Brandon, I absolutely agree with your points on hardware. Apple gets held to such an insanely high standard these days, that many people no longer give them credit for the consistently high quality hardware they produce. The iPhone 5 and Mini aren’t touched by anything on the market in terms of quality, workmanship, and materials.

I’ll comment on a couple things from this conversation you had, and keep in mind this is just my opinion.

The iPhone 5 is an astounding piece of hardware. I’ve had the pleasure to hold it and compared to the 4s… well there was no comparison. IF Apple can continue to produce premium hardware like this, their future will remain very bright. Beautiful device in every sense. BUT, there are two problems.

1. One size does not fit all. Granted many people are happy with the screen size, I wanted bigger. Those who are using any number of Android or WP7/8 device will definitely agree with me.
2. iOS compared to Android Jelly Bean just feels dated. The ability of the Android homescreen to be customized to MY NEEDS, and present a vast array of information, simply leaves iOS in the dust. Information I NEED when I turn on my device shouldn’t be buried under multiple apps – it should be readily available instantly. This for me is the biggest shortcoming of iOS right now.

Next, I read a lot of “based on the specs” comments about how the iPad Mini is just another iPad, just another link in the chain and not a revolutionary product. In almost every case, these comments come from someone who has not USED the iPad Mini for any extended period of time as their primary tablet. Like you, I feel the iPad Mini (once the internals catch up — think A6/RAM) will become THE iPad. My wife owns an iPad 2, we buy many iPad 3/4s in my district and every time I pick one of them up, I chuckle a little bit. It feels so foreign, so comically large.

I also possess a Nexus 7 and it simply does not compare on any level to the iPad Mini. The Mini is just a wonderful piece of hardware, and absolute joy to use, and as long as Apple keeps improving the device, well I’ll be sitting here saying “Shut up and take my money”. The mini is more than just a smaller version of the larger iPad, and anyone who owns one knows that feeling I’m talking about. Now before the “fanboy” screaming begins – my daily driver is a Nexus 4 which I love. I’ve got both the Nexus 7 and the iPad Mini sitting here. Invariably, I pick up the Mini.

*Note: The unreleased Galaxy Note 8 has yet to make its way in to my hands. If Samsung can pull off a device like the Mini with an integrated Wacom layer and a solid software suit to accompany it… well, then Apple has its work cut out for it.