What to Expect From Apple's 2024 iPad Mini 7

[polyphenol]

I have an iPhone 15 Pro Max - which is OK for use out and about. But where it really fails is trying to use it outdoors on bright days.

That experience means I will avoid a mini because, in reality, it won't actually be much nicer to use than my phone. I tend to choose to go out on nice bright days! Stop for coffee or lunch, check my phone. And give up because it is so unenjoyable - I do what is essential then stop.

A mini which has a screen which works in bright light might persuade me. I realise the technical difficulties of doing that! My imagination has seen a double-sided device with digital paper on one side and a conventional screen on the other. Or them finally achieving success with a transflective screen. But, until they do, I'll stick with just my phone. (My 11" iPad is just too big and heavy to want to use in this role.) Not worth getting a mini for the limited use I'd make of it without it having a super full sun viewable screen.

 

[DaniTheFox]

I hope for at least a A17 Pro. What do you think. How posible is a M2/M3?

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Your mileage may vary, but all I really need is a cheaper price and more base storage. I don't know what other consumers would use their Mini for, but for me it's not a productivity device.

The Mini would be an excellent companion for commuting and business trips for reading, watching shows and movies, FaceTiming my wife and still being compact enough to not be in the way.

It's just too expensive for that and 64GB is ridiculous for a new device in 2024.

The mini is the most productivity boosting electronic device I’ve ever owned, and the most productive device apple makes by a million miles. If all you want to do is watch movies it’ll do that too, but you can get any cheap old phone or tablet since 2003 to do that. The ability to run Skype on your mini with a dedicated phone number means that the mini becomes the phone with the largest display that still fits in a jacket or large rear pants pocket. And when the mini goes with you everywhere, so does your ability to draw, diagram & annotate sketches and notes, whip out spreadsheets whenever a complex thought occurs, review and redline in collaboration sessions and all the rest of it. Which you can do any time your mind wanders to ideas too large to fiddle with on a phone. All the moments you’re stuck waiting for people, instead of grabbing your phone and it being too small to do anything more than entertainment, you’re grabbing this big creative work surface instead.

I see the word “would” in your opinion. You might find that how you use a mini turns out to be very different than the way you imagine it before owning one.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

Please Silver not starlight!

I love the starlight devices! Reminds me of the champagne-colored cars that my mother favored.

 

[JoshuaBru]

OLED would make it $699 and kill it.

Which sucks because with an always on display the mini would be amazing to dock as a bedside clock/calendar when you’re done using it and go to bed

 

[phrehdd]

I'm looking forward to a new Mini contender to serve a few functions - graphic tablet for my Mac, reader, remote for entertainment center etc. M chip welcomed when it happens.

 

[AppliedMicro]

What do you think. How posible is a M2/M3

Sadly low - though I would love one and have the external display support the M-Series chips provide. But there are power constraints to what you can put into the mini‘s form factor while keeping the battery runtime Apple is aiming for.

From what we‘ve read about it and seen as as the new iPad Pros, the M4 would seem better bet (more possible candidate) technologically, due to its increased power efficiency.

But given how the (more expensive) iPad Air only features an M2, that is wishful thinking. Especially from a perspective of product differentiation: Apple isn't going to make the iPad mini more expensive than the larger Air and/or give it the same CPU as its Pros.

 

[sublunar]

Sadly low - though I would love one and have the external display support the M-Series chips provide. But there are power constraints to what you can put into the mini‘s form factor while keeping the battery runtime Apple is aiming for.

Given what we‘ve read about it and seen as as the new iPad Pros, the M4 would seem better bet (more possible candidate) technologically, due to its increased power efficiency.

But given how the (more expensive) iPad Air is only on the M2, that wishful thinking product differentiation perspective.

It will probably be the A18, the A15 in the mini 6 is reportedly down-clocked from the equivalent iPhone. If this helps it meet battery life requirements then the cpu has to be from the A series and although a process reduced A18 might be suitable at full speed it wouldn’t surprise me if Apple still used a binned chip.

 

[mlayer]

As long as the iPad mini aligns with the phone super-cycle in terms of A-series CPU upgrades, this should be the year for a mini 7. mini 5 used an A12 and mini 6 used an A15, both chips that were used across multiple product lines. All of the talk of a M-series chip going into the mini is pure wish fulfillment. The mini's screen res is 2266×1488, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max is 2796 × 1290, barely a difference in the total number of pixels. Any increase for either line will be minimal without a wholesale redesign. Apple tends to use the same body design for 2-3 cycles depending on how it sells. I bought the mini 2, 5, and 6, all purchases governed by the combination of the chip and the form factor.

If Apple releases the fabled iPad mini Pro, that changes the ballgame. But that's a niche of a niche of a niche, and the bean counters of Apple are either okay with that for a release or they're going to think it's not worth the effort. Personally, I'd rather keep the mini cheap. That's why I waited to buy the mini 6 until several months after release when it started to see $100 discounts.

 

[sublunar]

As long as the iPad mini aligns with the phone super-cycle in terms of A-series CPU upgrades, this should be the year for a mini 7. mini 5 used an A12 and mini 6 used an A15, both chips that were used across multiple product lines. All of the talk of a M-series chip going into the mini is pure wish fulfillment. The mini's screen res is 2266×1488, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 2796 × 1290, barely a difference in the total number of pixels. Any increase for either line will be minimal without a wholesale redesign. Apple tends to use the same body design for 2-3 cycles depending on how it sells. I bought the mini 2, 5, and 6, all purchases governed by the combination of the chip and the form factor.

If Apple releases the fabled iPad mini Pro, that changes the ballgame. But that's a niche of a niche of a niche, and the bean counters of Apple are either okay with that for a release or they're going to think it's not worth the effort. Personally, I'd rather keep the mini cheap. That's why I waited to buy the mini 6 until several months after release when it started to see $100 discounts.

I can't see how Apple fits an M4 into something the size of an iPad mini though. And would people go for a range topping 'Pro' product with an A18?

Might be better for Apple to - say - go with a 9" screen (but obviously without massive bezels, but with the same aspect ratio as the 11" Pro) if they can keep the bulk down. That way they avoid calling it mini and just expand the range to include 9", 11", and 13" models and use a binned M4.

 

[mlayer]

A 9" iPad mini (Pro) with a M4 chip? Compare that to the existing iPad Air which as an 11" screen and a M2. Will that also go M2 or M3, or is the M4 only a Pro-level chip regardless of size? We've already seen problems with the M4 being overpowered and underutilized compared to the software that can run on it. This is too much confusion, simplify the SKUs if only for customers' sakes.

 

[Mario6]

So no Face ID and no 120hz screen. What is even the upgrade from the Mini 6? I mean, history shows Apple likes to put out very minimal updates, but it's 2024, and they're selling a $500 device with a crappy screen. I'm not even asking for OLED, just a good, fast, accurate display. And Face ID, so I'm not fumbling around trying to get to the fingerprint sensor when I have a case on, which is always.

 

[mlayer]

I assume the mini 7 will have 8 GB RAM to support Apple Intelligence, the A18, and perhaps slightly better cameras. I'm fine with the mini 6 not having FaceID, touchID works fine for me with or without a case. The LCD could be brighter in direct sunlight, sure. How often am I in a situation that calls for that? <5% of the time. I rarely see the jelly-scrolling effect and I'm not clamoring for 120 Hz even though it's on my iPhone. How much extra would Apple charge for those features? I'm not willing to pay more than an extra $50 for them, and like the mini 6 I'll wait for seasonal discounts to trigger a purchase.

 

[sublunar]

A 9" iPad mini (Pro) with a M4 chip? Compare that to the existing iPad Air which as an 11" screen and a M2. Will that also go M2 or M3, or is the M4 only a Pro-level chip regardless of size? We've already seen problems with the M4 being overpowered and underutilized compared to the software that can run on it. This is too much confusion, simplify the SKUs if only for customers' sakes.

Well, the iPad Pro 11 series (11:7) has a different (taller?) aspect ratio to the iPad mini (which is 3:2) and yes it potentially adds to the range fragmentation which is why Apple have not shown signs of creating one. A 9” iPad Pro is more likely to follow the aspect ratio of the pro series than the mini and it wouldn’t be saddled with a ‘mini’ name. It’d just be a smaller (pocketable?) pro.

 

[Boil]

9" iPad Pro (M4/ProMotion/12GB RAM/1TB SSD/Cellular/Apple Pencil Pro), please; and add the Phone & Watch apps to the software load-out, thanks...

 

[Eric_WVGG]

add the Phone & Watch apps to the software load-out, thanks...

We would've heard about that back in WWDC, it's be in the developer betas today. I agree with the sentiment, though.

 

[Moukee]

I hope for at least a A17 Pro. What do you think. How posible is a M2/M3?

Unlikely because the A17 Pro is on TSMC's N3B that Apple is seemingly transitioning away from. The A18 seems to be similar to the A17 Pro, just ported to N3E, so I think that'll be much more likely.

 

[DaniTheFox]

Unlikely because the A17 Pro is on TSMC's N3B that Apple is seemingly transitioning away from. The A18 seems to be similar to the A17 Pro, just ported to N3E, so I think that'll be much more likely.

I was not expecting a Pro and a Non-Pro version of the A18. Therefore, the Non-Pro version is a suitable candidate.