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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ws3 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
It does everything it needs to do. And overpriced for people like you is not overpriced for other people. That's what makes the market free.MarcSP - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
WS3: "It does everything it needs to do"Like real on screen multitasting or multi user accounts. Oh wait!
Don't panic!, it's obvious that if it doesn't have those things is because it does not need them (until it gets those things. Then they will be a MUST for any tablet).
WS3: "And overpriced for POOR SCUM like you is not overpriced for ARISTOCRATS (like me)"
You meaning is conveyed much better now, hehe :-P
BTW, am I the only one that every time I write "scum" I think of "SCUMM"? :-D
ws3 - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
If you need two apps on screen at the same time or multiple user accounts, then don't buy an iPad. It's just that simple.Value is always a subjective decision. If you don't want to pay what Apple asks for an iPad, then don't buy it. Why would you care if other people do want to pay what Apple asks for an iPad?
MarcSP - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Of course, "don't buy a product that can't do what you need". I think we all can agree with that golden rule. Still, many people will buy iPad because they don't know anything else or even because it is "what my friends are buying" :-]My point was that iPad has many compromises, as any product (it is impossible to do everything for everyone all the time, you must make choices when designing anything, according to the present constraints), but some reviewers try to make it look like it's the PERFECT product (or almost). Even if we understand the choices Apple made for the harware and software, still we can see room for improvement in several areas.
And do you mean that iPad would NOT benefit from having real multitasting or user accounts? Do you mean it is better it doesn't have? Maybe the real MT would be a problem for the present (outdated?) UI, but why not have multiple users accounts? In many homes the iPad is the family iPad. Why be forced to mix children apps with Infinifty Blade, your email with your wife's email, and her period tracking app with your footbal app.... you get the idea. :-)
Each person is free to use his money as he pleases. I just found funny the "people like you" thing you wrote. That expresion has been used many times in history, usually before bad things start happening, hehe :-)
RadarTheKat - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
If you want to share an iPad with your child, you are signing up to virtually never have use of it yourself. The child will monopolize it and never give it back. Of course, you can limit the child's time with the device, but you'll still have times when the child expects to have his/her scheduled time with it when you also want to use it. If you REALLY can afford to have a child, meaning you've established yourself in life before having kids, then for crying out loud, get separate iPads; one for the kids to share with kid stuff on it and another for yourself with your stuff on it. Trust me, you'll thank me for this bit of advice.MarcSP - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Your advice to turn children into egoistic little kings is quite interesting. Spending 500$ so you don't have to teach (now) to your 4 or 5 year old child how to share and how to cope with frustration (you can't do what you want all the time) seems not just a waste of money but a ticket to a quite rough time when the child becomes a spoiled teenager (probably too late to fix the issue). Enjoy :-P.Aside from that, it is a fact that many families do have a family iPad . No matter how you think the world should be. Many beacuse they really don't have 500$ or more to waste (not spend, waste), others simply because they don't see the need for a 5 year old to have his own tablet (or even think that it can be harmful in some way).
beggerking@yahoo.com - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
it doesn't do shit other than playing simple game App and very simple apps.for the same price or less, i could get a Bay Trail Tablet / laptop that runs full OS, run all softwares as well as emulate android apps. same battery life, more memory, faster CPU, include a physical keyboard etc
Soon, IOS will go back to where it belonged: on a phone. ipad will disappear faster than netbooks.
the new tablet will be bay trail running windows 8.
mark my word.
WaltFrench - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Looks like others compared the mini to the Kindle, but it also bears note that the mini has about 36% more screen area (if I read the specs right) than the Nexus that Anand notes is a strong competitor. If you're talking about squeezing it into a coat-pocket, or playing the specs game, widescreen is a fine way of pumping up the diagonal without having as much area to illuminate; for more general work many of us would prefer being able to see the screen details a few inches farther from our noses.Bone Doc - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Thank you Anand for another comprehensive review! Yours is one of a kind, and often quoted by other reviewers. Keep up the good work, and I'm sure by now, you've developed a thick skin against the whiners out there :).pav1 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
I wonder what technology the screen of the Mini & Air uses, eg. IGZO LTPS. I wish Anand could write a review contrasting various screens ( Kindle Fire HDX, Nexus 7, Samsung Note, Nokia) & current display technologies/vendors. Thanks in advance!