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 file as disillusioned with it. It isn’t that there is something basically unsuitable — it is simply that it is spectacularly unspectacular. Its solely vital upgrades are an A17 Professional chip, extra RAM, and help for the Apple Pencil Pro, that are the naked minimal we might count on from any iPad transport 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 could be the concept of an “iPad mini Professional” — a pill acknowledging how folks may need high quality specs in a small type issue, say if they are a skilled artist, or an engineer diagnosing equipment within the subject. There are specs the common shopper may respect, too, and I will cowl all of the bases on this listing.

1 A vivid OLED show with HDR

Higher battery life, higher touring

Apple

If there’s an iPad that is as deserving of OLED as the newest iPad Pros, it is the mini. The large motive is battery life. By its nature, the mini does not have room for a big battery, so any energy effectivity enhancements would have a big impact on usability. Switching to OLED wouldn’t solely eradicate the backlight wanted within the seventh-gen LCD mini, however enable particular person pixels to show off every time true blacks have been onscreen. These components 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 machine, particularly when touring. I usually deliver my 2020 iPad Professional alongside on flights simply to have one thing price watching motion pictures and TV reveals on, however discover that even an 11-inch display could 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 would additionally get wonderful HDR (excessive dynamic vary) compatibility — think about watching motion pictures in full-quality Dolby Vision, for instance.

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2 A matte display 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 strategy to describe a matte display that kills reflections, which is meant for the likes of illustrators, photographers, videographers, or simply anybody who needs to make use of their iPad outdoors. Good luck studying the present mini in noon Texas solar.

Whereas it may be controversial, I feel 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 it’s essential watch out about the way you clear it, the mini is arguably meant for use in conditions with less-than-perfect lighting — equivalent to sketching open air 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 a whole lot of artists, pilots, vacationers, and perhaps even hikers and campers wanting one thing higher than their telephone for navigation.

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3 An M-series processor

The expertise 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 mechanically had an M-series processor, probably 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 folks shopping for a pill as costly as an iPad count on it to interchange their laptop computer for lots of features. Some apps do not work properly or in any respect on an A-series chip, like Remaining Minimize, and Apple is even stopping A-series iPads from pushing Stage Manager home windows to exterior screens. 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 provide 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. For those who wanted any extra affirmation that Apple treats the mini as second-class, that is it. Sure, you’ll be able to magnetically cost an Apple Pencil Professional on it, however solely when a complete fringe of the pill is left uncovered. That in all probability places a kibosh on some case sorts.

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

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5 Face ID, eventually

How is Contact ID nonetheless a factor?

One other ridiculous problem is that Apple continues to order Face ID for the costliest iPads. One way or the other, even new iPad Air patrons are compelled 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. Certainly, the manufacturing price for Face ID cannot be that top anymore.

Contact ID is okay I suppose, however there isn’t any denying the comfort of Face ID if you’re making an attempt to get one thing performed — it may 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 clients, and for sure, that comes throughout as a bit of grasping for one thing as important as logging in.

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