Thirty years ago, if you asked a member of the public about the future of technology, there’s a good chance you’d hear the word “miniaturization.” That’s the way things seemed to be heading in the ’90s, and it was hard to move for observational comedians doing tight fives on funny little camcorders, funny little music players, and funny phones slightly less massive laptops. By 2024, we all thought a household’s entire collection of tech products would fit into a matchbox.
Either way, it didn’t really turn out that way, which is often the case when we assume that current trends will continue in the same direction indefinitely. An iPod nano is a significantly more portable and convenient product than an iPod mini, but that doesn’t mean we’ll get the same benefits with an iPod pico the size of a kidney bean or an iPod femto the size of a a grain of rice. . There is a point where reducing the size stops being useful.
The iPhone is a good example. Our ’90s friend would be perplexed to discover that the iPhone 16 is taller, wider and more than an ounce heavier than the original iPhone released 17 years earlier, but that’s more than made up for by a screen and a much larger battery, and the arsenal of significantly improved technological components. Apple’s smartphones have gotten thinner, but in other ways it makes sense for them to stay the same size or grow. A 6.1-inch screen is clearly more useful than a 3.5-inch screen.
Of course, this hasn’t been a simple progression in size, and Apple has experimented with smaller handsets from time to time. For a few generations, the iPhone SE was popular among people who didn’t particularly want or need a phablet. (NOW There is an ugly neologism that we don’t hear anymore, mainly because big smartphones are no longer a novelty.) But was it Really was the small size the appeal, or was it the low price and the Home button? Evidence suggests the latter, as the small but mighty iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini, as popular as they were with critics, were such a commercial failure that Apple abandoned the line in favor of something bigger.
I loved (and cried) the iPhone 12 mini because it seemed miraculous that something so small could pack such a great set of specs and features. I loved the way it slipped discreetly into a pocket and the lack of compromise its small size seemed to imply. But the problem arises when a user upgrades from a 5.4-inch screen to a 6.1-inch screen, or vice versa. I upgraded from the iPhone 14 Pro to the 15 Plus last fall and I can confirm from personal experience that once you try a larger screen, it’s very difficult to go back.
Perhaps this explains the situation with the iPad mini, which once seemed like the future of the line (following the same 90s logic, I suppose) but quickly became its pariah. Apple finally updated the iPad mini last month, but it came after an astonishing three years in the wilderness and involved some valuable upgrades: we imagine Apple spent a lot of time seriously considering mercy killing the iPad mini like the iPhone. mini before. The device is apparently popular in some professional applications, but I’m not sure there are enough doctors and airline pilots in the world to make it commercially viable when everyone wants to watch movies on a screen at least the size of the 10th generation. iPad.
Does the reduction of technological products make sense? Of course. Apple’s Mac mini, now smaller than ever, is the most recent example of the mini concept and has proven to be a great and lasting success. Mainly, I suppose, because the Mac is mini, there’s no need for the screen to follow suit. It’s one of the few products in the Apple ecosystem where the screen is separate from the rest of the device…and it helps that it’s plugged in rather than battery powered, so being smaller doesn’t require a reduction in functional lifespan. The two big drawbacks of the small size don’t affect the Mac mini. (Another example is the HomePod mini.)
What would it look like if Apple tried to downplay one of its other products? For example, what would a MacBook mini look like? Well, we don’t really need to guess, because Apple actually sold a smaller MacBook Air with an 11-inch screen… and the fact that that’s no longer the case suggests that’s not the factor. Optimal shape for a laptop. Even back in 2015, we concluded that the screen was too small, although in fairness that was more due to the extremely thick bezels than the limitations of the chassis.
A MacBook mini 2025 would in any case solve this problem. And if we go with the miniature concept, we can assume that the chassis would taper inward to meet the screen, rather than the screen expanding to meet the edge of the chassis. This would give us an unprecedentedly thin laptop that could fit in Steve Jobs’ manila envelope, with room for a packed lunch, which isn’t an unpleasant idea. Add an M3 processor and Apple Intelligence support, and the MacBook mini would deliver top-level performance in an ultraportable package.
Unfortunately, some problems are fundamental for the size of a device. No matter how much we shrink these bezels, the screen can’t be bigger than the chassis allows. More importantly, neither does the keyboard, which is bad news for people with human-sized hands who want to type. And if you’re one of the few people willing to accept a laptop with a small screen and keyboard, there’s already the option to buy an 11-inch iPad Air with a Magic Keyboard and get two products in A. But I recommend you avoid the iPad mini.
Foundry
Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in one handy summary. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it pairs really well with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you also want to read it during lunch or dinner hours.
Trending: Featured News
How Apple Learned to Stop Worrying and Laugh MicrosoftZune.
Complaints regarding Magic mouse we don’t understand the main thing, because there is a logic to Apple’s laziness.
How Apple Intelligence can take over the world (or just the world) Apple ecosystem).
I am skip the Apple Watch Series 10 this year, says Mahmoud Itani, and you too.
How big is the Mac mini M4 Really ? This little one.
Podcast of the week
The Internet did not become a widely accessible resource for years after the birth of the Mac. So where do people go for Mac help? In this episode of the igamesnews podcast, we explore the history of Mac User Groups and their influence on the Mac community.
You can watch every episode of the igamesnews Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.
Reviews corner
The rumor mill
THE M4 Ultra would benefit from a massive core upgrade for Apple’s high-end Macs.
Major changes are coming to MacBook Pro– but not before 2026.
The left-wing report claims that Apple is working on a 90Hz display for iPad Air, iMac.
And with that, we’re done for this week’s apple breakfast. If you would like to receive regular summaries, subscribe to our newsletters. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads or Twitter to discuss the latest Apple news. See you next Monday and stay Appley.
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