Apple's 2024 iPad Mini: All the Rumors So Far

[profets]

The jelly scrolling fix is nice. But otherwise 3 year wait for minimal updates / spec bump.

How nice OLED + 120Hz + Face ID would be on the mini. Of course not expected, but heck that would be such a great combo.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

The jelly scrolling fix is nice. But otherwise 3 year wait for minimal updates / spec bump.

How nice OLED + 120Hz + Face ID would be on the mini. Of course not expected, but heck that would be such a great combo.

It'd make it too expensive probably. Unless they do a mini Pro.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Where's FaceID?


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If it requires the screen "intrusion" of notch, island or hole, I'd prefer to stick with the excellent implementation of Touch ID already in place. Along with enjoying the full rectangle when viewing anything, it also won't help rationalize a jacked price.

 

[profets]

It'd make it too expensive probably. Unless they do a mini Pro.

Yeah, definitely. Basically a smaller version of the 11" Pro. Though (at least in Canada) the mini with 256GB is expensive as it is already.

All the wishing aside, I do wonder when Face ID will eventually trickle down to non-Pro iPads. I know there's several features to keep them separated, but with OLED and promotion on the Pro I'm sure Face ID can find its way down soon.

 

[timborama]

I feel like the time has come for Apple to make an iPad Mini where you can make the iPad be your iPhone as well. I think the melding of the tablet functionality with the phone hardware (relying mostly on your Airpods to talk on the phone) might be a compelling device for some folks. I'm thinking of business professionals, and perhaps Baby Boomers in an old folks home (who would love the larger screen) who might want the portability of a tablet device along with the phone functions. Sort of one device to rule them all! I'd love to see something like this.

Won’t happen. Why would Apple sell you just one device when they can sell you two.

 

[makingmark]

Battery life on my 6 sucks compared to the 5. I’d like to see that improved plus FaceID in addition to fixing the shameful jelly scroll, but doubt it will happen.

 

[scottij]

All sounds good but please Apple for the love of God give us FaceID. It's unbelievable that it can be on my iPhone but not my iPad Mini. TouchID simply doesn't work for me so I'm always having to type my password and it's getting really old...

 

[juan_ozuna]

Man, I'm really hoping Apple surprises us with an iPad Mini refresh this March. Right now I'm sitting on a 2021 iPad Pro 11" that I don't use as much because it's just a tad more unwieldy than I'd like it to be. Having used an iPad mini before, I'm missing that form factor. I'm even tempted to just trade in my iPad Pro right now for a mini 6 if an update isn't coming until fall, but my rational side says to just keep waiting, especially if I plan on holding onto it for a few years. Thoughts?

 

[Anglagard]

The main thing I'm looking for is inexpensive.

This is Apple we are talking about, don't hold your breath.

 

[TravelsInBlue]

The iPad mini is the perfect size for media consumption, which makes it the most useful of the iPad models.

My Pro has basically collected dust since there isn’t really a use case for it.

My only remaining wish list for the mini is 120hz and slimmer bezels, so without either of those I’m probably not going to be upgrading.

 

[Corefile]

I'm wondering if Apple will EOL the iPad as it seems abandoned. No updates last year either.

 

[ghanwani]

Will they be addressing the issues with eye strain and headaches?

 

[Student of Life]

It'd make it too expensive probably. Unless they do a mini Pro.

The mini is strange in that it's a mix between a Pro and an Air.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm wondering if Apple will EOL the iPad as it seems abandoned. No updates last year either.

Apple reported $28.3 Billion in iPad revenue for 2023. There's a whole lot of businesses in the world that would LOVE to book that much revenue. That's more than Macy's, Autonation, The Gap, Whirlpool, Lear, Wayfair, Icahn, Alcoa, Alaska Air, Fox Corp, Norwegian Cruises, Harley Davidson, Mattel, Hasbro, Lyft, Western Union, Liberty, Ralph Lauren, Coca Cola and many other names you know.

 

[patr1ck]

Apple's addiction to 60hz displays is beyond sad. ProMotion or bust.

 

[Westside guy]

iPad mini needs a Pro version, ASAP!

And then they could add a Pro Max version - perhaps with a 10.9" display!

 

[dmk1974]

Slightly thinner bezels along with 128gb base storage config would be the 2 top selling points for me. Aside from that, I love my current Mini 6.

 

[timborama]

All sounds good but please Apple for the love of God give us FaceID. It's unbelievable that it can be on my iPhone but not my iPad Mini. TouchID simply doesn't work for me so I'm always having to type my password and it's getting really old...

Funny, Face ID doesn’t work for me. Wish they’d just put both methods on all devices. Problem solved.

 

[oldwatery]

I know it’s just a rumor…but pretty underwhelming…which is state of the game at Apple lately.

 

[sublunar]

My take on it is that if OLED and other technology features drive iPad Pro prices further up then there becomes a slot beneath them all for a smaller entry level pro with at least some of the features that might drive people up to higher end models.

This gives Apple the opening to create an entry level device that sits at the bottom of the range, give it the A17Pro cpu for power savings and USB-C port and maybe even the pro motion screen that people are after. Essentially it’d be an 8.3” iPhone 15 pro with no cellular phone capability. You don’t even have to call it a mini pro if the screen was upscaled to - say - 9.7“ but crucially with minimal bezels.

you’d then have a 9.7” iPad Pro, 11.1” iPad Pro, and then 13” iPad pro to choose from. Even if they stayed with 8.3“ and bumped up the tech to reasonable levels it might make a very interesting option.

just look at what Apple have done with the MacBook Pro series in consolidating the line and getting rid of the 13” in favour of an all 14” lineup as an example.

 

[vartanarsen]

No mention of cellular . This thing needs minimum x65 modem or else doa, cellularly speaking

 

[roncron]

I love the Mini form factor and use my Mini 6 much more often than I use my iPad Pro.

My biggest upgrade hopes are

• brighter display, even just an additional 100 nits would make a meaningful difference
• M series processor. The iPad Mini is more like a smaller iPad Air than a smaller budget iPad, and the iPad Air got an M series processor two years ago. With an M series chip, the Mini could do stage manager with external display support.
• Facetime camera moved for better use in landscape orientation, like the latest budget iPad and the rumored iPad Pro.

I know these may be unrealistic.

For example, Apple Pencil 2 support probably prevents moving the camera to the long edge of the device. (Though the Mini has two long edges. It could use one for the landscape camera and the opposite one for Pencil charging - this would mean people can't charge their Pencil while on a video call. I'm fine with that.)

 

[roncron]

Man, I'm really hoping Apple surprises us with an iPad Mini refresh this March. Right now I'm sitting on a 2021 iPad Pro 11" that I don't use as much because it's just a tad more unwieldy than I'd like it to be. Having used an iPad mini before, I'm missing that form factor. I'm even tempted to just trade in my iPad Pro right now for a mini 6 if an update isn't coming until fall, but my rational side says to just keep waiting, especially if I plan on holding onto it for a few years. Thoughts?

I know what you mean. I've had an 11" iPad Pro for 3-ish years, but I almost always reach for the Mini 6.

 

[phrehdd]

I can find (for myself) several things this particular size iPad would be good for and look forward to seeing what finally is presented to us all. A nice small reader, a great all in one "remote control" for entertainment systems, a VOIP 2nd phone number, an extension to the Mac as a sidecar tool for some types of art work ...

Perhaps one day they will take the Mini or an iPhone and allow it to be mounted on a homepod. A great marriage of features and power that should help make a home interactive with both audio and visuals.

 

[DailySlow]

Apple's seventh-generation iPad mini is rumored to be launching this year, according to multiple sources. Keep reading to learn what the rumors say we can expect from Apple's small form factor tablet.

The current iPad mini was released in September 2021, and includes a 8.3-inch display, a USB-C port, a Touch ID power button, an A15 Bionic chip, 5G support on cellular models, a 12-megapixel rear camera, second-generation Apple Pencil support, and more.

Display Changes

According to one rumor, the seventh-generation ‌iPad mini‌'s screen assembly will be rotated to reduce the effect of "jelly scrolling" that some users complain about with the current model when viewed in portrait orientation.

The term refers to a noticeable effect when scrolling vertically through text-based content like a webpage or document, where each line of text appears to tilt down towards the left of the screen as it passes by. The effect makes it look as though one side of the display is responding faster than the other when a finger drags to scroll the page.

Apple says the phenomenon is normal behavior for LCD iPads, but based on user feedback, it can appear more obvious and distracting when observed on the ‌‌‌iPad mini‌'s smaller screen‌‌. Apple reportedly plans to rotate the screen assembly to reduce the jelly scrolling effect in portrait orientation, but whether that will merely move the issue to landscape orientation is unknown.

Internal Upgrades

We are expecting the seventh-generation iPad mini to be updated with a faster chip, likely the A16 Bionic, though the A17 or even an M-series chip is a possibility.

If Apple goes with the A16 Bionic, it will put the ‌iPad mini‌ on par with the iPhone 14 Pro, ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro Max, iPhone 15, and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus. The chip would deliver around 10% better performance, 50% more GPU memory bandwidth, and a new image processor (ISP) compared to the current model.

The tablet will also likely get support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, two of the latest standards that Apple has been adding to other recent product updates. Apple already added Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support to the latest iPad Pro, iPhone 15 Pro models, and most new Macs.

Camera Upgrades

Updated front and rear cameras are expected to be added to the iPad mini this year. The current ‌iPad mini‌ shares the same cameras found across all current iPad models: A 12-megapixel rear camera with an ƒ/1.8 aperture, and a 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front-facing camera with an ƒ/2.4 aperture.

Given that it has been over 850 days since the current iPad mini was released, upgraded cameras are almost certain to be included in the seventh-generation model.

New Colors

New color options are on the way for the new iPad mini, according to one rumor. The current ‌iPad mini‌ is available in Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, and Purple.

There's no information on what colors Apple could adopt, but it could potentially take inspiration from its ‌standard iPhone 15‌ models, which come in Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink color options.

What Not to Expect (Yet)

120Hz ProMotion

The new seventh-generation iPad mini will not feature a 120Hz ProMotion display, one leaker with alleged supply chain sources has claimed.

Suggestions that Apple could conceivably adopt ProMotion for a next-generation ‌iPad mini‌ began to receive attention when the "jelly scrolling" phenomenon was identified shortly after the iPad mini 6 was released in September 2021.

OLED Display

After bringing OLED technology to the iPad Pro this year, Apple is rumored to be planning to expand OLED displays to the iPad mini in the future, but not for a couple of years yet. An iPad mini with an OLED display could be introduced in 2026, according to separate reports.

Apple has apparently not yet fully committed to bringing the more advanced display technology to its mid-range tablets, and may be planning to review how the market responds to the first iPad Pro models that feature OLED displays, which are expected to launch as early as March 2024.

Foldable iPad Mini

Apple is rumored to be working on a foldable device that's around 7 to 8 inches in size and that could ultimately replace Apple's 8.3-inch iPad mini.

Samsung Display and LG Display have reportedly already been sending samples of 7-inch and 8-inch foldable panels to Apple since last year, but Apple is said to be reviewing a launch timeframe for the device between 2026 and 2027.

Launch Date

Apple plans to update its entire iPad lineup throughout 2024, according to a November report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. However, while iPad Pro and iPad Air models are expected as soon as March, the release of a seventh-generation iPad mini could b... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: Apple's 2024 iPad Mini: All the Rumors So Far

I generally like my 6. The files app is pretty cool. With a gonzo bluetooth keyboard (that makes for good protection but useful for little else) it acts as an aux landscape or portrait monitor perched wherever. Great for vids, streaming, with mobility. USB C is a great step up. Even (with a little USB type 4 to USB C adopter – in fact right now using a wired USB mouse through it as I write) external HD accessibility is good. In 2025 I expect I will upgrade and opt for cellular and mothball my phone. Face ID Yes. More mem for sure. I think two USB C ports is a good idea and I would welcome that. The A 15 is adequate.