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
The original iPad mini became an immediate hit. Apple sold millions of them right after the launch, outselling the full-size iPad introduced at the same time.
“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 first iPad mini came out when the current 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 iOS handset.
Despite its popularity, the 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 autumn 2012, offered 326 ppi. The 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.
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.
Twelve years later, a small tablet remains in Apple’s product lineup. The iPad mini 7 launched last month with a bigger 8.3-inch display in a case that’s still as svelte as the original one. And it’s up to handling the new AI-powered features dubbed Apple Intelligence.
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.
