Shure's new digital mics could easily overshadow the MVi, its interface-only option.
However, this compact, chunky, metal-cased unit includes a combo XLR and 1/4-inch instrument jack, and a mini jack headphone output.
The front panel is much like the touch panel of the MV51, with the same DSP options and level control, but here holding down the mic mute button activates the phantom power.
This provides +/-12V when hooked up to iOS devices, and +/-48V when connected via USB. So, assuming your favourite capacitor mic is fairly tolerant of lower phantom voltages, you now have an elegant means for recording directly into your iOS device; and with onboard zero latency monitoring, much like the MV5 and MV51, overdubbing is also straightforward.
This simple flexibility actually makes the MVi our favourite of the Shure iOS devices.