"Cheap" and "entry-level" are two terms Apple is particularly unfond of, however. The reason why the Mac mini is no longer being updated may be because it's simply too cheap.
That being said with the ending of Airports and Apple branded displays it appears first party accesories arent as important as I thought. I’m not entirely sure why it’s being left to stagnate.
Modern Apple in a nutshell, really.
Re: screens, students are really rough on equipment, and laminated screens like those in iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro are quite expensive to replace. The iPad has the glass/digitizer separated from the screen which lowers repair costs significantly.
The iPad at $329 is an odd exception to Apple’s typical rules, I’ll admit. There’s a large price divide between it and the iPad Pro without there being a comparatively huge feature divide, making it kind of unique in Apple’s lineup.