1. The display is a rectangle with rounded corners. The diagonal of this rectangle, excluding roundings, is 12.9 inches (for iPad Pro 12.9 inches) and 11 inches (for iPad Pro 11 inches).
2. The amount of available space is less than stated and depends on various factors. Standard configuration (including iOS 12 and preinstalled apps) takes approximately 10 to 12 GB depending on device model and settings. The pre-installed apps take up about 4 GB; they can be deleted and reloaded. The amount of available space may vary depending on the device and software version.
3. Size and weight vary depending on device configuration and manufacturing process.
4. Battery life varies depending on settings and usage. More details on the page.
5. For FaceTime communication, all users must have FaceTime-enabled devices and a Wi-Fi connection. FaceTime availability over a cellular network is carrier dependent; data transfer charges may apply.
6. Data plan required. Gigabit Class LTE, 4G LTE Advanced, 4G LTE, and Wi-Fi calling are not available in all regions or with all carriers. Speed \u200b\u200bis based on theoretical throughput and is subject to local conditions. For details on LTE support, contact your carrier or page.
7. Cellular data plan is purchased separately. The model you are purchasing is configured to work with a specific cellular technology. Check with your carrier for information on support for your device and cellular data plan availability.
8. Not all carriers support Apple SIM and eSIM cards. Check with your carrier for details. Not available in mainland China. ESIM is supported on the 11-inch iPad Pro, 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad (7th generation), and iPad mini (5th generation). Apple SIM is supported on iPad Pro 9.7-inch, iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad (5th and 6th generation), iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, and iPad mini 4.

Leader among compact tablets

With a slight delay after the start of global sales of the iPad Air, the second new Apple introduced on October 22, the iPad mini with Retina display, became available to customers. Perhaps one of the most anticipated devices of this year, iPad mini went on sale in Russia at the same time as the rest of the world, which is a rarity. True, in the official online store the delivery time is 2-3 weeks, but this did not prevent us from quickly getting a new product for the test.

Since all the general information about iPad mini with Retina display was already covered in the report from the Apple presentation, we will not repeat ourselves. Let's just note that this is the first update of the iPad mini, and all the more important is that Apple has not only updated the "internals" of the device, but also equipped it with a screen of a fundamentally higher level.

• Apple A7 SoC @ 1.3 GHz (2 cores, 64-bit Cyclone architecture based on ARMv8)
• GPU PowerVR G6430
• Apple M7 motion coprocessor including accelerometer, gyroscope and compass
• RAM 1 GB
• Flash memory from 16 to 128 GB
• No memory card support
• Operating system iOS 7.0
• Touch display IPS, 7.9 ″, 2048 × 1536 (326 ppi), capacitive, multitouch
• Cameras: front (1.2 Mp, 720p video over FaceTime) and rear (5 Mp, 1080p video)
• Wi-Fi 802.11b / g / n (2.4 and 5 GHz; MIMO support)
• Cellular (optional): UMTS / HSPA / HSPA + / DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 3.5mm stereo headset jack, Lightning dock
• Li-polymer battery 24.3 Wh
• A-GPS (version with cellular module)
• Dimensions 200 × 134.7 × 7.5 mm
• Weight 331 g (our measurement)

Let's compare the iPad mini Retina against its main competitor, the 2013 Google Nexus 7, as well as the first generation iPad mini and iPad Air.

* according to manufacturer's information
** the weight of the version with a cellular module is indicated
*** the weight of the version without a cellular module is indicated
**** for version with 16 GB flash memory and without cellular module

It is clearly seen that iPad mini Retina is identical in almost all characteristics (except for dimensions) to iPad Air. And this is incredibly great, because the first generation iPad mini, released simultaneously with the iPad 4, matched the characteristics of the iPad 2. So now the iPad mini lineup has made a leap in two generations!

As for the comparison with the Google Nexus 7, it is difficult to draw unambiguous conclusions from the data in the table. Significantly, however, Google's tablet is slightly lighter and more compact than the iPad mini Retina. But it also has a smaller screen and a plastic body.

Interestingly, despite the appearance of the new iPad mini, the previous model also remains in the company's lineup, and its cost is from 12 thousand rubles (which is 4 thousand less than the iPad mini Retina). In our article, we will also try to answer the question of how much the difference between the two iPad mini is adequate to the amount of 4000 rubles and how relevant is the first iPad mini today.

Packaging and equipment

The packaging of iPad mini Retina is almost identical to the packaging of the previous generation tablet.

As for the package bundle, everything is similar to the first iPad mini: leaflets, a charger (5.1 V 2.1 A), a Lightning cable, stickers and a key for removing the SIM card cradle (in the version with a cellular module).

Design

If the update of the large iPad affected, first of all, the design, then the iPad mini's appearance has remained practically unchanged.

The all-metal case (made of anodized aluminum) pleases both in appearance and functionality, and the frames around the screen even today, a year after the release of the first iPad mini, seem rather thin.

All buttons are metal, they are pressed with little effort. Their location is similar to the previous model. Top right - Power button, top left - 3.5mm headphone jack. Top center - built-in microphone hole. On the right side there is a screen auto-rotate lock lever and a volume rocker.

On the model with a cellular module, there is a plastic insert at the top that hides the antenna. It, of course, somewhat spoils the general view, but it does not extinguish the signal.

The main difference between the new iPad mini and the old one is the increased weight (more than 20 grams) and thickness (by 0.3 mm). Visually, they are the same. The photo above shows two iPad mini of different generations. But if the difference in thickness is really not visible, then the changed mass is already noticeable. However, it is quite possible to come to terms with this, and these changes do not have a fundamental impact on user qualities.

Screen

The main feature of the new iPad mini is its Retina display with a resolution of 2048x1536. When testing the first iPad mini, which had a resolution of 1024 × 768, we noted the lack of a Retina display as its main disadvantage. And now Apple has solved the problem. True, today you will not surprise anyone with screens with such a density of dots per inch, so other characteristics come to the fore, as a rule, not indicated in the official technical specifications and revealed only after thorough testing.

Alexey Kudryavtsev, editor of the Projectors and TV section, conducted a detailed examination of the new Retina screen.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, there is a very effective antiglare filter, which in terms of reducing the brightness of the reflection is approximately equal to the filter of the Google Nexus 7 2013 screen (hereinafter we compare it with it). For clarity, here are photographs in which a white surface is reflected in the off tablet screens (from left to right: Nexus 7, iPad mini with Retina display and old iPad mini):

Visually, the brightness of the reflection is difficult to assess due to the difference in the color tone and color of the frames, but statistics from the graphics editor show that the screen on the new iPad mini is slightly lighter (average brightness is 95) than on the Nexus 7 (83), and darker. than the old iPad mini (108).

The reflection in the screen is tripled, which implies the presence of an air gap between the matrix surface and the outer glass. From the point of view of image perception, this is a minus, but a screen with a split outer glass (also known as a touch panel) is easier and cheaper to repair. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, but still worse than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are much easier to remove, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 410 cd / m², and the minimum was 8 cd / m². The maximum value is quite high, and given the good anti-glare properties of the screen, the image on the screen should be clearly visible in bright daylight. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front camera peephole). In this case, the brightness can only increase automatically - with a decrease in the level of external illumination, we did not wait for a corresponding decrease in the screen brightness. However, if you put the tablet into sleep mode and turn it back on, then the brightness will be set in accordance with the external conditions. The minimum and average levels in Auto mode depend on the starting position of the brightness control slider. So, when the slider is set to maximum, the automatic adjustment does not work - the brightness remains maximum regardless of external conditions. If the slider is located approximately in the middle of the scale, then in bright light (corresponds to illumination on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or slightly more), the maximum brightness is 410 cd / m2, in an office illuminated with artificial light (approximately 400 lux ) - 200 cd / m² (normal), in the dark - 150 cd / m² (a bit too much). If the slider is at the minimum, then under the above conditions the values \u200b\u200bare as follows: 410, 70, 8 cd / m². Thus, this function works adequately at some middle and slightly below middle positions of brightness control. At the extreme initial positions of the slider, the brightness is either always maximum, or decreases too much in the dark. At any brightness level, there is practically no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering either.

This tablet uses an IPS type matrix. The micrographs show the typical IPS sub-pixel structure:

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting tints and without significant color shift, even with large gaze deviations from the perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are some pictures showing the same images on the screens of the Nexus 7 (above) and the new iPad mini (below), with the brightness of both screens set to about 200 cd / m². Picture perpendicular to screens:

And a white box under the same conditions:

Now at an angle of about 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not "float" in both tablets.

And a white box at an angle:

The brightness at an angle on both tablets decreased the same (about four times, based on the difference in exposure), but the color tone did not change much.

When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened weakly and acquires a red-violet tint or remains almost neutral-gray. The photo from the Nexus 7 for comparison shows this (the brightness is the same for both tablets!):

And along the other diagonal:

It can be seen that the new iPad mini has a different color tone of the black field depending on the diagonal, but its brightness is the same or slightly lower than the black brightness of the Nexus 7 at the same angle.

When viewed from a perpendicular view, the black field uniformity is very good, since in fact only along one edge you can see some hints of areas with increased black field brightness:

The black uniformity of the Google Nexus 7 is worse, but it has better black depth in the center of the screen. Indeed, the contrast ratio (approximately in the center of the screen) of the new iPad mini is not the greatest - about 790: 1. The response time for the transition black-white-black is 22 ms (13 ms on + 9 ms off). The transition between gray tones of 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes 34 ms in total. The gamma curve plotted at 32 points did not reveal any blockage in highlights or shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power-law function turned out to be 2.22, which is insignificantly higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates little from the power-law dependence:

The color gamut is noticeably narrower than sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix filters mix the components together, and the spectra confirm this. This technique allows you to increase the brightness of the screen with the same energy consumption for the backlight. As a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and the vast majority of them) have a slightly reduced saturation. This cannot be said from the photographs above, as the camera slightly increases the saturation of the colors.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is very good, since the color temperature is close to the standard 6500 K and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is significantly less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the variation in color temperature and delta E is small, which also has a positive effect on the visual perception of color balance. (The dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring the color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

The iPad mini Retina display has a wide range of brightness adjustment, and the anti-glare filter is very effective, which allows you to comfortably use the tablet both on a sunny summer day outside and in complete darkness. There is an automatic brightness adjustment, and it works more or less adequately, but only to increase, which will force the user to either set the brightness manually, or force the brightness to go down, putting the tablet into sleep mode and turning it back on. However, for sure all Apple tablet users are already accustomed to this feature. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, a standard gamma curve, very good color balance and excellent black stability against perpendicular gaze to the screen surface, as well as excellent black field uniformity. It was strange to find that the color gamut is still less than sRGB, but this tablet must have at least one drawback! ..

In terms of software, the iPad mini Retina has nothing fundamentally new, except for the fact that it is sold with iOS 7 preinstalled, while the previous model leaves the factories with iOS 6. But it can also be upgraded to iOS 7. Note also that users iPad mini Retina is available free of popular Apple apps - Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and GarageBand.

Performance

Like the iPhone 5s and iPad Air, the iPad mini Retina is powered by Apple's new A7 SoC. In the articles on the links provided, we talked in detail about this SoC, so we will not repeat ourselves and go straight to the tests. In them, we were also interested in what is the difference between the two iPad mini with iOS 7.0.4 installed on both devices. That is why the test results below may differ from the results that were published in the article about the first iPad mini, since the benchmarks have been updated since then and a new version of the OS has been released.

Let's start with browser benchmarks: SunSpider 1.0, Octane Benchmark, and Kraken Benchmark. In all cases, we used the Safari browser from iOS 7 on Apple devices, and Google Chrome on Android.

The results are interesting. The new iPad mini is about four (!!!) times ahead of the first generation iPad mini, but at the same time it lags slightly behind the iPad Air, although it runs on the same SoC. It can be assumed that the SoC in the iPad mini Retina regulates the energy saving process a little differently and slightly reduces the CPU frequency for certain tasks. But, we emphasize, this is only an assumption. But the main Android competitors are far behind the iPad mini Retina (although, of course, they overtook the first iPad mini).

In Geekbench 3 - a multi-platform benchmark that measures CPU and RAM performance - the situation is repeated.

The layout is the same as in the browser tests. And this indicates that the results are indeed correct.

Now let's see the GPU performance. There are two multi-platform benchmarks available here: GFXBench (formerly GLBenchmark 2.7) and 3DMark. Let's start with the results from GFXBench.

And again we see the same picture, with the only difference that now the results of both devices on the Apple A7 are exactly identical.

Here again you can see a small loss of iPad mini Retina to its older friend. But more striking is the difference between the two generations of iPad mini. I can't believe that these devices are separated by only one year! However, the gap from Android tablets is also significant.

Thus, iPad mini with Retina display is the most productive modern tablet in the mid-price segment. If you love playing 3D games and want a device that can be upgraded to a new version of the operating system at least twice, you can safely buy the iPad mini Retina. But the iPad mini of the previous generation is no longer relevant today, because for the same money (about 12 thousand rubles) you can buy a much more productive Android tablet with a Full HD screen.

Autonomous work

If we knew the approximate level of performance in advance (since we had already tested solutions on the Apple A7 SoC), then the situation with battery life created a real intrigue. After all, now the device needs to display a picture of twice the higher resolution, but the dimensions of the case remain the same, so the battery cannot be greatly increased. This caused natural fears that in terms of battery life, the new iPad mini will be inferior to its predecessor.

However, tests showed that these fears were unfounded. The battery life has not only not decreased, but even increased slightly. Here, however, it is worth making a reservation that the first generation iPad mini we tested for this comparison on the latest version of the operating system - iOS 7.0.4. It is possible that on the original iOS 6 with which it is released, the result would have been slightly better. But in the current version, this is a decent battery life - for both iPad mini.

The results are shown in the table.

Interestingly, the sensational reading mode of the 2013 Google Nexus 7 cannot be surpassed by the new iPad mini. Before him, in general, all other devices are like the Moon. But in the other two modes, iPad mini Retina just outperforms both Android competitors.

Also note that under load, the new iPad mini heats up more than its predecessor, which barely felt the heat.

Camera

iPad Air has two cameras - a front one with a resolution of 1.2 megapixels and a rear one with a resolution of 5 megapixels, similar to the cameras of the first iPad mini and iPad Air. Since the iPad mini is much more suitable for shooting than the large iPad, we decided to do a full test using our smartphone camera test method, and at the same time compare the novelty in camera quality with the first generation iPad mini and iPad Air. Filming and comments were made by Anton Soloviev.

iPad mini Retina
Good dynamic range and well-processed noise.
The sharpness is not bad, but the lack of any stabilization is noticeable.
Sharpness is good enough, if you wish, you can make out the number of the nearest car.
Blur is noticeable in the corners of the frame, although the upper central part is quite sharp.
The number of the nearest car is clearly distinguishable.
At shorter shutter speeds, the situation improves markedly. Sharpness is uniform across almost the entire frame.
In such scenes, the camera selects the exposure well.
Macro shooting in low light is relatively good for the camera.

We can say that the shooting quality of the iPad mini Retina camera has not changed significantly compared to the iPad mini. Minor improvements only affected noise processing: the noise reduction algorithm has not changed much, but visually its work has become softer, and due to this, small details are better worked out in the pictures. However, the camera is still afraid of noise and tries to work at minimum values \u200b\u200bof light sensitivity, compensating for exposure due to shutter speed, so in low light conditions there is a high probability of blur due to relatively long shutter speeds. As it turns out, relatively long shutter speeds in this case are values \u200b\u200bfrom 1 / 40th of a second or more, since the iPad mini Retina camera lacks any stabilization system. For example, almost all of the above images were taken under the same conditions, each in triplicate, and in almost all cases, two out of three images were blurred.

Lighting

As you can see from the graph, in terms of relative resolution, the iPad mini Retina camera is not far from the iPad mini camera and almost caught up with the iPad Air camera. Nevertheless, after a detailed examination of the pictures of the stand, it becomes clear that iPad mini Retina is still a significant step forward compared to iPad mini. It is also worth noting that the camera's angle of view has become slightly smaller, despite the same nominal focal length specified in EXIF. While the camera has barely changed, it now looks refined. There are still some points that I would like to improve, but these are rather purely software limitations.

Among the characteristic features of the camera, one can single out good noise reduction, good and fairly uniform sharpness in plans and across the field, a reasonable choice of exposure.

In general, the quality of the camera images is decent, especially for a tablet, despite the low resolution. There are probably no obvious flaws in the camera, however, the lack of a flash significantly limits its scope. Nevertheless, it is quite suitable for artistic or documentary shooting in appropriate lighting.

conclusions

The past iPad mini evoked mixed emotions: the form factor seemed to be interesting (the screen is more than 7 inches, but the case can be gripped with one hand in vertical orientation), but the low resolution of the display spoiled the whole impression. This was especially noticeable if you used a large iPad with a Retina display. After that, working with iPad mini was just physically uncomfortable.

And now Apple released the second version of iPad mini - and here it has not only corrected the situation with the screen resolution, but also radically increased the device's performance. At the same time, the price remained quite attractive, and the battery life and dimensions remained practically unchanged.

Thus, the choice is no longer between "large and modern device" and "compact but outdated". Now it is necessary to choose exclusively between the two screen diagonals and, accordingly, the dimensions of the tablet (not affecting, however, the thickness). If you prefer a more compact format, plan to regularly take your tablet with you on trips, use it in transport, then you can safely take iPad mini Retina. It is slightly more expensive than Android tablets of the same form factor, but significantly better in performance.

In our opinion, the more likely competitors of the iPad mini Retina are not even compact form factor tablets, but tablet phones - Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, etc. In terms of performance, they are about the same as the iPad mini Retina, in terms of screen quality. are not inferior (and even surpass in pixel density per inch), but they can be used both as a tablet and as a smartphone. True, the cost of top-end tablet phones is significantly higher than that of the iPad mini, but the screen is still smaller. Therefore, the Apple product turns out to have its own specific niche, different from both tablet phones and compact Android tablets.

Overall, we definitely recommend the iPad mini with Retina display, unless you've already purchased an iPad Air (or intend to do so). But the iPad mini of the first generation seems to us an acceptable option only if the buyer wants to get an Apple tablet as cheap as possible, and the rest does not matter. If possible, it is worth, of course, to pay 4,000 rubles and get a fundamentally more modern device. And, by the way, owners of the first generation iPad mini can also safely go to stores for a new iPad mini, if financial capabilities permit. The update will not be superfluous.

In conclusion of the article, we bring to your attention our video review of the Apple iPad mini tablet with a Retina display:

Two years ago, we denied the need for a smaller iPad. And now we consider it the best tablet in the world with might and main. As soon as Tim Cook confirmed the exit, I knew that I would definitely buy it. And here he lies next. Is this a good tablet? Definitely. Should you change to this one? No options. True, this is not a perfect device.

Apple employs engineers, not magicians. Pros in new devices are always easy to find: the euphoria and joy of owning a new toy help a lot in this. But getting to the bottom of the real cons in the first few days is almost impossible. I have been using the new iPad mini with Retina display for three weeks and found, in addition to obvious improvements, several unexpected negative aspects, many of which were not written about in any popular review. Let's fix the situation by starting with ourselves!

For what?

Is the iPad mini with Retina display so bad that a separate article is devoted to its cons? Of course, this is not at all the case. Quite the opposite. I am sincerely, objectively delighted with this tablet: it is very fast, very lightweight, very portable and functional. This is exactly the iPad mini that we secretly wanted when buying the previous model.

But after reading dozens of foreign and a couple of domestic reviews, I was left with mixed feelings: as always, journalists are in a hurry, want to be among the first to shoot a review, and slide into banal praise of the device and free quotation of marketing clichés from apple.com pages. And their readers are already talking about the minuses - on the forums, with angry responses towards the manufacturer. I think this is wrong. So that you are fully armed, I will freely walk rolleriPad mini with Retina display. I will make a reservation right away that we will not discuss the advantages in detail.

Battery, charging and battery life

From year to year, Apple puts a charge and cable on its iPads, denying an extra pair of headphones. An interesting point: iPad mini is not equipped with a new one, but with an old 10-watt one. The manufacturer saves, but in practice this changes almost nothing: the tablet is charged for about 5-6 hours from zero to 100%. If you use it regularly and thoroughly, get into the habit of charging the device every two days - and everything will be fine.

The new mini is practically not powered from the USB port, except for the deep sleep mode. Considering that notifications are constantly received there, for the whole night you will have at most 20-25%. Plug it in, there is no other option. I warn you right away: with a capacity of less than 10,000 mA, they barely breathe, being connected to a new tablet. These are the realities of using a new display and much more gluttonous hardware.

When playing resource-intensive things like, the tablet discharges faster than the previous generation mini - mine refuses to live after 5 hours of continuous play. But here it is worth making an important remark: we are talking about the "heaviest" toy for iOS at the moment, which, in terms of processor load, even Infinity Blade III... Toys "lighter" will work in the region of 7-8 hours, and in the "naked" surfing on Wi-Fi without playing video and with low brightness, you can squeeze out of the tablet not even 10, but as much as 11, or even 12 hours of work ... That's more than 99.99% of us need. During the day, you will definitely have the opportunity to find a charger, which means that the iPad simply cannot physically let you down at the right time (hello, iPhone!).

By the way, I'm so used to the long and stable battery life of the iPad that I constantly forget about the helplessness of iPhones in this regard. Do not count the calls and important emails that were missed because I forgot to turn off 3G and disable geolocation. With an iPad, you never need to deal with such garbage. Well, if only you want to set records: there are people on Twitter who squeezed 13 hours of continuous work from a tablet. And when to live, eat, sleep? :)

Housing, design and heating

iPad mini with Retina display comes with iPad mini without Retina display. This could have ended. But no, Apple made a reservation that the body became a couple of tenths of a millimeter thicker and several tens of grams heavier. And now everyone wants to know: has he really become fat and terribly heavy, or can he be patient and somehow survive? Well, you understand, a whole tenth of a millimeter is not for you hukhry-muhry!

No, it is not fat or heavy at all. The difference with the previous iPad mini is felt only when alternately weighing in the hands. And then all this looks more like a statistical error. In general, we immediately discard the weight.

The old cover could not stand the upgrade.

It would seem that in this situation, you can not think about the thickness at all. But no. You may not notice it, but covers and linings will not get off so easily. The new iPad mini does not fit well into the tightly fitted cases for the previous generation - for example, those with hard plastic clips on the sides. If the clamps are weak, then the novelty will not fit there properly at all. And if you are strong, then every time you “undress” you will pray not to wrinkle or scratch the sensitive sharpened edges of the tablet.

Not only have the grooves burst, but also the lid is now not fully closed.

Do not take risks with covers: take your tablet with you, go to the store and try on each option before buying. If it fits enchantingly tightly or not to the end - refuse and look for another. Unfortunately, not every manufacturer got it, and many of them willingly say that their old cases are fully compatible with the new iPad mini. In addition to the clips, pay attention to the cover, if any. The protruding piece of the new tablet, timidly peeking out of the cover for the previous generation mini, is very frustrating: I personally have to look for a new cover for every day to replace the one I already love.

Warmer

The new iPad mini is nearly three to five times more powerful than its predecessor. This could not remain without consequences. Metal is an excellent thermal conductor, making it Apple's favorite material for legendary MacBook cases. Only Apple mobile gadgets do not have heatsinks, let alone coolers. Therefore, only the body plays the role of a cooler. You can probably already guess what I'm getting at.

iPad mini with Retina display may become warm. Strong. About the same as two years ago - and even a little stronger. For example, the game GTA: San Andreas able to warm up the tablet to an unusual state, when the device is not hot enough to get burned, but already enough to really start to worry. Moreover, the warmth is felt not only on the back panel, but also on the screen: the gadget is relatively small, and the heat has nowhere to go. Apple knew this very, very well. Why I think so - below.

Performance, throttling and iOS 7

The previous generation iPad mini was a smaller version of the iPad 2 with an older processor. Surprisingly, Apple got away with it easily: we explained it by the limitations of the case and heat dissipation, and then we went to the stores in slender rows. In 2013, the trick did not repeat itself: iPad mini with Retina display uses an A7 processor. It also has an A7 processor. And in too. And so a reasonable question arises: why do these devices show different levels of performance not only in synthetic tests, but also in games?

Throttling

Chart from Anandtech's iPad mini review

Every A7 processor is different from every other device - be it the iPhone 5s, iPad Air, or the new iPad mini. Numerous tests of the A7 have shown that each of the three gadgets operates at a different frequency, which changes depending on the load on the processor. It is called Throttling: a programmed limit on the processor's performance to protect it from overheating. Throttling is implemented in all processors, from full-fledged computer CPUs to mobile ARM. Thanks to throttling, your iPhone and iPad will not be able to overheat and damage from excessive stress. I explain this so that no one "rolls a barrel" onto the technology itself.

Well, Apple's new gadgets - and throttling boundaries - are programmed differently. The iPad Air performs best of all. Under high load, it very smoothly, almost one megahertz at a time, reduces the processor frequency to 1.3 GHz. This is a very small drop that the average user will not be able to notice. Air is partly lucky: it is only provided for in its design.

Chart from the iPad Air review on Anandtech

But the iPhone 5s for real "Freaks out"as soon as it is faced with a resource-intensive task. The processor frequency in "esk" drops sharply from 1.3 GHz to 1 GHz, and then actively jumps up and down, and sometimes drops to 850 MHz - more than a third of the base value. But this is a third of the speed, which disappears into nowhere while your smartphone is cooling down.

If you are sitting in Safari at this moment, all these fluctuations will not be noticeable. But if you play GTA: San Andreas, you will see the moment when throttling is activated. naked eye ... The toy will just start to slow down noticeably. The developers did not take into account the fact of throttling, so the engine loads the poor iPhone as if it had all 1.3 GHz. And there is 850 MHz, the screen is 15 frames per second, and the back panel is slowly turning into a frying pan. In general, throttling dramatically changes the balance of power in resource-intensive applications.

The success of these devices is important in comparison. IPad mini with Retina display has the same processor frequency as iPhone 5s. The throttling parameters in it are slightly better than in the iPhone: for example, the drop in performance stops at about 1 GHz, which is already much better. But the main problem remains: as soon as you load a new mini-tablet, it quickly drops a good quarter of its performance for the sake of chip temperature. The A7 was significantly hotter than previous chips, and therefore Apple had to make such sacrifices.

iPhone 5s is still more powerful

If the previous point is of interest primarily to developers, then the next "minus" can be easily understood by any ordinary user. The difference in real, effective video performance between the iPhone 5s and iPad mini is not in favor of the tablet. All thanks to the resource intensity of the new Retina display. After all, the processor in the iPhone 5s runs on a screen with half the resolution of the iPad mini 2013 display. This is partly confirmed by tests of the processing power of the processor:

But only GPU tests show the real difference:

The difference in effective 3D performance is over 30 percent in favor of the iPhone 5s. Less resolution means less hardware load. And here even the increased throttling threshold cannot change anything.

What does all this mean for each of us? A simple fact: the most beautiful and high-quality games of 2014 will not only work slightly better on the iPhone 5s than on the iPad mini with Retina display, but will also show a better picture. Next time Apple should consider adding more powerful processors to its tablets than the ones that come with the company's miniature smartphones. This has already happened with the iPad 4 and A6x, so why not repeat the trick next year?

Going through the features of the processor, I want to note: everything is not at all as bad as it might seem after reading this section. For all the odd drawbacks, performance is the first reason that should make you swap out your old iPad mini for a new one. Fact: no mobile game will slow down on this tablet for another year or two. The difference is noticeable to the naked eye: where the old model thinks for six seconds, the new one thinks only for a second or a half. iOS 7 dramatically increased the technical requirements for the device, and the first iPad mini finally ceased to cope with modern workload. Lags and freezes don't exist on the mini with a Retina display, except for one - those that appear thanks to the poorly optimized iOS 7.

iOS 7. Version matters

Very good. Especially her idea. Thanks to the seven, Apple devices have finally found not only a second life, but also a completely new vector of software development, which seemed impossible in the language of skeuomorphism. But let's be honest, just one minute. First, the iOS 7 icons are still ugly. We could get used to it, we could stop paying attention, but this cannot cancel the very fact of the soulless wretchedness of most of the icons of the main, home screen. Secondly, none of these icons and none of the official apps reveal the benefits of the gorgeous iPhone and iPad screens. Where there used to be super-detailed textures, there is now a two-tone gradient and spacious shapes. Finally, the performance of the system itself is often poor.

Thanks to the design nude iOS 7, the difference between the old iPad mini and the new iPad mini isn't nearly as strong as, say, the iPad 2 and iPad 3 back in the days of iOS 5/6. At a quick glance, it is dictated only by the desktop wallpaper - now much more detailed. We'll talk about the screen later. The main thing is that the "old man", that the new product has strange brakes: for example, applications switch with twitching, or close with a lag when using a gesture with five fingers. The A7 processor has nothing to do with it: it's just that iOS 7 is poorly optimized for new hardware, and Apple's system will have to work long and hard.

To really enjoy iPad mini with Retina display, you need to install the latest beta version on it. You cannot do this without registering a UDID, so take care of everything in advance so as not to be left with a brick at a crucial moment. The main plus of iOS 7.1 is super-fast, truly smooth animations for the first time, as well as the clearly increased performance of the system itself. After iOS 7.1, the officially available version seems to be hello from Android OS. Unfortunately, there are rumors that it is official, so for now we will have to beg for beta versions.

RAM

A conversation about hardware would not be complete without mentioning RAM. Today, all Apple mobile gadgets are strictly 1 gigabyte of RAM. According to bucket owners, this is very little. According to the owners of iDevices, everyone somehow do not care... The gigabyte limit, which applies to all top-end devices, has a good effect on the optimization of third-party games and applications: developers know what "ceiling" they need to target at least in the next six months. But it is already clear that the system is "suffocating" within the framework of such a large amount of RAM. For example, on iOS 6, the iPad could keep almost 7-10 Safari tabs in memory without requiring them to be reloaded. Today, their number does not exceed 4-5, and sometimes even less (depending on the weight of the opened pages).

When the second iPad mini with Retina display comes out, Apple is excited to announce that the device has more RAM, and we're right! - happily go to the store. Remember this when buying the current mini, and mentally prepare for this, so as not to be offended by the guys from Cupertino later. They need to earn money.

Retina display. Afterglow, contrast issues - huegate

We were genuinely surprised that the technical specifications of the latest full-size iPad will match those of the mini version. It wasn't exactly Apple style. Somewhere the company had to really save money. Unfortunately, the savings were almost entirely on the Retina display. Chances are you already know: the screen of the new iPad mini is more recognized than that of the recently released iPad Air. The difference is in the depth, variety and contrast of the displayed colors: the new mini is much more passive and colder in color reproduction than the bright, sharp and mesmerizing iPad Air display.

The Russian transcription of the phenomenon sounds peculiar, but in the West this "scandal" was dubbed "Huegate" - by analogy with Antennagate() and Scuffgate(). As an iPad Air owner with a little experience, I can confirm that the colors in the new mini are really not as bright as on the large iPads. The range of displayed colors corresponds to that of the very first mini model. Therefore, we can conclude: the Retina screen of the iPad mini differs from the old display by an exceptionally doubled resolution. And nothing else.

There are two options for how to react to this minus. If you have used only a "minicom" last year and did not have a 9.7-inch Retina-iPad at hand, then all these scandals and "gates" do not concern you at all. Any difference is recognized by comparison, and if you compare the new mini with the old one, and not with some "fourth" iPad, the previous generation does not have no one real advantage. Just take a new model and don't worry.

If you are still undecided about which model of the new iPad you should take, walk to the store and be sure to compare the iPad Air and the new iPad mini. The Air screen will definitely be of better quality in all possible parameters. Except, perhaps, the clarity of the picture: the density of pixels per inch, and therefore the detail of the image in the new iPad mini deserves the highest praise.

Differences in color reproduction make you think twice about buying an iPad Air instead of a mini. But remember: whatever the difference in screens, the size of a large iPad still matters. Fact: mini is always more convenient and easier to take with you, carry in one hand, hide in a bag, and so on. And the Air, no matter how lightweight and thin it is, still remains 9.7-inch. "Tray", which is not always comfortable to get in a public place. And even more so for them to photograph something. Accordingly, if you are going to take a mini, take a mini. If you were attracted to Air and you were previously happy with full-size iPads - don't waste your time.

Color reproduction aside, the new mini's screen is great. Huge viewing angles and high brightness make the picture incredibly seamless, as if reproduced on paper. The old model ceases to be quoted here altogether. Now the small text on the pages of sites does not look like a cluster of blurry pixels, and with a certain skill and good vision, you can read the news on the pages without using the zoom. The sharpness of the picture is unusual for those who have been using the old mini for a long time: I swear, the first few days I continued to see pixels and their clearly delineated boundaries.

More or less like this.

Here, however, you have to make an unexpected remark. In the second week after buying a new mini, I discovered a strange feature of the new screen, which I had never seen before on either iPad or iPhone. If the screen displays a dark picture for a long time, and then suddenly switches to bright, gray and white colors, then the color rendition changes significantly. Gray colors, and especially small text, seem to disappear against a white background, and all other shades become brighter - as if they were "burned out". The essence of the problem is suspiciously similar. Only in the case of MacBooks for all "Internet", but something about mini is silent. Probably everyone is happy: it's better sothan no Retina display at all.

Most often I "caught" this problem in the official client Youtube: after watching a long video with a lot of black, I minimized it from full-screen mode with a gesture - and for 2-3 seconds I hardly saw the description text, comment block, and so on. There is no need to panic: the screen very quickly restores the normal color balance, and it is not at all easy to achieve such a strange effect. However, this has never happened in previous Apple mobile devices. Problems with mini displays, which caused Apple to significantly delay the launch of devices on sale, were known back in. It is now clear that these were not just rumors. Have you seen such problems on your devices? Share in the comments.

P.S.

The Retina display makes the iPad mini a modern device, but doesn't create a rival for the full-size tablet. iPad Air is much better suited for home use: it is more interesting to watch movies and surf the web, because the benefits of a physically larger screen are obvious. But the new iPad mini is a versatile companion in town and on the road, capable of everything you expect from a tablet. And if you move a lot in life, you are on the way with the "minik".

I didn't want this article to be filled with negativity. But there are never perfect devices - and therefore, in order to make a truly correct purchase, each of us must know not only the pros, but also the cons. Euphoria is always good, but it tends to fade away, leaving behind purely practical conclusions. Now, when you make a decision and go to the store for iPad mini, you will know for sure that it will not disappoint you in any way. And this is the most important thing.

Roman Yuriev's impressions of the Retina iPad mini

The announcement of the new iPad models is a little unsettled, to be honest. turned out to be MUCH lighter and significantly more compact than its predecessor, and in terms of power it does not lag behind its larger counterpart. What to choose against the background of work experience with two tablets at once - and? Everyone has it its pluses, but I still decided not to procreate entities and use only one new generation tablet, having sold both predecessors.

iPad Air is a larger display, weighing just 120g, more than the second generation iPad mini, plus better color performance. In general, from the color rendition of the display of the new iPad mini, and this also added its own confusion to the choice. Nevertheless, 80% of the time I work with iPad mini and it is always with me, there is even a chic shoulder bag for the gadget that the iPad Air does not fit in any way. A severe shortage for a compact new product almost became the reason for purchasing an iPad Air, but I still resisted and got hold of a Retina iPad mini, which I absolutely do not regret. And now, after such a long and dramatic introduction, my first impressions of the new product.

There was no wow effect, except that I was quite a little excited by 128 GB of flash memory and the ability to throw not only 1.5-gigabyte "rips" of movies, but also HD-versions of 4-5 GB, plus all the software and toys that were previously distributed between the two tablets. Still a big family and everyone has something of their own on the device. Now all this easily fits into 128 GB and there is still a lot of space left (about 30 GB, to be exact).

That is, the first feeling is that the new iPad mini is exactly the same as the old one, as if it did not change the tablet. This was the first few days of using the device, when I mostly sat on it in, and watched videos on the train. Although the increased weight of the device was slightly felt, plus the light gray color of the case was unusual.

When I returned home from a business trip (in which I got a new tablet), I started working more closely with the iPad mini. And here I already felt the whole thrill of the gadget. First of all, I was glad that I took it, and not the iPad Air. The high resolution of the display rules, and in fact, I got the experience when surfing the web (when the clarity of the picture is actually needed) as on the iPad 4 before, but in a more compact package. That is, there is no negative experience in connection with the reduced display diagonal.

Secondlywithout having an iPad Air at hand for direct comparison, I don't see any problems with color reproduction in the new mini. Gorgeous display and excellent color rendering. I do not understand the hysteria of the people about this. If you are still in the throes of choice over the display, then don't bother with bullshit. Normal LCD in iPad mini.

Thirdly, you begin to understand all the cool from the clarity of the screen only after a few days of heavy use of the device. Watching videos on YouTube, reading books in iBooks, toys - the brain is happy, the eyes are dancing in ecstasy. At the same time, I “stuffed” my old iPad mini for a friend, and somehow there were no negative emotions about the display - everything is fine. That is what it means, high-quality adaptation of OS and software for different resolutions. Once again I took the Retina iPad mini in my hands and again began to rave about it.

Fourth, especially the increased productivity. Faster switching between applications, Safari crashes were no longer repeated (although it can clearly still be, given that the browser "crashes" from time to time on the iPhone 5s), editing texts in the WordPress admin area goes like clockwork, finally, the keyboard stopped slowing down when typing comments in the browser, etc.

I did not find any special heating of the tablet, although I played little games so far.

Thus, do not expect some kind of techno-maniac ecstasy from the transition from the old iPad mini to the new one. Everything will happen everyday, and only after some time will you begin to realize how cool the novelty is. This is how the overall picture of the ideal tablet develops in detail. Yes, the Retina iPad mini is the perfect tablet, in my opinion. This is the gadget I've been waiting for since I met when I realized that 10 inches is a lot for a travel device that you carry with you all the time.

The Retina iPad mini is the ultimate tablet without compromise, with an ultra-sharp display, very powerful headroom and a gorgeous software portfolio. There are no alternatives for travel and everyday lugging with you, IMHO.

Arthur Malosiev's impressions of iPad mini with Retina display

I consider my purchase of the second generation iPad mini one of the most useful in the past year. Its great display and resources are enough to meet all my needs. From past experience, I took exclusively the Wi-Fi version, so as not to produce SIM cards at home, because the iPhone 5s turns into a modem by pressing a button. In my opinion, a real "minicom" turned out to be a good and reliable friend, the power reserve of which will be quite enough for the next couple of years.

If you have already bought a new mini - do not hesitate, tell us about it. Like? How do you use it? Are you going to catch the Air? Thanks for reading - and Happy Holidays!

The Apple iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display, announced on October 22, went on sale at different times. Air became available in several countries on November 1, and mini is only now. In Russia, official sales began simultaneously, on November 15th. Thus, the difference narrowed again, only 2 weeks have passed since the start in other countries. It's a good sign: maybe soon Russia will be in the first wave of launching all devices, who knows. But back to the tablets.

It would seem that the next update of the Apple tablets should have gone smoothly, but the company did the impossible: they again returned a slightly fading interest in large 10-inch tablets. The iPad Air turned out to be the smallest, lightest device in its category, while the iPad mini turned out to be completely similar in characteristics.

Now you can choose one or another diagonal without sacrificing functionality, screen quality, processor power or memory - the two models are the same. In this article I will talk about the miniature iPad mini, which has been seriously updated compared to its predecessor.

Main characteristics

• Operating system: iOS 7.0.3
• Screen: IPS-display with a diagonal of 7.85 inches and a resolution of 2048 x 1536, 324 ppi
• Processor: Apple A7, 2-core Cortex-A9, ARM-v8, 1.3GHz. PowerVR G6430 Graphics
• Memory: RAM 1 GB, Built-in 16, 32, 64 or 128 GB
• Camera: front 1.3 MP FaceTime, main iSight F / 2.4, 5 MP with autofocus, video recording 1080p, face recognition function
• Data transmission: Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). There are models with support for GSM / EDGE / UMTS / LTE and CDMA / GSM / EDGE / UMTS. GPS / GLONASS (LTE version only).
• Connection: Lightning connector
• Battery: 23.8 W * h, up to 10 hours of work on the Internet via Wi-Fi, watching a video
• Optional: gyroscope, light sensor
• Dimensions: 200 x 134.7 x 7.5mm
• Weight: 331g (341g - LTE versions)
• Price: from 399 euros in Europe, from 399 dollars in the US, from 15 990 in Russia (Wi-Fi model)
• Complete set: cable, charger, quick instructions

Design, convenience

In most cases, when describing Apple devices, this paragraph can be reduced to a couple of words: "nothing has changed." Indeed, why change what is already ideal: no one has come close to the exterior and tactile sensations of the all-metal, matte cases of Apple tablets. Let me remind you that the new Google Nexus, Samsung GALAXY Note, Nokia Lumia 2520 are all plastic.

The only thing that can be noticed is that the SIM card slot has moved a third of a centimeter, and there is also another small hole for the microphone on the antenna insert, which the first iPad mini does not have.

IPad mini Retina has changed color from black to Space Gray, similar to iPhone 5s. This color looks better, does not show fingerprints, and the metal texture is clearer. In short, the change is positive.

As for the dimensions, they are also indistinguishable from the first generation. The length and width coincide to tenths of a millimeter - 200 x 134.7, while the thickness has increased by an imperceptible 0.3 mm - up to 7.5 mm. The weight has increased by 20 grams (up to 331 g). With these parameters, the tablet remained one of the thinnest in the world, it is the dimensions that attract many buyers to the iPad mini: the share of 10-inch models continues to decline.

Connectors and elements in their places: lightning and stereo speakers at the bottom, a lock button at the top, and on the right - volume control and silent mode.

Screen

With the introduction of 7-inch Android tablets with Full HD screens, it became clear that Apple will also update its 8-inch tablet to Retina resolution (2048 x 1536 pixels), just like the older iPad Air. Rumors came true, iPad mini acquired a Retina display and the main limitation of the previous generation was removed - the first iPad mini had a pixel density of 163 ppi - less than all competitors.

Now at this resolution the picture is very smooth, the density is similar to the iPhone - 324 ppi, the pixels are not noticeable at all. In short, a wonderful tablet screen. Brightness, maximum viewing angles and natural colors are all there. Anyone who wanted a lightweight and miniature Apple tablet, but was stopped by the low screen resolution, the new version is highly recommended for consideration.

Detailed testing of the iPad mini Retina screen
conducted by our expert Mikhail Kuznetsov.

Screen Apple iPad mini got a Retina screen. With a diagonal of 7.85 inches, the resolution reaches 2048 x 1536, which gives a pixel density of 324 ppi. Fans of pixel counting will be satisfied - with such a density it is hardly possible to see hints of “pixelation” of the image, the resolution is abundant.

The stock of brightness is up to 407 cd / m2 at maximum. Lack of brightness can be felt only in bright sun, in other cases the margin is quite enough. The contrast ratio was around 900: 1, which is an increase over the previous iPad mini (where we measured 687: 1). The anti-reflective filter of the screen copes well with ambient light and prevents it from fading or fading in direct light. The viewing angles are wide enough, the shades are slightly distorted, the image remains legible at all reasonable viewing angles.

The gamma has an optimal value of 2.23, and the stability of the indicator is high. All midtones are displayed with correct brightness, dark and light areas of the image have good detail - this is definitely a plus.

The average color temperature is about 6800K, the tint of the image is only a drop colder than the reference. It should be noted that at maximum brightness, the tint of the image becomes even colder - the color temperature tends to 7000K.

There is a slight excess of blue in the color balance, but the impurity is not that strong. The average Delta E error is about 5.41 units, which indicates a good quality of the factory setting. The main thing is that there is no obvious imbalance - which means that it is easy to get used to the extra shade.

The color gamut of the screen was disappointing. As with the previous version, the Retina screen of the new iPad mini falls short of the sRGB standard. Primary colors are hue-shifted and lack depth. This makes images look washed out and less faithful than on sRGB-compliant screens such as the Google Nexus 7. And tint is half the trouble, since the blue is too bright (+ 104%, Delta E \u003d 17.6). In general, there is an imbalance with individual colors. Hence the rather high errors of Delta E color rendering - on average 7.73 units. The color rendition comes out sloppy, you can usually expect more from Apple devices.

Overall, the Apple iPad mini's display has received one obvious improvement - high-resolution Retina. A slight increase in contrast is also pleasing. At the same time, one of the key drawbacks of the previous generation iPad mini remained in place - it is the cut-down color depth, which does not reach sRGB and distorts the shades somewhat. Apparently, from the point of view of the screen, iPad mini Retina is still one of the weaker devices in the Apple gamut. The screen is well suited for casual use (surfing and the like), but looking at photos or videos on a "full" iPad will be more pleasant, and not only because of the screen diagonal.

Hardware platform and battery

Prior to the October 22 announcement, many believed the mini-tablet would receive a weaker hardware platform than the 10-inch iPad Air. But Apple took a different path: iPad mini is completely similar to its large brother in the line. The most advanced Apple A7 processor (64-bit processor with two main cores @ 1.3 GHz, latest ARM v8 architecture). Let me remind you that the new cores are called Cyclone, and the entire Apple A7 chip is produced by Samsung using a new 28-nanometer High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process.

A few words about 64-bit architecture. Apple has chosen not the path of thoughtless increase in the number of cores, which creates inconvenience for application developers, but the path of unification with other devices - Macbook, iPhone. All Apple devices now have 64-bit architecture, making it much easier to create cross-platform applications for them. In the Android world, developers are guided by averages so that the program works on as many devices as possible. As a result, in most cases, additional cores in 4- and 8-core devices are simply not used. In Apple's case, you can create programs for all devices without focusing on the differences between them in terms of the number of cores, which saves both time and resources.

In addition, the new platform turned out to be not only faster than multi-core competitors, but also more economical in terms of power consumption: the new Apple smartphones and tablets work as long as their predecessors did.

In the case of iPad mini Retina, the indicators are exactly the same: 10 hours of work when watching video, Internet browsing via Wi-Fi. Due to the high resolution of the screen, the battery capacity has increased: 23.8 Wh versus 16.3 Wh in the predecessor iPad mini. Let me remind you that the thickness of the tablet itself has increased by only 0.3 mm: from 7.2 to 7.5 mm. I was always surprised how Apple, with the growth of quantitative indicators, maintains its usual dimensions in the same framework, but the fact remains.

The graphics accelerator in the new iPad mini is also at its best - the quad-core PowerVR (Series 6) G6430, which supports OpenGL 3.0, DirectX 10 and OpenCL 1.x. It is one of the most powerful mobile graphics chips on the market right now. The amount of RAM in the iPad mini Retina has doubled compared to its predecessor - there is 1 GB, as in the older iPad Air. In addition, the faster LPDDR3 version is used instead of LPDDR2.

So the mini-tablet is not inferior to the 10-inch iPad Air in terms of memory and processing power. If last year the first iPad mini was rather weak, now the new generation has stepped 2 steps forward. Moreover, not only in comparison with Apple gadgets, but also Android competitors: at the moment, none of the Android manufacturers use ARM v8 cores (devices with Cortex A53 and Cortex A57 will appear obviously not earlier than next year) or Imagination PowerVR Series 6 graphics. Apple is in the lead here.

This fact will once again push many to think which is better - a standard 10-inch tablet or a miniature 8-inch tablet. Apple made them identical in terms of hardware platform and screen resolution, camera quality, storage capacity (built-in and RAM), battery life, so you can only choose the size. A very interesting step: when choosing an iPad mini, you don't have to sacrifice quality or performance. For example, I prefer a miniature tablet, as it is so compact that it fits in any bag. The appearance of a 128 GB option is also a plus for a miniature device.

Camera

The iSight camera did not change: 5 megapixels, autofocus and spot focus. Despite rumors, the new Apple tablets did not get the 8 megapixel camera from the iPhone 5, apparently, this is due to the fact that the resolution was not increased in the iPhone 5s either, there is the usual 8 megapixel (albeit with a large pixel size - 1.5 microns). So the quality of shooting remained at the level of its predecessor - quite an adequate level. There is also a module in the front, this is an HD-camera, which will be useful during FaceTime communications. It will also allow you to take a self-portrait.

Software platform

The tablet is running the latest iOS 7.0.3. If the software on the iPad mini slowed down a little, now the tablet does not differ in speed from the iPhone 5s, all built-in applications, like third-party ones, “fly”. Also in version 7.0.3, it became possible to disable animation in most menus, so you can make your tablet or smartphone even faster.

The main change in iOS 7 compared to version 6 is the control center - a panel containing switches for data transfer, network and wireless connections, offline and night modes, player control buttons, as well as several quick applications (such as a calculator and a flashlight) ... The control panel is called in the same way as the notification panel, only from the bottom of the screen. Personally, I have been waiting for its appearance for a long time, it was wrong to constantly go into the settings menu to enable the simplest functions, but better late than never.

The panel is not customizable, that is, you cannot remove unnecessary shortcuts (such as a timer) and add new ones, but you can choose whether it will be possible to call the panel on the locked screen or in open applications. In the control center there are AirDrop and AirPlay icons - wireless transfer of information and multimedia to compatible devices. For example, if there is another user with iOS 7 nearby, you can transfer a file or contact with one touch.

The notification center (the panel at the top of the screen) has received expanded functionality: it is divided into 3 parts, you can watch either all notifications, or missed ones, or the "Today" screen, where the weather can also be displayed. The weather app has also been updated, with a lot more weather animations.

Multitasking has been brought to a remarkable form: now there are not only program icons, but also window thumbnails, information in which is updated in real time. Approximately the same principle as in MeeGo or Blackberry 10. Applications are closed by swiping up. The proprietary features have improved: the "Find iPhone" function will now require authorization via Apple ID and a password to disable it. Additional protection of your data in general. The new version of FaceTime has the ability to use it for voice calls without video.

Well, one of the most important innovations is the browser. An incomprehensible limitation on 8 open tabs has been removed, now you can open an unlimited number of them. The view of the windows has also changed, the miniatures have become more visual and large.

Opinion Hi-Tech.Mail.ru

Apple's mini-tablet has stepped over the turn of one generation: everyone was waiting for a simplified version of the 10-inch model, with a processor from the iPhone 5, with limited memory, and received the most modern and powerful set: the top-end Apple A7 processor, an option with 128 GB of memory, Retina -screen with 324 ppi dot density (as in the iPhone 5s), one and a half times more capacious battery with practically unchanged tablet thickness and weight.

iPad mini with Retina screen is completely similar to the older iPad Air model - software, hardware, screen and runtime. You can choose the screen size you are interested in, and that's it - now you don't have to sacrifice anything. Let me remind you that the first generation iPad mini had only 512 MB of RAM, and the screen had a modest resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. The price increased slightly, from $ 329 to $ 399 for the initial configuration. As I said, the tablet will officially appear in Russia at a price of 15,990 rubles for the Wi-Fi configuration (the predecessor started from 13,000). The LTE version will cost 20,990 rubles for 16 GB. This will happen tomorrow, November 15th.

The new iPad mini retains the key advantages of its predecessor: a record-breaking thinness, the same design with narrow frames and an all-aluminum body, loud stereo speakers, a huge software base and the same battery life. It was a little disappointing that the tablet decided not to use a fingerprint scanner, as in the iPhone 5s (this would increase the cost), as well as the previous camera, although an 8 megapixel module would be more appropriate. The rest of the tablet left the most pleasant impression, the same combination of sizes, quality of materials, speed and battery life does not have Android competitors, for which we can safely recommend the model for purchase.

Anton Spiridonov, [email protected]

It would seem that the next update of the Apple tablets should have gone smoothly, but the company did the impossible: they again returned a slightly fading interest in large 10-inch tablets. The iPad Air turned out to be the smallest, lightest device in its category, while the iPad mini turned out to be completely similar in characteristics.

Now you can choose one or another diagonal without sacrificing functionality, screen quality, processor power or memory - the two models are the same. In this article I will talk about a miniature tablet that has been seriously updated compared to its predecessor.

Main characteristics

• Operating system: iOS 7.0.3
• Screen: IPS-display with a diagonal of 7.85 inches and a resolution of 2048 x 1536, 324 ppi
• Processor: Apple A7, 2-core Cortex-A9, ARM-v8, 1.3GHz. PowerVR G6430 Graphics
• Memory: RAM 1 GB, Built-in 16, 32, 64 or 128 GB
• Camera: front 1.3 MP FaceTime, main iSight F / 2.4, 5 MP with autofocus, video recording 1080p, face recognition function
• Data transmission: Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). There are models with support for GSM / EDGE / UMTS / LTE and CDMA / GSM / EDGE / UMTS. GPS / GLONASS (LTE version only).
• Connection: Lightning connector
• Battery: 23.8 W * h, up to 10 hours of work on the Internet via Wi-Fi, watching a video
• Optional: gyroscope, light sensor
• Dimensions: 200 x 134.7 x 7.5mm
• Weight: 331g (341g - LTE versions)
• Price: from 399 euros in Europe, from 399 dollars in the US, from 15 990 in Russia (Wi-Fi model)
• Complete set: cable, charger, quick instructions

Design, convenience

In most cases, when describing Apple devices, this paragraph can be reduced to a couple of words: "nothing has changed." Indeed, why change what is already ideal: no one has come close to the exterior and tactile sensations of the all-metal, matte cases of Apple tablets. Let me remind you that the new Google Nexus, Samsung GALAXY Note, Nokia Lumia 2520 are all plastic.

The only thing that can be noticed is that the SIM card slot has moved a third of a centimeter, and there is also another small hole for the microphone on the antenna insert, which the first iPad mini does not have.

IPad mini Retina has changed color from black to Space Gray, similar to iPhone 5s. This color looks better, does not show fingerprints, and the metal texture is clearer. In short, the change is positive.

As for the dimensions, they are also indistinguishable from the first generation. The length and width coincide to tenths of a millimeter - 200 x 134.7, while the thickness has increased by an imperceptible 0.3 mm - up to 7.5 mm. The weight has increased by 20 grams (up to 331 g). With these parameters, the tablet remained one of the thinnest in the world, it is the dimensions that attract many buyers to the iPad mini: the share of 10-inch models continues to decline.

Connectors and elements in their places: lightning and stereo speakers at the bottom, a lock button at the top, and on the right - volume control and silent mode.

Screen

With the introduction of 7-inch Android tablets with Full HD screens, it became clear that Apple will also update its 8-inch tablet to Retina resolution (2048 x 1536 pixels), just like the older iPad Air. Rumors came true, iPad mini acquired a Retina display and the main limitation of the previous generation was removed - the first iPad mini had a pixel density of 163 ppi - less than all competitors.

Now at this resolution the picture is very smooth, the density is similar to the iPhone - 324 ppi, the pixels are not noticeable at all. In short, a wonderful tablet screen. Brightness, maximum viewing angles and natural colors are all there. Anyone who wanted a lightweight and miniature Apple tablet, but was stopped by the low screen resolution, the new version is highly recommended for consideration.

Detailed testing of the iPad mini Retina screen was carried out by our expert Mikhail Kuznetsov.

Screen Apple iPad mini got a Retina screen. With a diagonal of 7.85 inches, the resolution reaches 2048 x 1536, which gives a pixel density of 324 ppi. Fans of pixel counting will be satisfied - with such a density it is hardly possible to see hints of “pixelation” of the image, the resolution is abundant.

The brightness reserve is up to 407 cd / m2 at maximum. Lack of brightness can be felt only in bright sun, in other cases the margin is quite enough. The contrast ratio was around 900: 1, which is an increase over the previous iPad mini (where we measured 687: 1). The anti-reflective filter of the screen copes well with ambient light and prevents it from fading or fading in direct light. The viewing angles are wide enough, the shades are slightly distorted, the image remains legible at all reasonable viewing angles.

The gamma has an optimal value of 2.23, and the stability of the indicator is high. All midtones are displayed with correct brightness, dark and light areas of the image have good detail - this is definitely a plus.

The average color temperature is about 6800K, the tint of the image is only a drop colder than the reference. It should be noted that at maximum brightness, the tint of the image becomes even colder - the color temperature tends to 7000K.

There is a slight excess of blue in the color balance, but the impurity is not that strong. The average Delta E error is about 5.41 units, which indicates a good quality of the factory setting. The main thing is that there is no obvious imbalance - which means that it is easy to get used to the extra shade.

The color gamut of the screen was disappointing. As with the previous version, the Retina screen of the new iPad mini falls short of the sRGB standard. Primary colors are hue-shifted and lack depth. This makes images look washed out and less faithful than on sRGB-compliant screens such as the Google Nexus 7. And tint is half the trouble, since the blue is too bright (+ 104%, Delta E \u003d 17.6). In general, there is an imbalance with individual colors. Hence the rather high errors of Delta E color rendering - on average 7.73 units. The color rendition comes out sloppy, you can usually expect more from Apple devices.

Overall, the Apple iPad mini's display has received one obvious improvement - high-resolution Retina. A slight increase in contrast is also pleasing. At the same time, one of the key drawbacks of the previous generation iPad mini remained in place - it is the cut-down color depth, which does not reach sRGB and distorts the shades somewhat. Apparently, from the point of view of the screen, iPad mini Retina is still one of the weaker devices in the Apple gamut. The screen is well suited for casual use (surfing and the like), but looking at photos or videos on a "full" iPad will be more pleasant, and not only because of the screen diagonal.

Hardware platform and battery

Prior to the October 22 announcement, many believed the mini-tablet would receive a weaker hardware platform than the 10-inch iPad Air. But Apple took a different path: iPad mini is completely similar to its large brother in the line. The most advanced Apple A7 processor (64-bit processor with two main cores @ 1.3 GHz, latest ARM v8 architecture). Let me remind you that the new cores are called Cyclone, and the entire Apple A7 chip is produced by Samsung using a new 28-nanometer High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process.

A few words about 64-bit architecture. Apple has chosen not the path of thoughtless increase in the number of cores, which creates inconvenience for application developers, but the path of unification with other devices - Macbook, iPhone. All Apple devices now have 64-bit architecture, making it much easier to create cross-platform applications for them. In the Android world, developers are guided by averages so that the program works on as many devices as possible. As a result, in most cases, additional cores in 4- and 8-core devices are simply not used. In Apple's case, you can create programs for all devices without focusing on the differences between them in terms of the number of cores, which saves both time and resources.

In addition, the new platform turned out to be not only faster than multi-core competitors, but also more economical in terms of power consumption: the new Apple smartphones and tablets work as long as their predecessors did.

In the case of iPad mini Retina, the indicators are exactly the same: 10 hours of work when watching video, Internet browsing via Wi-Fi. Due to the high resolution of the screen, the battery capacity has increased: 23.8 Wh versus 16.3 Wh in the predecessor iPad mini. Let me remind you that the thickness of the tablet itself has increased by only 0.3 mm: from 7.2 to 7.5 mm. I was always surprised how Apple, with the growth of quantitative indicators, maintains its usual dimensions in the same framework, but the fact remains.

The graphics accelerator in the new iPad mini is also at its best - the quad-core PowerVR (Series 6) G6430, which supports OpenGL 3.0, DirectX 10 and OpenCL 1.x. It is one of the most powerful mobile graphics chips on the market right now. The amount of RAM in the iPad mini Retina has doubled compared to its predecessor - there is 1 GB, as in the older iPad Air. In addition, the faster LPDDR3 version is used instead of LPDDR2.

So the mini-tablet is not inferior to the 10-inch iPad Air in terms of memory and processing power. If last year the first iPad mini was rather weak, now the new generation has stepped 2 steps forward. Moreover, not only in comparison with Apple gadgets, but also Android competitors: at the moment, none of the Android manufacturers use ARM v8 cores (devices with Cortex A53 and Cortex A57 will appear obviously not earlier than next year) or Imagination PowerVR Series 6 graphics. Apple is in the lead here.

This fact will once again push many to think which is better - a standard 10-inch tablet or a miniature 8-inch tablet. Apple made them identical in terms of hardware platform and screen resolution, camera quality, storage capacity (built-in and RAM), battery life, so you can only choose the size. A very interesting step: when choosing an iPad mini, you don't have to sacrifice quality or performance. For example, I prefer a miniature tablet, as it is so compact that it fits in any bag. The appearance of a 128 GB option is also a plus for a miniature device.

Camera

The iSight camera did not change: 5 megapixels, autofocus and spot focus. Despite rumors, the new Apple tablets did not get the 8 megapixel camera from the iPhone 5, apparently, this is due to the fact that the resolution was not increased in the iPhone 5s either, there is the usual 8 megapixel (albeit with a large pixel size - 1.5 microns). So the quality of shooting remained at the level of its predecessor - quite an adequate level. There is also a module in the front, this is an HD-camera, which will be useful during FaceTime communications. It will also allow you to take a self-portrait.

Software platform

The tablet is running the latest iOS 7.0.3. If the software on the iPad mini slowed down a little, now the tablet does not differ in speed from the iPhone 5s, all built-in applications, like third-party ones, “fly”. Also in version 7.0.3, it became possible to disable animation in most menus, so you can make your tablet or smartphone even faster.

The main change in iOS 7 compared to version 6 is the control center - a panel containing switches for data transfer, network and wireless connections, offline and night modes, player control buttons, as well as several quick applications (such as a calculator and a flashlight) ... The control panel is called in the same way as the notification panel, only from the bottom of the screen. Personally, I have been waiting for its appearance for a long time, it was wrong to constantly go into the settings menu to enable the simplest functions, but better late than never.

The panel is not customizable, that is, you cannot remove unnecessary shortcuts (such as a timer) and add new ones, but you can choose whether it will be possible to call the panel on the locked screen or in open applications. In the control center there are AirDrop and AirPlay icons - wireless transfer of information and multimedia to compatible devices. For example, if there is another user with iOS 7 nearby, you can transfer a file or contact with one touch.

The notification center (the panel at the top of the screen) has received expanded functionality: it is divided into 3 parts, you can watch either all notifications, or missed ones, or the "Today" screen, where the weather can also be displayed. The weather app has also been updated, with a lot more weather animations.

Multitasking has been brought to a remarkable form: now there are not only program icons, but also window thumbnails, information in which is updated in real time. Approximately the same principle as in MeeGo or Blackberry 10. Applications are closed by swiping up. The proprietary features have improved: the "Find iPhone" function will now require authorization via Apple ID and a password to disable it. Additional protection of your data in general. The new version of FaceTime has the ability to use it for voice calls without video.

Well, one of the most important innovations is the browser. An incomprehensible limitation on 8 open tabs has been removed, now you can open an unlimited number of them. The view of the windows has also changed, the miniatures have become more visual and large.

Opinion

iPad mini with Retina screen is completely similar to the older iPad Air model - software, hardware, screen and runtime. You can choose the screen size you are interested in, and that's it - now you don't have to sacrifice anything. Let me remind you that the first generation iPad mini had only 512 MB of RAM, and the screen had a modest resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. The price increased slightly, from $ 329 to $ 399 for the initial configuration. As I said, the tablet will officially appear in Russia at a price of 15,990 rubles for the Wi-Fi configuration (the predecessor started from 13,000). The LTE version will cost 20,990 rubles for 16 GB. This will happen tomorrow, November 15th.

The new iPad mini retains the key advantages of its predecessor: a record low thickness, the same design with narrow frames and an all-aluminum body, loud stereo speakers, a huge software base and the same battery life. It was a little disappointing that the tablet decided not to use a fingerprint scanner, as in the iPhone 5s (this would increase the cost), as well as the previous camera, although an 8 megapixel module would be more appropriate. The rest of the tablet left the most pleasant impression, the same combination of sizes, quality of materials, speed and battery life does not have Android competitors, for which we can safely recommend the model for purchase.

Thanks to the company for the provided Apple iPad mini Retina First-Store.ru

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