In Praise of the iPad mini 7

Funny, I won't be upgrading my iPad Mini 6 to a 7, because I seldom use it since I upgraded to an iPhone 16 Plus. Before the larger screen, I hardly used my iPhone (about 8 minutes per day according to Screen Time), not any more.

I expect the folding iPhone (or a folding Google Pixel equipped with GrapheneOS, as I am fed up with Apple's hubris) will replace the small tablet completely. I still use my 13" iPad Pro as you need the real estate for many things like comics or movies.

I sort of regret getting an iPad Pro myself. My Mini 5 is still going strong and I would have upgraded this year if it wasn’t for the relatively minor improvements. To me, the mini is a much better tablet and it will never be replaced by a phone — because I like my phones small — and is the first device I pick up every day (I’m using it now).

I'm now using a Mate XT, and it's an absolute beast. This is very obviously the correct form factor for this type of device.

Given the failure rate of regular folding phones, I expect it to last at most half a year. I have zero faith in the durability of a first-generation dual-folding phone. However, purely from a usability perspective, this is what phones should be, and it completely removes the need for a small or mid-sized tablet.

"To me, if you’re trying to use a keyboard with an iPad, you’ve failed."

I'd respectfully disagree, Michael, although I can understand the reasoning.

I use iPad with Lightroom and even though it's great using the touch interface the small round cursor actually helps me edit pictures whereas your own hand obscures things as you edit.

I use a keyboard and trackpad when home editing and go with touch when on the road. I like both but slightly prefer the home set-up especially if there's a need for long captions.

A bit like how Steve Job's famous "if you see a stylus they blew it' declaration is misinterpreted as he surely meant if a stylus is required they blew it.' Sometimes a stylus is preferable to finger-touch input.

It's great that there exists a device capable of being used with a multitude of input devices including touch, stylus, Keyboard and mouse / trackpad. It is the one advantage that the iPad has over the Mac. I personally applaud and make good use of the versatility.

@Niall I’m glad there are lots of different options so people can choose what works for them. For me, it’s not that an iPad with a keyboard is bad (relative to touch) but that the form factor of iPad + keyboard is worse than the laptop form factor, so why would I bother if I have a laptop, too? I could see that if you want to use a stylus or prefer a certain app that’s iOS-only, but I prefer the Mac apps (like Lightroom Classic) to begin with.

I love using my iPad with a keyboard and have a Brydge keyboard.

Sadly, Brydge went under and was bought out by a PE firm that promptly slashed the quality of the keyboards that it sells. Don’t know what I will replace it when when this keyboard dies.

I think the combination of iPhone Mini and iPad Mini (and a MacBook) is perfect and I really wanted to upgrade my iPad Mini 5 to the 7, but I can not let it slide that Apple did not even try to do a proper refresh. I'm still not sure what to think about the different aspect ratio of the 6/7 compared to the 5 (and before), I think it's worse. And another thing that really bothers me is that there was no reason at all to take away the headphone jack (of course that is not a thing exclusive to the iPad Mini, but still). But then again, I worry that the 7 Mini is maybe the last Mini at all, because Apple will replace it with an iPhone Fold... in Apple's thinking that would make a lot of sense.

@unknown_user I don’t think replacing the iPad mini with the iPhone Fold would make sense because it will be twice the price.

Strongly agree with @unknown_user: the optimum solution is iPhone mini, iPad mini, and MacBook, with an optional side iPad Air. If the Apple Watch Cellular could ACTUALLY serve as an adequate telephone, being able to pair to an iPad mini without an iPhone in the mix at all, I would be tempted to switch to that (but it does NOT work, ask me how I know) and dump the iPhone altogether.

I just don't understand how folks deal with HUUUGE iPhones, but somehow miss how much better the experience is on the iPad mini. I mean, you're in for the penny, just go in for the pound. (Or half-farthing… or whatever.) The mini fits into all the back pockets of all the pants I wear, and I'm not that rotund of a fellow, so for a guy, at least, I really don't get a Plus/Max phone.

I wish Apple would make an iPad mini Pro (along WITH the iPad mini) as well as going back to making the iPhone mini. If Apple targeted the 'mini' size battery-life and screen experience for optimization, everyone else up the chain would benefit.

It seems that the problem is that Apple is still stuck on that "the iPad is not a big iPhone" trope, when long ago that train left the station. Given that, and given that Apple now has their own cellular chipset, the Pro and mini should replace the "Air" in the lineups, and every Apple device should ship with cellular/GPS capabilities. The 3-tiers should be "economy/SE/e", base, Pro, and then offer a bevy of screen sizes accordingly: mini, base, base-Plus, XDR, XDR-Max for the iPhones and non-laminated mini, non-laminated-11, laminated-mini, laminated-11, XDR-11, XDR-13 for the iPads. Make the chassis for the mini and base iPads support -both- laminated and non-laminated screen types, so that more expensive units can be more economically repaired with non-laminated screens, promoting repair/reuse over recycling/landfilling. There's little reason that the base iPad and base iPhone aren't using the same motherboards as the mini devices; then we don't have to hear the nonsense about minis not selling so well. Parts reuse is only a, what, 100 and some years old manufacturing innovation?? (Isn't Tim Apple supposed to be so smart about such things?)

Apple won't do it. Not yet. Not until the supply chain thing has REALLY painted them into a corner and they learn their lesson WAY too late. Because they long-ago lost the ability to move fast, ahead of the curve. Now it is 100% about maximum profit extraction.

One surprising advantage I've found is getting the "iPad layout" on a device that feels much more like a phone in terms of ease of grabbing and using it.

Two examples that come to mind: the keyboard has persistent undo and redo buttons, and in Apple's apps, usually you can see both the sidebar and the content at the same time (particularly in the Shortcuts app, this is a big time saver because you can drag in actions from the sidebar instead of having to open the popover every time). Probably many others I'm forgetting.

Ironically, this was the one aspect I was most worried about -- that the iPad UI was never designed for this size and will look strange and shrunken -- and there are definitely places where it feels awkward, but it's outweighed by the advantages.

@Scott, while I agree about your optimum solution, can you show me where I can replace the iPhone mini? Mine is eventually going to need to be replaced. My last iPhone had even a smaller screen but the battery couldn't be recharged because of the port breaking down. This one, about 3 years old, will probably be replaced by something a good inch larger. (THANK you Apple - sarcasm intended.)

@Phil, I also agree with you, having an iPad layout is much better but anyone talking about your iPad mini "easily fitting into your cargo pants? Laughable.

> the time to buy is right when it comes out or when there’s a third-party price drop like this.

Third-party price drops are the rule rather than the exception these days.
https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B0DK3YF38G
Sizable discounts three months after launch is in line with what I see for every Apple product Amazon price history I check out.

Buying right when it comes out is self-indulgent under this regime.

I have a work-provided 16" MBP along with my own iPad Pro+Magic Keyboard. When I first got the iPad combo, I started taking it along on work trips and vacations for entertainment. Then I started using it to keep up with emails, and to take notes on the work trips. Eventually this evolved into not using the MBP on those trips at all (except WWDC) unless something REALLY broke back at work. I'm a system admin, so most things that come up and can't wait can be handled by a VPN+SSH session from the iPad. I have a 27" iMac at home, so work-from-home days are on that. So I can go several weeks without even touching the MBP.

There are a couple of games I play pretty much daily on the iPad. Those will also work on my iPhone, and I've done it in a pinch, but they're a much better experience on the iPad's larger screen, and the real keyboard makes it much easier for messaging within those games. If not for those games, I could probably switch to an MBA or a smaller MBP for personal use.

People work differently, so it's nice to have choices.

Surprisingly, Apple periodically tries to make "mini" versions of their products.
12" PowerBook, 11" MacBook Air, iPhone 12/13 mini. Those do not last that long, and people can say there is no demand. But that is only in comparison to their best-selling counterparts. I think they are also not as popular because they are not only small—they are also on the budget side. Premium Pro products would appeal to a different audience. That still can be a small niche, but since Apple has a closed ecosystem, users who stay within need more options. The same way Apple treats accessibility software features, they could have treated the small form-factor hardware too.

So I cherish my iPad Mini, and the main limitation I see is the lack of a smart connector. And perhaps a Magic Keyboard for it. But in general, I feel that if Apple would offer a 10- or even 9-inch MacBook Air, that would be more desirable for many people than an actual iPad Pro.