OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

[Apple_Robert]

time for reprise of the Everly brother's classic "all I have to do is dream"

Old Man alert. 😉

I will counter with Frank Sinatra.

“Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you
If you're young at heart
For it's hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind
If you're young at heart”


I hope the fairy tale comes true.

 

[genzai]

it seems to me that if the iPhone "fold" is at all successful, its going cut massively into the iPad mini market.

g\

 

[dmr727]

it seems to me that if the iPhone "fold" is at all successful, its going cut massively into the iPad mini market.

g\

That could be true for me, but Apple would really have to hit it out of the park with the Fold. It's rumored to be $2K+, right? A base mini can almost always be found on sale for $399. I'm all for consolidating devices, but all that extra scratch is gonna require more than simply being my phone and mini in one.

 

[genzai]

That could be true for me, but Apple would really have to hit it out of the park with the Fold. It's rumored to be $2K+, right? A base mini can almost always be found on sale for $399. I'm all for consolidating devices, but all that extra scratch is gonna require more than simply being my phone and mini in one.

very few people are going to buy an iPhone fold /instead/ of a mini- but almost no one who buys an iPhone fold is also going buy a mini. So we will have to see how successful a product it is in the end, and I could be wrong but I think the market for the fold (and iPhones in general) is substantially larger than the market for the iPad mini (and iPads in general) and so I think those sales are going to be affected. There are also going to be folks who traditional own or want both devices (in fact I imagine most mini owners have an iPhone) and look at the combined price of iPhone (pro) + mini and make an easier leap to the singular price of the fold.

g\

 

[svanstrom]

Take an iPad Mini. Remove the (big) bezel. Fold it in half. Add a second camera and outside screen. You’ve got the rumored new folding device! The open screen is the same size as the mini. Coincidence? I think not. The new device could be an iPad Fold. It’s practically a laptop in your shirt pocket, and it justifies the price.

That's how I view it.

I belong to that small group of people that always wanted an iPad Pro Mini. It was a work device for me, and the lack of FaceID alone was annoying. A pro-level cost would always have been justified in my case.

That will totally miss the mark for a lot of iPad Mini users and use cases, to say nothing of the cost.

I'd argue that outside of the cost aspect it would widen the iPad mini market and use cases.

Basically I'm saying that the iPad mini users are what they are because the iPad mini is what it is, so if you change the iPad mini in certain ways you'll open it up to be a favorite of more people.

Practically what I think will happen is instead that an iPhone fold, maybe not the first gen if it's one fold rather than a tripple-screen, will make people that currently consider or have an iPad mini simply no longer need one. The iPad mini market will change after that. The pro users go with the foldable phones, and the mini is more that home hub device for kids, games, and perhaps news.

it seems to me that if the iPhone "fold" is at all successful, its going cut massively into the iPad mini market.

🏆

 

[svish]

Will probably be priced at $599 or $649. Besides the OLED display, which is a huge change, expecting to see the usual chip upgrades. Would like to see brighter and better color options. Might be released only in 2027.

 

[Apple_Robert]

very few people are going to buy an iPhone fold /instead/ of a mini- but almost no one who buys an iPhone fold is also going buy a mini. So we will have to see how successful a product it is in the end, and I could be wrong but I think the market for the fold (and iPhones in general) is substantially larger than the market for the iPad mini (and iPads in general) and so I think those sales are going to be affected. There are also going to be folks who traditional own or want both devices (in fact I imagine most mini owners have an iPhone) and look at the combined price of iPhone (pro) + mini and make an easier leap to the singular price of the fold.

g\

If the rumored price of the fold is close to accurate ($2500), I don’t think the first gen demand will be as high as you think. Granted the YouTube revenuers will needlessly buy and return as some here will but, I think the largest market for such a phone (think HS and college kids) will be out of reach.

I think the fold is going to be a niche product due to price, dependability and quality control concerns. I also think that AC+ will be a lot more for the phone than what users are used to, which also adds into the niche aspect.

 

[macduke]

I just want a cellular iPad mini that folds in half so it can fit in my pocket. Maybe give it a phone app. Then name it the iPad Phone. I think there is potential here!

 

[dmr727]

but almost no one who buys an iPhone fold is also going buy a mini.

That's a good point and I agree. But I'm going the other direction with it too - I think the existence of the mini will hurt Fold sales, especially if it goes OLED. Granted we don't know the pricing yet, but I bet $2500 is a bridge too far for most people, especially initially when we don't have data about durability, etc...

But we'll see - I'm certainly happy to have options!

 

[joecomo]

Personal preference is a thing, not going to tell you that you are wrong for wanting something different for yourself. But yeah, as plenty have pointed out it's a great size for reading, like the kindle. Extremely comfortable in bed 🙂

Out of curiosity, what size iPad do you use, and what is its use case for you?

oh, and if you want to sell your maxed out purple version.. .🙂

I use the 12.9 inch iPad Pro - very content with that form factor
(purple one has been adopted by our youngest daughter - impossible to sell now 🙂)

 

[joecomo]

For reading its weight is better than any other iPad and you can make the text any size you want.

ok the weight doesn't bother me, but this might be a concern for some.
I like a big screen. For comics I would even go bigger than 13.9 inch,

 

[i4k20c]

I went through a few Colorsofts and all the ones I got had bad screens. I gave up. This might be a good substitute and have a heck of a lot better resolution than an Amazon Fire tablet.

i recently got the kobo libra colour and i am liking it more than my kindle and the colors seem fine to me. i use my mini for textbooks and my kobo for fun reading.

 

[surfsofa]

I just need it to be fast. My mini 6 runs like an absolute dog. Way too laggy, especially with app switching.

 

[slimejester]

I’m an artist and have been using a 2018 iPad Pro as my main device for the last 7 years. I also got an iPad mini 7 for when I really wanna travel light. It’s the perfect size digital sketchbook when on the go. 👍🏼 Altho the thought of an OLED screen with a 120hz refresh rate on the iPad mini 8 is tempting, I probably won’t upgrade right away. I first have to upgrade my 7 yr old iPad Pro first!

I’m in the same boat but have the 2020 ipp. I debate about upgrading to M5, but I know it’s better to wait for the next one.

 

[*~Kim~*]

I bought my Mini at the beginning of October 2021, so it didn’t feel like paying a premium for the size - the base iPad still had a home button and lightning and the Air didn’t undercut it until six months later when it had an M1 and double the RAM for £80 more. Luckily for me I was caught by the iPad 3 so have now been conditioned to only buy an Apple product soon after launch.

Given that the Mini is updated the least frequently, it becomes a case of paying a premium if you buy it later in the lifecycle, since everything that was behind it in terms of hardware has caught up or overtaken it while the Mini is still being sold at the original price. I think there was more of a case that the Mini 7 was paying a premium from the off since it was an established design that used the A17 Pro not the A18 Pro that had launched in the iPhone a month before - the Mini 6 received the A15, which had only launched in the iPhone 10 days prior.

If Mini becomes the 2nd iPad to receive OLED as expected, the premium is for the OLED rather than the size. A bitter taste may come later if the Air brings a better value proposition within 6 months, as it did with Mini 6 vs Air 5, but we can only base purchasing decisions on value for money at the time.

 

[The Game 161]

Love my iPad mini for when I need it. My bedside tablet for when want to read and watch content at night. Although when new fold comes maybe it gets unused

 

[Newbe77]

iPad mini is a nice piece of hardware - still except for some niche applications (e.g. use by salespeople),
the purpose of the device is unclear to me.
For casual reading/media consumption at home the screen is too small, to be on the move the device it is too big.

Especially with the foldable around (which will be mobile and provide a decent screen) not sure what this device should do going forward.

iPad minis are used almost exclusively in the General Aviation community. In fact many pilots today including my husband will not fly without his due to the added safety it provides. It is basically a removeable flight computer. It is the perfect size for a small cockpit and doesn't block important radios, monitors and dials. The flying software that we use is very demanding and requires a lot of band width, system memory and a bright screen. I wish Apple would beef up the iPad Mini with this in mind. It really has been a game changer in GA flying. A lot of professional pilots use them, too, for faster flight planning and better situational awareness.

 

[joecomo]

iPad minis are used almost exclusively in the General Aviation community. In fact many pilots today including my husband will not fly without his due to the added safety it provides. It is basically a removeable flight computer. It is the perfect size for a small cockpit and doesn't block important radios, monitors and dials. The flying software that we use is very demanding and requires a lot of band width, system memory and a bright screen. I wish Apple would beef up the iPad Mini with this in mind. It really has been a game changer in GA flying. A lot of professional pilots use them, too, for faster flight planning and better situational awareness.

exactly that is a perfect example and there are probably similar use cases in other industries … to me that is the sweet spot of this device.

 

[jk111]

I'll take an OLED iPad Mini with the form factor of the iPad Pro in the MacBook Neo Indigo color, please.

 

[coachingguy]

I've owned every mini. Currently own a 6 and 7... They, IMHO, are perfect for so many applications... Bed, Car, taking attendance or updating grades while working 1:1 around a classroom... It's powerful, albeit the screen does need improving, and more content producing friendly than my iPhone Pro's...