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The carousel 2nd image appears to have erased the camera to make it fit the marketing narrative? That's pretty bold.

I have a hard time believing the camera bump isn't the result of intensive consumer psychology experiments. Setting a bare apple device down on a flat surface feels like chair with a leg sawed off. They need you to buy the accessories. This is part of making the ecosystem viable.

The argument is most people use a case regardless, so if it were the same thickness across the device, the iPad would be considerably thicker once in a case. That and weight. I don’t use cases so it bothers me too, but it does make some sense.

Since basically everybody uses a case anyways, the important factors are weight and width with the case on. This design makes both of those significantly smaller than your suggestion.

Tangentially related: this is the funniest rant about this "devices with a fat camera bump that don't lay flat" rant that exists: "Why?" - Lazy Posy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP7lYuyGTmg

> This requires a cover to equalize the size with the camera for haptic reasons.

Not really! The cover just follows the seam. And larger batteries will increase the weight as well, which Apple definitely doesn't want.

If they levelled it out you could surely fit a far larger battery in it too. I'd far rather have a device 1.5mm thicker with a battery lifespan twice as long and no silly bump on it.

Even stupider for iPads because who even is using the back camera? Just get rid of it entirely and the device will be exactly as functional.

> larger batteries and make the device the same thickness everywhere

thermals.

Aren't most people using their device with a case anyways?

This is why I believe the Pixel 10a is the best designed phone to date.

The iPad Mini has never had a camera bump.

More battery means more weight, and no one wants these to be heavier.

What about weight?

Yeah it's infuriating. I love how even Apple are embarrassed by it, since in the first two animations of people holding and rotating the device they've left off the camera bump, making it look smooth flat.

Isn’t the bump already used to pack components that don’t fit in the rest of the device body? I don’t believe it’s only used for the camera.

Though I do hate that bump. I just tried a duo and the bump makes it awkward to hold as a tablet

It makes sense for the manufacturer, they save a LOT of materials.

But don't you just need a big camera on your giant tablet? How will you ever manage if you don't have a nice camera on both sides of all your handheld devices? /s

If they put the tiny "front-facing" camera pointed out the back it would be enough for the vast majority of people I imagine.

Yes that stupid camera bump ... I hope those designers lose their jobs to AI. Then again, perhaps they already did :)

Unlike the iPhone getting bigger, the iPad with the 9.7/10.2/11" screen is still basically the same size though. It's just the bezels getting smaller.

Quick look at the Mini dimensions also seems like it barely got bigger overall since 1st gen.

Still waiting for a 13 Mini refresh :(

The outer dimensions are largely the same, it's mostly a reducing the bezel size to increase the display size.

What isn't smooth is the separation between the iPad and iPhone teams. I'm pretty sure new things being visited on the Duo such as the split keyboard interface have already been tried on the iPad side.

This iPad mini is actually slightly smaller than the previous gen; it's just the bezels that got smaller; the device footprint didn't grow.

I love this dude's "reviews" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTiiZTi3aC8

when he goes "iphone small (big)" "iphone big (bigger)" and so on. He has a bunch of them.

The Apple TV really threw me, $299 new but last gen started at $129

I would happily give up on the entire AI industry in exchange for more affordable hardware. No hesitation. The worldwide inflation resulting from the AI rollout is shameful to say it politely

I wouldn’t hold my breath. I think the +cellular is enough of a differentiator that Apple will always charge for it.

The buyer is also signing up for a monthly payment. So clearly they have the cash to make an “extra monthly payment” or two up front.

The mini is not the budget option, at least not anymore. The base 11" iPad starts at $450 in the US (and can often be found on sale for less). It is the cost-down with lower-spec components, and is probably a more compelling product for the consumer looking for the cheapest iPad option than a cost-down mini would be.

Exchange rate is also a factor.

The iPad mini hasn’t been the budget iPad for quite a few years now. It is more like a small iPad Air now.

> I always though the mini as the budget option

Keeping up appearances:

Lease from $14.99/mo. per month for 36 mo.months with Apple Upgrade Footnote ※

8.7% annual inflation is pretty high but most luxury goods have kept up with that

Check Porsche 911 / Boxster pricing in Canada over those years or Chanel bags

Luxury inflation > normal inflation

It is a very rare event what is going on right now. The prices are mostly up due to memory shortage.

Their budget iPad I think got 70% increased in price a couple of months ago. I was planning to upgrade my iPad mini to the normal 11inch iPad and when I checked the price it was nowhere near the price I remembered I last saw it.

60hz is the reason i sold mine. Otherwise I loved that little ipad

I was hoping the next mini would. Guess I’ll keep my 6th gen around.

Apple likes to slow roll features out. It's kind of a necessity when Wall Street expects you to put out a desirable hardware version every few years. Gotta protect that runway!

Seriously, what’s the point if it doesn’t have ProMotion? 60hz feels so sluggish.

I don’t see homeview being worth it unless they allow app installs. $300 for a display that shows photos and smart home controls is kinda pointless. You can’t even put up your home assistant dashboard on it.

You tip for purchases from a shop in Canada? Or is that a joke that's gone over my head?

No need to involve dang in this. He's had nothing to do with these price hikes.

That plus an iPhone cost less than a Duo. But yeah that's expensive.

Yes, those AI subscription prices have a hidden cost ...

It’s possible they simply don’t want to sell. ProCreate parent company is extremely successful on its own, it’s possible being part of Apple wouldn’t bring anything to the table for them. Looking at some apps Apple acquired it’s not clear that being part of a mega corporation benefits creative tools.

Tech price appreciation is really throwing me off!

They have better blacks and no light bleed. The colors are more vivid and spectral too. That's cool for watching movies in the dark

However, whether you really notice a difference reading on the thing I kinda doubt.

And furthermore Apple’s OLED screens tend to have more color reproduction issues. I don’t have an iPad any more but gather a group of people using OLED iPhones. Use light mode and open the Settings app at the same time. You will see that different OLED screens render the same white menu items differently. Some will have a yellowish tint, others an unpleasant green tint. This happens regardless of whether one turns on or off TrueTone. This has been going on since the very first OLED iPhones. The old LCD iPhones never had this problem. It is highly subjective but it bothers me way more than a 60Hz refresh rate.

In general display technologies are highly subjective. Besides LCD versus OLED, there are people who love nano texture and there are people who hate them. There are people who absolutely need 120Hz and there are people who can’t tell the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz. It’s a shame that we can’t customize the display technology exactly as we want.

I own no iPads but all my screens are OLED and I would never buy anything else. The true black is an absolute killer feature. It makes the device just a glowing wonder at night, magical feeling, no way to overstate it.

OLED + dark mode after sundown are awesome. On Android we also get the extra dim mode which makes it perfect for lights-out.

That's the whole iPad line. No multi-user because they don't want families to buy only one iPad, no support for running apps outside of the app store, etc.

Isn’t all that potential shown off in the duo?

Ok, how is this a disappointment - what does it not have that the pro does that you're seeking? To me, this just looks like a large phone without cellular. Not sure I'd want this, as I already have a large phone - good enough.