You do not create a 3 trillion dollar company without standing on peoples backs. Someone need pay the price and with apple we can only agree that it is the users. Cook may be a business success but with eyes of a costumer he should be seen as a crook
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Apple's 2024 iPad Mini: All the Rumors So Far
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Option 1: Upgrade the screen and put in an M1. It will ding battery life a bit, but as long as they can keep it above 4 hours for gaming, it should be fine. I know the M3 is much more of a gaming chip, but you can get this in now to make steps.
In 3 months the M3 goes into the iPad Pro as a “proper” gaming platform. Ditto v2 of the Vision as a gaming platform. For travel gaming though, an M1 6 inch is a perfect size.
With those upgrades, you have an intro competitor to the Switch or Steam Deck, if you can get the decent game studios onboard. Playstation Remote Play already shows this is viable, but the mini needs a better screen for that to work. Support for Spatial Audio on headphones is necessary.
This feels more like a Steve play - ambitious reach into a new(er) market. I have to question the state of AAA gaming at the moment, so maybe more studios drop down to AA at a $15-20 price point. Challenge here is re-educating people that a last gen game is still quality (with Sony and Nintendo rocking the back catalogs on way old platforms, I think its there). Go whole hog crazy and buy up a studio - they have the cash.
Option 2: minor spec bump (A16a, upgraded single camera), rotate to minimise jelly and keep the price seriously low. Casual reading, browsing, entertainment. I have a feeling this is the direction Tim will go.
In 3 months the M3 goes into the iPad Pro as a “proper” gaming platform. Ditto v2 of the Vision as a gaming platform. For travel gaming though, an M1 6 inch is a perfect size.
With those upgrades, you have an intro competitor to the Switch or Steam Deck, if you can get the decent game studios onboard. Playstation Remote Play already shows this is viable, but the mini needs a better screen for that to work. Support for Spatial Audio on headphones is necessary.
This feels more like a Steve play - ambitious reach into a new(er) market. I have to question the state of AAA gaming at the moment, so maybe more studios drop down to AA at a $15-20 price point. Challenge here is re-educating people that a last gen game is still quality (with Sony and Nintendo rocking the back catalogs on way old platforms, I think its there). Go whole hog crazy and buy up a studio - they have the cash.
Option 2: minor spec bump (A16a, upgraded single camera), rotate to minimise jelly and keep the price seriously low. Casual reading, browsing, entertainment. I have a feeling this is the direction Tim will go.
Well, beware the Apple RAM Price Management Division, whose sole purpose is to charge the highest possible amount for the lowest possible RAM increase. If you're in luck, you can get a whooping 1Go upgrade up to 5Go (don't even dream of 6Go) for as low as $199, which is Apple's Minimum Suggested Retail Price For Any RAM Upgrade.
I'm good with my iPad Mini 5 & 6, so I’ll pass gen 7, unless it will be some really extra upgrade, but I probably don’t need anyway right now.
For normal scrolling the 6 is perfectly great, for some less scrolling and YouTube/Yoga/Meditating using the 5 is still above good.
My old 2013 iPad Air however died this week 😢
It has served me well a long time. The latest years just like a yoga/meditation timer. For the absolutely latest period only as a good visible clock, that only could charge from the Apple Studio Display.
The battery swelled up more and more until it suddenly died 💀
So now I have my oldest iPad mini (5th gen) at that place to serve. But it's actually too fresh for only that tasks, and a bit too small.
I might get used to it, or I will buy a larger used iPad in a while to have as a stationary at that place.
Old iPad's are so useful!
My only regret, I should've traded the 2013 in when Apple at least payed me something for it - like ~6 months ago.
For normal scrolling the 6 is perfectly great, for some less scrolling and YouTube/Yoga/Meditating using the 5 is still above good.
My old 2013 iPad Air however died this week 😢
It has served me well a long time. The latest years just like a yoga/meditation timer. For the absolutely latest period only as a good visible clock, that only could charge from the Apple Studio Display.
The battery swelled up more and more until it suddenly died 💀
So now I have my oldest iPad mini (5th gen) at that place to serve. But it's actually too fresh for only that tasks, and a bit too small.
I might get used to it, or I will buy a larger used iPad in a while to have as a stationary at that place.
Old iPad's are so useful!
My only regret, I should've traded the 2013 in when Apple at least payed me something for it - like ~6 months ago.
I start my residency this July and want to pick up one of these for my inpatient rotations. Would be perfect to have a pocketable iPad Mini at bedside to review patient information, place orders, review labs and imaging.
IPad mini 6 is pretty much perfect. It was expensive but earned it's money easely.
One thing missing. Phone and sms function for conformation sms (whats app) and the occasional phone call via speaker or ear buds. Right now the cellular is useless as one always need a phone to carry anyway and can hotspot of that.
Or bring out an iPhone SE plus max ultra with 8" screen. The form factor is brilliant, fits in the jacket and there is no real need for a phone anymore. VoIP is not working as incomming calls are hit and miss and sms do not work as well.
Funny thing is, I had a jailbroken iPad years ago and a cydia app got the dialer app and the thing was a phone. The parts are in it but blocked by software.
Frustrating and in the end the only reason for a Samsung 8" Tablet WITH phone funktion. And that for half the price.
One thing missing. Phone and sms function for conformation sms (whats app) and the occasional phone call via speaker or ear buds. Right now the cellular is useless as one always need a phone to carry anyway and can hotspot of that.
Or bring out an iPhone SE plus max ultra with 8" screen. The form factor is brilliant, fits in the jacket and there is no real need for a phone anymore. VoIP is not working as incomming calls are hit and miss and sms do not work as well.
Funny thing is, I had a jailbroken iPad years ago and a cydia app got the dialer app and the thing was a phone. The parts are in it but blocked by software.
Frustrating and in the end the only reason for a Samsung 8" Tablet WITH phone funktion. And that for half the price.
An M1 chip doesn't really make much sense at this point. You would be looking at the M3 with its core efficiencies to help the battery life, especially if the idea is gaming.
Also at this point expect a two camera setup so it can be capable of shooting spatial videos
Apple thinks 8GB RAM is enough for a MacBook Pro that costs $1600 so good luck getting that much in an iPad mini.
Surely I missed the part where the next mini has wireless charging. It's in here, right? Even Kindle has wireless charging
I traded mine towards my laptop because I wasn't using it much, however IMO it is the easiest-to-handle iPad and the only one I liked using just a regular thin TPU case on (as opposed to a folio)
I'd love the software to make better use of the screens on iPads, especially the mini. Too much unused space on the screen itself and room for more icons etc.
The current base model Mini 6 is $400 at Amazon. They are all 20% off there. Really I don’t see them getting less expensive than that.
Thats what I am saying since the mini came out. Every tablet of any manufacturer can do that.. the mini can do it as well, it is only software blocked.