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iPad mini Wouldn't it be great if it could lay flat?

mazzeri

mazzeri

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 18, 2014
68
31
Looking through the newly-posted iPad Mini 6 unboxing/preview videos, it seems only one ('SuperSaf') runs through using it while laying flat without a cover. Engadget actually shows the older model in use laying flat at the beginning of their vid, but not the new one.

Look how beautiful it lays on its front, compared to on its back. The angle/twist is even apparent from a distance.

mini04.jpg
mini01.jpg

mini03.jpg

mini02.jpg
 
I have the same thing on my 11" iPad Pro (has a camera bump so it does not lie flat), which I use without a cover, and for some reason it is just not an issue - it does not rock.

My Iphone 11 Pro Max, which has a similar camera bump, rocks a lot on a flat surface without a case - really annoying. So I always use a silicone case with the iPhone (and for protection and grip).

I don't exactly know why the difference, something to do with the proportions.
Hopefully the iPad Mini is similar to the 11" iPad Pro, and is not really an issue. Also, most of the time you actually use these in the hand, not on a table.

I also use the camera bump as a tactile thing - tells me at which corner the buttons are.
 
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Yes I would really appreciate a totally flat device just like the old iPads. I’m guessing that’s in the books for the next redesign one day a few years out.
 
Whether it rocks or not is exactly the sort of info all these reviewers should be passing on instead of pretending it's not there and showing the iPad being used in every possible position *except* flat.

I'm a bit conflicted as I like to use my older iPad flat exactly as per the Engadget image, but this new Mini is also the first iPad where I would want to use it with the camera as well which appears to be better than most previous iPhone cameras...

In any larger iPad though where the camera gets minimal usage, maybe the camera bump should be some sort of optional extra like a DSLR where your choice of lens can be screwed on when/if needed.
 
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Just make it thicker and add some battery.

Maybe they just want you to buy expensive cases.
 
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mazzeri said:
Whether it rocks or not is exactly the sort of info all these reviewers should be passing on instead of pretending it's not there and showing the iPad being used in every possible position *except* flat.

I'm a bit conflicted as I like to use my older iPad flat exactly as per the Engadget image, but this new Mini is also the first iPad where I would want to use it with the camera as well which appears to be better than most previous iPhone cameras...

In any larger iPad though where the camera gets minimal usage, maybe the camera bump should be some sort of optional extra like a DSLR where your choice of lens can be screwed on when/if needed.
Click to expand...
This is only going to be a problem for those who use their Mini 6 without a folio case. The camera bump is the reason why Apple discontinued smartcovers. They expect customers to buy a folio case (which will make the camera bump flush with the outer part of the case.
 
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To say again: at least with my 11" iPP, rocking due to the camera bump turns out to not be a problem.
It is more an OCD aesthetic issue, if anything.
 
wilberforce said:
To say again: at least with my 11" iPP, rocking due to the camera bump turns out to not be a problem.
It is more an OCD aesthetic issue, if anything.
Click to expand...

That’s great to hear. My 12.9 flexes like crazy when put on the table and my iPhone 12 PM rocks around a lot due to the bump.
 
We're drawing close to the point in the discussion when someone will say that the camera bump is preferable....

wilberforce said:
I also use the camera bump as a tactile thing - tells me at which corner the buttons are.
Click to expand...
...oops, we're already there. ;)

It's possible to take the position that the camera bump is NOT a good thing and still be fan of the Mini 6. I'm not a fan of the Air-style of the Mini 6, but if I was, it would be terrific as-is.
 
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JohnnyQuest said:
Wow is really the stuff that keeps y'all up at night? 😅
Click to expand...
Depends if you spend a lot of money on a high-end design product to use it as a graphic tablet with the pencil for drawing or editing and don't need or want a cover on it. Can you imagine Wacom releasing a brand new beautifully designed USD$800 Intuos tablet and it sits on the table like this? And you get told you have to buy an unnecessary optional coverjust to use as a defacto 'beer-coaster under a table leg' to make it not wobble? It would be the *FIRST* thing every p/reviewer would be addressing.

mini03.jpg


I understand the camera bump is a design compromise which has to be offset by using the cover if you want to also use the Apple Pencil on a thin/light tablet. There's no two ways about it. We can't have both at this point in time with current lens optics limitations. Doesn't mean I don't find a wobbly table annoying. I'm only human. But I don't ever want a cover on it, so like the table leg I'll have to use some thing under it to stabilize it.

Just a piece of cardboard from the back of a sketchbook cut to shape with one corner lopped off to accomodate the camera bump should do it. 👍
 
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mazzeri said:
Depends if you spend a lot of money on a high-end design product to use it as a graphic tablet with the pencil for drawing or editing and don't need or want a cover on it. Can you imagine Wacom releasing a brand new beautifully designed USD$800 Intuos tablet and it sits on the table like this? And you get told you have to buy an unnecessary optional coverjust to use as a defacto 'beer-coaster under a table leg' to make it not wobble? It would be the *FIRST* thing every p/reviewer would be addressing.

View attachment 1843237

I understand the camera bump is a design compromise which has to be offset by using the cover if you want to also use the Apple Pencil on a thin/light tablet. There's no two ways about it. We can't have both at this point in time with current lens optics limitations. Doesn't mean I don't find a wobbly table annoying. I'm only human. But I don't ever want a cover on it, so like the table leg I'll have to use some thing under it to stabilize it.

Just a piece of cardboard from the back of a sketchbook cut to shape with one corner lopped off to accomodate the camera bump should do it.
Click to expand...

My uses don’t include yours so I’ve never had this issue. But given your goals I would look for transparent stick on dots and apply 3 of matching thickness or 4 of slightly more thickness. Some are soft enough to add grip, also keeping the pad from sliding around while drawing etc.
 
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It's strange, but these seem like they are designed to be used with a case. Same with the phone. Not lying flush is a serious design limitation. A case solves this.
 
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Macalway said:
It's strange, but these seem like they are designed to be used with a case. Same with the phone. Not lying flush is a serious design limitation. A case solves this.
Click to expand...

Samsung and Google phones and Samsung tablets also have camera bulges of one kind or another. The alternative - if there is to be a camera - is an altogether fatter device that a lot of people would also dislike.
 
Macalway said:
It's strange, but these seem like they are designed to be used with a case. Same with the phone. Not lying flush is a serious design limitation. A case solves this.
Click to expand...

Great opportunity to extract the maximum amount of money from the accessories market, coincidentally.
 
Macalway said:
It's strange, but these seem like they are designed to be used with a case. Same with the phone. Not lying flush is a serious design limitation. A case solves this.
Click to expand...
Apple actually promotes it being used with the Pencil without a case. Only viewed directly from above though...

ipad 1.jpg
ipad 2.jpg
 
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ericwn said:
So now we add a case in order to be able to put it down flat and write without wobble. Gone is the weight saving.
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If I’m using it flat on a table, I don’t care about the weight. If I care about the weight, like when I’m reading in bed, then I’ll use it without the folio. Having said that, I don’t care about the back-camera on iPads and I would prefer it be just flat with a lesser camera.
 
sparksd said:
Samsung and Google phones and Samsung tablets also have camera bulges of one kind or another. The alternative - if there is to be a camera - is an altogether fatter device that a lot of people would also dislike.
Click to expand...

In theory a mirror or prism could allow the lens to sit perpendicular to the subject. But it would still be limited by width and also take up more room inside.
 
They should have a connector for a replaceable camera module (and possibly other hardware) where you can either have no camera at all (just a dummy cover), or a simple flush camera, or an elaborate iPad-Pro-like camera. But I guess such a modular system wouldn’t be considered Apple-like.
 
sparksd said:
Samsung and Google phones and Samsung tablets also have camera bulges of one kind or another. The alternative - if there is to be a camera - is an altogether fatter device that a lot of people would also dislike.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. The body doesn't have to be thicker... it's possible to keep the same thickness but use a smaller camera and lens that wouldn't require the bulge. Sure, image quality would suffer as a result, but what percentage of the Mini buying public will need the high quality camera that results in the bulge? That of course assumes that there was a technical reason for the camera bulge.

I'm convinced that it is deliberately designed to push more people to buy the folio case. They can charge more for the folio case than they did for the smartcover... and that is why the smartcover had to die. :)

Since they've already crossed that line, why not go even further and make the chassis even thinner and have bulges for the battery? :p

For a company that prides itself on world-class aesthetics, the camera bulge is an anachronism.
 
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