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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KPOM - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
If it is an astroturf campaign, it isn't working. If anything, it makes the criticisms sound shrill. There are valid criticisms of the iPad mini and other Apple devices, but they get lost among all the clutter.julandorid - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
Actually, the final rating is pretty accurate! The review mention all of the important flaws as the quality of the display which is still decent but not quite as good as it is on the Nexus 7. Also a very important thing is the price. The author of this review is not convinced that (double) price is justified anyhow. Actually the contrary. He practically encourage the buyers to take the Nexus 7 in serious consideration.My personal opinion is the display is not that bad as it is described, but it is entirely a conscious decision made by Apple to calibrate the display with much lower brightens in order to achieve a good battery and correct gamma. If they decided to put an extra power to the led backlight and does a different calibration then I guess we would have a better screen but in the expense of pretty bad battery life. Apple did a smart move by offering great performance and good battery life. Probably no body will notice the display since it is already better (I mean sharper) that it was previously. That gives Apple another chance, next year to advertize an even better iPad mini.
The only serious concern that I have is the price! It is a known fact for years that Apple never rise the price (because it is already too high anyway) and always keep it the same while refreshing the product's internal and external components with better ones. However this year they decided to do the opposite - to increase the price even further.
So, for me was no brainer to go with the new Nexus 7. Great device, great display. I always smile when I look at it.
KPOM - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
I think Apple raised the price partly because they knew demand would outstrip supply. Also, the price increase makes the iPad Air pricing seem a bit more reasonable. I wouldn't be surprised to see it drop back down to $379 or $349 with next year's launch when the displays will be more plentiful.Regarding Google and Amazon pricing, they will always undercut Apple because their business models are different. Amazon sells the devices close to cost because they want to sell you content. Google does the same because they make their revenue from ads. Therefore, comparable Apple and Samsung devices will always be pricier.
RadarTheKat - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
Every tablet has two prices. The new price and the resale price. You mentioned only the first.joe mann - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
GLONASS, where it went in rIPad mini, or Air?KPOM - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
I think it is still there, just not publicized. On MacRumors, people have posted the Russian pages which appear to indicate support for GLONASS.EOL - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
Excellent review.One point: you mention not being able to comfortably use your thumbs to type with the iPad Air in portrait mode. But did you use the built-in split keyboard or the full keyboard? Using the split keyboard (obtained by pulling both sides of the regular keyboard towards their edge) makes typing with the thumbs much easier.
R0H1T - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
@ akdjSadly brain dead morons like you think that every negative comment about your fav device, no its not a "computer" period, is by a kid living at his parents' place & frowning over his friend's latest shiny little iToy. Unfortunately for people like you, with enough cash to burn on these entertainment/computing devices, the fact that someone points out that they obviously overpaid for such hardware is a tough pill to swallow & thus fandroid or Dbags is what they'll resort to, tit for tat I guess !
Also the comment system on AT sucks as my previous response was supposed to be a reply to someone else's comment however people will still continue to frown over this without taking into context the original post.
pedrostee - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
this was particularly moronicDennis Travis - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
Why if you feel Anand and his staff are unfair and Apple lovers and tell lies in their reviews, do you bother even coming here and reading his excellent reviews? If I feel someone is unfair, I won't even bother reading anything they write. I come here because I feel Anand and company are very fair and very knowledgeable and write a fair review that tells me all I need to know about what they are reviewing. If people don't agree, go to another site. You might find though if you dig a bit a lot of the others do what you are accusing Anand of doing! :DHave a good day.