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iPad mini is kinda special in their own way. It is tablet that can carry anywhere without any bulk at all.

For me, I bought iPad mini since gen 1, skip 2 and 3 since there were no difference from gen 1, and bought gen 4 for better screen and processor. I held on with gen 4 until gen 6 came, picked up them since day 1 that arrived in my country and happy to use them.

If screen size is matter to you, pick up air 5 or gen 10. For performance and desktop replacement, pick up iPad Pro, Air 5 since it is compatible with keyboard folio case. iPad mini is for people who like to carry tablet with you all the time, like to read, and like the lightweight tablet.

From the history of iPad mini release, it should be 1-2 year more before Apple start to update iPad mini. The period that the longest update cycle is between iPad mini 4 and 5 - almost 4 years.
 
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Not that long to wait, Sept 2023 should be when iPad mini 7 ships. Likely be M2 based. Screen used same size, but possible use of a non-pro motion Samsung 120 hz screen is a question. S/b double storage aka 128 GB baseline. Likely no price change.
 
Ipad mini 6 + iphone mini 13 they are the perfect combination. Iphone mini on portrit is the same vertical size as the ipad mini on landscape … they go together very well. They actually look sexy together!

For the ipad I would only add a landscape front camera. Having a call with the camera on and trying to hold it is always cumbersome, as your hand comes on the screen.
 
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I have a mini 6 and coming from a 11" iPad Pro it's a bit disappointing. I mean, the iPad is all screen, and the mini is sub par in this regard. I thought it would be fine when I ordered mine (as I've never had any issues with previous 60hz iPads), but on the mini you really do notice the "Jelly Scrolling".

It's so close to being a great device, but it's one of those examples where Apples cost cutting went too far and resulted in a poor user experience.

I've always enjoyed all my Apple gear, but not the mini 6 I'm afraid.

Let's hope the new mini 7 will improve things!
 
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I’m pretty interested in a mini, but I’m only getting one when it has Face ID.
 
I have an iPad mini because I’ve always loved the concept, but the execution of the current gen is a pity.

It’s mainly the screen. First of all, the aspect ratio. When it was introduced, Apple bragged about how it maintained the same aspect ratio of the OG iPad, while the Nexus 7 and other Android tables were just big phones. Now they’re just following the same path. I think that’s also a big reason why the OS scaling feels so weird - from the keyboard, to the homescreen, multitasking…

Regarding jelly scrolling, it’s not mainly the lack of ProMotion (which would be really great), but the placement of the controller board combined with the elongated display. I think the iPad Mini is meant to be used mainly on portrait. Even if I don’t agree, I can see why they want to give larger iPads a more landscape-first design, but not for the Mini.

All that, combined with the use of cheap panels, results in a bad display. I always want to use mine, but I don’t enjoy it. It’s a strange feeling to experience this with an Apple product, but it feels cheap and you can grasp carelessness.
 
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Several months after happily purchasing an iPad mini 6 (with the Smart Folio, no less) in the winter of 2021, I actually decided to let it go last year.

On the plus side, the greater display size of the mini 6 was a bonus, as was the Apple Pencil 2 compatibility. I also did use it as a small external display for my Macbook Air or Pro from time to time.

On the minus side (for me), I really had troubles with actually being productive with it. Every time I wanted to to type a note or an e-mail, for instance, it felt like the virtual keyboard filled half the screen (which it actually might have), which was pointed out by @Shin-Ra. In retrospect, the difference in screen ratio (4.6:3 on the mini 6 vs. 4.3 on the mini 5) seemed to make a subtle but noticeable difference, as @Realityck hinted at. This got really frustrating, because all the content in the upper half of the screen (in landscape mode) scrolled around wildly when you tried to select things or move around in an e-mail, note or document, due to the limited screen space. I guess only I am to blame, because it really isn't meant for working on documents or doing anything that requires more than a modicum of screen space. It wasn't my main device for working by any means, but I thought it could be helpful on the go in a pinch. Sadly, I felt more frustrated by it than expected, when push came to shove.

The Touch ID on the mini 6 also didn't work as well for me as the one of the mini 5, perhaps due to it being a side button that usually necessitates being touched with either index finger rather than your thumb. My skin does tend to get dry in the winter anyway, so Touch ID on any device is an iffy proposition. It must work better for other people, I suppose. Likewise, the volume button orientation that changes when you switch between portrait and landscape in one of the four possible orientation also threw me for a loop rather often, although it wasn't a reason for letting go of the mini 6, just a personal peeve.

For me, I found that I just needed a device to do some journaling in Day One or writing in Ulysses using handwriting with the Apple Pencil, along with some other light use of Evernote, NotePlan and OmniFocus. I also missed not having an Apple-designed external keyboard that could be docked with the unit (as mentioned by @VampyricGentleman ) as with its larger siblings, such as the iPad Air. The mini 6 was more limited than I expected in all the above respects, I felt.

In the end, I ended up purchasing an Apple-refurbished mini 5, and that has been great for my needs so far. I wonder if Apple is going to stick with the current form factor of the mini 6, if and when they release the mini 7.
I also chose a 5 for the form factor and color, in addition to the lower cost for the same Sidecar and Pencil.

The 4 and 5 are bizarre Minis: they are taller and thinner than the first 3, with smaller batteries it is a larger footprint, with the Home button not centered. They should have kept size 3, albeit with a larger weight, but more capacious batteries. The 6 has a form factor suitable for watching videos, inconvenient for the rest, in addition to the known screen problems. The battery is identical to 5. In short, there is a lot of room for improvement, but Apple does not usually do so, it prefers important compromises for customers to “keep” the price, even if it then increases anyway.
 
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FaceID so that the mini is not orphaned with the weird power button touch id, weird in the sense of unlocking differently than all my other i devices.
Only if there's no notch.

I'm fine with a notch on a phone, but an iPad where you regularly use it in other orientations where the notch is on the side or bottom, would be an unacceptable downgrade from TouchID.
 
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I actually find Face ID more of a pain than touch ID. For the mini its better then hold the iPad close to your face versus a iPhone. Such things as wearing hats, glasses, mask make it annoying. Other then that they could always give us a OLED screen too.

Yep, after using a Samsung device for a while I have grown rather attached to the power button fingerprint, it's faster than Face ID and works in all conditions. Personally I'd rather see more Apple devices, like iPhones in particular, get power button FP sensors, face ID is a good fallback if I'm wearing gloves (although a PIN backup handily solves that).
 
OK I'm ready to spoil this thread with arguments, my wish for an iPad mini 7 would be for a folding screen. Commence the bickering!!
 
Ah, yes I forgot about that. Yeah.... time to switch to FaceID.
The Mini 6 is a great device, and Touch ID is one of the best things its having (wish iPhones had the same…)! The only thing its missing is more RAM, 8GB would be perfect.
Except that, would be nice having base model with 128GB storage and bring back the headphone jack.
 
I just want a magic keyboard for the mini 6. size this, size that, I don't care. I do not like typing on the screen. There are horrible cheap keyboards that are sized correctly, so no reason Apple cannot do it.
 
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Really tempted to get a Mini recently, biggest things putting me off is the next one could be soon within the next 12 months, I'd prefer Face ID, and the biggest issue is storage, 64GB is too little, but then jumping up to the 256GB the price is then too much for what I'd personally want from a mini tablet to be
 
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