It may be time to say goodbye
The answer to my titular question is a tentative ‘I doubt it’. And that’s a pity, as I’ve long been a fan of the iPad mini.
Apple last updated its smallest fondle slate back in September 2021, which saw a specs boost and the removal of the sort-of iconic iPad Home button in favor of narrower bezels and Touch ID integrated into the power button, much like the iPad Air. I’m currently using the sixth-generation iPad mini, which replaced my decent if a tad long-in-the-tooth iPad mini 5, and I’ve got no real complaints about the latest mini other than a 90Hz or 120Hz display would be nice.
However, infrequent iPad mini updates and a lack of any solid rumors surrounding the iPad mini 7 have me and others on the TechRadar team thinking that the iPad mini’s days are numbered. I doubt Apple will explicitly kill the compact tablet, more that it’ll slowly leave it to fade into obscurity like that one difficult family member no one really hears much about and is awkward at gatherings.
I don’t want to see the iPad mini get ignored. It’s a wonderful little device, serving as a great digital notepad while I’m at events, a decent ereader and a rather neat gaming device, especially with an ever-expanding clutch of Apple Arcade games. But then I’m just one person, and arguably an odd one at that – I’m usually one of the few tech journalists tapping notes into an iPad while others prefer to go old-school and put pen to actual paper or type away on a laptop.
