Apple iPad mini with Retina Display: Reviewed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 16, 2013 8:00 AM ESTCamera
The iPad mini with Retina Display features the same 5MP iSight rear facing camera and 1.2MP FaceTime HD camera as the iPad Air. Both are quite good for a tablet, aided by iOS’ excellent camera UI and the A7’s high performance ISP. The cameras also benefit from the same dual-mic setup of the iPad Air. I won’t talk too much about quality here as it’s no different than the Air, which I've already gone over in greater depth.
| Rear Facing Camera Comparison | |||||||
| Sensor | Resolution | Aperture | Focal Length | ||||
| Apple iPad Air | 5MP | 2592 x 1936 | f/2.4 | 3.3mm | |||
| Apple iPad 4 | 5MP | 2592 x 1936 | f/2.4 | 4.3mm | |||
| Apple iPad 3 | 5MP | 2592 x 1936 | f/2.4 | 4.3mm | |||
| Apple iPad 2,4 | 0.7MP | 960 x 720 | f/2.4 | 2.0mm | |||
| Apple iPad mini | 5MP | 2592 x 1936 | f/2.4 | 3.3mm | |||
| Apple iPad mini (Retina) | 5MP | 2592 x 1936 | f/2.4 | 3.3mm | |||
| Front Facing Camera Comparison | |||||||
| Sensor | Resolution | Aperture | Focal Length | ||||
| Apple iPad Air | 1.2MP | 1280 x 960 | f/2.4 | 2.15mm | |||
| Apple iPad 4 | 1.2MP | 1280 x 960 | f/2.4 | 2.18mm | |||
| Apple iPad 3 | 0.3MP | 640 x 480 | f/2.4 | 1.8mm | |||
| Apple iPad 2,4 | 0.3MP | 640 x 480 | f/2.4 | 1.8mm | |||
| Apple iPad mini | 1.2MP | 1280 x 960 | f/2.4 | 2.2mm | |||
| Apple iPad mini (Retina) | 1.2MP | 1280 x 960 | f/2.4 | 2.15mm | |||
WiFi & Cellular
The iPad mini with Retina Display inherits the same Qualcomm MDM9615 modem and 2-stream dual-band 802.11n from the iPad Air. The move to 2-stream 802.11n more or less doubles peak WiFi performance compared to last year’s mini. The mini's peak WiFi performance is pretty close to that of the iPad Air as well.
Lately I’ve really begun to appreciate the flexibility offered by tablets equipped with cellular modems. Especially now that it’s not terribly expensive to add a tablet to a shared data plan (or even free), the $130 LTE adder for the iPads is something worth seriously considering. The convenience of being able to pull out your tablet, wake it up, and immediately hop on the web/check email/tweet/etc… is awesome. Qualcomm's MDM9615 is a well known quantity at this point. I didn't run into any issues with its performance on the iPad mini.
| iPad Cellular Speeds | ||||||
| Property | iPhone 3G/3GS/iPad 1 3G | iPhone 4 / iPad 2 (GSM/UMTS) | iPhone 4 / iPad 2 (CDMA) | iPad 3 | iPad 4/iPad Mini | iPad Air/iPad Mini w/Retina |
| Baseband | Infineon X-Gold 608 | Infineon X-Gold 618 | Qualcomm MDM6600 | Qualcomm MDM9600 | Qualcomm MDM9615 w/RTR8600 |
Qualcomm MDM9615 w/WTR1605L |
| Max 3GPP Release Feature | Release 5 | Release 6 | Release 7 | Release 9 | Release 9 | Release 9 |
| HSDPA Category | Cat.8 - 7.2 Mbps | Cat.8 - 7.2 Mbps | N/A | Cat. 24 - 42 Mbps | Cat. 24 - 42 Mbps | Cat. 24 - 42 Mbps |
| HSUPA Category | None - 384 Kbps WCDMA only | Cat.6 - 5.76 Mbps | N/A | Cat.6 - 5.76 Mbps | Cat.6 - 5.76 Mbps | Cat.6 - 5.76 Mbps |
| EVDO | N/A | N/A | 1x/EVDO Rev.A | 1x/EVDO Rev.A | 1x/EVDO Rev.A | 1x/EVDO Rev.A |
| LTE | N/A | N/A | N/A | 100/50 UE Cat. 3 | 100/50 UE Cat. 3 | 100/50 UE Cat. 3 |
The new iPad mini, like the iPad Air, is extremely flexible from a mobile operator standpoint. Regardless of what operator you choose at the time of purchase, you can switch to others as long as you have an activated nano SIM (there’s apparently an exception for Sprint, but AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon should all be easily switchable). The unlocked nature of the device makes it ripe for global use, especially with support for a total of 14 LTE bands (1,2,3,4,5,7,8,13,17,18,19,20,25 and 26).
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akdj - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
Sirfergy....YOU were the 'one' that actually bought the Dell. I was wondering...because they sure ain't selling! Lol...that isn't an 'amazing' tablet by any stretch. It's cheaply made, feels like it's cheaply made, lacks any sort of Eco system or app development community, and 16:10 couldn't be a worse format for using in portrait, reading a book, surfing, etc. Anand's comments to wrap it up, mentioning both the Nex7 and the HDx in the article are excellent recommendations if iOS isn't your thing. That Dell is a bad joke. If Windows is hour thing, last year's Surface at a $150 discount (299-349) is a significantly better buy...or, if you can swing the $500, the Surface 2 is a significantly better option that that silly Dell that definitely does NOT boast a 'Full PC plus excellent experience'.One other cool thing about the iOS devices, they maintain their value. Like their lap and desktop counterparts, if you decide to upgrade each year, you'll typically recoup 70-80% of the original value. Keep it for two years, you'll grab 50-60/70% of that original purchase price. Try 'giving' away a two year old Dell Windows tablet. You're certainly not going to 'sell' it or recoup any of that original outlay
J
ws3 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
or because they don't want a Windows 8.1 tablet.Puberticus - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Who cares about the hardware. I'm only concerned about the ecosystem. Win has none. They have to bribe developers to come up with anything.Cptn_Slo - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
Why you don't want Win8 tabletsOS more suited for desktop
Few useful metro apps
Slower than android/ios on same hardware
Screen is shit for same price
OS takes up more space
Thicker with less battery life @ same price
Viruses
teng029 - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
One should choose anything they purchase based on need. A cheaper tablet doesn't make a better tablet. There are other differences to consider such as the ecosystem. When you buy a car, do you buy the cheapest or do you buy the one that fits your needs?zeagus - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Or, you know, preference for the iOS experience on a tablet.RadarTheKat - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Or prior experience with Windows, and Microsoft in general. LOL!socio-statistical - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Or, maybe they want to run actual tablet software on a tablet, and not have to use it like a laptop.doobydoo - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Firstly - because the Nexus 7 is pretty much the ONLY alternative that anyone who had done any research would consider, he arguably IS addressing every option.But secondly, and most importantly, did you miss the very first line in the comment to which you replied, in which he argues that asking Anand to address every single possibility is stupid?
jameskatt - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
If you can't afford an Apple product, you simply aren't a target Apple customer.If you care about quality - like the Chinese who make 3% of the world's population but buy 30% of the world's luxury goods - then you buy the iPad mini or iPad air.
When you love luxury cars, you simply don't buy a Hyundai or Chevy. You buy Mercedes Benz or BMW. If you want to economize, you at least buy a Lexus.