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Apple iPad Mini 2 gets the axe amid quiet tablet refresh

If you want a smaller iPad and don't want to pay $400 for the iPad Mini 4, get a Mini 2 while you still can.

David Katzmaier Editorial Director -- Personal Tech
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
Expertise A 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics. Credentials
  • Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
David Katzmaier

If you want an iPad Mini 2, better act fast.

James Martin/CNET

Apple giveth and it taketh away.

Starting at $249, the iPad Mini 2 was the simplest, most affordable iPad, according to CNET reviews. Now it's getting replaced by something much more expensive.

The Mini 2 is gone from Apple's website, signaling its demise. The only Mini you'll be able to buy new and direct from Apple is the Mini 4, starting at $399, £419 or AU$579.

The culling of the Mini 2 comes amid Apple's quiet refresh of its tablet lineup, highlighted by the introduction of an improved full-sized iPad starting at $329, £339 or AU$469. You read that right: The new 9.7-inch iPad is cheaper than the old 7.9-inch Mini.

The low-key launch of Apple's new iPad underscores the overall decline in the tablet market. Global tablet shipments dropped for a ninth consecutive quarter in the last three months of 2016, according to product tracker IDC, and iPad sales have dribbled downwards for 12 straight quarters.

The iPad Mini 2 is still on sale at numerous third-party sites such as Amazon, starting at $250. If you want one, better move fast.