Apple iPad mini with Retina Display: Reviewed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 16, 2013 8:00 AM ESTThe Display
The big story behind the new iPad mini is of course its 7.85-inch Retina Display. We’re talking about the same 2048 x 1536 resolution as the iPad Air, but in a much smaller form factor. The result is the highest pixel density of any Apple display ships today, tying with the iPhone 5S. The impact on the overall experience is pretty significant. Text is obviously a lot sharper, but even graphics are a lot nicer to look at on the new Retina Display. The gains aren't quite as obvious as they were on the larger iPad, but after living with the Retina mini for a while I can't easily go back to the previous version.
iPad mini (left) vs. iPad mini with Retina Display (right)
I ran Marco Arment's image retention test on the Retina mini and didn't see even the slightest degree of image retention. My old, non-Retina iPad mini on the other hand exhibited image retention. I suspect Apple is multi-sourcing its displays here, which could obviously contribute to varied behavior. At least on the two minis I have, image retention isn't an issue.
In the conclusion of my iPad Air review I wrote about the new mini as finally being a no-compromises smaller iPad. Much like my assertions last year of a Retina mini not being in the cards, it turns out that I was wrong on this point as well. Although display resolution is no longer a concern on the mini, color gamut hasn’t changed between the old and new minis. A quick look at our gamut test gives us an idea of what’s going on:
The iPad mini with Retina Display has the same color gamut as the standard iPad mini, which is narrower than the iPad Air and less than the sRGB coverage we normally look for. The biggest issue here is that there are other smaller tablets in this price range that do offer sRGB coverage (e.g. Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HDX 8.9).
I suspect the justification here is Apple likely views the bigger iPad as being a better fit for photographers/those who care about color reproduction, but it’s a shame that this is a tradeoff that exists between the two iPads especially given how good Apple is about sRGB coverage in nearly all of its other displays.
One of the simplest visual tests is to use one of iOS 7’s more colorful wallpapers and compare the Retina mini and iPad Air side by side:
Pay attention to the color of the red triangles in the lower left
From left to right: iPad Air, iPad mini with Retina Display, iPad mini
The difference is small but apparent, particularly if you’re used to panels with full sRGB coverage like the iPad Air or any of the rMBPs/iMacs. The biggest deviations are in reds/blues and magenta in between as you can tell from the CIE chart above.
Within its gamut coverage, the mini’s panel is fairly accurate. A look at our GMB checker test shows performance competitive with the Nexus 7 and not far off the 4th generation iPad. Grayscale reproduction is also quite good. The display looks really good otherwise, but you don’t get the same visual punch you do on the iPad Air.
Compared to the previous generation mini we’re obviously talking about a much better panel. But for those of you on the fence between the mini and Air, the Air does still hold a display advantage.
Black levels are competitive and contrast ratio stays fixed at around 800:1 regardless of whether we’re talking about max brightness or the 200 nits we run all of our battery life tests at. Max brightness is down a bit compared to the iPad Air.
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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.