The iPad mini 6 is over two years old, and each passing day makes me shed a tear that I still can’t use my favorite iPad form factor because of one silly issue that I just can’t overlook.
I remember buying the first iPad mini in 2012 while I was still at high school, working weekends to fund the Apple products that I could never properly afford. The iPad mini was my first ever iPad, and I loved it. It was so cool to have a much bigger experience than my iPhone without forking out (what felt like at the time to teenage me) crazy money for the larger iPad.
Nearly ten years later, I purchased an iPad mini 6, and I fell in love again with the form factor, perfect for checking the web while I watch TV or playing fun games with a way more ergonomic form factor. It was one of my favorite ever Apple purchases, but I sold it two months later.
I’m a sucker for refresh rates, and whatever Apple did with the iPad mini 6 is just horrifying for someone susceptible to motion sickness and smooth scrolling. Jelly scrolling, as it's called, is a phenomenon present on the mini 6 that means that using the device has an almost wave-like effect. It renders the device almost unusable for me because one side of the Retina display refreshes significantly slower than the other. It’s awful and renders an incredible piece of kit essentially useless for many people.
So when Apple announced an October event, I hoped for the iPad mini 7 to appear…
I need a hero
I waited with bated breath, hoping that the rumors of an iPad mini 7 that came out of nowhere just a few days before the event were true. Unfortunately for me, just like every other iPad mini owner wanting to update their small iPad, the event came and went with no iPad mini to show for it.
As someone who loves the iPad mini form factor, I’ve been waiting so long for Apple to not only put the same specs as some of the larger iPads into the smaller device but also fix this issue that has plagued the iPad mini for over two years. I’d love an iPad mini 7 with a ProMotion 120Hz display and an M2 chip, or maybe even the brand-new M3 chip, but who am I kidding?
The next iPad mini will never have the same specs as an iPad Pro, and while that makes me sad, I just want an iPad mini without the nauseating wave that Apple hasn’t addressed for far too long.
So please, Apple, make 2024 the year of the iPad mini, where the unloved smaller sibling gets a huge refresh and a display that’s fit for purpose. Not only would you make this Scotsman very happy, but I’m pretty sure there are many people waiting for their next iPad, and they don’t want to be sailing the seven seas as they use it.
