Demise of iPad Mini sadly becoming clearer now

[Moccasin]

I couldn't help but think, during the WWDC Keynote, that many of the new iPad features in iOS11 may not transfer well to the iPad Mini. The demonstrations showed that the new features make a lot of use of the large screens of the two iPad Pro models and doing the same on the iPad Mini will not be as easy. I love my iPad Mini 4 for its ability to be easily used one-handed and to fit in a jacket pocket but fear that the new features in iOS 11 will not be easy to use on it.

I haven't installed the beta on my Mini yet - what do those of you who have done so think? Is usability of the new features compromised by the smaller screen?

 

[MisterMillz]

I think the mini has fallen to the wayside with this new iOS 11 feature set. However, I believe there is still a solid market for the tablet. If they continue it, I foresee it something like the minis resembling iPads of the past (iOS 10 and lower) while the bigger sized iPads will progress on the “productive” side (iOS 11+). The 9.7 Pro was already cramped with split screen. Can’t imagine it being a go to move on a 7.9 screen.

 

[daijholt]

iPad mini is the victim of a marketplace that couldnt decide what it wanted.

Market: "we want smaller, more portable tablets; we already have laptops for house based tasks"

Apple: Okay, here's iPad mini.

market: We don't care for portability, we all carry bags anyway, give us productivity

Apple: okay, here's iPad Pro 12.9

market: we want desktop-class features, not tablet features stretched to a bigger screen

apple: okay, here's iOS 11

what the market will likely say next: we hate feeling like we have our laptops with us everywhere, we want a tablet to be a tablet.

What apple will likely say next: iPad has been discontinued because you're all idiots and can't make up your minds. Here's a 6.5 inch iPhone and be done with it.

I loved Ipad mini, I owned multiple generations, but theres no place for it now I feel.

 

[Channan]

I think iOS 11 will run fine on the mini. It'll be exactly the same as the 9.7" iPads, just a little smaller. I'm excited to use the new multitasking on my mini 4.

 

[Whoakapi]

People need to take a chill pill and have a little patience.

The iPad Pro is targeted towards more professional and productive use. He iPad mini line is not.

It would be completely idiotic, in my humble opinion, to even hint at a new iPad mini during the WWDC2017. Apple wanted to maintain full focus on iPad Pro as a productivity device and the fancy features of iOS11.

I don't see why Apple can't do a low-key reveal of an iPad mini 5 later this year or beginning of the next. Up RAM to 3 or 4GB and slap in an A10 and it's good to go with iOS11.

 

[Fuzzball84]

I think we now need consolidation of the ipad line to iPad mini and iPad. Then removove the 12.9 inch pro and replace the 10.5 inch with an 11 inch version. I have tried the 10.5 inch version but its still too small as a laptop replacement but the 12.9 inch is still far too big. I think the weeet spot will be somewhere between 11 and 11.5 inch and a design with virtually no bezels.

i think this is the sensible rout and have 7.9, 9.7 and 11 inch tablet lineup.

 

[TrueBlou]

My wife will be devastated if they drop the Mini, she refuses to own a bigger iPad. Not that it stops her from pinching my 12.9” Pro to draw, bloody double standards.

In the end the fate of the Mini will be dictated by market demand and only Apple truly knows how well they sell.
If it’s to remain with us and for the sake of me not having to listen to the wife whinging, I hope it does, there’s no reason why a small update can’t be announced at any point. Or slipped in quietly.

As for the 12.9”, that I hope stays for good, I love the size of the 12.9”. I’m too used to it now, everything else feels too small and cramped to me now.

 

[punchwalk]

I had high hopes for iPad Mini, but have accepted the sad reality that the device hasn't found a big enough market. The rise of phablets hasn't helped. I doubt iPad Mini will receive another significant update, and will probably be discontinued within 2-3 years.

 

[redscull]

I do doubt there would ever be a mini Pro because I agree with others, that seems to be a conflict or at least very tiny intersection of target audiences. But that doesn't mean the mini has to disappear forever. Maybe they'll release a new one every few years, similar to how they do iPods. It is after all pretty much just a giant iPod. And the mini 4 has tons of life left anyway. There is no reason it shouldn't get iOS updates for just as long as the new iPad 9.7 and the 9.7 Pro from last year. They all have 2GB RAM which is the main limiter. And pretty similar CPUs.

 

[ssledoux]

I think we now need consolidation of the ipad line to iPad mini and iPad. Then removove the 12.9 inch pro and replace the 10.5 inch with an 11 inch version. I have tried the 10.5 inch version but its still too small as a laptop replacement but the 12.9 inch is still far too big. I think the weeet spot will be somewhere between 11 and 11.5 inch and a design with virtually no bezels.

i think this is the sensible rout and have 7.9, 9.7 and 11 inch tablet lineup.

I don't like the idea of a 7.9, 9.7 and 11. You gain nearly 2 inches of screen from 7.9 to 9.7, and then you'd gain barely over an inch jumping to 11. I think I could be good with something right around 12, especially if they were able to bring the overall size and weight down, but I think I speak for a lot of folks when I say that after using 12.9 for quite a while, it'd be pretty tough to lose almost 2 inches of screen.

 

[Badrottie]

new 2017 iPad 9.7 is really Mini 5 for Apple's sake.

 

[baypharm]

My wife will be devastated if they drop the Mini, she refuses to own a bigger iPad. Not that it stops her from pinching my 12.9” Pro to draw, bloody double standards.

In the end the fate of the Mini will be dictated by market demand and only Apple truly knows how well they sell.
If it’s to remain with us and for the sake of me not having to listen to the wife whinging, I hope it does, there’s no reason why a small update can’t be announced at any point. Or slipped in quietly.

As for the 12.9”, that I hope stays for good, I love the size of the 12.9”. I’m too used to it now, everything else feels too small and cramped to me now.

Yepper. I feel your wifes pain. I was devistated when they dropped the 17 inch mac book pro with antiglare screen.

 

[masotime]

The iPad mini's screen is too small for any serious multitasking, but the size makes it excellent as a portable notebook or sketchbook.

I'd like to see an updated iPad mini "sketch" edition. Upgraded internals, much better cameras (portability helps here) and a special, smaller version of the Apple Pencil which can slot or otherwise attach itself into the iPad mini.

This makes more sense to me - it makes the iPad mini specialized and more distinct from the iPad Pro. I would also be perfectly willing to pay more for this than the "budget" 2017 iPad.

EDIT: reduced bezels would also be nice

 

[Kostas3000]

the iPhone 6.5in is coming, so I don't think there is room for a Mini.

 

[Loge]

Mini's screen is over twice the size of the iPhone Plus, there is plenty of room for the Mini.

 

[jasondeason]

$100 off iPad mini 4 at Best Buy. I'm thinking about picking one up today.

 

[Fuzzball84]

I don't like the idea of a 7.9, 9.7 and 11. You gain nearly 2 inches of screen from 7.9 to 9.7, and then you'd gain barely over an inch jumping to 11. I think I could be good with something right around 12, especially if they were able to bring the overall size and weight down, but I think I speak for a lot of folks when I say that after using 12.9 for quite a while, it'd be pretty tough to lose almost 2 inches of screen.

So you just said you'd barely gain over an inch moving from 9.7 to 11 yet the increase in screen real estate is more than the 20% gained when they just increased the iPad Pro from 9.7 to 10.5. ANd yet everyone praises the significant gain in screen real estate on the 10.5 over the 9.7.

 

[kevink2]

I just wish I could warrant owning more than 1 iPad. Then I could use the bigger one when it would be most appropriate, and the mini when portability is more important.

Right now, I'm just going with the Mini 4 that I have.

 

[klasma]

the iPhone 6.5in is coming, so I don't think there is room for a Mini.

I would beg to differ (6.5" iPhone vs 7.9" iPad):

(http://www.displaywars.com/6,5-inch-16x9-vs-7,9-inch-4x3)

 

[JPack]

Common sense would tell you there's no iPad mini. The mini met its demise about a year ago when sales data showed it was still declining by double digits.

The "new hardware" crowd will tell you it's because Apple hasn't refreshed the hardware. Those people fail to realize the iPad mini 3 and mini 4 released in 2014 and 2015 resulted in significantly lower sales volume quarter after quarter. Those new products couldn't even maintain much less grow the iPad mini market share. So, no, there won't be an iPad mini 5 with A10 and 3GB RAM regardless of how hard they want to dream.

The $329 iPad predicts the iPad mini's future: there is none. Apple won't be positioning a $229 iPad mini 5. Apple separates all its products with at least $100 difference between capacity, display size, and radios. A new mini fits nowhere in the new pricing structure.

The "display size" crowd fail to realize consumers weren't entirely interested in the iPad mini 3 and mini 4, even during the era of 4" and 5" iPhones. An iPhone with 6.5" display would absolutely crush iPad mini sales.

iOS 11 puts the final nail in the coffin. How exactly would consumers multitask on a 7.9" display? If 9.7" wasn't good enough to be marketed as iPad Pro, why 7.9"?

 

[mwhals]

I am afraid the iPad Mini and IPod Touch are not going to be continued.

 

[Mak47]

I still don’t think they’re going to kill it off. My expectation is a pro line and a consumer line: 12.9 & 10.5 pros, 7.9 & 9.7 consumers. They’ll likely intro a new version with cost cuts next year.

 

[ssledoux]

So you just said you'd barely gain over an inch moving from 9.7 to 11 yet the increase in screen real estate is more than the 20% gained when they just increased the iPad Pro from 9.7 to 10.5. ANd yet everyone praises the significant gain in screen real estate on the 10.5 over the 9.7.

That's exactly what I said. I didn't purchase the 10.5. I had a 12.9 and upgraded to a new 12.9. I have no desire to have a screen nearly, or more than, 2 inches smaller than what I have now, so I wouldn't be happy for them to decrease the 12.9 screen to an 11 inch screen.

 

[DotCom2]

I think we now need consolidation of the ipad line to iPad mini and iPad. Then removove the 12.9 inch pro and replace the 10.5 inch with an 11 inch version. I have tried the 10.5 inch version but its still too small as a laptop replacement but the 12.9 inch is still far too big. I think the weeet spot will be somewhere between 11 and 11.5 inch and a design with virtually no bezels.

i think this is the sensible rout and have 7.9, 9.7 and 11 inch tablet lineup.

I love my 12.9 and could never go back to something smaller.

 

[Mjmar]

The iPad mini has always seemed like the step child of the iPad family. I remember listening to a podcast (I forgot which one) that invited a couple of Apple engineers and they said that the development of the iPad mini was really quick - only around 9 months. It was able to be done so quickly because Apple just took a UI that was designed for a 9.7" screen and shrunk it into a 7.9" screen. They then patched up all of the UI elements that were unusable on the smaller screen size and shipped the product.

I owned an original iPad mini for a few months and returned it due to the lack of a retina display. Then when the retina iPad mini came out I thought that would make it the perfect iPad, but it didn't. The 9.7" UI just doesn't work on that smaller screen - some elements (like safari tabs and control center) are just way too small to use comfortably. The physical size of the mini is still too big to carry around in a pocket, so I question if there is really any benefit to owning a mini over a regular sized iPad. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple got rid of it eventually - I'd think it is not a product that they are particularly proud of.