There is plenty of rumour across the inter webs that Apple will bring our the iPad Pro a 12.2 inch tablet, and at the same time discontinue the iPad Mini range.
This year the iPad Mini received no love. Just a Touch ID home button and a new lick of paint in gold. At the same time Apple launched the iPhone 6 Plus a 5.5 inch phone. The 6 Plus is selling like hotcakes along with the standard iPhone 6, whereas tablet sales are slowing due to a saturated market and slower upgrade cycle by consumers.
The iPhone 6 Plus has been so successful for my usage, that it prompted me to sell my iPad Air. In fact, if I was going to fork out such a large amount of money, I would buy a Mac (Mini) as that would be more useful and a better spend of my money. Not that I need to do that either.
So, with the screen sizes of the new iPhones catching up with the iPad Mini is there any need for such a device. Surely it makes more sense to concentrated on the iPad Air 2 and potentially the iPad Pro 12.2 inch. Maybe, but I do not believe Apple will get shot of the iPad Mini that quickly. For some people its size is ideal for travelling and there is some chance it might fit in your pockets.
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The iPhone 6 Plus being larger is definitely a massive improvement (pun unintended) over previous models but for certain activities I would not like to use the Plus over the Mini.
The size of the tablet which is roughly the size of a hardback book makes reading such a sweet spot and certain Apps which are specifically designed for the iPad look so much better than the iPhone versions.
Although I do not own a Mini, I definately have many friends and family who do and I know it is their preference in size ~ part because they do not want a larger full sized iPad and part they have no requirement for an iPhone.
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I can see Apple doing this as they will want to streamline their products and, obviously, they would prefer people buy the Air series or the new Pro. Similarly, I think they will let the iPod Touch die sooner rather than later.
I don’t have a Mini, but I do love my Nexus 7 2013 for reading books, light web browsing, playing games etc. You can do this on a Note or iPhone 6+ of course, but I like the 7″ size and having a much smaller phone.
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