If there is no new iPad mini.....

[Cloudymoon]

I was holding out for a new iPad mini 5, however that no longer seems likely. I find it useful for reading books on a long commute to work.

If I went for an iPad mini 4, how long do you think it would last before the software eventually slowed it down to a snail's pace? My iPad mini 2 is now only used for iBooks and Kindle.

Thanks

 

[Greenmeenie]

I am still using an ipad mini 2! So i am also waiting/hoping Apple releases an update. Would love an ipad mini that allows me to use the apple pencil. That'd be great.

It doesn't look good for the ipad mini. But i will wait alittle longer. At least until WWDC in June. If no ipad mini is announced this year, i think Apple will discontinue it.

The ipad mini hasn't been updated since 2015! So i dont know if you want to nab one now in case they are discontinued just to extend using an ipad mini a little further than the one you have. The mini 4 is already almost 3 yrs old. Personally i wouldn't buy it cause i do video & photo editing. But it would be totally fine for reading on your commute. So if i were you, i'd buy it. But if you can wait a little longer i'd wait. There is a slight chance Apple will quietly update the regular ipad and maaaaybe announce an ipad mini 5 this month.

If Apple doesn't update the mini this year, i will definitely be buying the smallest ipad pro they release this year. And you should be able to pick up a cheap ipad mini 4 no problem.

 

[jamisonbaines]

mini 2 has the A7
mini 4 has the A8, plus touch id and laminated screen

A8 is in apple TV 4 and homepod so it might have some longevity.

I've considered this same topic but i think it's only worth it if youre getting a really good deal on the mini 4.

 

[eVolcre]

If your only use is kindle why not just get a kindle? <3 my 2014 kindle fire 8.9 (or something like that. It was the larger one) model. It’s used only for books, sucks as a general tablet and this way I can focus on reading without being pinged by email and social media all the time.

Battery is great too. 20 hours in airplane mode. I use the kindle store to purchase and either USB or document email straight to the kindle to move from my laptop to the reader.

I’d love an iPad mini for general tablet duty, just for reading I quite enjoy my kindle.

 

[Crow_Servo]

This is a great question. I’d like to know too how long the mini 4 will be supported. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s an absolute guarantee it’ll update to iOS 12 and there’s a fairly good chance it’ll update to iOS 13, but that’s likely to be the last update it receives. I’m using it now and there’s lag here and there, so I’d love to have a refreshed version with a faster processor. Really hoping we get one this year or next year.

 

[Cloudymoon]

If your only use is kindle why not just get a kindle? <3 my 2014 kindle fire 8.9 (or something like that. It was the larger one) model. It’s used only for books, sucks as a general tablet and this way I can focus on reading without being pinged by email and social media all the time.

Battery is great too. 20 hours in airplane mode. I use the kindle store to purchase and either USB or document email straight to the kindle to move from my laptop to the reader.

I’d love an iPad mini for general tablet duty, just for reading I quite enjoy my kindle.

Thanks. I have quite a few books in iBooks so would like to be able to keep using an iPad. Plus is handy for iMessage and emails etc. I did consider the kindle though and might have to get one if the iPad mini doesn’t get a refresh.

 

[eVolcre]

Thanks. I have quite a few books in iBooks so would like to be able to keep using an iPad. Plus is handy for iMessage and emails etc. I did consider the kindle though and might have to get one if the iPad mini doesn’t get a refresh.

Makes sense. The mini really is the perfect couch surfing and travel tablet.

My wholly uniformed and non inside source guess is this ...

2018 iPad Pro 10.5 gets the C treatment edge to edge.

2018 the really cheap legacy iPad 9.7 comes in like an SE version

Spring 2019 sees the iPad 9.7 and mini 7.9 merge into a iPad mini pro with pencil support.

If you take the bezels off the 9.7 it’s avtually almost at mini size (physical dimensions). Similarly if you take the mini edge to edge it ends up right around 9.3 inches.

A *slightly* larger form factor than the current mini gives you the new 9.7 Pro.

For me it’s not about the screen size, it’s the physical dimensions and the mini checks all the boxes.

(Except on the high end. Even if they take the bezels off the 12.9 and make it physically smaller I don’t want it. It’s like watching a 60” HDTV from 3 feet away. )

 

[Whoakapi]

The Mini 4 is already quite slow compared to newer iOS devices. I got a 4 and the animations are often slow and laggy. I mostly use it for reading so I don't really mind.

I like my 4, but I really can't recommend anybody to buy the Mini 4 today with the current performance in iOS 11. For price vs. performance it's just a bad deal.

 

[Cloudymoon]

The Mini 4 is already quite slow compared to newer iOS devices. I got a 4 and the animations are often slow and laggy. I mostly use it for reading so I don't really mind.

I like my 4, but I really can't recommend anybody to buy the Mini 4 today with the current performance in iOS 11. For price vs. performance it's just a bad deal.

I went into the Apple Store one evening this week and tried the iPad mini 4. It was a little slow loading webpages, but could have been due to many things I suppose, but it did seem a little slow generally. Such a shame if it is the end of line for them.

 

[sracer]

I went into the Apple Store one evening this week and tried the iPad mini 4. It was a little slow loading webpages, but could have been due to many things I suppose, but it did seem a little slow generally. Such a shame if it is the end of line for them.

i have my mini 4 on ios 10.x and it will stay there for as long as i own it. it is very snappy performance-wise and battery life is terrific. I’m still holding out hope for a mini “plus” (upgraded internals and support for the Pencil).

 

[BMcCoy]

I gave up waiting for a Mini5, and splashed out on a 10.5 pro with pencil.
And I have to admit, I love it, and wouldn’t go back to a mini now. It’s light enough to still be very portable, easy to hold when reading etc, but the display is just so good, and it’s bang up to date so should have a good lifespan.

 

[Atomic1977]

My little mini 2 has survived all the way through iOS 11.3. I don’t know how much farther the minis will go but it looks like the minis will be no more.

 

[maflynn]

If I went for an iPad mini 4, how long do you think it would last before the software eventually slowed it down to a snail's pace?

Just don't upgrade it.

If reading is your main purpose, then have you considered an Amazon kindle? I have an iPad 2, and a kindle and the display on the kindle is much easier on the eyes for reading. I have a 10.5 iPad Pro for everything else.

 

[newellj]

i have my mini 4 on ios 10.x and it will stay there for as long as i own it. it is very snappy performance-wise and battery life is terrific. I’m still holding out hope for a mini “plus” (upgraded internals and support for the Pencil).

This. It's perfectly speedy for any normal use on 10.3.3. 11 slowed it down a lot. In fact, even the latest version of 11 (11.3) runs noticeably slower in many apps on an Air 2 than 10.3.3 on an Air 2. Apple made a decision to hold back the Mini 4 with an A8 when it was introduced. It was a poor decision.

 

[joeblow7777]

This. It's perfectly speedy for any normal use on 10.3.3. 11 slowed it down a lot. In fact, even the latest version of 11 (11.3) runs noticeably slower in many apps on an Air 2 than 10.3.3 on an Air 2. Apple made a decision to hold back the Mini 4 with an A8 when it was introduced. It was a poor decision.

I don’t think it was a poor decision. I think it made sense in terms of cost and probably engineering. At the time, the A9 had just come out in the latest iPhones, so I think they wanted to keep it exclusive (supply was probably an issue), and the best chip in an iPad was the tri-core A8X, which probably had power or thermal demands that were a bit much for such a small device. So using an A8 (with increased clock speed, by the way) made sense.

All things considered, it’s a 2015 tablet that still supports the latest OS in 2018, and in my experience, is very usable on 11.3.

 

[sracer]

I don’t think it was a poor decision. I think it made sense in terms of cost and probably engineering. At the time, the A9 had just come out in the latest iPhones, so I think they wanted to keep it exclusive (supply was probably an issue), and the best chip in an iPad was the tri-core A8X, which probably had power or thermal demands that were a bit much for such a small device. So using an A8 (with increased clock speed, by the way) made sense.

All things considered, it’s a 2015 tablet that still supports the latest OS in 2018, and in my experience, is very usable on 11.3.

Agreed. But because user experience of running iOS 11 on the Mini 4 varies so greatly, it would be nice if Apple allowed customers to back off an update and revert back to a previous version. I have no idea if I would be one of those for which iOS 11 would be very usable on my Mini 4. But because I'm not ready to replace it, I'm not going to take that chance and end up with something worse than I currently have. But I'm happy for those who can run it and are pleased.

 

[rui no onna]

This. It's perfectly speedy for any normal use on 10.3.3. 11 slowed it down a lot. In fact, even the latest version of 11 (11.3) runs noticeably slower in many apps on an Air 2 than 10.3.3 on an Air 2. Apple made a decision to hold back the Mini 4 with an A8 when it was introduced. It was a poor decision.

I expect it was a necessary decision for heat dissipation. It can't have been cost. When the Mini 4 was introduced, it was exactly the same price as the Air 2 ($399/16GB, $499/64GB, $599/128GB).

 

[newellj]

I expect it was a necessary decision for heat dissipation. It can't have been cost. When the Mini 4 was introduced, it was exactly the same price as the Air 2 ($399/16GB, $499/64GB, $599/128GB).

I don't think it was cost. I don't know about heat dissipation. I suspect that, like the iPod Touch, it was a high-level decision to deprecate certain products' technology specs. I'm not an Apple-basher (not one of those who thinks Apple can do no wrong). If you look at the history of certain products, it's clear that Apple doesn't really give a fig (and doesn't spend much or any money advertising), which is a pretty odd approach to products you took the time to design and produce.

 

[rui no onna]

I don't think it was cost. I don't know about heat dissipation. I suspect that, like the iPod Touch, it was a high-level decision to deprecate certain products' technology specs. I'm not an Apple-basher (not one of those who thinks Apple can do no wrong). If you look at the history of certain products, it's clear that Apple doesn't really give a fig (and doesn't spend much or any money advertising), which is a pretty odd approach to products you took the time to design and produce.

The iPod touch is a much, much less expensive sibling to the iPhone so it's quite understandable that Apple purposely gimps it.

Meanwhile, the mini 4 and Air 2 were the same price. I understand why the mini 4 had A8 instead of A9 as the iPhone 6s/6s Plus had at the time. However, I expect if thermals and power had allowed it, the mini 4 would have been sporting the A8X same as the Air 2.

Battery capacity
iPad mini 4: 19.1 Wh
iPad Air 2: 27.3 Wh

That said, with Apple focusing more on the 9.7" form factor for lower cost iPads, definitely appears that the mini is fast approaching EOL.

 

[newellj]

The iPod touch is a much, much less expensive sibling to the iPhone so it's quite understandable that Apple purposely gimps it.

Meanwhile, the mini 4 and Air 2 were the same price. I understand why the mini 4 had A8 instead of A9 as the iPhone 6s/6s Plus had at the time. However, I expect if thermals and power had allowed it, the mini 4 would have been sporting the A8X same as the Air 2.

Battery capacity
iPad mini 4: 19.1 Wh
iPad Air 2: 27.3 Wh

That said, with Apple focusing more on the 9.7" form factor for lower cost iPads, definitely appears that the mini is fast approaching EOL.

When we talk about the Mini, we have to remember that Jobs himself publicly dissed the product concept.

 

[kazmac]

I was just at Best Buy playing with the 2018 iPad and the iP4 was right next it. I sighed loudly. The Mini's screen is so much nicer but the 2018 iPad has pencil capabilities. Why can't we have both in the Mini form factor?

If you like the Mini form factor, wait for a sale and jump then. OP, you could always leave your Mini 4 on an earlier iOS version too.

 

[joeblow7777]

When we talk about the Mini, we have to remember that Jobs himself publicly dissed the product concept.

With all due respect to Steve Jobs, how long does he have to be dead before people stop using his opinions (which he sometimes changed) as the gospel of what modern technology should be? Very few people suggest that the ideal phone display size is 3.5” anymore, but that’s also an opinion that Jobs had. Technology, and how people use it, and what they want, changes practically every day. Unfortunately, Steve Jobs’ ideas will be forever based on the world of 2011.

 

[newellj]

With all due respect to Steve Jobs, how long does he have to be dead before people stop using his opinions (which he sometimes changed) as the gospel of what modern technology should be? Very few people suggest that the ideal phone display size is 3.5” anymore, but that’s also an opinion that Jobs had. Technology, and how people use it, and what they want, changes practically every day. Unfortunately, Steve Jobs’ ideas will be forever based on the world of 2011.

I agree, but I think that there are a LOT of people in Cupertino who still think that Jobs had the TRVTH. It doesn't matter how many people at MR think so. What matters is that people who make decisions at Apple still think so.

 

[joeblow7777]

I agree, but I think that there are a LOT of people in Cupertino who still think that Jobs had the TRVTH. It doesn't matter how many people at MR think so. What matters is that people who make decisions at Apple still think so.

If that’s the case though why did they make 4 generations of the Mini at all?

 

[newellj]

If that’s the case though why did they make 4 generations of the Mini at all?

Why any of the products that Apple has introduced and upgraded half-heartedly? The logical answer would be that Apple thought there was a market, but the market turned out to be smaller or less profitable than expected or required for continuing development. Or maybe it's just theological. Apple makes a lot of moves based on what someone at Apple thinks we should want, perhaps thinking that Apple understands what we want better than we do ourselves.

The short answer is I don't know, and no one else here does, either. The clock is ticking on quite a few products that Apple has left languishing for years in spite of the strong desires of many of us.