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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solipsism - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
1) Ideal is conception of perfection and everything is a relation to it. For instance, a 0.1 aspect ratio on a 9.7" display would give you a 0.97"x 9.65" display. Is that more or less ideal than 9.7" at 16:9" display for reading?2) Again, there is no obsolete aspect ratio. Simply because something is more commonly used doesn't mean it's not viable. If you think that is a measure of what everyone should be doing then iOS shouldn't be used.
WaltFrench - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Interesting “use case” where you need pro-quality color and fastest-possible processing but are uninterested in the larger screen which more easily lets you see those photos or videos that you're doing all that detail work on.tipoo - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
I don't need to do professional work to see the washed out colors.ws3 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
The choice between the retina mini and the air is only "muddier" if you're the kind of ding-dong who buys based on spec sheets.The choice between the air and the retina mini is simple: larger screen vs. lower weight. That's it. If you want a larger screen, you go air. If you want a lower weight, you go mini. Anything else is irrelevant unless you plan to do nothing with your tablet except run benchmarks and display tests.
Puberticus - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Personally, after reading this review I think I'm probably going to get the Air. The weight difference isn't that significant and I think I'm going to appreciate the extra screen area.The size really isn't an issue because I would never consider putting the mini in a pocket in the first place.
moep - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
At this rate we’ll see the Haswell rMBP reviews sometime between christmas and new year, yay.Bob Todd - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Yeah, still hoping for a 13" rMBP review soon. And for an insta-ban on all of these asshats filling every Apple article with bias garbage. There are often interesting and insightful comments here from some, too bad I have to get several pages in to find them.allanwood - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Are the LCD and cover glass bonded?Morawka - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
This, The air's display gap is very distracting to me, since the display is not laminated, the glass looks like it's a full quarter of a inch away from the display. (i know it's not, but glass bends light and makes it look even worse)They should laminate because it uses less power by having incell touch, and obviously thinner.
Spoony - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
The Mini has always had optically bonded glass and LCD, although I'd like to have it confirmed as well. I am looking to get an iPad to read magazines on. However, no buy this generation. If I'm paying this much for a device I want to get a full sRGB display with high accuracy. Which it seems the Mini is not. AND I want an optically bonded display stack, which the Air is not (for some bizarre reason). Sorry, Apple. My standards are very high. Maybe next generation when the 9.7" iPad gets an optically bonded display stack I'll reconsider.