OPINION : The iPad mini did n’t need a revolution or reinvention . So what ’s wrong with just elevate the portion for a better experience all round ?
Apple quietly updated the iPad mini for thefirst time in three years . It ’s a modest update , but the want of tucket emanating from Cupertino on Tuesday morning suggested nothing else . This product did not necessitate a noble-minded keynote launching and did n’t get one .
But there ’s still plenty to like . There ’s a better A17 Pro chip that ’ll enable Apple Intelligence by delivering carrying out in line with the iPhone 15 Pro series . There ’s faster and more reliable connectivity with a Wi - Fi 6E modem , more bag storage for the same terms ( 128 GB over 64 GB ) , and better compatibility with a key accessory . relegate a couple of new colour option , everything else rest the same .
There ’s an almost identical intention ( aside from a magnetic strip for tie anApple Pencil Pro ) , same 8.3 - inch Liquid Retina presentation , same 12 - megapixel rear photographic camera , same advertised battery life . And that ’s utterly fine . What we have now is like what live before , only better .
Apple effectively enunciate : “ Hey guys , FYI , the iPad miniskirt we ’ve been sell for ages has been promote and can now do this ! ”
Apple countenance people know it exist , told them what had been updated and then told them when it could be bought for how much . utterly normal behavior , right ?
Tell that to the Mass online who felt affronted Apple would offer such a limited update to the serial , which apparently required a bluff reimagining . What some kinsfolk miscarry to realise is a product like the iPad miniskirt does n’t need to be in a constant stage of turmoil . UntilApple lean in on a foldable iPad , there just needs to be the most capable iPad mini possible , on a regular basis refit with modern constituent .
For now, the form factors are set.
In oecumenical , mass will appear at factors like the price , display sizing , battery life history and the broad capabilities . They know what they signify to utilise an iPad for , they ’ll make up one’s mind which mannikin can accomplish this and look at which theoretical account they can open . In most cases , they ’ll pick out from the crop of presently uncommitted iPads , collide with “ purchase ” and move on with their lives .
It might be the standard iPad with lineage dating back to the OG to replace one that ’s extend kaput or is now incompatible with iPadOS 18 . For those with cash to burn and a need for power and bleeding bound premium excogitation , it ’ll be the iPad Pro . For others seeking the flowing form factor , it ’s the iPad Air .
What Apple is effectively done today is see that , for people who land on the iPad mini in that conclusion making process , they have a pill that will swear out them comfortably in the tenacious condition and for the same Mary Leontyne Price as before .
There are n’t that many folks who ’d be more inclined to buy an iPad miniskirt if it had , say , a 120Hz LTPO show , faster clock speeds in benchmarking tests , a raw Camera Control button , or a Dynamic Island in the display instead of wide-eyed bezel to accomodate Face ID .
The iPad miniskirt serves a specific set of people who assess the portability , good bombardment living , reliable and familiar computer software , and capable performance for casual gambling . This ’ll do way more , by the way . You ’ll be able to play AAA Resident Evil and Assassin ’s Creed plot with anA17 Prochip doing the heavy lifting
Cynics will say this update is only being introduced now so Apple can shoehorn Apple Intelligence into more iPads at a sub - M Series Saratoga chip level . But so what ? Asgreat as my aversion rest for generative AI , Apple is staking the future of it ’s mobile division on being able to keep pace with rivals who are all - in on this . So why would n’t it get Apple Intelligence onto an iPad mini when the next computer hardware update could be 2 - 3 years ?
Sometimes , it ’s just ok for a technical school company to refit an existing product without reinventing the wheel , specially if the company is n’t stress to convince us otherwise . In the main , Apple ’s MacBook category has been doing precisely this for old age and no - one bats an palpebra .
This unceasing thirstiness for reinvention is tiresome . It ’s uneconomical and unneeded ; especially for a ware that will be used overwhelmingly to make FaceTime calls , play casual games , stream Netflix , send e-mail , and browsing / workshop on the web . The iPad mini could already do all this ; now it ’ll do everything just a piddling bit quicker and a little bit well . And that ’s perfectly fine .
