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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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.