Sketchy Report Claims Apple May Discontinue iPad Mini to Focus on 'iPad Pro'

[doug in albq]

Which got 12 votes up, while the person who said "That's only one opinion, and one that's not clearly shared by everyone" in response to your post got 32 votes up.

Not trying to be rude, just saying that the lots of people like the mini. Apple isn't wise if they don't pay attention to that.

As you should know, because you have been here over a decade, original posts often do not get many up votes, especially if it goes against the consumption of more Apples.

And what does get a huge amount of up votes is the contrary "fanboy" post that usually comes as the 2nd or 3rd post in any controversial post her at Mac Rumors.

Maybe you are a kid using one of your parents' 12 year old Mac Rumors accounts?

I will admit, the (few) adamant fans of the mini are very vocal (defensive).

Also, that heated thread was rather popular, regardless of how many up votes my OP garnered.

 

[furi0usbee]

Don't know why they would. You have a 15" MacBook Pro, and smaller models. I had an iPad mini and loved it. I didn't need a full-size iPad, and I could take it out much easier, and I was even using it as a phone with Skype IN/OUT and earphones. So killing it would be dumb, unless they are making a 7" iPhone 7.

 

[tech4all]

Kinda getting sick of giant-screened-everything. ��

Get used to it.

Steve Jobs was right
Making a small tablet was stupid after all
Hope Tim will learn what Steve really predicted

The iPad mini (and other small tablets) have been selling very well. Steve Jobs prediction was wrong.

I seem to remember Steve Jobs discontinuing the iPod mini at its peak...

News flash: Steve isn't here anymore.

 

[Rogifan]

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/10/31/apples-jony-ive-says-smartwatch-was-design-challenge/

In a wide-ranging discussion, Ive said he’s proud of Apple because it creates great products, not because of its surging revenue or world-leading market valuation. Profits follow the products, he said.

Hey Jony, I think you need to have a chat with the bean counters. And maybe have a chat with Phil too. Rumors are he's big on upselling so I'll bet he was the one behind getting rid of the 32GB storage option. And keeping the original mini in order to upselling people to the mini 2 (for only $50 more) and using the mini 3 to upsell people to the Air 2. Perhaps it's time for Phil's early retirement.

 

[Neepman]

At this point there is NOTHING these boobs in control of apple could do that would surprise me.

 

[doug in albq]

I can't see this being true, although I think it's very obvious that significant resources were diverted to this upcoming iPad Pro or whatever it is. As much as Tim Cook wants to claim that the recent slowdown in sales for tablets is just a speed bump, I think the writing is on the wall. These intermediate devices won't survive unless they gain the functionality of, say, a Surface Pro 3. I think we WILL see such devices from Apple (and I actually think that's what the iPad Pro will be). But for now, Apple is simply not putting anymore resources into developing products for a stagnating market. The tablet market is being squeezed on one end by phablets, including Apple's own, and by very capable/cheap laptops on the other, some of which also take on tablet form factors.

In other words: Too many SKUs.

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Don't know why they would. You have a 15" MacBook Pro, and smaller models. I had an iPad mini and loved it. I didn't need a full-size iPad, and I could take it out much easier, and I was even using it as a phone with Skype IN/OUT and earphones. So killing it would be dumb, unless they are making a 7" iPhone 7.

See just above (too many SKUs).

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http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/10/31/apples-jony-ive-says-smartwatch-was-design-challenge/



Hey Jony, I think you need to have a chat with the bean counters. And maybe have a chat with Phil too. Rumors are he's big on upselling so I'll bet he was the one behind getting rid of the 32GB storage option. And keeping the original mini in order to upselling people to the mini 2 (for only $50 more) and using the mini 3 to upsell people to the Air 2. Perhaps it's time for Phil's early retirement.

Have you not seen, Jony seems to be too busy with Jony, these days.

 

[SoAnyway]

This kind of rumor would normally go on Page 2 of MacRumors.

 

[LFMNX]

Screen Size

Seems like a big part of this activity is finding the right screen sizes for consumers.

 

[Freyqq]

I think it was selling fine, it's just that the margins were lower. Now that it hasn't really been updated, it will sell worse, so then maybe they can justify removing it.

 

[samcraig]

Exactly and that's why that "less than visionary CEO" pushed out the most successful-selling iPhone to date. Something Steve would've never done.

On the flip side- it's doesn't take a genius to realize that by removing one of the larger barriers to switching to Android - bigger screens - after several years - sales would be outstanding.

Whether or not Steve would have made a larger phone - well that's anybody's guess since he's dead now.

 

[Yojimbo007]

Why? So the competiotion can fill that spot?

Never.. Bogus rumor!

 

[bluespark]

Nonsense. The iPad is a mature product, so multiple sizes for multiple purposes make sense. And we all know the mini is superior for certain purposes, such as reading books or holding while standing on the subway. I predict that we'll see fewer iterations of the mini next time around, but it will get a big update and isn't going anywhere.

 

[paulsdenton]

I really hope this isn't true. I get a lot of use out of my mini. iPhone 6 is too small for serious reading, iPad 4 is too big and bulky for lying down or reclining to read. But iPad mini is perfect- big enough so that pages are readable but small enough for ease of handling.

 

[truettray]

Just kill the iPad mini and make a 5.5 inch iPod touch!

 

[mrmarts]

This would be the nail to the coffin for me as I wanted to upgrade my Air for something smaller and lighter. However the iPad for me is already dead, with phablets being Apples next best thing. We already seen it with the iPhone 6 plus launch and its sales. There is not much sales in tablets anymore, unless Apple can reinvent the way we interact with tablets rather than making them bigger its already dead.

 

[MacPhilosopher]

Would not have believed it...

...before taking a pic for a friend with their iPhone 6 Giganticus. Its an iPhone - iPad mini hybrid. Though it is the full sized iPad that should be cut. Leave the mini for those that don't want phone features and make the largest iPad the Pro.

 

[Lazlow]

I'm absolutely in love with my iPad mini and there's no way in hell I would ever considering getting any iPad that's larger. Very easy to hold in one hand, very easy to type with 2 thumbs. Fits perfectly in the back pocket of any pair of medical scrubs I've ever worn, which is huge for anyone in healthcare.

 

[inscrewtable]

Just kill the iPad mini and make a 5.5 inch iPod touch!

I'd be happy with that.

 

[mdlooker]

I can't see how the new large iPad will sell more than the mini! That was going to be my next iPad for flights/traveling.

This is the biggest shock to me yet.

 

[greytmom]

Seriously? Ask people who own a 6+ if they want to buy an iPad, which one would they buy, Air or Mini? Only idiots would buy Mini when already owned a 6+.

I have a 6+ and a mini, and I am not an idiot.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Sounds like a typical three year relationship on its third year

This doesn't surprise me. It saddens me as I do love the iPad mini product and form factor apart from my love of the full-sized iPad. But it seems to make sense. Consider that the chronology was as follows:

2012 - Year 1: iPad mini unvielded at long last; has A5 Processor (from a year and a half ago), but all-new design! Ripe to compete with Kindle Fire and first generation Google Nexus 7.

2013 - Year 2: iPad mini now with retina display and A7 Processor making it 100% current on internals technology! Competing well with newer Kindle Fire models as well as the second generation Nexus 7. Popularity of phablets slowly rising.

2014 - Year 3: iPad mini updated nominally (rear camera design, TouchID, gold option, and AppleSIM on cellular models); retains A7 processor; nothing else to write home about. Competes with lower-end Kindle Fire tablets that even Amazon doesn't care about (compared to its larger offerings), still competes well with the second generation Nexus 7, which, itself was discontinued a day before the iPad mini 3 launch in favor of a Phablet (Nexus 6) and a full-sized tablet (Nexus 9).

It sort of sounds like a typical three year relationship. First year is amazing. Second year is great, but settled. Third year things are still going, but obviously the love and spark has faded away. This seems to be the case with the 7.0" to 8.4" Tablet market at large. LG had the G Pad 8.3, which was popular for a quick second and then was discontinued in favor of a larger tablet design. Hell, even Samsung's 7.0" to 8.4" tablets aren't even seen as popular in places like Best Buy compared to the 10.1 and 12.2 versions.

The mini-tablet, like the iPod, seems to be a dying breed of technology. Both are shames as both are great pieces of technology.

 

[SatoruGate]

You can choose to believe or not to believe this. In my case, I choose not to believe that Apple is going to discontinue the iPad Mini.

Can the iPhone 6 Plus replace the iPad Mini? I don't think so. iPhone 6 Plus costs like ￥99,800 while the iPad Mini is bigger and it costs only ￥78,800. Can the iPad Mini make a phone call? Whether it can or cannot, it doesn't matter. It doesn't have to because nowadays people use Skype and iMessage.

As for me, A7, A8, or even A8X doesn't even matter. iPad Mini was born to be "affordable" and guess what ￥64,800 or ￥78,800 is what most people considered "affordable"

 

[rtr1985]

October 2015

 

[whap]

Sad sales gimmick

iPad Mini is the only iPad I would have bought -- when the screen was fixed. Specced not to sell, and discontinued when not selling??

 

[Tycho24]

I think they spun it - especially given the recent JD Power satisfaction reports.

But hey - I'm not the type to simply believe something because the CEO of a company says something at their own keynote. I like to research on my own...

Doubtful.
Seeing as you did NOT do any research "on your own", rather spouted some nonsense & your opinion w/ a HUGE dash of conspiracy accusational overtones.
Had you actually the courage of your convictions to do so... & could operate both a web browser and a search engine as well as your pseudo sneering, snarky wannabe comebacks- you'd have found that (shocker!!!!!), Tim did NOT make up that number. The research was done by ChangeWave.