Apple iPad mini with Retina Display: Reviewed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 16, 2013 8:00 AM ESTI suppose there’s only one way to start this review, and that’s by looking back at last year’s iPad mini review. In that review I had a section dedicated to the possibility of an iPad mini with Retina Display. The low resolution display and slow SoC were my only two real complaints about the first iPad mini. I listed a bunch of options that Apple had for the mini going forward:
“Apple has preferred outright quadrupling of pixel count (2x in each dimension) to create a Retina Display. With the mini's display using a 1024 x 768 resolution, this option would give it a 7.85-inch 2048 x 1536 panel. That would be the same resolution as the iPad 3/4, but in a much smaller display giving it a pixel density of 326 PPI (vs ~263 for the iPad 3/4). Apple could do this, but it would then need to make all of the same changes it made in going to the iPad with Retina Display, primarily the introduction of a larger battery and much larger SoC. The bigger battery is needed to drive the more powerful backlight, and the X-series of SoCs is needed to actually render the UI and games at such a high resolution. Both of these things would increase the size and cost of the mini, which would make it distinctly un-mini.”
What I wrote last year was more or less what Apple decided to do this year, had I stopped there I wouldn’t have ended up with egg on my face. Naturally I didn’t. At the end of that page I concluded the following:
“None of these options is particularly enticing for Apple, especially given the low (for Apple), starting price for the iPad mini. If you're expecting next year's mini to have a Retina Display, I wouldn't hold your breath.”
And this is why I don’t like making predictions.
I hadn’t expected display power to go down as much as it did. I didn’t think battery density would improve as much as it did. And I definitely didn’t think Apple would integrate a large 4MB cache on its SoCs, thereby reducing the need for a super wide memory interface. The combination of those three things made giving the iPad mini a Retina Display possible, and that’s exactly what Apple did this year.
It’s called the iPad mini with Retina Display, and unlike the iPad Air, it looks a lot like its predecessor. You’d be hard pressed to notice the 4.1% increase in thickness (+0.3mm) or the 7.5% increase in weight (+23g). Even if you did, what those slight gains net you is more than worth the effort.
From top to bottom: iPad mini, iPad mini with Retina Display, iPad Air
The Retina mini now features a 44% larger battery (23.8Wh). That’s nearly the same battery capacity as the original iPad (25Wh), but in a chassis with only 1/3 of the volume. This is also the highest capacity battery we’ve ever seen in a tablet of this size. The negligible impact on weight and thickness is pretty impressive.
The battery enables the two killer features of the new mini: mainly Apple’s A7 SoC and of course, the 7.85-inch 2048 x 1536 Retina Display. Effectively addressing my chief issues with the original iPad mini, the new mini is substantially faster and comes with a significantly better display. Keep in mind the original mini debuted with an n-1 SoC (Apple’s A5 the year the A6 came out), which makes the move to the A7 this year even more substantial of an upgrade. While casual users would be hard pressed to tell the difference between an A6 and an A7, anyone who actively used last year's iPad mini will appreciate just how much quicker the new one is (particularly if you’ve upgraded to iOS 7). It’s awesome silicon enabling a much better experience.
The display itself needs no real explanation. The first generation iPad mini featured a 1024 x 768 display, which was passable but not ideal. I had no problems recommending that mini given how good the rest of the experience was, but it’s clear that it could’ve been better. Moving to a 2048 x 1536 panel not only gives the mini the right to use the term Retina Display, but the title of highest density display in Apple’s lineup as well.
The rest of the chassis looks otherwise identical to the original mini. Apple likes to keep its mobile designs around for at least two generations, and the mini is no exception. By no means is this a complaint however. I'm just as enamored with the high quality mini chassis as I was last year. I think Apple nailed the size of the smaller iPad the first time around; 7.85-inches isn't too narrow nor is it too wide.
The face of the tablet is marked by an asymmetric bezel, identical to the iPad Air. The sides are narrow, while the top/bottom are thicker in order to accommodate the physical home button and FaceTime HD camera. Just like before, Apple does a little bit of extra work in rejecting thumbs placed on either edge of the mini to make up for the lack of side bezel to hold.
The back is a solid piece of aluminum, available in either a light silver or space (dark) grey finish. Just like with the iPhone, the silver model gets a white treatment on the front with a lighter chamfer while space grey comes with a black trim and gunmetal chamfered edge. Models with a cellular modem feature a plastic RF window along the top edge of the tablet just like the bigger iPad.
Along the edges you’ll find power/lock up top, volume up/down and a rotation lock/mute toggle on the right side. If you have a cellular model you’ll also find a nano SIM tray along the right side of the mini.
The bottom edge is home to Apple’s Lightning connector, flanked on either side by speakers. The mini sounds pretty good although you do get better low frequency reproduction out of the larger iPad Air.
The iPad mini with Retina Display features the same 5MP iSight (rear facing) and 1.2MP FaceTime HD (front facing) cameras as the iPad Air. Complementing both is a dual-mic setup for background noise removal, once again identical to the iPad Air.
The mini is available in the exact same configurations as the iPad Air. It starts at $399 with 16GB of storage, and is available in 32/64/128GB options (+$100 for each increase in storage level). Cellular connectivity is also an option, once again at a $130 adder. Just like the iPad Air, the mini with Retina Display is only available in a single LTE SKU with support for 14 different bands and ships unlocked.
iPad Specification Comparison | ||||||||
Apple iPad Air | Apple iPad 2 | Apple iPad mini (Retina) | Apple iPad mini | |||||
Dimensions | 240 x 170 x 7.5 mm | 241.2 x 185.7 x 8.8mm | 200 x 134.7 x 7.5mm | 200 x 134.7 x 7.2mm | ||||
Display | 9.7-inch 2048 x 1536 IPS | 9.7-inch 1024 x 768 IPS | 7.9-inch 2048 x 1536 IPS | 7.9-inch 1024 x 768 IPS | ||||
Weight | 469g (WiFi) | 601g (WiFi) | 331g (WiFi) | 308g (WiFi) | ||||
Processor | Apple A7 (2 x Cyclone 1.4GHz, PowerVR G6430) | 1GHz Apple A5 (2 x Cortex A9, PowerVR SGX543MP2) |
Apple A7 (2 x Cyclone 1.3GHz, PowerVR G6430) |
1GHz Apple A5 (2 x Cortex A9, PowerVR SGX543MP2) | ||||
Connectivity | WiFi , Optional 4G LTE | WiFi | WiFi , Optional 4G LTE | WiFi , Optional 4G LTE | ||||
Memory | 1GB | 512MB | 1GB | 512MB | ||||
Storage | 16GB—128GB | 16GB | 16GB—128GB | 16GB—64GB | ||||
Battery | 32.4Wh | 25Wh | 23.8Wh | 16.5Wh | ||||
Starting Price | $499 | $399 | $399 | $299 |
The old mini still sticks around at $299, although like the iPad 2 that’s still on sale you’d be hard pressed to hear me recommend it. Perhaps if you really don’t mind the lower resolution display, far slower SoC and want to save a little money without abandoning iOS. For most folks the iPad mini with Retina Display is where it’s at. If you’re a heavy tablet user, the experience is really night and day. While the iPad Air’s form factor is what defined its experiential improvement, the iPad mini with Retina Display relies on the display and silicon to do the same.
Weight and Usability
So much of the experience of using a tablet is tied to the weight and distribution of said weight. The iPad Air is proof of just how true that is. Whereas the iPad Air straddled the line between comfortable one and two handed usage, the mini finds itself squarely in one handed territory. Picking up the mini after using the Air for a couple of weeks feels like I’m barely holding anything. The mini is by far the more comfortable of the two tablets to hold while lying down. Sitting upright I’m not sold on the weight loss being a huge benefit compared to the mini, but if I’m relaxing the mini is just so much nicer to hold.
iPad Dimensions/Weight Comparison | ||||||||
iPad | iPad 2 | iPad 3/4 | iPad Air | iPad mini (Retina) | iPad mini | |||
Height | 243 mm | 241 mm | 241 mm | 240 mm | 200 mm | 200 mm | ||
Width | 190 mm | 186 mm | 186 mm | 170 mm | 134.7 mm | 134.7 mm | ||
Thickness | 13.4 mm | 8.8 mm | 9.4 mm | 7.5 mm | 7.5 mm | 7.2 mm | ||
Weight | 680 g | 601 g | 650 g | 469 g | 331 g | 308 g |
The chassis is narrow enough where I can just barely get one hand around the entire thing and use it like a giant smartphone. If I hold the mini in both hands like a smartphone I can actually type away super quickly using my thumbs. The latter is a use case I found myself in pretty frequently as the mini is small enough that I’d be willing to carry it with me everywhere, particularly when in a case. While the iPad Air is too big to hold in portrait mode and comfortably type on with my thumbs, the mini is too small to hold in landscape mode and use like a regular keyboard. For typing out long emails like I would on a notebook, the iPad Air is the better option assuming I can get to a desk or can sit down. If I can’t have either of those things, the iPad mini is a better companion.
Apple sent an LTE model, which basically duplicated most of the functionality of my smartphone. With the LTE mini my smartphone stayed in my pocket more, although there are tons of combinations of small/large phone/tablet that you can enumerate for optimum computing these days. In many ways it’s like the discussion between small notebook + desktop vs. large notebook + docking station.
The mini’s smaller display does make reading some content a little more difficult compared to the big iPad. Reading, particularly given the new Retina Display, is pretty good on the mini. Small text is always easier to read when it’s on a larger display, but if you’re looking at content that’s properly formatted for a tablet you’ll be in good shape on the mini. I was asked to look into the comic reading experience on the mini and also came away pretty pleased. Text bubbles were definitely not as easy to read as on the iPad Air, but overall the experience was still good in most of what I read. Ultimately you don’t sacrifice a ton of functionality if you choose the mini instead of the Air. What you do lose, you definitely make up in portability. It’s really a question of where you’re going to use the tablet that’ll determine which one to go with.
Cases
Like the iPad Air, the iPad mini is light enough that using any sort of case adds a good amount of weight to the device (percentage wise). I found myself taking the mini out of its case to use, and just keeping it protected when on the go.
Since the mini hasn’t really changed in form factor, the two first-party cases are pretty similar to what we got last year (the covers work with both mini generations). Like its bigger brother, the mini is offered with an optional Smart Cover ($39) or Smart Case ($69) depending on how much protection you want.
Apple sampled me a black Smart Cover and a Product Red Smart Case for the iPad mini. I thought both looked great on the space grey mini. It’s worth pointing out that the red Smart Case is a less saturated color than the red Smart Cover I evaluated with the iPad Air.
The Smart Cover attaches to the left side of the mini with a magnetic hinge. If you’ve lined up the magnets properly, the attractive force is strong enough to support the weight of the mini if you pick it up by the cover (though I wouldn’t recommend doing so). Magnets in the edge of the cover furthest from the hinge signal sleep/wake on the tablet itself.
The Smart Case has the same sleep/wake functionality, but instead of attaching to the mini with magnets the tablet sits inside the case for protection on both sides of the tablet. The Smart Case is what I prefer to travel with, though it is far more difficult to get in/out of and obviously adds the most weight to the device.
Both covers feature the same three fold design and can double as a stand for the tablet. Since the previous mini used the same type of cover, the angle of the stand doesn’t change like it did with the Air.
The inside surface of each cover is lined in microfiber, while the outside is made of either soft-touch polyurethane (Smart Cover) or leather (Smart Case). Both do a good job of protecting the mini and neither showed excessive wear during my review period. I still have the 1st generation mini’s Smart Cover and that one appears to have held up well over the past year.
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BPB - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
"The absolute quality of a product may have more importance to some than the quality/price ratio when comparing products that are all within one's budget. By your logic, why wouldn't one suggest an even cheaper tablet than the Nexus 7?"See my comment above. He called the Nexus "incredible" and "truly great". In my book that means really high quality. Show me a person who thinks that of the Hisense. I think comparing the Nexus 7 to the mini is comparing two high quality products. And one of them costs a lot less, at least for folks in my income bracket.
Please understand, I have no problem with folks saying Apple products are good, really good. And I don't deny they are. I can't because I don't use them. The point in my original post is that if it's an Apple review at this site, it will be glowing.
EnzoFX - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Glowing sure, and rightly so. The N7 review was also glowing. Some people just like to whine no matter what. They like to come on here and lead us all down a pathetic back and forth. It surprises me the number of people who entertain comments like these. I would not normally, but after all these... Why bother? Why read Anandtech if you don't like the facts they present... I don't really care to hear an answer...p_giguere1 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Those "incredible" and "truly great" terms are relative to the competition and to our expectations, and quality level isn't as black and white as you make it sound.I'm sure that cheap Hisense tablet would have been considered high-quality if it had been released one year sooner. Just like the 2013 N7 probably won't be considered high-quality when you'll measure it against a 2014 N7, just like a 2012 N7 could hardy be called high-quality right now.
The 2013 N7 was released (and reviewed) at a time when there was no Retina iPad mini. When the standard to beat was the regular iPad mini which had a relatively low-res display and an old SoC despite its higher price tag. Had the 2013 N7 be released right now, I'm sure the general tone reviewers would have had would have been a little different, because people's expectations would also have been higher just because the market has already changed since then.
Anyway, why do selectively choose when the tone of reviewers matters? If Anand has a positive tone when reviewing the Nexus 7, that means it's an exceptional product that easily justifies its price tag compared to cheaper alternatives, yet when he does the same with the Retina iPad mini, it doesn't count and he's biased? What's the difference?
Puberticus - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Well look at the bright side: we won't have to fret for long.Displays are already as good as the eyeball can see. So what's left making it thinner, lighter and last longer? Whatever.
Again IMHO, I think the iPad Air is pretty much the end of the line as far as added value goes. If I'm wrong, I'll be pleasantly surprised.
beggerking@yahoo.com - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
well, Anand had positive ton about Mac Air, which STILL HAS NO RETINA NOR TOUCHSCREEN display...in the mean time, everything else mid end or up has at least 1080p... even a Dell Venue Pro for $600 has 1080p with touch screen...
angermeans - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
I've read all of your comments to this point. Your making it sound as if the Nexus 7 and iPad mini are on equal grounds and because of this people should choose cost every time. If you were right I would agree (such as they both ran the same software), but your not and not even close. I've got the 2013 N7 and the new iPad mini with retina display sitting right next to me. Last year I had both the 2012 N7 and iPad Mini original. In all your comments you forget one glaring fact and that is Eco system. Android tablets (even at their absolute best such as the N7) are no where even close to iOS. When people want a tablet they sent great tablet optimized apps and you don't get even close to tablet apps on the Nexus 7 (or other android tablets). The android tablet Eco system is so behind iOS that they don't even deserve to be in the same sentence together, but they often are. Yes, the N7 is a great value and has great hardware (although nowhere near apples tablets, but ill leave hardware out of this comment for now), but it is nothing more than a giant phone with giant oversized android apps. One will get a much better lifetime value with an iPad over an android tablet. This is why apple absolutely dominates the tablet market despite costing much more and their dominance is the reason companies like google have been forced to release low cost devices in the first place as they simply cannot even compete. This won't ever change no matter the hardware until the android app situation gets better and I just don't see it happening anytime soon. You can't even get an optimized twitter tablet app and when you finally do then samsung gobbles it up as an exclusive. This doesn't happen on iOS and the constant OS updates even make it better. My nexus 7 sadly has sat 90% of the time (despite being a great value) because of the reasons (among others such as constant lag on android platforms). Android tablets are nothing more than media consumption devices whereas iPads are so much more. No reason to be sore about it and the fact that Ananda gave a fair review while not pointing out the severe gap In the two Eco systems shows his non bias and straight review of the hardware.akdj - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
@Angermeans, so well and eloquently said. I own the Xoom, Note 2, and have had every iteration of iPad and iPhone (we have had a business for 22 years that has literally been transformed with the introduction of the iPad, it's 'Eco system' and the software available for productivity. We use them 60 hours a week in the field and they've replaced 70-80 pounds of gear we used for well over a decade and a half. I bought this year's Nex7 (I wasn't convinced, like Anand...that a retina or HiDPI screen would be included in this year's mini). Don't know why. I've been burned now twice...and while the Xoom still works fine for a few things (and as a 'Google' device was always up front to get updates), I can't get out of the Note contract fast enough (my daily driver is a 5s...my wife the iPhone 5). We bought it solely for the business and signing contracts and credit cards with Square. What a joke. We don't use it for either. In fact, for both contract signatures and credit card payments, the iPhone and iPad works faster and more efficientlyI can't tell you how pissed off it makes you after downloading an app from the Play store only to see....'Not optimized for your device/tablet'. This is a phone app. Works just fine on the s4. Not the Note. Not the Nex 7. While the 2013 Nexus 7 is an incredible value with a phenomenal display and pretty decent/swift performance (TouchWiz is the Devil's UI!)---other than for surfing, email, maps or watching a movie, I find it useless in comparison with the iPad. It's wild to see such devoted Android fans jump in, take the time to comment, and attempt to discredit one of...if not the top tier of technological review teams on Al Gore's interwebs. I LOVE tech. I give them both a try. But just as Windows reigned supreme for a pair of decades when it came to software choice, the same is now try for iOS and tablet 'optimized' applications and software. Replacing FLIGHT BAGS! For crying out loud....Jep charts, ops guides and plates....40-50 pound commercial (& redundant with both pilot and F/O) pilot flight bags....history, replaced by a 1.3 pound iPad 2 (maybe some have upgrade to retina?).
Doesn't matter WHAT you're into. There is 'an app for that'. In iOS. Not Android. Creative, photo/videography, writing, coding, gaming, productivity and 'office type suites', utilities and Topo maps....flight planning and GPS route following software, fuel calculators and guitar tuners, the list literally goes on forever! Jimi Hendrix? The Stones? Leonardo DaVinci in high resolution.....it's crazy the options that exist in iOS. And their intuitive nature.
Android tablet apps in the other hand....other than Facebook and World Series of poker, I'm lost. Oh yeah, Evernote works out alright as well as Dropbox. There's. That.
KoolAidMan1 - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
akdj - The other mobile ecosystems aren't anywhere close. I use WP8 but have an iPad for my tablet because its library is so much better than WinRT and Android.The Nexus 7 is cheap but it does so little compared to the iPad. It is a toy in comparison. The Kindle is even more limited on top of having lower quality hardware. The less said about WinRT the better...
RadarTheKat - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
He also forgot screen size (iPad mini is larger) and resale value (which means the overall cost of the iPad mini is not so far off from the N7 as the retail price suggests).RadarTheKat - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
And the whole cheaper can be better value falls apart with Apple products because of the high resale value based upon build quality and demand. So that iPad might actually, full cycle, cost no more than an initially cheaper competing tablet.