Well, it was really an iPad mini after all. All the leaks and speculations once again were real and removed the surprise at all. Even the initial price was accurate at $329.
Nevertheless I’m still amazed by the device and I think it has all I really need from a tablet. The reduced screen size will be better for reading (especially while in bed!) and in general will grant a better portability, which is the main thing I want/need by now.
The iPad mini will also have Siri, which is nice, improved cameras and an improved shape: much thinner 1 and much lighter.
The price is certainly not super-competitive if compared to the Nexus 7 or the Kindle Fire but we already knew that wasn’t Apple target.
If I can place my two-years old iPad 2 on the market, I’ll surely get the iPad mini.
On a side note, Apple also surprised everybody by releasing a fourth generation iPad Retina, which is just an improved third gen: new Lightning connector, new A6X, better LTE. All nice improvements but nothing revolutionary. Last-generation iPad owner won’t be pleased I imagine and to be honest I was surprised too by this refresh. This could also mean that we are not going to see any new iPad in spring next year, moving the refreshing cycle to October.
Finally new Macs: 13″ MacBook Pro Retina (fully expected – I desperately want one!), improved Mac mini and a redesigned iMac.
This to me seemed like a very big event rather than a “little” announcement.
Nicely done Apple.
- according to the specs, it’s thinner than the iPhone 5, which is crazy thin! ↩