Along with the new iPad Air, Apple has also refreshed the “mini” version. Yes, the iPad mini has gained the much awaited retina display upgrade along with the new A7 64 bit processor that debuted on the iPhone 5s recently. Otherwise, the device is almost untouched but to be frank, the iPad mini’s retina display and the A7 are substantial upgrades to the device, and it will make it much more viable than before. This is now really just a smaller version of the iPad, the complete functions in a smaller form. It is priced at a higher $399 for the retina version while the original iPad mini now retails at a lesser $299 along with the newer version.
Here are the full specifications of the iPad mini –
- 7.9 inch Retina Display with 2048×1536 resolution
- Apple A7 64 bit processor and 1 GB RAM(?)
- 4x faster CPU and 8x faster GPU than A5
- 2x Faster WiFi plus LTE support for some variants
- 1o hour battery life
- 5 Mp iSight 1080p camera
- Starts from $399 for the 16 GB WiFi version
As you can see from the specs, the iPad mini gains two things that people have desperately wanted, and that seals the deal for most, for this generation. It will be interesting to see how Apple takes this forward to the next generations as we are starting to see some disruptions in the market share and the huge momentum of small and cheap Android tablets eating the iPad sales. Once again, we have a retail launch date of November 1st for the iPad mini too, and unfortunately, yet again, there is no mention of India on the launch countries list. But we hope it arrives here soon, and more than that, hope the original iPad mini gets that price cut here. It’s still a great device for the price, in our opinion. But what do you think? Are the new iPads substantial upgrades matching up with your expectations? Let us know in the comments section below.