Without actual sales numbers, it’s hard to tell how well any of Apple’s products are selling in relation to another. If YouTube is any indicator, the iPad Mini is by far the most popular iPad model among tech enthusiasts. Its 2021 redesign was well received and the device was hearalded as “the last true iPad”. Its diminutive size ensures it’s left out of the constant “is the iPad a computer” debate that the iPad Pro is constantly being subjected to. Reviewers seem to have no issues with the Mini being nothing more than a consumption device.

The Mini is rumored to get its first update in three years this fall, though reports indicate this changes will be quite meager. The tablet is set to receive a chip update with better performance and wireless capabilities, as well as a tweaked screen to combat the “jelly scrolling” issue some users reported with the 6th generation model.

I love the iPad Mini, but I have to admit, over the past six months or so, the 11 inch iPad Pro has taken back the role of being my “portable” iPad. Yes, the iPad Mini is a great size, but almost everything else about it pales in comparison to the 11 inch tablets Apple sells (outside of maybe the base iPad).

The iPad Mini feels like a truly unique product in the iPad lineup, and really should get more attention from Apple than it does. Let’s pretend for a minute that we don’t know anything about what’s coming with the next model. What upgrades does this product need to really live up to its full potential?

Needed Upgrades

Better Display

If you don’t have access to a “better” display, the iPad Mini’s display looks fine. Maybe even great. But as I’ve written about before, the most important part of any iPad is its display. It’s your primary input device. And the iPad Mini’s display is okay. Just….very okay. The display will supposedly get upgraded to OLED in 2026, likely leaving us with the same lackluster display for the forthcoming 2024 model.

My biggest disappointment with the Mini’s display is the refresh rate. A higher refresh rate display is unlikely this year (and maybe even in 2026), but it would go a long way to improving the core experience of using the iPad Mini. It’s not about a number on a spec sheet, or being a display snob, it’s about making almost every interaction you have with this device feel smoother. It helps make your device a bit more immersive. Competitive devices in a similar price point to the Mini come with at least 90 hz displays, whereas Apple seems content to keep high refresh rate displays as a “Pro” feature. I would love to see iPad Mini make the leap above 60 hz one day.

More RAM

The current iPad Mini has 4 GB of RAM, and that’s largely been fine for my uses. However, it’s in the best interest of iPadOS as a platform for the lower end of the lineup to bumped to a minimum of 8 GB of ram. It’s not just about Apple Intelligence, which apparently requires at least 8GB of RAM. It’s about giving developers a larger pool of more capable devices to target with their Pro apps.

When Adobe announced they were bringing “real Photoshop” to the iPad in 2018, they went silent for about a year after announcement, causing many in the press to wonder if it might be cancelled. And while the app was eventually released to reactions of disappointment, there was speculation that a lot of the delay was trying to contend with the small amounts of RAM on the lower end iPad models (unfortunately can’t find any hard evidence this was true). Apple hasn’t made it easy for developers to restrict an app to certain models of iPad, although this has changed a bit with Apple themselves gating some features (Stage Manager, Apple Intelligence) behind an M-Series chip. I don’t love that strategy because for iPads to really be taken seriously as productivity devices, important features like Stage Manager should really be available across the line. That’s how the Mac works today, and iPad should be treated the same way.

Raising the bottom end of the iPad hardware would probably eat into Apple’s margins, but it’s not like they have to use a recent chip. The iPad Mini (and base iPad for that matter) would be great on something older like an M1. If the more popular (i.e. cheaper) iPads had M-Series chips, we’d see more support for Stage Manger from developers and like more pro apps on the platform. A pro app investment is harder to justify if you’re just targeting the iPad Pro and iPad Air. Opening the range of potential devices to include the less expensive devices might change that equation.

Apple Intelligence

I haven’t written much of anything about Apple Intelligence, because it doesn’t yet feel real. Apple took the unusual step of pre announcing a set of features that will hopefully be delivered over the course of a year, and possibly longer. I’m willing to give Apple the benefit of the doubt here, but right now, these features feel like vaporware, even though none of them have missed their vague target release dates yet.

That being said, if these features work as well as Apple claims, they stand to be a huge productivity boost for users across a variety of scenarios. As as of right now, it looks like the iPad Mini, possibly even the 7th generation model, may miss out on them entirely if it doesn’t get at least the A17 Pro chip with its 8 GB of RAM.

You could argue that maybe the average iPad Mini user doesn’t care about such features, but we may be nearing a tipping point where “AI features” are table stakes in any smart device. And as much as Apple likes to tout the power of the neural engine in its chips, it should be taking every opportunity to show off their ML and AI capabilities.

Apple Pencil Pro

Apple’s stylus strategy seems to be converging down to two options, Apple Pencil (USB-C) and Apple Pencil Pro. I don’t think its too much of a stretch to assume that the 7th gen iPad Mini will gain support for the Pencil Pro.

As I’ve been using it more, I’ve quickly become acclimated to the new features, particularly the haptics. Haptic feedback is one of those features that you wonder why it wasn’t there in the first place. It feels that natural. This would also be a great opportunity to add support for Apple Pencil Hover to the iPad mini.

Things it doesn’t need

Relocated Front Camera

All of the larger iPads now have their front cameras on the landscape edge of their chassis instead of the top. The iPad Mini may be the one model where it makes the most sense to keep it where it is. The Mini’s popularity for tasks like reading books and surfing the web are best done in portrait, and few are likely to be using a tablet this small in a keyboard case. So the position of the front camera is fine where it is.

Better Cameras

Speaking of cameras, the quality of cameras on the iPad Mini is fine. I don’t see much of a reason to upgrade them much beyond where they are. I wonder if the adaptive True Tone Flash from the iPad Pro could be brought down to the Mini without having to upgrade the camera module? The fact that the 2024 iPad Air didn’t get it tells me the answer is no.

Improved Performance

The iPad Mini will get faster as a by-product of getting new chips, but performance has almost never been an issue on this device. Even when doing more intensive tasks like gaming, the iPad Mini doesn’t skip a beat. That’s a testament to how well optimized iPadOS is.

Conclusion

The iPad Mini is a unique device among Apple’s product lineup. It’s more expensive than the base model, yet smaller, so some people have trouble understanding where it fits in.

The product has so much potential, depending on the direction Apple plans on taking it. I could see a future where the iPad mini becomes this super portable productivity machine with an M-Series chip that supports Stage Manager and external displays, yet still fits in a coat pocket.

I could also iPad Mini as the basis for whatever Apple does in foldables. It’s roughly the size of the most popular foldable devices when full opened.

The iPad Mini, given more attention, could really be its own amazing product. Apple just needs to give it a push in the right direction.