Is Apple abandoning the iPad mini?

From the iPod to the iPhone to the iPad, Apple has better control over the lifecycle of its product categories than any other consumer technology company, but there are always surprises, such as the iPod nano. Since the introduction of the iPod touch, Apple has made several changes to the basic design of the nano, more than any other product in its portfolio.

Although the appearance has remained relatively "stable", the iPad mini (all three models are discussed in this article) seems to have become a "tricky" product for Apple. After market pressure, Apple launched a smaller iPad, and some people even thought that the launch of this device was a bit "reluctant". When Phil Schiller demonstrated this device in 2012, he seemed to acknowledge some of Apple's internal views on this device, "What can you do with the iPad mini that you can't do with the fourth-generation iPad? That is, you can hold it in one hand." From this sentence, we can see how embarrassing the status of the iPad mini was at the time.

Apple had already entered the small tablet market, but Schiller went on to mention that this was not a shrunken iPad. The starting price at the time was $329, but this was much more expensive than Google's Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire.

But when compared with the flagship large-screen models, the iPad mini is inevitably criticized. The fact that it is equipped with a Retina display is a major flaw. Now, only the MacBook Air does not have a Retina display. Indeed, the iPad mini 2 can represent the flagship level, because it is basically the same as the iPad Air, but the price has risen to $399.

After the release of iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, this divide seems to have reappeared. iPad Air 2 has the fastest processor available, is even thinner than iPad mini, and has an improved camera. On the other hand, iPad mini 3 only adds Touch ID, which is not much of an improvement over iPad mini 2.

Compared with other competitors' tablet devices, even compared with its own iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the screen advantage of iPad mini is not that big. Of course, there may be a problem with Apple's product strategy. The emergence of iPad mini may be to give the large-screen iPhone more breathing space. Earlier, Taiwan's Economic Daily reported that Apple plans to cut the iPad mini product line next year and invest its energy in the development and production of the new 12-inch "iPad Pro".

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.