gobikerider
Suspended
The Mini is unofficially EOL, like the iPod was. Its only a matter of time before it disappears
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iPad mini iPad mini 5
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A lot of iPad mini threads on here over the past few months. But ultimately, I think the answer is fairly blatant with the current placement for the iPad Mini's future. Although, many would want to see an updated version or revamped Mini, I think Apples future is uncertain with devices of that size anymore. Many appreciate the form factor primarily, but as the iPhone continuously grows larger, it seems It's devoured the Mini all together. However, if we do not see the Mini revived within the next year, then I would say we know it's ending possibly.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
I see apple killing it off, not updating it.
Report: Apple to phase out the iPad mini, no more updates planned
Why the iPad mini is On Its Deathbed
Report: Apple to phase out the iPad mini, no more updates planned
Why the iPad mini is On Its Deathbed
sracer
macrumors G4
Those articles view the issue from a consumer-centric perspective, ignoring how much vertical markets use the Mini. For those segments, the iPhone (ANY iPhone) is not a viable option, and the 9.7 iPad is too large.
Before Apple released the 2017 iPad, 10.5 Pro, and 2nd gen 12.9 Pro, these same experts (as well as many on this forum) were declaring the iPad to be "unofficially EOL" and "on its deathbed" for nearly the same reasons.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
Perhaps, but Apple is a consumer centric company. The same exact thought could have been posed with regard to the 17" MBP and we know what apple did there. If the profit margin is not what Apple wants for that product and it doesn't believe it will improve, they will kill it off, regardless of a niche vertical market.
JPack
macrumors P6
That really miss ......
If apple make mini 5 with current update like pro 10.5 people will
buy it tons ,
EOL of the 9.7" iPad Pro tells you what Apple thinks of smaller iPads.
Apple didn't feel it was worth keeping an entry 9.7" Pro on the market at $549, $449, or anywhere in between. The 9.7" Pro had plenty of Apple accessories to keep the margins high.
A low margin device like a "mini Pro" is not only unproductive with iOS 11 and beyond, it goes against Apple's goal of increasing ASP for the line.
sracer
macrumors G4
Understood. Corporate, institutional, and government contracts that involve iPad Minis are not "niche vertical markets". Traditionally, those markets are what causes products to continue on when end-user sales volumes may show cause to discontinue.
AFEPPL
macrumors 68030
That's really not true, the device was reduced in terms of the bezel size resulting in a slightly larger actual screen size. It's a redesign, rather than obsolescence of a device. Also no evidence that the larger devices are selling any better.
JPack
macrumors P6
Many Apple form factors live only five years before they get superseded by something better.
The iPad mini was introduced in 2012 and it's 2017.
MacBook Air (11") was a 2010 product and retired in 2016 due to iPad Pro.
The iPhone 5 was launched in 2012. Without the Indian consumers, the majority who have not yet purchased their first smartphone, the SE wouldn't likely exist.
Apple doesn't serve niche markets because they lead with new technologies. Or else we would still be seeing DVD drives being included in MacBooks and iMacs today because educational and institutional consumers are still asking for them.
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iPad Pro 9.7" has a smaller footprint compared to the 10.5". Apple had an opportunity to sell the 9.7" Pro as an entry level productivity device.
Besides the massive uptick in sales of the iPad 9.7" (2017) in the previous quarter, I'm not sure what evidence you're looking for. Large devices are clearly selling better. Otherwise, the iPad mini 4 32GB would still be on the market today. Apple didn't even bother cutting the price of the mini to $299.
titrau
Suspended
AFEPPL
macrumors 68030
They are new devices, sales go in cycles.
If sales were so good why bother revising anything to start with?
They needed the revision to kick start the demand - same would apply to the mini
JPack
macrumors P6
Right after Apple introduced the mini 3 and mini 4, sales of 7.9" iPads tumbled, much more so than 9.7" and 12.9" devices. Apple already tried revising the mini but demand didn't follow.
If Apple think they actually revised the mini when they released 3 & 4 that might be their problem to begin with. So far they haven't given anyone an insentive to update their mini 2 to a mini 3 or 4.
The mini 3 was some sort of practical joke right? Let's see who is stupid enough to pay extra for just Touch ID and nothing else.
The mini 4 was better, but it was still a year old tech when it was introduced and only a year behind the mini 2. A nice upgrade but not as big of an upgrade as it could have been - and that was at release.
The only time the mini has sold well is when it had the same tech as everything else - but it doesn't seem like Apple even want to try that anymore in fear of being wrong. That problem goes for the 9.7 iPad Pro as well. Funny how the new 10.5 pro is selling well now that it actually has matching hardware to the 12.9.
I guess I believe people know specs more than they do - but the mini 3 was not hard to figure out as 'don't upgrade' for most people. If Apple released the smaller iphone with last years technology, I'm sure people wouldn't buy it nearly as much over the plus model.
I'm not saying your wrong or there is another mini coming - just that Apple did this themselves, either intentionally or by fault. The demand isn't there because Apple doesn't want it there.
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I guess this is just a (sad) optimization by Apple. They seem to think they will make more money selling larger iPad pros to those ready for a bigger screen, and iPhones for those ready for a smaller screen, even if that means losing a few sales to those who will buy neither and would have bought an up to date iPad mini. And indeed, an iPhone 7+ or an iPad Pro are sold for much more than an iPad mini ever was.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
Do you have numbers to back that up? I'm not sold that Apple has lined up a lot of Corporate, institutional, and government partners to buy the Mini. I could be wrong but the delay in an update, and the chatter in the tech sites about apple killing it off, are more telling then conjecturing whether a vertical market is strong enough to keep the mini going.
Loge
macrumors 68030
The effect of the larger phones on the iPad mini is a total red herring.
Phones are getting larger now by making them tall and narrow, which makes them poor reading devices compared to an iPad mini in a much more sensible 4:3 aspect ratio.
Phones are getting larger now by making them tall and narrow, which makes them poor reading devices compared to an iPad mini in a much more sensible 4:3 aspect ratio.
sracer
macrumors G4
You are free to not believe me. I offered a perspective that was not covered by the article (because it doesn't fit in with their narrative that the Mini will be killed off).
It's not conjecture that vertical markets for the Mini exist. It IS conjecture that the VM demands for the Mini will keep it alive... which is conjecture that I didn't actually claim. What I said was that "traditionally" VM demands can keep a product going, I didn't say that it will happen in the Mini's case. Just that it is possible.
A lot of people use the excuse of the plus phones for the lack mini sales - for me it's when Apple decided not to care about it anymore. Since the A7 iPad mini 2, there hasn't been a mini with the current years chip :/
oldmacs
macrumors 603
This so much.
Apple is rolling in cash, couldn't hurt them to spec bump their iPad range instead of selling old tech at high prices.
Donka
macrumors 68030
The mini 4 got the same cpu as the Air 2! It just hasn't been updated since with Pencil support or a spec bump.