iPad Mini 3 | Hacker News Reader

iPad Mini 3

apple.com

52 pointssc9023 comments

So besides Touch ID, what do you get for spending an extra $100 compared to the iPad Mini 2?

http://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/#comparison-chart

Literally the only difference appears to be Touch ID for $100. (And a gold color option)

Spec says you can use applePay with it too. So seems like only touch ID and applePay is the upgrade, as all other spec is the same. They should at least include the reflective coating to mirror the Air. With only these 2 upgrades, the mini-2 should be priced at $329 or $349 instead.

Getting out a tablet, even a mini, for paying something seems burdensome. Are you going to get a credit card out of your wallet or a tablet out of your backpack ?

So this is mostly limited to app store purchases (and online ?) I guess.

In fact, I don't believe it has NFC, so the Apple Pay is only for apps.

The just-released one is actually the mini 3.

The mini2 (previously called 'mini retina') actually is priced starting at $299 now. (starting at $399 yesterday, I think? Or was it $349 yesterday? Anyone know?).

I'm just saying the mini2 should have been priced higher, in comparison to the mini3 and mini1.

oh, cool, I misunderstood because I've never heard someone complain about something being priced too low before.

(unless they are a competitor maybe. Or related to workers being paid too little, which is probably applicable to all apple products and all other consumer electronics, but anyway)

Apple pay on the iPad is the online purchases only version, so I don't see why the older models wouldn't also include this

Because they don't have the fingerprint sensor, which is integral to Apple Pay.

It's basically the iPad Mini Retina with touch ID and cheaper memory upgrades. My guess is that the real update was held back by the much-rumored production issues.

So, if you want 16GB and don't care about Touch ID, get the old one. If you want 32GB and NOT 64GB and don't care about Touch ID, likewise. Otherwise the new model is better value, but probably will leave you disappointed in six months when the real bump comes.

the touch ID is very nice, but without the new processor like the phone I don't see the point here. With Touch ID I can have a very long "secure" password while still having the ability between boots/configure options of not even looking at it to unlock it. That makes the touch id on the phone so useful and I looked forward to it on this mini.

However the specs just seem odd. Is there a yield issue on the new processor or just too many phones going out the door?

Look at it the other way, if you don't want the extra things... they just dropped the price of the iPad Mini that you do want by $100, right?

I was waiting for the new mini before making a mini purchase, and think I'll prob be buying the 2, at a significantly cheaper price than it was yesterday.

Anyone else think it's strange that they sell 3 generations of the same device?

It feels like they're needlessly expanding their products beyond what they need. They did this before and ended up in trouble before Jobs came back.

i agree considering what a dude the first Mini was. i'd imagine it's inventory clearance tactic. I'd be shocked if they actually build them.

Keeping the A7 is disappointing; I'd expect at least the A8 offered in the iPhones. Looks like the iPad Mini is the new iPod Touch.

I'm a bit surprised. While I prefer the size of the Air (I use mine at least an hour a day), I would have guessed that they sell far more Minis.

Why does Apple still sell the original iPad Mini? Is it just a mountain of unsold inventory?

Well it's their only real competing product at the low-end of the price spectrum, at $250 it's a lot more affordable than the $500 entry level of the air 2.

Let's not forget, a big part of sales is not gaining a sale. It's gaining a customer. The concept of customer lifetime value is important here. A lot of my friends on iOS look at my girlfriend's Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 and they say 'damn, those are great devices'. And then they buy iOS saying 'I'm used to it'. The ecosystem lock-in has always been very significant for Apple. And getting people into the ecosystem with an affordable device, and hoping they'll stay around and continue to buy a Macbook air, and a new iPad at some point, and start to use iCloud and iTunes etc, is a big driving factor, I'm sure.

Also a bit risky. The ipad mini's display is pretty shitty, otherwise it's a really nice device. It may reflect poorly on Apple, although it's also one of those things where a customer eventually says 'I'm really enjoying iOS, but this screen... Time to buy a new iPad'.

So it seems like a pretty reasonable decision imo.

I wonder if use in hospitals/industry/etc is at all a driving factor for retaining some of the older models. Large corps generally prefer to validate/verify/vet (for internal support) a SKU once, and then repurchase that exact model forever.

I for one was hoping for an upgrade to this range in particular, and the fleeting mention in the stream was a bit shocking.

I have the 1st Gen mini, and didn't see enough to upgrade to the retina, and was hoping for a chip upgrade and camera upgrade, but alas nothing.

I almost feel as if there are 2 outcomes here; 1) the mini gets an update in March-ish and has some kind of A8Y chip especially for the mini, or 2) that is the last update we ever see for the mini

why would that be the last update ever for the mini?

There wasn't a real update other than the TouchID, why would they update the iPad Air but not the Mini, in terms of chips and cameras?

When apple updates their products, they won't upgrade every-single-item-they-sell. They may refresh the item, but a robust upgrade may come next year.

The mini has proven to be wildly popular, so they will certainly upgrade it next year.

IMO, the mini 2 is already pretty awesome, I can't see any reason for stuffing it with a faster processor when that wasn't a bottleneck for most people

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