Pricey, mighty Retina Mini is best small tablet yet

The iPad mini with Retina screen is everything the little tablet deserved to be - a more compact equal of the bigger iPad with no compromises made. And unfortunately, it's just one thing short of what we all thought a compact tablet should be - cheap. Well, Apple isn't exactly known for selling cheap, it's quite on the contrary.

Last year's iPad mini was more of a byproduct of the iPad lineup - with a significantly cheaper price, a different design and somewhat inferior hardware, the baby iPad was quite different to its full size sibling. This year marks a shift in Apple's product strategy. Now, the two new iPads are equals - with the mini being merely a scaled down version of the same spectacular screen tech and the same high-performance internals.

There's been no corner cutting this time and the new iPad mini is more expensive as a result. We guess the price hike comes only to highlight the iPad mini's new standing in the pecking order - it's no longer the budget option - it's the more portable version of the same flagship product. A lower price point would have also hurt the big iPad sales because the two tablets are not at all that different.

You would actually be amazed how identical the two look. But that's a good thing in a sense. Users no longer have to pick one of the two based on feature set or design, or bezel size for that matter. Now, you can just pick the size that's right for you. The high-end user experience is all there without any give or take.

Apple iPad mini 2 press photos

Comparing it to its predecessor, the Apple iPad mini with Retina screen looks no different either, but that's until you turn it on. The new screen is impressively sharp and the new chipset is blazing fast, meaning loading times in most apps are noticeably faster now. The Wi-Fi speeds have doubled, there is a seriously bigger battery inside, there is a second mic for noise cancellation and now you have a brand new 128GB version, if you've got the money to burn - the last generation iPad mini maxed out at 64GB.

It's amazing to think that, just a year ago, the iPad Mini was positioned as a smaller "budget" iPad without as much power as the 9.7-inch version. Now it's a powerhouse and a top-end tablet. I said, a year ago, I didn't know who the iPad Mini was for. But over the last year, the Mini ended up cementing itself as my personal iPad of choice. I accepted its limitations in exchange for its form.

Now, there are no limitations. The new iPad Mini has a 2,048x1,526-pixel Retina Display that's exactly the same resolution as the larger iPad, and a far faster 64-bit A7 CPU that parallels what's in the iPhone 5S and iPad Air, plus that M7 co-processor. In fact, you could easily call the iPad Mini with Retina Display a shrunken-down clone of the new iPad Air : it has exactly the same specs as its larger sibling -- or, very nearly. Now the only question is, do you want to pay up for it?

It's here that you have to wonder at Apple's pricing strategy. The doubling of the internal storage is something that apparently costs twice as much to achieve, compared to Google, and even less for Amazon.

That said, the iPad mini 2 does still feel like decent value for money given it's not a loss leader over Google and Amazon, and not just because of the tired "Well, it's an Apple device and therefore spending more should be expected" excuse.

We've never bought into that, and never will. Apple makes well-designed and premium products, but as the extra cost for larger capacities illustrates, it's not always justified.

But while in the phone market we can't understand why an iPhone 5S costs so much more than an HTC One or a Galaxy S4, in the tablet space Apple has a justified lead.

The iPad mini 2 is an excellent device. There's no other way to look at it. We were pretty impressed with the original mini a year ago, but bemoaned the low-res screen and under-powered chipset powering things along.

So we fully expected the iPad mini 2 to be another sidekick to a bigger brother, and with the iPad Air showing itself to be the best tablet on the market, we fully thought we'd be getting a smaller iPad with a Retina screen and an A6 chip - so the decision to make the tablet 64-bit enabled with the latest A7 CPU is a really great thing to see.

It takes an already well made device and adds in so much more: the aluminum finish no longer feels like a deflection from the fact the iPad mini doesn't have the engine to compete with its Snapdragon-powered rivals.

Check out the benchmark speeds later and you'll see just how much better the CPU is for day-to-day tasks and, coupled with the rich app ecosystem and improved operating system, you'll see how Apple justifies charging the premium price.

M7 Chip

The addition of the M7 chip in the iPad mini 2 seems on the surface to be a little redundant, given you won't be doing much in the way of exercise with the mini strapped to your arm.

However, there are journal-style apps coming out that will use information on where you've been and the weather at the time - tiny tasks that don't need the help of the larger chip.

Design: A tiny bit heavier and thicker...but you'd never notice
If you pick up the new Mini, it feels a lot like the old Mini. The differences become clear if you look closely, but you'd never know from a distance.

The Mini comes in two colors: white-and-silver looks the same as last year, but the black-and-slate model has been subtly adjusted to "space gray," using the same lighter-metal back as the iPhone 5S and iPad Air.

*Mini and Retina Mini. Can you tell the difference? Sarah Tew/CNET*

Other than that, nothing's really changed in the iPad Mini's form. It has the same basic compact design as last year, which the iPad Air now also adopts: thin side bezels, a flat back, and a generally wafer-thin, metal-and-glass look. While it's technically a bit heavier than the older model -- 0.3mm in thickness, and a 23-gram difference for the Wi-Fi version or a 29-gram difference for the LTE model, putting it at 0.73 or 0.75 pound, respectively -- but you'd never know from holding it. Side by side with last year's Mini, it's nearly indistinguishable.

And, it's still that same compact-but-not-quite-pocket-size form (unless you have very large, deep pockets). But, it's that extra size that gives it a huge edge over smaller tablets for running larger iPad apps in semi-miniature.

The Mini was a perfect 10 for its form: why change it? The new Mini, wisely, barely alters the equation.

Retina Display: Worth the wait
Yes. Without a doubt, if you're a big reader, the massive jump in screen resolution is the most welcome change on this Mini. But what's most impressive, and hard to truly appreciate at times, is that there's no drop-off in pixels in the smaller screen size compared with on the Air. And, the Retina Display already looked good on the Air's 9.7-inch display.

It's a big improvement, indeed. Other 7-inch tablets routinely hit 1080p or better resolution, such as the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX , with 1,920x1,200-pixel resolutions and 323 pixels per inch. The Mini's 2,048x1,536 resolution amounts to 326 pixels per inch, offering even better pixel density over a larger amount of screen real estate. And the Mini's screen is 7.9 inches with a closer-to-square 4x3 aspect ratio -- not the 7-inch wide-screen form factor of the aforementioned Google and Amazon tablets.

But, it's a surprisingly subtle upgrade from a distance. Put the non-Retina and Retina models side by side, and it's hard to tell them apart. Get closer, and you'll see the difference right away: finer resolution, and even color quality, are improved.

When looking at photos or reading books or text-heavy documents, you'll see the difference. Like the iPhone's leap to Retina, or the iPad's, it's a level of detail you'll miss after you get used to it, rather than one you'll notice right away.

*Text: Retina vs. non-Retina, magnified. Screenshot by Dan Ackerman/CNET*

It's more like a focal adjustment, when reading text.

Videos look great, too, but the smaller screen size and extra letterboxing mean wide-screen movies are still pretty small. I tried out "Cloud Atlas," and the movie at least looked extra-sharp, but the viewing space on a Mini can get cramped.

Screen comparison, clockwise from top left: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HDX, iPad Mini Retina, iPad Air.

Interface

The iPad mini 2 won't be a surprise to anyone running a current iPhone or iPad, bringing with it the latest version of Apple's iOS.

But beyond the new features we're happy to report the iPad mini 2 is nice and fast, despite being a touch slower when it comes to CPU performance compared with the iPad Air.

We're currently updating the iPad Mini 2 review with iOS 7.1 - check back in a day or two to see how it changes things and whether the new software will alter the battery and benchmark tests.

We're getting to a point where describing a smartphone or tablet as quick under the finger is pointless – once you reach a certain point there's not a lot more speed to be gained.

Even dual-core phones were more than acceptable, so why make a point of highlighting the speed of the new iPad?

Well, it's just virtually flawless through all kinds of tasks. A millisecond faster from a finger press might not seem like much, but once you do a hundred or a thousand of them in a day, and then go back to the previous iPad mini, you'll realise that there's a real difference in the operation.

The iPad mini 2 is slightly behind the iPad Air in benchmarking terms, but leagues ahead of the Nexus 7, scoring 2,220 on the GeekBench 3 "real world" testing compared to the Tegra 3-powered Google device, which managed just 1,800.

However, Apple's claims of total speed domination don't appear to be completely founded, as the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip, was marginally faster in our tests.

The two both performed amazingly well, but it's interesting to note that in performance terms, Apple can't justify the improvement as a reason for a higher cost.

iOS 7: an all new face

Like it or loathe it, the all-new iOS 7 is still a real step forward for a company that desperately needed to refresh its offering in the face of stiff competition from Android.

The new flatter interface takes away the pointless need to pretend all apps are real-life objects just to integrate them into people's lives - users know that pressing the Photos app will take them there, no matter the result.

Like most popular platforms that get upgraded, there's been a large amount of flack coming Apple's way for iOS 7, with juddery icons shown when returning to the homescreen.

This can be negated by heading into Settings, General, Accessibility and then toggling "Reduce Motion" to On, which creates a much nicer fade transition.

Things like the Parallax effect, which moves the image in the background to create a 3D effect, are much more stable on the iPad mini 2.

And while this was annoyingly unpredictable on the iPhone 5S, on the mini 2 it's much better and we wouldn't advise you turn it off, unlike on other Apple devices.

It doesn't even have a huge effect on battery life, which is impressive in itself.

The rest of the interface is easy to use and makes sense for the most part. One of the newer features of iOS 7 is the notification bar, found by dragging from the top of the tablet. This gives access to updates, calendar entries and missed messages.

It's also one of the weaker parts of the OS, as it always starts on the calendar, which doesn't often give a lot of useful information.

The "Missed" section is often also sparsely populated - we'd rather this prime space was better used by Apple.

However, there are a lot of other areas in which the Cupertino brand has made strides in terms of improving the user experience.

For instance, swiping upwards with all five fingers (or double tapping the home button) will lead to the multi-tasking pane, which shows all of your apps in large thumbnails.

This is an excellent interface, although perhaps a little large, and you can swiftly jump between apps or flick a thumbnail upwards to end it.

We would like to give a special mention to the "five finger pinch" if you've not used it before on previous iPads. Make sure it's enabled in Settings > General, and then simply pinch in with four or five fingers in any app to return to the home screen. You'll be doing it on your phone before you know it, such is its simplicity.

The new Control Center is something worth highlighting too - drag up from the bottom of the screen and you can control music, brightness, turn on Wi-Fi and loads more.

We would have thought that most people know all about this feature, but the number of iOS 7 users who get their minds blown when we show them that this exists means it's worth highlighting.

It's annoying you can't alter the toggles here, and long-pressing them doesn't move into the menu to get a more advanced look at things like Wi-Fi. Apple has clearly written the architecture to handle other toggles (like on most Android phones) so why it's not here is unclear.

Well, it is: Apple doesn't like the option of too much customization to keep things simple. For some that's amazing, for others it feels locked down and far too authoritarian on a device they've paid a lot of money for.

There are tonnes of nuances to Apples UI that we'd like to laud here, but we invite you to go and use it for yourself, as despite there being no tutorial, there's very little here that the novice user won't be able to pick up.

Performance: Similar to Air, and a huge leap over last year's Mini
If you're a gamer or a serious user of apps like video-editing or media-rich programs, you'll notice gigantic speed boost on the Mini, thanks to its leap from an A5 last year to an A7 this year. Applications that hiccuped before now run smoothly; multitasking and high-end, demanding tasks like graphics rendering, video editing, and the like are effortless.

Actually, it turns out, the A7 processor on the Retina Mini according to Geekbench 3 tests isn't exactly the same as the iPad Air's: it's 1.29GHz, the same as the iPhone 5S processor, while the 1.39GHz A7 on the iPad Air is a little faster. The new iPad Mini has twice the RAM of the last Mini: 1GB to 512MB, but the same as the Air.

So, maybe it's not too surprising to see the Mini's specs in such a small form, since the even smaller iPhone 5S managed a similar feat. But the Retina Mini is an impressively fast little tablet by any measure. In all our benchmark tests, the new iPad Mini performed a little bit slower than the Air, but close enough to put it in nearly the same territory. It's miles beyond last year's iPad Mini, performing up to 4 to 5x faster or even more depending on the benchmark. And, compared with the Google Nexus 7 released earlier this year, it's a significant leap forward.

As a result, apps run nearly identically on the iPad Air and the new Mini, again because they're running almost exactly the same hardware. The difference is basically screen size and pixel density: some apps like games can look even more finely detailed, while others might seem a tiny bit small compared with on the larger iPad. But, in general, almost all apps I've seen make the transition to the smaller screen size excellently.

Does it warrant an upgrade from last year's Mini? If you're power-using your iPad, yes. For everyday use, especially video viewing and reading, you'll be fine sticking with the non-Retina version. But, be aware that app developers are going to go full-force with new types of experiences that maximize use of the A7 across iPhone and iPad. As a way of future-proofing your iPad for an extra $100, new prospective buyers should seriously consider going Retina for the processor alone.

Moving up to a Retina Mini over the previous Mini, however, you will have to suffer increased download sizes: apps, and movies, and digital magazines all take up more space in their Retina-optimized forms. "Cloud Atlas," while long, was a 6.2GB download. You might want to consider a bump up to at least 32GB when getting a Retina Mini.

Wireless: A big step up for Wi-Fi and global LTE
I've never found the pay-up for a cellular-enabled LTE iPad to be worth it, personally, especially with so many Wi-Fi hot spots around, but Apple's newest iPads certainly make it tempting. Despite being offered for multiple carriers on Apple's site, all the LTE iPads are actually identical and unlocked: you can SIM-swap across carriers and overseas to your heart's content. Affording pay-as-you-go LTE or folding it into a family device plan isn't as affordable as it should be, and the $129 fee to step up to an LTE-enabled iPad Mini isn't cheap, but for a frequent traveler or someone without a data-heavy smartphone contract, it could be ideal.

The Mini with LTE had very good data connection via the Verizon account on my test unit, too.

The Wi-Fi antennas have also gotten an upgrade to MIMO technology, just like the iPad Air. MIMO promises better throughput, and better range with dual antennas. The new Mini did seem faster over office Wi-Fi, and wherever else I tested it. At home, I was getting well over 45 Mbps, while the previous iPad Mini (and my iPhone 5s) don't often crack 30.

Gaming: The perfect middle ground
The iPhone's handheld design feels good for screen-tapping arcade games, but it's got a small screen. The iPad Air is great for games, but it's better for larger-scale board games and tap-to-move strategy titles. The Mini is the perfect in-between. Now that its graphics have taken a serious step up, it's also capable of playing anything on the App Store without a hitch.

Infinity Blade III, Riptide GP2, and others look fantastic. And, with iOS game controllers on the horizon, the Mini could be an intriguing fit for a controller case/accessory.

iOS 7, and all the free iWork/iLife apps
Apple's new iOS devices come with a free suite of iWork and iLife software: iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Together, they comprise an excellent set of tools to do a lot of things on the go. These apps run very well on the Mini's 7.9-inch screen.

On the iPhone, things can get cramped. The Mini manages it all as a perfect middle ground: not too cramped, but the iPad Air offers up larger icons and menus.

iOS 7 comes preinstalled, of course, and on the iPad, iOS 7 really isn't much different than on the iPhone. Multitasking is easier than before, but it's still not a split-screen affair: instead, you double-tap and tap an icon to hop over to another program. Some applications run simultaneously, but if you open up too many, some will suspend and restart automatically.

On the larger iPad, I wish iOS 7 enabled deeper iPad-specific features. On the smaller Mini, it feels like a better match: basic, clean, and functional. Read CNET's review for more-specific features.

Battery life
Here's some good and somewhat surprising news: the iPad Mini's battery life looks to be as good as the iPad Air's. Our first battery-test run was eye-popping: 14 hours and 14 minutes of video playback, beating Apple's claim of 10 hours. The Air lasted 13.2 hours, while last year's iPad Mini ran for 12.1. Stay tuned for additional battery tests and our final, official number, but early gains are very promising.

I used the Retina Mini while browsing, playing games, installing apps, and more, while using LTE as well, and found I could get through a whole day with battery to spare.

A larger internal battery, more powerful display, and faster processor mean a bigger power brick: the included AC wall-plug is now a 10-watt unit, versus the iPhone-size 5-watt mini-plug. Charging up using the included charger takes about the same time as last year's Mini with its charger, all things considered.

Key features

7.9" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 1536 x 2048 pixels, ~ 324 ppi, oleophobic coating
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity with MIMO dual antennas
Optional 2G/3G GSM, CDMA, LTE connectivity (data only, separate models)
Optional GPS with A-GPS support (for the Wi-Fi+Cellular model only)
Dual-core A7 64-bit 1.3 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based) chip with M7 motion coprocessor
PowerVR G6430 quad-core GPU
1GB of RAM
iOS 7 with gesture support and a premium set of free Apple apps - iLife, iMovie, iPhoto, etc.
16/32/64/128GB of inbuilt storage
Weight of 331g (341g for the Wi-Fi + Cellular option)
Bluetooth 4.0
Lightning USB port
Stereo speakers
Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor
5MP auto-focus camera
1080p video recording at 30fps
1.2MP 720p secondary camera capable of FaceTime calls
23.8 Wh Li-Po battery
1080p TV-output with the Apple Digital AV Adapter (purchased separately for $49), 1080p video streaming or separate audio streaming via AirPlay
Supports magnetic cases

Main disadvantages

Expensive for a compact tablet
Non expandable memory, extra storage is largely overpriced
Tied into iTunes for uploading most of the content
No standard USB port
No GPS receiver in the Wi-Fi-only version

The new iPad mini is exactly the same size like last year's with a mere .3mm difference in thickness. You wouldn't feel that sort of difference even if you had both in your hands. What you may notice is the difference in weight. The new iPad mini is 23g heavier to accommodate the larger battery, which should deliver the same endurance despite the quadrupled resolution.

The new dual-core 64-bit A7 chipset inside the new mini jumps two generations ahead of the A5 processor in the original. It's not that the older mini was sluggish, but the new device is notably faster and more responsive in almost all apps we tried.

Last season's bigger iPad at least had the luxury of being more powerful but those days are gone. Now the two size of iPads have equally good specs, which kinda puts the iPad Air in a sticky position. It's true that the bigger Air is easier to carry than any other full-size iPad and the slimmer frame helps single-handed operation but there's no avoiding the fact that the iPad mini is the friendlier form factor.

The iPad mini's handling and portability could be the big decider for a lot of people who are eyeing a new iPad for Christmas. To be honest, we don't think Apple will mind no matter which one you pick.

The Apple iPad mini 2 at HQ

Yet, it's still up to the mini to prove itself as a true equal to the big gun. And so it will. Join us ahead where we intend to subject it to every test we have around our test lab. This shorty will not be getting off easy, we promise.

Source

GSM Arena Apple iPad Mini Reviews (Design 7.3/10, Features 7.1/10, Performance 7.3/10)

Engadget Apple iPad Mini Reviews (Critic Reviews 9.1/10, User Reviews 9.2/10)

Techradar Apple iPad Mini Reviews (Design 5/5, Features 4.5/5, Performance 5/5, Usability 5/5, Value 4/5)

CNET Apple iPad Mini Reviews (CNET Editor's Rating 4.5/5, Average User Rating 4/5)

The Good The iPad Mini with Retina Display adds an excellent high-resolution display that rivals the iPad Air's, a far faster A7 processor, and tops it off with improved Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, with battery life that's as good or better than in last year's Mini.

The Bad A starting price of $399 places it well above the small-tablet competition, and adding more storage or LTE makes it even more expensive. It lacks the innovative Touch ID fingerprint sensor that the iPhone 5S sports.

The Bottom Line The new iPad Mini somehow shrinks down the iPad Air into an even more compact package, sacrificing nearly nothing. It's more expensive than before, but it's also the perfect smaller tablet.

Official Website

Where to Buy

$399.00 Target Apple® iPad mini with Retina display 16GB Wi-Fi - Space Gray/Black (ME276LL/A)

$79.00 (2-Year Laptop/Tablet Service Plan with Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH)(covers items $200-$399.99) ) Target Apple® iPad mini with Retina display 16GB Wi-Fi - Space Gray/Black (ME276LL/A)

$440.50 - $882.50 NegriElectronics Apple iPad mini with Retina Display

$399.99 Toysrus Apple iPad mini with Retina display 16GB - Space Gray

$381.99 Ebay Apple iPad Mini 2 with WiFi 16GB Space Gray | ME276LL/A

$399.00 Apple Store Apple iPad mini with Retina Display (Silver and Gray)

$399.00 Walmart Apple iPad mini with Retina display 16GB Wi-Fi (Space Gray or Silver)

$387.75 Amazon Apple iPad mini with Retina Display ME279LL/A 7.9-Inch 16 GB Tablet*free shipping

$388.01 Amazon Apple iPad mini with Retina Display ME276LL/A 7.9-Inch 16 GB Tablet*free shipping

$488.00 Amazon Apple iPad mini with Retina Display ME277LL/A 7.9-Inch 32 GB Tablet*free shipping