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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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.