Apple iPad mini with Retina Display: Reviewed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 16, 2013 8:00 AM ESTBattery Life
Thanks to the mini’s integrated 23.8Wh battery (and the low idle power of the 28nm A7), the Retina Display’s power consumption is more than offset. Battery life in all of our tests is at worst unchanged from the mini, but at best we’re talking about a 21% increase.
Our web browsing test shows a 10% improvement compared to the original iPad mini. The new mini with Retina Display can even last longer than a 4th generation iPad, and it’s hot on the heels of the iPad Air (I'll be updating this section with LTE and LTE hotspot results).
Video playback is where we see the biggest improvement compared to the original mini. Here the new iPad mini lasts 21% longer on a single charge, once again outlasting even the iPad 4. The iPad Air doesn’t offer any appreciable gain in battery life over the Retina mini.
Our 3D battery life test is the only one where the old mini manages to beat the new Retina model. With a 1.31% margin of victory though, it’s pretty safe to say that for current 3D gaming workloads you’ll see similar battery life out of the Retina mini as the old model. This is also the only test where the iPad Air delivers better battery life on a single charge (~11%).
Apple ships the Retina mini with a 10W USB charger and lightning cable. This appears to be the same charger as what shipped with the 3rd generation iPad (but obviously with a different cable). Using the newer 12W charger from the iPad 4/Air has no impact on charge time as the mini still only draws a maximum of 11.7W at the wall (compared to 13.8W for the iPad Air).
The iPad mini with Retina Display completes a charge from 0 to 100% in a sliver under 4 hours. That’s a little quicker than the iPad Air, and similar to the original mini with its 5W charger.
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MarcSP - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
Surface is not x86. I don't understand why the CPU architecture is important for the common user. I think the overall experience is what they mind. And, anyway, latest x86 SoC are as good or better than ARM counterparts in performance and power consumption.zeagus - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Competitive, not as good or better. The A7 and even IIRC SnapDragon 8xx beats the latest x86 mobile SoC from Intel.MarcSP - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Ok, but my point is still valid, that x86 or ARM is barely something relevant when choosing one device (being other factors, such as the OS, the same or similar).ananduser - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
The Verge also noticed performance issues, stuttering and lag.socio-statistical - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Good luck getting an Android user to admit even that their device is an outright copy of the iPad (which literally everyone else can see) let alone that anyone would consider buying the iPad it so obviously copies. At least MSFT finally produced a not-totally-cribbed from Apple device. (If we can at this point consider Windows to be anything remotely 'new' or original that is.)MrX8503 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Srry KPOM. Meant to reply to BPB.BPB - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
The day this site recommends an Android or Windows device over the competing Apple product I will reconsider. My point is that in the end every article/review here leans Apple when Apple is involved. Heck, the phone guy doesn't even do Windows Phone devices and openly mocks them. At the end of the day they will give the Apple competitors some praise, but they don't recommend the competitors over Apple.Check out the Nexus 7 conclusion:
"The original Nexus 7 gave us a decent Android experience at a very low cost. This year ASUS and Google raised the bar for sure. The new Nexus 7 is no longer just a decent tablet at a good price, it's an incredible tablet. With this Nexus, it's clear that Google no longer wants to rely on value alone. The 2013 Nexus 7 redefines what you should expect to pay for a truly great tablet. If you're in the market for an ultra portable tablet, and definitely if you're shopping for an Android tablet in particular, the new Nexus 7 should be at the top of your list. It's so good that I'm giving it our Silver Award."
An "incredible" and "truly great" tablet at a good price gets a silver award, not gold. What does it take to get gold? Possibly, just possibly, a company name that is a fruit.
chaosbloodterfly - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
The only gold award given to a smartphone was to the HTC One, a decidedly not fruity company. Anandtech also doesn't give out awards lightly. There isn't even an award in this review. Or the 5s review. Stop grasping at straws here.KPOM - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
I don't believe Anand has ever actually awarded an Apple product a gold award (at least not recently).BPB - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
By the way, I in no way deny the fact that Apple makes good stuff. My best friend and my brother use their products, and they are not fools.I didn't realize I accidently deleted the following from my previous comment:
"Yes, Apple doesn't get an award here, nor do I see any in other reviews I found after a quick search. But I think I know why that is. In order to give out awards you need to have competition, here, at least, Apple has none."