I’d certainly consider getting one to replace my 12.9 iPad Pro if it had an M1 chip. I regularly use my iPad with an external screen, so it would be nice to have a smaller iPad to carry around with me.
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When Will Apple Launch the iPad Mini 7?
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It's really hard to go back to 60Hz once you've used 120Hz for a while, but what's stopping Apple from using 90Hz screens? It would make iPad screens nicer to use, but still leave 120Hz as a 'Pro' feature.
I hope this next release - a minor spec bump - won't be another iPad Mini 3. What a hornswoggle that was; just a fingerprint reader. Then it was no longer updateable long before the Mini 4. My point is, of course there will be a 7, an 8, and a 9, etc. But let's make them real step-ups, not just some minor tweaks to keep the cash flow flowing in.
Apple launched the sixth-generation iPad mini in September 2021, bringing the first major redesign to the device in its entire history – but when is the seventh-generation model expected to launch?
While Apple updated the iPad mini annually from 2012 to 2016, updates thereafter became more infrequent, with just one minor refresh in March 2019 before 2021's redesign. As a device that now seems to stick around for longer in between updates, a hardware refresh in 2023 is not certain, but the seventh-generation iPad mini is the iPad model that is most actively rumored to potentially launch this year.
There have been few concrete rumors about the new iPad mini as yet, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said that an update this year with a minor "spec bump" is not out of the question. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the seventh-generation iPad will begin mass shipments towards the end of 2023 or in the first half of 2024 – so while a launch this year is possible, early 2024 seems most likely.
The iPad mini currently contains Apple's A15 Bionic chip. While it is slightly downclocked, the A15 Bionic puts the iPad mini on a level footing with the iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, third-generation iPhone SE, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and third-generation Apple TV 4K. These six devices with the A15 chip are expected to remain on sale throughout 2023, meaning that the chip is likely to remain quite prevalent across Apple's product lineups.
As a result, the current iPad mini will contain relatively modern chip hardware throughout the entirety of this year. With features like second-generation Apple Pencil support and Center Stage, there is no pressing need to update the device this year and it is not clear what a new model could offer other than a newer chip like the A16 Bionic and more advanced camera hardware.
2023 appears to be shaping up to be a quiet year for iPad hardware refreshes, and while it is possible we could see some new models, the current picture suggests that new iPads this year are unlikely on the whole. 2024, on the other hand, looks like it will be a much more significant year for the iPad lineup.
Article Link: When Will Apple Launch the iPad Mini 7?
Giving it 6GB of RAM would be a good step if they’re not going to go full M1.
Wow. I just witnessed the evil side of Peter Pan. He hates birthdays. 🤣
I don’t want them to add anything, otherwise it’ll end up being even more expensive! It’s overpriced as it is.
i love my ipad mini 6. I used to have a 12.9” ipad pro (2018) which i used at work for several years, and it was incredible for what i needed it for, but once i stopped needing it for work i rarely picked it up. it was just too big for casual everyday use, and that’s what my needs became so i switched to the mini!
the only thing i hate about it is touch ID, i wish they would give it face ID, but aside from that it’s a great, portable, convenient, easy to grab device. and the chip is no slouch either, i use it to play games (genshin impact for example) extremely often, with zero issues.
also i’m generally opposed to apple being forced to open up their ecosystem…. but if they were forced to allow sideloading, the ipad mini would be an amazing emulator device!
the only thing i hate about it is touch ID, i wish they would give it face ID, but aside from that it’s a great, portable, convenient, easy to grab device. and the chip is no slouch either, i use it to play games (genshin impact for example) extremely often, with zero issues.
also i’m generally opposed to apple being forced to open up their ecosystem…. but if they were forced to allow sideloading, the ipad mini would be an amazing emulator device!
Give it a keyboard case. Remove the Jelly scroll issue I’ve not updated to the 6 from the 5 because I love my Brydge keyboard, switch it to Face ID and that will do me very nicely
I purchased a Mini 6 and loved the size. It was great to have it along with the 12.9” pro. But the lack of RAM made it really unusable so I returned it. I would absolutely buy a Mini 7 if it got a bump in RAM. It desperately needs it.
I tried to love the 6, but without a home button, the screen would turn on constantly while carrying it and it’d pick up any hand-contact as random taps, calling people on Skype, replacing all my text in a document, just spewing gibberish. Even in my bag, time I’d look over I’d see the screen glow, burning up battery. At least as annoying, without any visible buttons there was no visual cue as to which way was up, so I’d grab it in a pinch and always be spinning it around looking to find the port, since there’s also no 3.5mm audio to plug it into anything. The pencil would attach to the sides, but is so big I’d have to take the silicone back cover off it to actually use it. It came with iOS15 and the three dots were perfectly in the way to be accidentally activated, so every time I’d look at the thing the display would be doing crazy random stuff. I’ve used a mini as a phone since it came out, so that’s all day every day. The 6 was the first one that was such a jumble of user-hostile features I had to return it & I stocked up on Mini 5’s instead.
Apple’s still in cost-cutting hatchet mode, so there’s no way they’ll add features back in, but it’d take putting a home button & 3.5mm plug back in, &/or actually optimizing iOS for the mini to get me back on board with a new iOS device.
Apple’s still in cost-cutting hatchet mode, so there’s no way they’ll add features back in, but it’d take putting a home button & 3.5mm plug back in, &/or actually optimizing iOS for the mini to get me back on board with a new iOS device.
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Funny its the closest to Alan Kay's knowledge navigator you copy. Just needs a better OS then the current IPadOS.
Ah I forgot: Face ID everywhere, non-front Touch ID is really frustrating.
I am always happy to read similar comments: when I am in doubt that a prepared humanity can lead to a shortage of unskilled labour and the disappearance of dictators, I find refreshment in knowing that it will only happen with extinction.
I've been eyeing a Mini for a while as a commute and travel companion to read the news or a book on the train and watch movies/shows on a flight. Probably also the occasional FaceTime with the family or just look something up online.
The Mini is the ideal size to slip into a bag without taking up too much space in addition to my work computer, but 64GB is not enough if you really want to future-proof this thing and bring a few movies or shows on a longer trip. It's base price is already too much, once you add storage it's just ridiculous.
The Mini is the ideal size to slip into a bag without taking up too much space in addition to my work computer, but 64GB is not enough if you really want to future-proof this thing and bring a few movies or shows on a longer trip. It's base price is already too much, once you add storage it's just ridiculous.
My OS is ahead of its time! Granted my time isn’t 2023, but still… Ahead!!Funny its the closest to Alan Kay's knowledge navigator you copy. Just needs a better OS then the current IPadOS.
I prefer cellular + gps everywhere: the mini with cellular allows me to leave the iPhone at home and works better than CarPlay in the car.
The Touch ID in the power button is much easier to use and works consistently from every angle, whether you are wearing accessories, whether something is blocking your face, etc. I greatly prefer it. It lets me unlock and authenticate all in one step and it recognizes me 3x faster than Face ID.
It’s the biggest reason I love the iPad mini 6 and I would not upgrade if it went away.
- @4x 120Hz OLED (I’m dreaming)
- Taptic Engine
- Larger vertical display area (in landscape) so the onscreen keyboard doesn’t take up 3/5 of the display
- MagSafe charging
- Front FaceTime UHD camera and FaceID positioned for landscape use
- Better ambient light sensor placement, or more of them so they’re not accidentally covered by hands
- Better ‘palm’ rejection, occasionally I hold the top left corner of the display which springs the current app to the top
- More speakers and microphones, or better placement, again just holding the device in landscape covers some of them
- A17 SoC with 8GB RAM (hopefully A17 is a bigger upgrade than A16) not too bothered about windowed multitasking but enough to bridge the inevitable long gap to the next hardware refresh
To get the best (non-headphone) audio from my mini, I ‘cup’ the speakers with my palms to redirect the audio from the sides towards my ears.
Preferably they’d use acoustic surface audio (vibrating display surface) like Sony OLED TV’s so the audio fires directly forward by default.
Preferably they’d use acoustic surface audio (vibrating display surface) like Sony OLED TV’s so the audio fires directly forward by default.
I’ll probably not be interested in an iPad mini 7 unless they switch back to the old aspect ratio (and fix the jelly scrolling, of course). The 6 is just too narrow.
I’m also partial to the Touch ID home button, specifically on the iPad mini, because it allows picking it up one-handed while also directly unlocking it.
Lastly, I wasn’t fond about the changed location and orientation-dependence of the volume buttons on the 6.
I tried to upgrade from the 4 to the 6, but it was a downgrade in too many aspects, so I upgraded to a 5 instead while they were still available.
I’m also partial to the Touch ID home button, specifically on the iPad mini, because it allows picking it up one-handed while also directly unlocking it.
Lastly, I wasn’t fond about the changed location and orientation-dependence of the volume buttons on the 6.
I tried to upgrade from the 4 to the 6, but it was a downgrade in too many aspects, so I upgraded to a 5 instead while they were still available.