All iPads if iPad Mini and iPad Air have the same specs...

Not when the pro is eventually released.

 

That's what I'm waiting for. The Mini Air Retina. Or the Air Mini. Like the Air Jordan, only iPad...

 

New name = new shiny product in mind of Apple consumers. They're trying to stimulate demand for the Air and take some off the Mini. Plus, the Mini got thicker and heavier, unlike the Air.

 

More interesting how both stack up in terms of battery life. Both quoted as 10 hours, the mini seeing an increased battery size while the air's has shrunk.

 

It did need a new name. How long can they keep calling it "the new ipad" or "ipad with retina display"?

I hope they don't come out with an iPad pro, because I plan on buying the Air and I will be very upset if they come out with a better one 6 months later

 

I don't get the question.

They named the 5th gen Ipad the Ipad Air. So that is what it is.

 

This thread and this thread have the same specs.

 

The iPad air is indeed a "new shiny product" regardless of its name. It's faster, slimmer, and of course being slimmer is a product of the new design. It may not be a new product line, but it's certainly a welcome refresh to the iPad series.

 

The iPad 2 was a quantum leap from the OG, but it didn't get the moniker Air. Heck, even the iPhone has had major changes for 7 iterations, and they're sticking to the same naming convention. There's another reason for naming it as such, and I think it's to attract new buyers or buyers who might've previously gone to the Air. It's all about mindshare.

 

I see what you're saying, and there's no doubt that at least part of the "Air" name is due to marketing. But the product could still achieve remarkable sales without a new name. I merely took exception to your implication that the iPad Air was a change in name only.

 

I didn't mean to imply that. I think it's worthy of the new name, but that the name itself reflects both a marketing strategy and the new, svelte design.

 

Then we are both in agreement.