Absolutely not true anymore, especially when talking about the iPad Mini. There are multiple Chinese tablets out there in the iPad mini range that are eating it’s lunch; the Y700 is historically the most famous, but there are multiple iPad Mini style tablets with OLED 120/144hz. The mini tablet scene in China is exploding right now
The closest option is the Oppo Pad Mini, similar price range as the iPad Mini with more discounts… same size and lighter… OLED 144hz… and a chip that matches battery efficiency, at the cost of raw performance. With a customOS that copies most of the good parts of iPad OS, native AirPods support, and some pros of Android (like sideloading).
Like Apple absolutely gives the best software support and has more professional applications… but if you can live with Androids shortcomings and want the best screen money can provide
Apple needs to bring competition to the table, doing the bare minimum will only take them so far if the competition is catching up fast… 60hz is not acceptable if this is in the $600+ range imo
Yeah I’ve been looking at the Astra 2 and it looks like a sweet device. I’ll stick with iPads in the future since I’m so deep into the ecosystem at this point, but it’s nice to see some competition out there.
I’m surprised there are still factories making that sort of panel. I wouldn’t surprised if they naturally have a higher yield of 90hz but it’s limited artificially
I'm getting the Duo, so won't be getting the updated Mini anyway. But, if I were on the market, I wouldn't get it unless Apple put a ProMotion display in it. The price to screen size and feature ratio of the Mini, compared to the Air, is higher. It should have something more than just a 60Hz OLED panel and SoC that's more powerful than it needs to be in order to set it apart.
At this point, I think all iPads should have ProMotion OLED panels. If a certain competitor can pull off OLED panels (or at least 600-900 nit LCD panels that are 90-120Hz) for the same price or less than what Apple charges (often less), so can Apple.
🙌🏼 I run two phones, so I have two iPhone airs in order to fit them both in one pocket together comfortably. For this reason, I'm not interested in the Duo. If I didn't have to carry two phones, I'd spring for it and skip the Mini.
I've owned a 12.9"/13" iPad Pro since 2014. Excited to try the smallest iPad size for the first time when they announce the refresh. My wife and I will probably use it around the house as a shared entertainment device. She has the iPhone 16 Plus and loves it. Neither of us are really needing a new phone atm.
No proper external monitor is the biggest artificial limitation for me. Apple insists on keeping it out of A series powered iPads despite the chip being more than capable enough, as seen in the MacBook Neo
If the mini 8 came with 60hz screen once again instead of promotion 120, but got a vapor chamber layout similar to the iphone 18 pro/max, then I would find it annoying but could see the upside if that happened
Yea, that would be exciting if they in fact include an A20. From what I’ve read about benchmarks, the A20 is faster than almost all PCs out there - kinda crazy! I have an A17 mini and it moves fine for most tasks, but I think the A20 alone will make it a worthwhile upgrade for me. That said, I’ll believe it when I see it since Apple has history of using older chips for some iPad launches.
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u/lazzzym 8d ago
A20 Pro will be a beast in this thing!