According to a new report, Apple is planning to phase out its iPad Mini, in favor of its larger models, which will include a new Pro variant with a 10.5-inch display and a smaller body.
Back in March, Apple discontinued the iPad Air 2 in favor of an all-new model simply called ‘iPad’, packing it with an A9 processor and a lower price point of $329. This left the company’s iPad lineup in an awkward position, as the 9.7-inch model is now $70 cheaper than the iPad Mini 4, despite having better specs.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the firm is planning to phase out its iPad Mini line, according to a new report from BGR. It would seem that Mini sales have been cannibalized by the 5.5-inch Plus-sized iPhone, which didn’t exist back in 2012 when the original iPad Mini was introduced.
Going forward, there will still be three sizes of iPads though. At some point, there will be a model with a 10.5-inch display, and the new iPad Pro will have a smaller footprint than its 9.7-inch predecessor.
Apple isn’t likely to make a formal announcement that it’s retiring the iPad Mini; instead, it simply won’t be refreshed, and then one day, it will be removed from the company’s website.
