5 options I’d prefer to see in an iPad mini Professional

Apple revealed a seventh-generation iPad mini in mid-October, and I am already happening document as disillusioned with it. It isn’t that there is something basically flawed — it is simply that it is spectacularly unspectacular. Its solely important upgrades are an A17 Professional chip, extra RAM, and assist for the Apple Pencil Pro, that are the naked minimal we would count on from any iPad delivery in 2024. Certainly, Apple cheaped out by not utilizing the identical A18 chip discovered within the base iPhone 16.

An concept that’s been bandied round for some time now’s the concept of an “iPad mini Professional” — a pill acknowledging how individuals may need high quality specs in a small kind issue, say if they are a skilled artist, or an engineer diagnosing equipment within the area. There are specs the common shopper may admire, too, and I’ll cowl all of the bases on this checklist.

1 A brilliant OLED show with HDR

Higher battery life, higher touring

Apple

If there’s an iPad that is as deserving of OLED as the most recent iPad Pros, it is the mini. The massive motive is battery life. By its nature, the mini would not have room for a big battery, so any energy effectivity enhancements would have a huge effect on usability. Switching to OLED wouldn’t solely get rid of the backlight wanted within the seventh-gen LCD mini, however permit particular person pixels to show off every time true blacks had been onscreen. These elements are contributors to the improved battery lifetime of the Steam Deck OLED versus the unique LCD handheld.

Adopting OLED would additionally make the mini extra interesting as a media consumption system, particularly when touring. I usually carry my 2020 iPad Professional alongside on flights simply to have one thing value watching films and TV exhibits on, however discover that even an 11-inch display screen will be cumbersome for packing and safety screening, and that LCDs are typically blinded by daylight and even fluorescent bulbs. 8.3 inches could be a extra sensible dimension, and OLED is commonly brighter than LCD. We might additionally get wonderful HDR (excessive dynamic vary) compatibility — think about watching films in full-quality Dolby Vision, for instance.

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2 A matte display screen end

Boox and Kindle, eat your coronary heart out

Braden Newell/Pocket-lint

Talking of the iPad Professional, one of many choices on costlier configurations — these with 1 or 2TB of storage — is one thing Apple calls nano-texture glass. Actually, it is a gimmicky solution to describe a matte display screen that kills reflections, which is meant for the likes of illustrators, photographers, videographers, or simply anybody who desires to make use of their iPad outdoors. Good luck studying the present mini in noon Texas solar.

Whereas it is perhaps controversial, I believe that some type of nano-texture glass needs to be the default on the iPad mini. Whereas the tech can have an effect on sharpness and contrast, and you’ll want to watch out about the way you clear it, the mini is arguably meant for use in conditions with less-than-perfect lighting — corresponding to sketching outside or binging Masters of the Air on a flight into Austin. I am going to guess a mini with a matte OLED show would immediately entice numerous artists, pilots, vacationers, and possibly even hikers and campers wanting one thing higher than their cellphone for navigation.

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3 An M-series processor

The know-how should not even be up for debate

Apple

Did I say that Apple skimped out by not giving the brand new mini an A18 chip? Let me go a step additional and say that it should not have had an A-series chip in any respect. It ought to’ve robotically had an M-series processor, almost certainly the M2 discovered within the 2024 iPad Airs. By the point an eighth-gen mini rolls round, an M4 or M5 could also be so as.

Why? As a result of individuals shopping for a pill as costly as an iPad count on it to switch their laptop computer for lots of capabilities. Some apps do not work effectively or in any respect on an A-series chip, like Closing Lower, and Apple is even stopping A-series iPads from pushing Stage Manager home windows to exterior displays. That should not fly on any new iPad mannequin, a lot much less one thing marketed as “professional.” Maybe I should not count on higher when Apple refuses to present iPadOS as a lot flexibility as macOS.

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4 An Apple Pencil constructed for the mini

No have to go full-sized for a mini pill

Apple

Check out that image — it is ridiculous that mini house owners have to make use of a stylus about so long as the pill itself. When you wanted any extra affirmation that Apple treats the mini as second-class, that is it. Sure, you may magnetically cost an Apple Pencil Professional on it, however solely when a complete fringe of the pill is left uncovered. That most likely places a kibosh on some case sorts.

Glancing at different pill styluses on the market, Apple might most likely shave an inch or two off the Apple Pencil Professional (or the USB-C mannequin) and nonetheless have one thing completely useful. Extra importantly, we would get one thing cheaper that would retain magnetic charging and first rate case compatibility.

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5 Face ID, finally

How is Contact ID nonetheless a factor?

One other ridiculous situation is that Apple continues to order Face ID for the costliest iPads. By some means, even new iPad Air consumers are pressured to log in with a Contact ID fingerprint sensor on the sleep/wake button, regardless of Face ID having first been launched with the iPhone X seven years in the past. Absolutely, the manufacturing value for Face ID cannot be that prime anymore.

Contact ID is okay I suppose, however there isn’t any denying the comfort of Face ID whenever you’re making an attempt to get one thing achieved — it could actually unlock your iPad earlier than you’ve got even considered it. The one motive to proceed utilizing Contact ID on any iPad is maximizing revenue margins whereas upselling some prospects, and for sure, that comes throughout as slightly grasping for one thing as important as logging in.

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