The final verdict for most reviewers seems to be that this is an excellent release for those who want to stick with iOS and enjoy their experience with the operating system, while users looking for something more budget-friendly should probably look elsewhere.
It remains to be seen how this device will hold up in the general market after some time and if it will leave the lasting impression that some people are expecting to see from it.
But in any case, the iPad Mini 4 is indicative of changes in Apple. The company is definitely taking a different approach with their market positioning and they are more aggressively trying to get people to join their legion of fans. And that might certainly happen down the road, as the market has been changing a lot and people’s perceptions are not quite what they used to be before.
With a few more releases like this device, that’s definitely not out of the question. We will have to wait and see what happens during 2016 and whether Apple really are changing their direction. Their users are a bit worried about the whole prospect, but of course that’s normal from the point of view of someone who has been a fan of the company for a long time and has come to expect certain things from them.