

iPad Mini 3 - sc90
http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini-3/

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philfreo
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](http://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/#comparison-chart)

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

~~~
fuzzythinker
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.

~~~
jrochkind1
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?).

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

~~~
jrochkind1
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)

------
LukeB_UK
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.

~~~
pcurve
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.

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mycookie
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.

~~~
baddox
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.

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

~~~
IkmoIkmo
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.

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comeonnow
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

~~~
afx2in
why would that be the last update ever for the mini?

~~~
comeonnow
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?

~~~
umsm
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

