Apple iPad mini with Retina Display: Reviewed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 16, 2013 8:00 AM ESTFinal Words
When I concluded our iPad Air review I assumed the iPad mini with Retina Display was a true no-compromise, smaller alternative to the iPad Air. In many senses that’s true. Wireless connectivity is identical between the models, battery life is pretty much the same as well. Peak performance is close and you no longer have to accept a lower resolution display. Last year’s iPad mini was easy to recommend, and this year’s is even easier. To my surprise however, the iPad Air continues to hold some advantages that may resonate well with some users.
The biggest in my eyes is the iPad Air’s wider gamut display with full sRGB coverage. The mini’s Retina Display is good, the Air’s is just better. There’s also more thermal headroom on the iPad Air, which can come in handy if you’re doing compute intensive work on it. If neither of those things matters to you, then the decision becomes one of usage model and portability. I believe the iPad Air does a better job of approximating a primary computing device, particularly in its ability to give you a reasonable sized virtual keyboard to work on. The iPad mini on the other hand is substantially more portable. Although the iPad Air is light enough to come along with me more than any prior iPad, the mini’s form factor makes it even more likely that’ll I’ll bring it with me (the best tablet is the one you have with you?).
As much as I prefer the iPad Air’s display and as much as I love having more performance, I’d probably lean towards the mini personally. The lower weight and smaller form factor are just tough to give up. Apple could’ve made the decision a lot easier by giving the mini true display parity with the Air though.
The mini with Retina Display sits at an interesting point in Apple's iPad lineup. Priced at $399, the higher-end mini is priced identically to the iPad 2 - which Apple continues to sell. I honestly can't see a situation outside of having poor vision where I'd recommend the iPad 2 over the iPad mini with Retina Display.
If you're on the fence about upgrading from an older iPad (or even the first gen mini), the iPad mini with Retina Display is a tempting target. Compared to virtually all previous iPads you're going to notice a substantial increase in performance thanks to Apple's A7 SoC. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the performance improvement over the previous generation mini (featuring Apple's A5) can be just as noticeable of an uprade as the display. The new mini is a leap forward in performance compared to its predecessor.
While Apple has the 10-inch tablet market more or less locked up with the iPad Air, the mini faces stiff competition. The biggest comes from Google with the $229 2013 Nexus 7. You get an incredibly affordable device and a display with full sRGB gamut. What the mini offers is a faster SoC, a wider display (a Nexus 8 would be nice) and of course, iOS. I’ve heard varying opinions on iOS vs. Android when talking about tablet or smartphone use. Some users prefer Android on one and iOS on the other, vice versa or find themselves exclusively in one camp. This one is best left up to personal preference. At $229 the Nexus 7 is a great option. If you prefer iOS however, the iPad mini with Retina Display is quite nice. The price hike vs. the standard mini can be a tough pill to swallow, but the A7 and display are definitely worth it.
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Puberticus - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
I'm truly puzzled.Why are you trying to turn this into a religious issue?
The review was concise and detailed. Why do you have a problem with that?
Apple produces superb products. Deal with it.
KoolAidMan1 - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
You Android fanatics are unbelievable. Anand backs up everything he says and in response there are so many irrational fanboy responses because he dare says that Apple makes the best option.He also doesn't give gold or silver awards in these reviews, you're crying over nothing.
erple2 - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
An and doesn't actually say that Apple makes the best products, though. That's why I like this site. I'm an Android fan, but I appreciate the analysis of the products reviewed here. Interestingly, Apple fans are at least as rabid as Android fans. They make the same criticisms to justify their positions - pointing out how stuttery Android ran in the old days. Andre fans counter with how iOS is missing critical features in version 4. Either way, they're both right and wrong at the same time. Ultimately, each fan bought in to one camp or the other. I bought in to the Google ecosystem, and came into the smartphone market late, so I went with Android. Other people have had an iPhone since 2007, and are firmly in the iOS camp.I can't even remember why I started writing this. Oh also Anand was pretty glowing of the new nexus 7 on this article. But if you've invested money in the iOS camp, then it appears that the mini retina is the way to go.
zeagus - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Possibly, just possibly a better user experience and good tablet apps? Reality has a pro Apple bias when it comes to tablets right now.RadarTheKat - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Simple recognition that Apple is in a different class. All by itself. And Apple deserves that accolade given the detail and quality put into their products. Do you recall the delaminating issue with the first Nexus 7? That's a heck of a lot worse issue than the antenna issue on the iPhone 4 or the Apple Maps issues. I mean, the darn thing started coming apart!socio-statistical - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
So, basically, you are saying, either they SKEW their reviews into Fantasy-land, or you won't listen. Interesting viewpoint there...p_giguere1 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
1) Why would he "admit" an opinion as if it was an absolute fact? Anand clearly mentioned the Nexus 7 was a great option at the end and that it came to personal preference. Are you not satisfied he didn't say something like "You should suggest everybody you know a Nexus 7 over this because it's definitely a better buy for everyone"? What if that's a statement he disagrees with? You should review your definition of admission.2) The main thing the Nexus has going for it over an iPad is the price, and not everybody has a problem paying $400 for a tablet if they know they're getting high quality without compromises. Please don't allude first-time buyers necessarily have a low budget or low expectations. Their decision is sometimes more like "Should I get a tablet at all" rather than "What model should I get". They may feel only a truly good tablet would be worth trying to integrate in their current workflow/life which is currently fulfilled with other good gadgets. They need the tablet to be good enough to justify its frequent usage.
3) 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? Value is almost always better for cheap products, so where do we set the bar? Why would you not suggest, say a $129 Hisense Sero Pro? After all, it has a similar form factor, IPS display, decent specs and runs Jelly Bean and the same apps. Why would anybody pay the 78% premium for the Nexus 7 when a cheaper tablet does all the same things for cheaper? See what I'm doing here?
Honestly you just seem mad Apple are getting the good reviews they deserve. This and the iPad Air are solid products. So is the Nexus 7. Can't be just accept that without turning it into a pissing contest?
solnyshok - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
I am the person who doesn't mind paying $400 for an uber 8" device. In fact, even EUR 400. However, at this price, iPad Mini Retina is a one huge glaring walking compromise. 16GB is not acceptable for a tablet at the end of 2013. In fact, the minimum memory I can live with now is 32GB for a phone and 64GB for a tablet. At 64GB, iPad Mini is 600 EUR here. I think I would rather have a much more reasonably priced LG G Pad 8.3 (EUR 350)+ 64GB Micro SDXC card(EUR 50)p_giguere1 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
"Über" is relative apparently. At the end if the day, you still picked a device that you thought had better a value rather than judging on quality alone. Not that it's a bad thing, but let's not act as if everyone had the same budget and call one device objectively better when its main selling point is its value despite being objectively worse in certain easily measurable aspects.ws3 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
So all you have to do is go buy your LG G Pad 8.3 and (hopefully) be happy with your purchase.Personally I don't need any more than 16GB on any mobile device. I've purchased 3 generations of iPhones and one iPad, and I've been satisfied with 16GB. Needless to say, I have had the option of going with higher flash sizes, but I haven't felt the need to do so.
Therefore, you can go buy your LG and have your fun with it, while I will go buy my iPad Air and have my fun with it. Win-Win.