Apple iPad mini with Retina Pro Reviews

There are cheaper tablets - cheaper iPads even - but if you can afford to buy the iPad mini 4 you won't be disappointed. It finally has a great screen and while it can't match the more powerful iPad Air 2, it's got more than enough poke to satisfy demanding users. The rear camera is decent and a big step up from many cheaper tablets. With great build quality and battery life on top, it's hard to fault the new mini so unless you want to wait to see if Apple launches an iPad Air 3, or you want the Air 2's bigger screen, it's a good buy.

Better in every way, the new iPad Mini drops all of the compromises of its predecessor and is the best small tablet

Apple upgrades its iPad mini with a top-notch Retina display and a super-charged new processor – the result is a superb, if pricey, compact tablet

The Apple iPad mini with Retina Display is perhaps the best small tablet money can buy at the moment, and it shows in the $399 basic price. It has an extremely high resolution display, premium design, blazing 64-bit chipset, very long battery life, and can take full advantage of more than 400,000 iOS apps written exclusively for tablets. LG G Pad 8.3 fights back with a lower $299-$349 price tag, depending on the retailer, or whether you want the Google Play Edition version. The tablet still flaunts a great high-res display, svelte design, and adds some extra functionality with the IR blaster at the top, and the microSD slot for cheaper storage expansion. It, however, doesn't offer a version with cellular connectivity. Its Android interface overlay offers some nifty features for easier multitasking, like a Qslide set of hovering apps, and a widget system, both of which come very handy on a tablet, but the Play Store has yet to offer more apps that are written from the ground up for a larger screen real estate. Thus, unless you deem the iPad mini 2 uncomfortable to use with one hand on account of the wider chassis, or need some of the extra G Pad 8.3 functionality, the iPad mini 2 with Retina Display is your better bet on a futureproof small tablet - if you can stomach the higher price tag, of course.

The iPad Mini Retina is a worthy successor of the first iPad Mini generation and a very good tablet. However, it does not quite deserve a place on the podium. The Retina display is an excellent new feature, but its limited color space coverage and poor color accuracy are shortcomings for a premium class device. Considering how well the iPad Air did here, we expected more. The tablet's slightly thicker build and heavier weight are not the end of the world and are hardly noticeable in day-to-day use. The tablet's higher price compared to its predecessor is unfortunate for customers. Still, the new iPad Mini is the best device in the 7-to-8 inch class. Its excellent manufacturing quality and lightning-quick performance are very appealing. In terms of performance, neither the Google Nexus 7 nor the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 hold a candle to the Apple tablet. Its battery life is also very good. If you like to watch films on your tablet, though, you might be disappointed, as the 4:3 aspect ratio forces the device to display thick black bars to keep the image in its original format. In summary, the new iPad Mini is a great device, and if you are looking to buy a tablet, we absolutely recommend taking a look at it.

Another year, another red hot comparison pitting the two best in the compact tablet segment. From what we’ve seen, they deliver the goods in providing us with a well-rounded performance, but at the end of the day, there can only be one that can reign supreme. First, let’s talk about pricing, which unlike last year, is now greatly divided between the two. With its sticker pricing of $230 for its base model, the Google Nexus 7 undoubtedly shows us that it provides us with more bang for the buck – and that’s despite having a more modest design and construction. Additionally, the Android 4.4 KitKat experience has bridged the gap by featuring a more straightforward and intuitive interface that closely follows the simplistic nature of iOS 7. To tell you the truth, this comparison would’ve been harder to decide if the iPad mini with Retina Display were sporting the same price point as its predecessor, but at a staggering $400, it goes to show that it’s moved away from that affordable segment. Rather, budget conscious consumers are going to be more inclined to look at the Nexus 7 – well, that’s unless they’re invested into the iPad mini’s apps ecosystem, or if they simply prefer a premium constructed tablet. Taking everything into consideration, we’re going to say that the Nexus 7 takes the checkered flag with this comparison!

Price aside, Apple has once again produced a fantastic product with the iPad mini, and it’s sure to please anyone in the market for a small tablet this holiday season.

The iPad mini with Retina display bests the efforts of the original mini in virtually every department - and where it doesn't offer an outright improvement it sticks with what worked before. The naysayers will tell you iOS 7 is chaotic, that Android delivers more "openness" and that Android tablets are cheaper too. For us the iPad mini may have to work harder to establish itself in a busying and improving market sector, but at the same time it's an effortless device that just works. What you get with the iPad mini with Retina display is one of the best tablets on the market, if not the best tablet on the market. Fantastic portability, amazing battery life, a great screen, a huge array of apps, and all the processing power to keep delivering great experiences day in day out. You won't be disappointed.

The iPad mini with Retina display is a fantastic tablet, but one that defies categorization. On one hand, it’s most competitive with the Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, other high-resolution small tablets. But those are $229, fully $170 less than the $399 iPad mini, and they’re much smaller as well. (The difference between a 7-inch, 16:9 or 16:10 screen and a 7.9-inch, 4:3 screen is much more significant than it sounds — there are more than 33 percent more pixels on the iPad mini than the Nexus 7.) For some users, saving money might be the right idea, too: the Nexus 7 is a fantastic device for reading and watching movies, and as long as Google’s Play Store has the apps you need it’s absolutely worth considering. If you’re buying a tablet to keep, though, one to explore and grow into, the App Store becomes an absolute trump card. You’re paying $170 for access to 475,000 apps, including virtually all of the best options designed for a larger screen. Android can’t touch the iOS ecosystem on tablets. When you’re deciding whether to buy a Nexus 7 or iPad mini, you have to decide how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go — because the basics are covered beautifully in both cases, but there’s much more depth in Apple’s world. On the other hand, what if you want to buy an iPad? Which one do you buy? Tim Cook might say both, but the real answer is it doesn’t matter. In talking to people about the new iPads, I’ve found everyone has an instinctive reaction — some people like the portability and smaller package of the mini, others appreciate the large screen of the Air. Some are price-conscious, others weight-conscious, others space-conscious, but everyone seems to lean one way or the other. To those people, I say: go for it. You can’t lose. I’d buy a mini for myself, because I love having something that doesn’t take up much space in my bag and that I can wield even on a crowded subway. But the mini is now so beautiful and so immersive that you’ll never want to look away from the screen, and the Air now so portable and usable that you’ll rarely need to put it down. The mini used to be the lesser one, the reductive one, the one you bought if you couldn’t fit or afford the iPad. Now it’s just the smaller one.

Facing the world with a proper Retina display means the new iPad Mini has overcome the key limitation of its predecessor. The fact that it has also gained internals to match those of the top-of-the-range iPad Air means it’s no longer the "iPad Jr" either, but an Air in an optional, smaller form-factor. The Mini isn’t as powerful as the Air, but there’s not a lot in it. But it is considerably nippier than 2012’s Mini. If you held off buying a Mini because of the non-retina screen, you can pat yourself on the back for your foresight and patience, and grab one now. Would I recommend the new Mini? To anyone already in the Apple ecosystem, yes; to OS-agnostic new buyers, no. The new iPad Mini is a very nice mid-size tablet, but I honestly can’t see a reason for Joe Soap to favour one over, say, the Nexus 7, or the Kindle Fire HD or HDX if you don’t mind being tied to Amazon. That’s not because the Mini is an inferior product, simply because it’s a much more costly one.

The iPad mini was a great size when it was introduced in the fall of 2012, and it’s still a great size today. It’s small enough to hold in one hand and read like a book, yet powerful enough to pivot into landscape orientation and get some work done. The original iPad mini won people’s hearts despite the deficiencies of its processor and screen; the Retina iPad mini has left all of those deficiencies behind. It’s small and light and five times as fast as the old mini, but with 10 hours of battery life. People who don’t care about having the smallest, lightest iPad possible should give the iPad mini with Retina display a pass and advance directly to the iPad Air. But it turns out that size does matter. And sometimes it’s the little things—like the iPad mini itself—that matter most.

The new iPad mini has a super-sharp Retina display and packs all of the power of the iPad Air into a more portable package.

Now that it’s packing a Retina Display, the 2nd generation iPad mini is more in line to being a premium tablet – whereas before, it felt a smidgen underwhelming. As much as we appreciate its arrival, in addition to the usual hardware upgrades, its new base $400 price point is tough to swallow. With a $70 price increase over its predecessor, it makes for a tougher time to compete with some of the other noise makers in the tablet space. Don’t get us wrong, it’s a fantastic tablet that performs handsomely in the areas we need it to work in, but it’s just pricey. In comparison, the $230 Google Nexus 7 2013 is an astounding option that rivals this, even in the display department – albeit, its construction and design are more in line to its pricing, not to mention that its app catalog is considerably poorer. It's also worth mentioning that for just $100 more than what you'll be paying for the iPad mini 2, you can get the full-sized iPad Air, which is also nicely compact and light, for a slate with a sizable 9.7” display. It’s a solid effort for this 2nd generation iPad mini model, but now that it’s attached with a higher price point, it’s just difficult to openly side with it.

As upgrades go, you can’t fault the iPad mini with Retina display. Apple took the two biggest complaints – speed and screen – in hand, and returned with a tablet that looks great, performs great, and still delivers on battery life and portability. The tempting option might have been to dilute the update so as to leave the iPad Air clearly in the lead as the full-sized flagship, but Apple is obviously so confident in the equal allure of each model, it has no reason to artificially delineate the range.That confidence seems prescient. With specifications taken care of, we’ve already seen a divide forming between those opting for the Air and those who prefer the pocket powerhouse of the mini. Our own leaning is toward the iPad mini with Retina display, and we’d take that $100 saving and put it toward adding LTE for truly wireless flexibility. In doing so, we’d be buying a tablet that has, with its combination of performance, software availability, and overall quality, extended the lead ahead of its rivals exponentially.

The only reasons not to buy an iPad mini—assuming you'd like to buy a tablet in the first place—are matters of personal preference and bankroll. Can you afford to spend $500 (let's be honest, 16GB isn't gonna cut it these days, and the 32GB model is a $100 step up) on a second screen? Do you think that a smaller tablet is inherently better than a larger one because it's more portable? Are you already invested in the iOS ecosystem? If it's yes across the board, you'd be crazy not to buy the iPad mini. I don't think I will, though. I use my iPad mostly for watching movies when I travel, reading magazines, and checking email when I'm too lazy to walk down to my computer. I like having more room to maneuver, a bigger display to play with. And if I did want the option of a smaller tablet, I'd almost certainly go with the Kindle HDX, since I'm nearly as invested—though in a different way—in Amazon's playground as I am Apple's. Also, I am frugal. What's most exciting about the iPad mini, though, is that it's finally a viable option. Want a smaller iPad? Here you go. Want a bigger one? There's the iPad Air. Sworn off Apple products for some highly dubious reason? Nexus 7. Kindle Fire HDX. Windows? Uhhhh sure, Surface. The point is that there's now a tablet to fit everyone's needs. The iPad mini was the final piece to that puzzle; it fills it in with brightness, clarity, purpose, and poise.

Both the iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina display are great choices for those in the market for a new tablet. If you want a slate that’s slightly cheaper, easier to tote in your bag and lighter to hold in one hand, go for the iPad mini with Retina display. If you want something a little larger that you can use with a keyboard, or if you need the extra screen space for creating content or watching movies, the iPad Air is a better choice. We also slightly prefer the more saturated colors offered by the Air’s screen. Both slates are nearly identical in terms of most specs and software, so you won’t be compromising any features or functionality by choosing one over the other.

The one thing the Mini isn’t? Cheap. If affordability is your game (and really, who doesn’t want an affordable gadget), Android, Kindle, and other tablets offer far more budget-friendly alternatives. And many of them aren’t bad at all for their catch-all offerings: the Google Nexus 7 has a bright 1080p display, great portability, and lots of storage for a low price (32GB, $269). Amazon’s latest Kindle Fire HDX tablets have fantastic screens and live customer support services to boot. If you’re using a small tablet as an e-reader plus benefits, one of these devices will easily do the trick. But, if you want a small tablet with no limitations, that can run the best gamut of high-end apps, display productivity-type applications in a larger amount of screen space, and play games amazingly, the iPad Mini with Retina Display is hands-down the way to go. It’s a better primary tablet, while those affordable competitors make good secondary tablets. Plenty of phone-makers have been delving into “mega”-size 6-inch “phablets.” Apple has no phablet, but the new Mini comes closest to offering that same large-screen versatility, especially with LTE. As Apple heads into 2014, there are a lot of future directions I can imagine it heading. The larger iPad, perhaps, could co-evolve with the MacBook Air into the next-step future of computing. The Mini, though, is fine where it is. Other than price and inevitable spec bumps (and, maybe, Touch ID), I wouldn’t change a thing.

They're both good tablets but it depends on what you're looking for. If you want a high-quality and comparatively low-cost tablet, the 7's your best bet. But Apple doesn't disappoint with the mini and if you can pony up the cash, you do get more.

Although the iPad mini 2 is more expensive than the original was, and more so with the iPad mini price cut. We feel it's worth the extra £70 if you're trying to decide between them to get the Retina quality screen and A7 processor.