The iPad Mini Mini, the iPhone Plus Plus
Next year’s supposed jumbo “iPhone Pro” versus the iPad mini
The other day, John Gruber wrote perhaps his most Gruberian post yet. That is, he seemingly solved an iPhone 8 riddle by geeking the fuck out on pixel densities. Great post, read it.
My quick thought on the matter kicked off a very different debate on Twitter. On which I will now elaborate.
To boil down Gruber’s point, which leads to my thought: noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (the guy who is right most often these days with regard to Apple rumors, because he clearly has amazing supply-chain sources) may have made an error in a recent report about the forthcoming “iPhone Pro” (we’ll call it that simply to distinguish from the other new iPhones, which could all well be called “iPhone 8”), aka “D22”. Per Gruber’s pixel-based argument, it would seem that Kuo may be conflating two separate forthcoming OLED iPhones — one this year, and one next year. The latter could feature not a 5.8" display as the “D22” model seems likely to have, but rather a 6+” display (6.63", to be precise) — call it an “iPhone Pro Plus”.¹
The notion of this potentially largest iPhone yet led me to wonder out loud if it’s existence in a supposed pipeline (one which, again, Kuo may have inadvertently tapped into) is the reason why the iPad mini is no longer getting refreshed. After all, 6.63" is getting awfully close to the 7.9" of the iPad mini (almost as close, in fact, as an “iPhone Pro Plus” would be in size to the current “iPhone Pro” models).
Anyway, Twitter didn’t like this assertion too much. First and foremost because people — myself included — really love the iPad mini and are sad that it’s apparently being taken out to pasture. But also because an iPad mini is relatively cheap versus what this supposed “iPhone Pro Plus” would likely cost. Think: $400 versus $1,000+.
It’s a fair point, but I’m not sure it’s one Apple would weigh that heavily. It’s pretty clear that Apple is content to sell a version of the 9.7" iPad as the “lower end” model — because they’re already doing it. This one is cheaper than the iPad mini is right now. And it seems to be selling well.
PLUS, the talk since the launch of the iPhone Plus models a few years back has been that these have dampened the demand for the iPad mini. And that’s 5.5" versus 7.9" — again, this new supposed model would close the screen size gap quite a bit (while, remarkably, potentially residing in a frame similar to, or smaller than the current iPhone Plus frames).
A more compelling argument to me is that the iPhone is a different device than the iPad. Yes, they look and operate similarly, while both running iOS. But as we’re about to see with iOS 11, Apple is finally starting to think about the iPad as a different computing beast. While I may use the iPhone and iPad for different things right now, I suspect even more people will post-iOS 11. And so that’s a valid argument in my mind for why an “iPhone Pro Plus” shouldn’t eliminate the need for an iPad mini.
Still, it sure seems like the fate is sealed. And I’m going to guess that Apple isn’t going to shed too many tears of nostalgia over selling a $1,000+ device versus a $400 one. It may not be why Apple would do this, but the price argument probably isn’t coming into play here. You want a cheaper iPad? We have one of those for you, it’s 9.7". Enjoy.
But, but, but, kids! Yes, children often are given iPads versus iPhones for various reasons, but probably mainly price and the fact that they’re not phones. And kids are little. The iPad mini was perfect for many of them.
Fair enough. Imagine a 6.63" iPod touch…²
¹ Per Gruber’s math, the only way Kuo’s specs might work is if the “function area” (the area below the actual screen that would hold a virtual home button, etc) were a separate screen, Touch Bar-style. I would imagine there’s no way that will happen.
² To be clear, I have no knowledge of any such device coming. But it would seem to make some sense to me that if Apple is to continue the iPod touch line, they would do so with larger screens. Or they could just push those would-be buyers to iPad. In my book, form-factor aside, the iPod touch should be conceptually closer to the iPad than to an iPhone, anyway.
