November 2, 2012: The first iPad mini goes on sale, shrinking both the size and the price tag of Apple’s groundbreaking tablet computer.
With a reduced screen size of 7.9 inches – instead of the then-standard 9.7 inches – the original iPad mini is the fifth iPad to be released by Apple. Critics hail Apple’s most affordable iPad ever, although some people complain about the tablet’s lack of a Retina display.
First iPad mini: Going big by going small
When the first iPad mini went on sale in 2012, it challenged the idea that a tablet needed a sprawling screen to deliver the full iPad experience. Light enough to hold easily in one hand and selling for just $329, it offered a more portable, affordable alternative to a full-size iPad — even if its screen looked decidedly dated next to the iPhone’s at the time.
The gamble paid off: The original iPad mini became an immediate hit. Apple moved millions of them right after the launch, outselling the full-size iPad introduced at the same time. More importantly, the gamble showed Apple was willing to experiment with screen sizes and rethink how people used mobile devices. That flexibility would become increasingly important as phones grew larger and the boundaries between smartphones and tablets began to blur.
“iPad mini is as thin as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper, yet packs a fast A5 chip, FaceTime HD and 5 megapixel iSight cameras and ultrafast wireless — all while delivering up to 10 hours of battery life,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, in a press release about the new tablet.
The new tablet started at $329 for the model with 16GB of storage. At the time, the third-gen regular iPad started at $499 for the 16GB model.
The iPhone’s screen just wasn’t big enough for some people
The first iPad mini came out at a time when the iPhone 5 had a 4-inch screen and consumers were clamoring for a larger one. Many people decided that a small tablet would meet their need for a big iPhone and bought an iPad mini as a companion for their smartphone.
Despite its popularity, the iPad mini suffered from some serious limitations. Most notably, the 1,024-by-768-pixel screen resolution gave it a pixel density of just 163 pixels per inch. The iPhone 5, which also came out in the fall of 2012, delivered 326 ppi. As a result, the tiny tablet’s screen looked noticeably inferior to the iPhone’s.
Plus, Apple’s A5 processor and a skimpy 512MB of RAM meant the first iPad mini suffered from pokey performance. And it faced tough competition from other small tablets, including the Google Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD.
iPad mini: A tiny Apple tablet with an outsize legacy
The original diminutive tablet only stayed in Apple’s product lineup for a year. The iPad mini 2 launched in November 2013 with a faster processor. That second-generation tablet sold well, but probably peaked at the 2014 debut of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Apple’s first “phablet” phones brought bigger 4.7- and 5.5-inch screens. People no longer needed a small tablet as a companion for their small handset. They could just get a large iPhone.
Nearly a decade and a half later, a small tablet remains in Apple’s product lineup. The eighth-gen iPad mini launched last month with an 8.5-inch OLED display in a case that’s slimmer and lighter than ever. The powerful Apple A20 chip inside can handle processor-intensive Apple Intelligence AI features. However, all those upgrades — and the ongoing effects of the global memory shortage known as RAMageddon — forced a steep price hike. The latest model starts at $699, while its predecessor cost $499 at launch (though Apple later increased that to $599).
Still, the first iPad mini from 2012 remains significant because it showed Apple’s willingness to experiment publicly with different display sizes. It’s interesting to speculate whether, without this device, there even would have been an iPhone 6 Plus or any of the other large (and small) iPhones we’ve seen since.
Did you own the original iPad mini? Leave your comments below.
Luke Dormehl contributed to this article.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 26 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
One response to “Today in Apple history: Original iPad mini makes a big splash”
My daily commute is about an hour by bus each way. I bought a Mini so I could read the news on something bigger than my iPhone 5 but small enough to be held comfortably on a crowded ride. I loved that little iPad and used it constantly until I upgraded to an iPhone 6 Plus, which was big enough to fill the role that my Mini had been handling for me. We used it as a HomeKit hub up until tvOS 10 took over that job. Now that it’s officially deprecated (and dog slow on iOS 9), it’s retired to a dresser drawer next to the Chumby.
I wouldn’t buy one today because it no longer serves a niche in our household, but it was a great little device and I’m glad we had it.