With Apple’s rather uncustomary jump to larger screens with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus , I knew there would be some knock-on weirdness at the iPad event — but I don’t think anyone predicted that Apple would so brutally eviscerate the Mini line, relegating the new iPad Mini 3 to just one slide at the end of the iPad Air 2 presentation (which itself wasn’t that impressive either). Curiously, the iPad Mini 3 is identical to last year’s iPad Mini 2 — the same screen, the same camera, the same A7 SoC, the same dimensions — except it now has a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Even weirder: Last year’s iPad Mini 2 is still for sale, but starting $100 cheaper at just $300. Yes, in a complete 12-month product cycle, the only change Apple has made to the iPad Mini 3 is the addition of the Touch ID sensor — and it’ll cost you an extra $100 if you want to use it.

Clearly, something a bit odd is going on. I know Apple isn’t exactly renowned for making revolutionary changes to its iPhone and iPad lines, but this feels almost as if Apple didn’t bother to spend any time on the iPad Mini this year; I mean, assuming the Touch ID sensor is the only difference (and Apple’s own specs page seems to confirm this is the case), then the iPad Mini 3 may have been the work of just a single Apple engineer.

The pricing of the iPad Mini 3 — $400 for the 16GB WiFi model — is simply bizarre, too. As you can see in the image to the right, the only difference between the iPad Mini 3 and iPad Mini 2 is the inclusion of a Touch ID sensor. Due to space constraints, I actually cropped the image to just a handful of tech specs — as you can see on the official iPad comparison page, the two Minis are identical; the same 5MP camera, the same A7 SoC, the same weight and dimensions. Even WiFi on the iPad Mini 3 hasn’t been updated; it’s still sitting at just 802.11n, while the new iPad Air 2 is up to 802.11ac.

It perhaps wouldn’t be so bad if Apple had retired the iPad Mini 2 — but apparently it’s sticking around, at a new price point of just $300. There’s no two ways around this: If you absolutely must have the latest-and-greatest iPad Mini 3, you’re paying $100 for the Touch ID sensor. (And potentially the new gold color, which has some value I suppose.)

Now, it isn’t unusual for Apple to keep last year’s iPhone or iPad rolling off the production line, but there’s no getting around the fact that the current iPad and iPad Mini lineup is now rather confusing:

With last year’s iPad Air receiving the same $100 price cut, it’s the same price as the new iPad Mini 3. There’s also the original iPad, with the A5 SoC and crummy 1024×768 screen, for just $50 less than the iPad Mini 2 (with Retina display).

Obviously, something weird is afoot — but what exactly?

First, it seems Apple is trying to create some space between the iPad Air and the iPad Mini. Last year, with the full-size iPad receiving a redesign (to become the Air), and the iPad Mini receiving a Retina display and A7 SoC, there was very, very little difference between the two tablets. I’m not sure why Apple is hammering a wedge between them, but it’s probably something to do with segmentation and maximizing profit margins. After all, if the iPad Mini is almost identical to the iPad Air, but it costs $100 less, then which one is Apple going to sell more of? (Apple has sadly never broken out the sales figures, but every analyst says the Mini has sold very well.)

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I’m sure the larger iPhone 6 Plus also figures into Apple’s finely tuned profit maximizing acumen, too. The iPhone 6 Plus starts at $750 MSRP — almost twice the price of the iPad Mini 3, and a price difference that is largely profit, too. (Fun fact: the 16GB iPhone 6 Plus is going for up to $1,000 on Amazon at the moment, due to high demand.) Intentionally crippling the iPad Mini 3 would certainly be a good way of getting undecideds to buy the iPhone 6 Plus.

Finally, the cynical response to the iPad Mini 3’s lack of innovation is that Apple simply doesn’t need to innovate. Unless you’re buying a tablet specifically for media consumption — in which case you’d buy a cheap Android or Fire tablet — the iPad and iPad Mini are still the only tablets that have access to the rich ecosystem of iOS apps, and are thus the best tablets on the market. Why spend time and money improving something that, depressingly, doesn’t need improving?

I still can’t get over the fact that Apple is charging $100 for the Touch ID sensor, though.

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