The mini’s are great for kids.
I like the idea of the new iPad but I just don’t see me buying one for awhile. So much for planned obsolescence! I bought a refurb iPad 4? directly from Apple four years ago. I hate using my desktop or laptop now. I’ve done my best to try and abuse it but it just shrugs it off. Works great and I bought a Bluetooth keyboard in case I need to do a lot of typing. My wife finally got one last fall and now won’t give it up! Bought each of my daughters 32gb iPad Mini 2s (for $199 at Costco) for Christmas 2016 and they love them. They (like my 4.5 year old iPhone 5) just always work and the updates are painless!
And for the wife. When I upgraded to an iPad 2, I gave my iPad 1 to my wife. Until she was griping about wanting newer features (the iPad 1 didn't have a camera and wouldn't upgrade to newer stuff, it's almost seven years old). So I bought her an iPad Mini, and she loves it. More portable and fits in her purse better. Cost us $200 on sale at Target. As for me, I'll be upgrading from my iPad 2 to a new iPad Pro.
We've always found them useful, on plane trips, on the go, and around the house. I have lots of PDFs, videos and pics on mine as reference material, excellent in using around the workshop out back and in the garage. Much easier than lugging a laptop around. Wife likes playing games, besides browsing the Internet and mail. Our little grandkids love playing with the iPad mini also.