7.9-inch iPad Pro in March with a Smart Connector, True Tone display, four speakers and microphones, a 12-megapixel rear camera with True Tone flash, and an improved processor, but it's already May and the rumor has yet to materialize.

Article Link: Apple Rumored to Discontinue iPad Mini

[doublepost=1494965866][/doublepost]With 10.5 being the same physical same size of 9.7" the 9.7" if goes bordless could be a good replacement for the mini as it would be around the same physical size

 

[freddiecable]

agree with other preachers in here. iPad mini is the best form factor. also - iPads are mainly used by kids anyhow - by own experience and when talking to other parents. I bought an iPad Pro 9.7" and hardly uses it. it's the laptop that is being used.

 

[Fixey]

Not for that particular AMOLED screen. Some people actually find its Pentile matrix to be intolerable and a step down from the screen in the mini 4. Not to mention the processor and flash speed which is going to lag way behind any comparable iPad tablet. And then you'd have to want Android.

I *do* have a little retro computer emulator project where I need mouse support but on a small tablet. That might be the way to go as I don't know how many half decent Android tablets are actually a 4:3 ratio like the iPad (and retro computer displays).

They is a Super AMOLED Plus that don't use PenTile system, and Apple will be using that screen for sure, if not then Apple this year will be the end, everyone switches to Android and Windows, https://www.oled-info.com/super-amoled-plus

The only reason why Samsung went back to pentile is so they can quote higher resolution values, but when you do the math to convert to RGB you find it is lower, this extra res is not true res just the number of pixels on a given line but only two sub pixels v three with RGB as it is interlaced one line has red the other has blue, so h res = h res / 2 and same with vertical, but consumers are idiots so who cares not Samsung they are just laughing at pentile lovers quoting bs res, perhaps res * (2/3) is more accurate I don't know and who cares it is bs res anyways what matters is how it looks to the human eye and I agree the pentile looks ****

 

[PBMB]

You're a corner case. How many other consumers do you think need to "make calls that would be prohibitively expensive with a normal phone"? And that the convenience factor is "zero"?

I know very well what I am. And I make no assumptions about the number of users with the same needs. I was simply addressing your statement "slightly larger tablet that cannot be used as a phone", which is not true. Again, for me personally, the iPad mini 4 is the ultimate mobile device doubling as a phone also (at very cheap rates).

Now, I admit that because of the limitations of written discussion in a forum we can easily misunderstand each other. My apologies if this is the case here.

 

[JeffPerrin]

I like my mini, but I admit I use it a LOT less since the iPhone 6 came out. Right now it's primarily a secondary device I use to answer phone calls or texts when my iPhone is upstairs.

//

 

[UL2RA]

I hope this isn't true. The Mini is my favorite iPad size.

If this happens I guess I'll need to get the big iPhone.

 

[Fixey]

I know very well what I am. And I make no assumptions about the number of users with the same needs. I was simply addressing your statement "slightly larger tablet that cannot be used as a phone", which is not true. Again, for me personally, the iPad mini 4 is the ultimate mobile device doubling as a phone also (at very cheap rates).

Now, I admit that because of the limitations of written discussion in a forum we can easily misunderstand each other. My apologies if this is the case here.

I use a iPad Pro 9.7" the 12" too big for most and is why the 10.5 bordless will come as a big welcome, mini just too small for Pencil, I am a developer and use the iPad a lot for jotting down, designing games as well as plugging into the laptop to test the apps out to me iPad min is just too small for a tablet and only good for is games as text just too small and area to small for stylus so not much use

 

[TallManNY]

I liked my Mini (until I lost it). It was the iPad that I could put in a jacket pocket and take with me. I can't do that with an full-sized iPad. But I find it a much more comfortable reading experience than my iPhone. Sure the iPhone Plus is in between. But I really want a phone smaller than the Plus.

But there are plenty of cheap android tablets that can fill this size. Kindle Fire is really cheap and it does work, though it isn't a good device.

 

[Fixey]

Apple will make a bigger iPad to replace the iPad mini that is the same size if demand is big for it.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Waiting for an iPad mini 5? You may be disappointed. BGR, citing a source close to Apple, claims the 7.9-inch tablet is being phased out. The report doesn't offer a timeline as to when the iPad mini will be discontinued, and its sources couldn't confirm if the iPad mini 4 will remain on sale for a period of time.

Apple is rumored to introduce a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro as early as the WWDC 2017 keynote on June 5, so it's conceivable to think the iPad mini could be axed then if the report is accurate. Apple's tablet lineup would then consist of the iPad Pro in 12.9-inch, 10.5-inch, and 9.7-inch sizes, and the new low-cost 9.7-inch iPad.

Apple launched the original iPad mini in 2012. Since the iPhone 6 Plus launched in 2014, it's been speculated that the 5.5-inch smartphone may be at least partially cannibalizing sales of the iPad mini, but Apple doesn't break out its tablet sales numbers on a model-by-model basis, so it's hard to say for sure.

Nearly two months ago, Apple discontinued the iPad mini 2 and stopped selling a 32GB version of the iPad mini 4. It also lowered the starting price of the 128GB iPad mini 4 to $399, which was previously the 32GB model's price point.

Japanese blog Mac Otakara claimed Apple would release a 7.9-inch iPad Pro in March with a Smart Connector, True Tone display, four speakers and microphones, a 12-megapixel rear camera with True Tone flash, and an improved processor, but it's already May and the rumor has yet to materialize.

Article Link: Apple Rumored to Discontinue iPad Mini

You don't say! Filing this under "obvious" and "bummer".

 

[Plutonius]

Reading, while in a bed or lying down on a sofa... with bigger iPad it becomes tiring quite soon.

I'm amazed people use iPads for reading. Kindle Paperwhite (e-ink), etc are much better for reading then any version of iPad. They are much lighter, have a much better battery life, you can read them in the brightest sun without eyestrain and you can read them in the darkest room. The iPad Mini is a great all around device but I wouldn't get it for reading.

 

[jekjones1558]

I'm amazed people use iPads for reading. Kindle Paperwhite (e-ink), etc are much better for reading then any version of iPad. They are much lighter, have a much better battery life, you can read them in the brightest sun without eyestrain and you can read them in the darkest room. The iPad Mini is a great all around device but I wouldn't get it for reading.

But if you only want to carry one device, the mini is an acceptable reader.

 

[Plutonius]

But if you only want to carry one device, the mini is an acceptable reader.

Agreed but I still would not get a Mini (or any iPad) if you are primarily getting it for reading.

I have a Touch 6, a Mini 2, and a Kindle Paperwhite.

I use my Touch 6 for almost all my non-reading and use it for some of my reading when that's all I'm carrying.
I use my Kindle Paperwhite for all my reading except when I'm only carrying my Touch.
My Mini 2 sits and gathers dust since it's not nearly as portable as my Touch and reading on my Mini is worse then the Kindle.

 

[maccingandsnacking]

The iPad range has become too convoluted anyway. We don't need the Pro, regular and the mini. And then the mini's the mini 4 whilst the other's aren't numbered? Too messy.

 

[prizm]

Well crap. If Apple does indeed drop the Mini this will be my opening to get a small Android tablet. My Mini 2 is my favorite device. I read on it every night before sleeping. I don't need a giant tablet. That's just plain dumb.

Sigh... Apple. I'm really growing discouraged with your brand in the past several years. Don't lose me!

 

[macdrej]

Shame, the iPad mini is the only iPad that makes sense to me as a work device to complement the MacBook and the iphone.

It's the only one I can carry in all of my jackets - no need to take a bag with me. The only one you can comfortably hold with one hand in any position for long periods of time.

All those other iPads are about the same size or larger than the 12 inch MacBook, so I much rather just use an actual Laptop, which is more efficient for pretty much anything I do.

 

[TheGenerous]

Agreed but I still would not get a Mini (or any iPad) if you are primarily getting it for reading.

I have a Touch 6, a Mini 2, and a Kindle Paperwhite.

I use my Touch 6 for almost all my non-reading and use it for some of my reading when that's all I'm carrying.
I use my Kindle Paperwhite for all my reading except when I'm only carrying my Touch.
My Mini 2 sits and gathers dust since it's not nearly as portable as my Touch and reading on my Mini is worse then the Kindle.

what's a Touch 6?