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Its strictly motivated by profit margins. They'll update it next year when their margin goals permit.

Right, but it will always be a generation behind on tech. (My guesses anyways) iPad Air and Pro (if happens) will have the newest tech, better chip, faster processor. While the mini will be stuck with last gen tech, and be nerfed.
 
They could change the name to the Little iPad Behind.

With the 6 and 6 plus, I see no reason for owning a mini. The air is hardly huge is it... Just buy that... Mini is good to give to a kid though and they don't care about specs. Paint it pink and call it "my first iPad".
 
With the 6 and 6 plus, I see no reason for owning a mini. The air is hardly huge is it... Just buy that... Mini is good to give to a kid though and they don't care about specs. Paint it pink and call it "my first iPad".

I DO see a reason. I find myself annoyed by lugging a full-sized ipad with me. An ipad only serves for the bed and the bathroom.

A mini is much more convenient to carry around and to read if I want the extra screen estate on the road.

An iphone 6 plus is not an option. I do carry my iphone with me all the time, but I DON'T need more screen estate all the time.

So for me the mini was the perfect solution.
 
I DO see a reason. I find myself annoyed by lugging a full-sized ipad with me. An ipad only serves for the bed and the bathroom.

A mini is much more convenient to carry around and to read if I want the extra screen estate on the road.

An iphone 6 plus is not an option. I do carry my iphone with me all the time, but I DON'T need more screen estate all the time.

So for me the mini was the perfect solution.

I agree. I like both iPads, but my mini is the perfect device for work and travel. I have thought long and hard about this and I'm pretty sure I am keeping my rMini when I buy my Air 2 this week. For me, the usage of still owning the rMini far outweighs the $250 I can get back from it.
 
With the 6 and 6 plus, I see no reason for owning a mini. The air is hardly huge is it... Just buy that... Mini is good to give to a kid though and they don't care about specs. Paint it pink and call it "my first iPad".

They have different use pattern.

iPhone 6 Plus is not child friendly. I will definitely not buy a smartphone for my 4 years old kid.

iPhone 6 Plus is 4x more expensive than an iPad mini 2.

I bought iPhone 6 for AU$1129 and iPad mini 2 for AU$345. I don't mind buying an iPad in an iPhone 6 plus size, if it is AU$250.
 
I feel that without the gap between Air and Mini, Mini might cannibalize the sales of Air. Mini is much more convenient to hold because you can hold it with one hand (at least for me because I don't have a very big hand). Portability-wise, Mini wins hands down.

Moreover, same performance of Air & Mini like what Apple did last year making Mini looks better than Air because turns out Apple can actually squeeze as much juice with smaller form factor.

However I think Mini could improve in screen size though. It is still too small for productivity work and can benefit from having a little bit bigger screen. Maybe aroudn 8.5"-8.7".
 
However I think Mini could improve in screen size though. It is still too small for productivity work and can benefit from having a little bit bigger screen. Maybe aroudn 8.5"-8.7".

I agree, there should be an iPad size in every inch... So we have about 20 different sizes (5", 6", 7", 8" etc) and also they should introduce more colours and memory sizes. I actually want 130GB because I like round numbers. I also want it in Bronze. This would be great. Also a super size one which is 20" for all the people who love to go on about "extra screen real estate"...
 
My opinion is that since many of the employees/engineers work on multiple teams that they decided to focus on the Air for now. My guess is that iPad Air 3 will have same design/physical stats with internal upgrade and the Mini 4 will have a redesign.
 
The thing for me about the mini is that although it's smaller, I don't lose out on the actual viewable info. I.e. If I load a website on the mini, I see the exact same thing as the larger iPad, just smaller, rather than cutting off text at the bottom or right-hand side.

Only use case for the larger screen then is for people with poorer vision, or people that need to use their ipad to watch movies together (rather than just holding it closer to your eyes)
 
Here's what I don't understand. When the Mini was first released, it was comparable to the iPad 2, not the iPad 4 which was announced at the same time. However, when the Air and the Mini 2 were released, they were basically the same product. So I was expecting the same with the Air 2 and Mini 3. I was not planning on upgrading to either model this year, but after next fall I may be looking to do so. I hope the 2 models equal up again.
 
I agree, there should be an iPad size in every inch... So we have about 20 different sizes (5", 6", 7", 8" etc) and also they should introduce more colours and memory sizes. I actually want 130GB because I like round numbers. I also want it in Bronze. This would be great. Also a super size one which is 20" for all the people who love to go on about "extra screen real estate"...

I am suggesting a size that suits me personally. Understood that my proposed size may not cater to majority. But I proposed it just to give a thought.

Your sarcasm and hyperbolic are taking it too far I think. But hey, thanks for your thoughts :rolleyes:
 
Last year's rMini having feature/spec parity with the full-sized iPad was the aberration, this year is simply a return to form - the device that costs $100 less is going to have last year's specs, just as it has always been.

I have an rMini, I prefer that form factor and obviously would prefer if they kept feature parity with the full-size iPad, but I understand why they don't. If they were going to give them the same specs, they would have to charge the same price, and while a few people might pay it (like myself and the OP), the vast majority would feel "cheated" if they were paying the same price as the big iPad for "less."

Last year's retina Mini was an exceptionally good deal but it definitely fell outside Apple's traditional pricing/spec structure.
 
The mini is portable. The Air never will be. Mini wins. If I need a big screen at home, I'll just pick up my Macbook.
 
I hate it too because you have to go larger to get the a8x and more importantly is the 2gb of ram. I tried air 2, boy no more safari refreshes. But i hate the air, it's too cumbersome.
 
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