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iPad mini Why is the Mini 3 is so disappointingly similar to the Mini 2?

V

vantt1

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 8, 2014
68
2
It seems strange that the upgrade from the Mini 2 to the Mini 3 was such as small upgrade. Same A7 chipset, exactly the same dimensions and weight; the only difference is the Touch ID, the added Champagne Gold color option and a slight cosmetic modification to the camera lens. Conversely, the iPad Air 2 made some bigger changes, most notably the fully laminated display and the removal of the sound/orientation switch.

Since it was released at the same time as the Air 2, it only seems logical that Apple would at least throw in a newer chipset, laminate the display (thereby allowing more room for a bigger battery to sustain the more powerful chipset), but they didn't. This upgrade was even smaller than the jump from the iPhone 5 to the 5S, which did include an upgraded chipset, larger battery and a dual LED camera flash.

Apple's upgrades have always been pretty incremental, but this seems a bit too incremental. Thoughts?
 
The fact is that when the iPad Mini w/retina was introduced along with the Air, both devices had really similar specs. That's not good for Apple when their top of the line iPad has little difference to a cheaper model.

I believe this is why we are seeing the Mini 2/3 with lower specs and features than the Air 2. It will probably be that way for the foreseeable future. It's like the Mac Mini vs the Mac Pro.
 
At complete guess, I wouldn't be surprised if the first rMini being near as makes no difference the same spec as the Air it was released alongside meant it stole sales from the full size iPad.

I didn't buy the first Mini because it was older tech repackaged but I bought the rMini because it could compete with the Air.

The iPad Mini will sell by the bucketload either way but if they keep it one step behind now, those in the know will go for the full size and those that buy the Mini anyway won't care. Apple don't have to invest as much in the Mini then.

That's my thinking anyway. That said Apple may surprise us. Will they ditch the Mini? Will they suddenly do same as full size spec? Who knows :)
 
Apple killed ipad mini - if they wanted to differentiate air2 and mini 3, they could have given ipad mini a8 CPU, still much weaker than a8x but at least some upgrade... adding just touch id and new colour is so Samsung:(
 
vantt1 said:
This upgrade was even smaller than the jump from the iPhone 5 to the 5S, which did include an upgraded chipset, larger battery and a dual LED camera flash.

Apple's upgrades have always been pretty incremental, but this seems a bit too incremental. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Well you have to remember with the iPhone line, the odd numbered years (2009, 2011, 2013) have brought the "incremental" updates. Really though, if you look back the even numbered years (2010, 2012, 2014) really only brought a new casing. Sure it had better specs but the real speed bump came with the S models. The 3GS had faster CPU and 2x the RAM. 4S had a dual core CPU and 8MP camera. 5s brought a 64-bit CPU, ARMv8, and Touch ID to the market. The 6/6 Plus may have a bigger screen and new case, but benchmark similar to the 5s.

I have to agree though that this is a very small upgrade. Reminds me of the iPhone 3G. The 3G was the original iPhone (same CPU and everything) inside a plastic case with a 3G radio. The mini is the same as last years with Touch ID.
 
Apple may have wanted to step back and create a little room for their new iPhone Plus series which slotted right in between the new 5" iPhone and the iPad Mini. I suspect Apple makes more money on each iPhone sold versus an iPad sold, so they want to make sure there is nothing cheap in the same vicinity as their main money maker.
 
mtneer said:
Apple may have wanted to step back and create a little room for their new iPhone Plus series which slotted right in between the new 5" iPhone and the iPad Mini. I suspect Apple makes more money on each iPhone sold versus an iPad sold, so they want to make sure there is nothing cheap in the same vicinity as their main money maker.
Click to expand...

Apple cannibalize Ipads with their larger iPhones. IPad sales are down 40%, saw that stat on the news.
 
mtneer said:
Apple may have wanted to step back and create a little room for their new iPhone Plus series which slotted right in between the new 5" iPhone and the iPad Mini. I suspect Apple makes more money on each iPhone sold versus an iPad sold, so they want to make sure there is nothing cheap in the same vicinity as their main money maker.
Click to expand...

People may think that but a 5.5 inch screen is no way as comfortable as a 7.9 inch. I have both. It's a pretty big difference. My Note is nice enough for commuting but that's it. In bed the Mini is king :p, much better than a 9.7 incher:D
 
NorthSeaBeach said:
People may think that but a 5.5 inch screen is no way as comfortable as a 7.9 inch. I have both. It's a pretty big difference. My Note is nice enough for commuting but that's it. In bed the Mini is king :p, much better than a 9.7 incher:D
Click to expand...

Good for you! But stepping away from the MR zone of affluence, not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford multiple iDevices to fill every little niche use case. Most people have to rationalize their spending and choose an ideal that works within their budgets.
 
NorthSeaBeach said:
In bed the Mini is king :p, much better than a 9.7 incher:D
Click to expand...
C'mon NorthSeaBeach, this is a family-oriented forum! Take that sort of talk somewhere else :p

Yes, it's disappointing that the iPad Mini 3 didn't upgrade the internals. Nobody really knows why. Was the Mini really eating into sales of the iPad Air? Sales figures seemed to debunk that, but we'll never really know. Was there too much stock of unused A7 chipsets lying around? Too few A8 chipsets to spare? Too little manpower for making more of a modification? We'll probably never know. We'll get a better idea of what Apple might have been thinking next autumn, when we see how changed (or unchanged) the Mini is at its next update cycle.
 
I'm not playing Apples game this year. Sold my iPad Air in September and just keeping my one year old 128GB Retina Mini.

I bought a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 last Sunday to use as a bigger more capable iPad.
 
JackieInCo said:
I'm not playing Apples game this year. Sold my iPad Air in September and just keeping my one year old 128GB Retina Mini.

I bought a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 last Sunday to use as a bigger more capable iPad.
Click to expand...

Waiting on lower prices for the SP3. Unless I find some money laying around somewhere. :)
 
vantt1 said:
It seems strange that the upgrade from the Mini 2 to the Mini 3 was such as small upgrade. Same A7 chipset, exactly the same dimensions and weight; the only difference is the Touch ID, the added Champagne Gold color option and a slight cosmetic modification to the camera lens. Conversely, the iPad Air 2 made some bigger changes, most notably the fully laminated display and the removal of the sound/orientation switch.

Since it was released at the same time as the Air 2, it only seems logical that Apple would at least throw in a newer chipset, laminate the display (thereby allowing more room for a bigger battery to sustain the more powerful chipset), but they didn't. This upgrade was even smaller than the jump from the iPhone 5 to the 5S, which did include an upgraded chipset, larger battery and a dual LED camera flash.

Apple's upgrades have always been pretty incremental, but this seems a bit too incremental. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Be happy there was any upgrade at all. The mini is heading down the same path as the Touch 5 towards obscurity .

mtneer said:
Apple may have wanted to step back and create a little room for their new iPhone Plus series which slotted right in between the new 5" iPhone and the iPad Mini. I suspect Apple makes more money on each iPhone sold versus an iPad sold, so they want to make sure there is nothing cheap in the same vicinity as their main money maker.
Click to expand...

Yep, same reason they are killing off the Touch :(.
 
it's all good, vote with your wallet.

Like I did this year, first time ever skipping an Apple iDevice upgrade.

Will do the same next year and so on if Apple keeps this up, they ain't getting my money.
 
Not very happy about the choice, but I think the mini 3 is a good upgrade for the original iPad mini.
 
Poochi said:
it's all good, vote with your wallet.
Click to expand...
From what I've seen, people are voting with their wallets. People are not rushing out buying iPads like they are iPhones. I think if you own a Mini 2, there's absolutely no reason to upgrade.

Add on the fact that the iPhone 6 plus must be impacting sales as well. I'm using my rMini less and less, because the IP6+ is handling the tasks I would have used the tablet for.
 
Well reading the latest news, there might be a new update for the mini around May (alongside the ipad 'pro')

A new update so fast behind this update suggest they focused all resources on the ipad air 2 and then started on the mini.

From a sales perspective this puts focus on the ipad air 2 and the iphone 6+.

So it kinda makes sense.

I'm holding off any new ipad purchase until then :)
 
My personal guess is that they couldn't source enough A8 chips and the ipad mini was the odd one out.
 
mr.bee said:
Well reading the latest news, there might be a new update for the mini around May (alongside the ipad 'pro')

A new update so fast behind this update suggest they focused all resources on the ipad air 2 and then started on the mini.

From a sales perspective this puts focus on the ipad air 2 and the iphone 6+.

So it kinda makes sense.

I'm holding off any new ipad purchase until then :)
Click to expand...

forget it, there will upgrade in october/november
 
Max(IT) said:
Not very happy about the choice, but I think the mini 3 is a good upgrade for the original iPad mini.
Click to expand...

If you cashed in on the bestbuy $325 deal the mini was a good buy. Otherwise the mini 2 for $100 cheaper is a better buy.
 
My opinion is that they are looking at killing the mini line all together when they release the new ipad pro. The iPhone 6 plus is now a profitable in between the larger ipad air now and I will wager that they plan to phase it out in the future. Face it they totally ignored any substantial upgrade to the mini and added a new colour and touch id. It feels almost like what they did with Apple TV.
 
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