All iPads My iPad Mini review

macguy360 · Jan 3, 2013

I have had the iPad mini for a few days and so I decided to write a review summarizing what I have noticed about the ipad mini.

Battery Life: Compared to the iPad 3&4, I would estimate that the iPad mini gets about 30% more real world usage battery life. Battery life is phenomenal.

Size: Just right. This is what the iPad should have been to begin with. The screen real estate is perfect and not much smaller than a regular iPad but the size and weight are just perfect.

Screen Quality: I own both an iPad 4 and the mini and the only time I notice that the resolution is not retina is when viewing webpages. Watching video on netflix, hbo go, or itunes videos are all very high quality and indistinguishable from the retina version. This is most likely due to the fact that there are no retina quality streaming videos or itunes videos.

Complaints: The only complaints I have are the non-retina when reading web pages and the noticeable slowdowns when on the web and on the app store. You can tell the A5 processor is being taxed during certain applications. It's not even slowdowns per say but just skips on web pages where the iPad 4 is silky smooth.

Conclusion: Even with the non-retina, the mini is a joy to use. This is what the iPad was meant to be and I could imagine apple eventually just selling iPad mini's and phasing out the regular iPad. As it is, the mini is the best tablet on the market but when Apple releases a retina version with a faster processor it will be on an entirely different level.

PeterKG · Jan 3, 2013

The iPad was meant to be what it was when the iPad 1 was released. "Your" conclusion is just that. One of many, just like mine to the contrary. As it is, the mini is not the best tablet on the market. It is underpowered, and lacks a decent display.

Try to convince yourself otherwise until you attempt to read "web pages", or how about any kind of text at all. Both should have been perfect, and Apple failed big time. Pushing retina, and then leaving out of a major product release was a greedy move to capitalize holiday sales.

midwestfisherma · Jan 3, 2013

macguy360 said:
I have had the iPad mini for a few days and so I decided to write a review summarizing what I have noticed about the ipad mini.

Battery Life: Compared to the iPad 3&4, I would estimate that the iPad mini gets about 30% more real world usage battery life. Battery life is phenomenal.

Size: Just right. This is what the iPad should have been to begin with. The screen real estate is perfect and not much smaller than a regular iPad but the size and weight are just perfect.

Screen Quality: I own both an iPad 4 and the mini and the only time I notice that the resolution is not retina is when viewing webpages. Watching video on netflix, hbo go, or itunes videos are all very high quality and indistinguishable from the retina version. This is most likely due to the fact that there are no retina quality streaming videos or itunes videos.

Complaints: The only complaints I have are the non-retina when reading web pages and the noticeable slowdowns when on the web and on the app store. You can tell the A5 processor is being taxed during certain applications. It's not even slowdowns per say but just skips on web pages where the iPad 4 is silky smooth.

Conclusion: Even with the non-retina, the mini is a joy to use. This is what the iPad was meant to be and I could imagine apple eventually just selling iPad mini's and phasing out the regular iPad. As it is, the mini is the best tablet on the market but when Apple releases a retina version with a faster processor it will be on an entirely different level.

I agree with your review 100%.

BTW haters are gonna hate!

batting1000 · Jan 3, 2013

PeterKG said:
The iPad was meant to be what it was when the iPad 1 was released. "Your" conclusion is just that. One of many, just like mine to the contrary. As it is, the mini is not the best tablet on the market. It is underpowered, and lacks a decent display.

Try to convince yourself otherwise until you attempt to read "web pages", or how about any kind of text at all. Both should have been perfect, and Apple failed big time. Pushing retina, and then leaving out of a major product release was a greedy move to capitalize holiday sales.

Underpowered? I guess that means the iPhone 4S is piece of garbage. It doesn't lack a decent display, it's just that it isn't Retina. The display is just fine for me and I've read and heard the same from a plethora of other people.

luqtotheman · Jan 3, 2013

I have to disagree that you can't notice the non retina' just looking at the home screen or keyboard it's noticeable. Watching a video at HD quality no doubt you can tell.

The screen real estate is too small, every time I read an article on espn for example I had to click then zoom in, but I guess this is arbitrary based on your vision. It's a great device, it will blow away once they put retina on it.

Overall great device but the iPad 4 screen blows it away, main reason I picked the 4 over the mini.

bigboar · Jan 3, 2013

luqtotheman said:
I have to disagree that you can't notice the non retina' just looking at the home screen or keyboard it's noticeable. Watching a video at HD quality no doubt you can tell.

The screen real estate is too small, every time I read an article on espn for example I had to click then zoom in, but I guess this is arbitrary based on your vision. It's a great device, it will blow away once they put retina on it.

Overall great device but the iPad 4 screen blows it away, main reason I picked the 4 over the mini.

I agree. when they make the mini retina, I will be the first in line. until then, I am very happy I exchanged my mini for a 4 before my return period was over.

Thetonyk123 · Jan 3, 2013

Great battery life? Yep 12 hours here with general web browsing some gaming..
Non retina? It's perfect, I can't tell a difference except in web pages.
Much faster than my iPod touch 4

dgdosen · Jan 3, 2013

PeterKG said:
The iPad was meant to be what it was when the iPad 1 was released. "Your" conclusion is just that. One of many, just like mine to the contrary. As it is, the mini is not the best tablet on the market. It is underpowered, and lacks a decent display.

Try to convince yourself otherwise until you attempt to read "web pages", or how about any kind of text at all. Both should have been perfect, and Apple failed big time. Pushing retina, and then leaving out of a major product release was a greedy move to capitalize holiday sales.

I was saying the same thing you did... But then I was in the store and they had the 16GB WiFi models in stock, so I figured why not try it...

... and I changed my way of thinking. The form factor trumps retina. I'm going to dump my iPad3, and I will most certainly dump this thing like a hot potato as soon as a retina version comes out... but for now - it's my go-to pad.

FYI - I'd still rather read a PDF (goodreader rocks) on my iPad3 for crispness/clarity, but still choose to use the iPad mini...

xMClass · Jan 3, 2013

Feel the same about my mini. Love the size and weight. Battery life is much better than my iPhone 4.

bigboar · Jan 3, 2013

louden said:
I was saying the same thing you did... But then I was in the store and they had the 16GB WiFi models in stock, so I figured why not try it...

... and I changed my way of thinking. The form factor trumps retina. I'm going to dump my iPad3, and I will most certainly dump this thing like a hot potato as soon as a retina version comes out... but for now - it's my go-to pad.

FYI - I'd still rather read a PDF (goodreader rocks) on my iPad3 for crispness/clarity, but still choose to use the iPad mini...

while the form factor is great, it in no way comes close to being a trump card to retina in my opinion. I did love the form factor but reading text on the web was absolutely awful compared to my 4. when the mini gets retina I will then be inclined to go back to the mini but until then there is no way. in my opinion the tablet experience is weight heavily towards the display and sadly the mini just didn't produce...I do use my tablets mainly for the web though so the minis biggest weakness is what I use most frequently.

irDigital0l · Jan 3, 2013

Sweet.

Just waiting for the Retina display on the Mini.

iPad 1 -> iPad Mini (Retina) = huge update.

pooleman · Jan 3, 2013

PeterKG said:
The iPad was meant to be what it was when the iPad 1 was released. "Your" conclusion is just that. One of many, just like mine to the contrary. As it is, the mini is not the best tablet on the market. It is underpowered, and lacks a decent display.

The ipad mini does not lack a 'decent display'. I has a decent display. It has, in my opinion, a very good display. What it doesn't have is a retina display, but to say that it lacks a "decent display" is just dumb.

----------

irDigital0l said:
Sweet.

Just waiting for the Retina display on the Mini.

iPad 1 -> iPad Mini (Retina) = huge update.

I was thinking of buying an old ipad 1st gen. I work at a defense plant and am not allowed to bring a camera device to work.

r0k · Jan 3, 2013

pooleman said:
The ipad mini does not lack a 'decent display'. I has a decent display. It has, in my opinion, a very good display. What it doesn't have is a retina display, but to say that it lacks a "decent display" is just dumb.

----------

I was thinking of buying an old ipad 1st gen. I work at a defense plant and am not allowed to bring a camera device to work.

I agree iPad mini has a decent display. I did notice I had to increase font size in the Kindle app for my books to remain readable. Then I thought about the size of print I would expect in a paperback book the size of the iPad mini and I realize the font size I wound up with is still a lot smaller than a print font would be.

I just passed my iPad 1 to another family member. He is delighted with it and as an "old device" he isn't paranoid about it being stolen when he goes back to college. I think the whole cameras in tablets thing is very awkward. So while I like having a camera in my new iPad mini for those times when I need it, I don't expect it to get very much use. If you can find an iPad 1, it makes an excellent choice to take in to camera-phobic places.

cgk.emu · Jan 3, 2013

macguy360 said:
I have had the iPad mini for a few days and so I decided to write a review summarizing what I have noticed about the ipad mini.

Battery Life: Compared to the iPad 3&4, I would estimate that the iPad mini gets about 30% more real world usage battery life. Battery life is phenomenal.

Size: Just right. This is what the iPad should have been to begin with. The screen real estate is perfect and not much smaller than a regular iPad but the size and weight are just perfect.

Screen Quality: I own both an iPad 4 and the mini and the only time I notice that the resolution is not retina is when viewing webpages. Watching video on netflix, hbo go, or itunes videos are all very high quality and indistinguishable from the retina version. This is most likely due to the fact that there are no retina quality streaming videos or itunes videos.

Complaints: The only complaints I have are the non-retina when reading web pages and the noticeable slowdowns when on the web and on the app store. You can tell the A5 processor is being taxed during certain applications. It's not even slowdowns per say but just skips on web pages where the iPad 4 is silky smooth.

Conclusion: Even with the non-retina, the mini is a joy to use. This is what the iPad was meant to be and I could imagine apple eventually just selling iPad mini's and phasing out the regular iPad. As it is, the mini is the best tablet on the market but when Apple releases a retina version with a faster processor it will be on an entirely different level.

Wait, what? You didn't notice that it doesn't have Retina, yet you complain about not having Retina? Nice review....

joshwithachance · Jan 3, 2013

I absolutely love my mini. I too notice the lack of retina when browsing the web, but other than that it's a fantastic little tablet. You get pretty much all of the benefits of the bigger tablet in a much smaller, lighter package without losing much screen real estate.

MultiFinder17 · Jan 3, 2013

I sold my iPad 3 and bought a mini. I notice that my mini doesn't have a retina display from time to time, but honestly, I was able to adapt to it after a day or two. For me, the size and weight tradeoff is well worth it. I also do not notice any performance slowdowns between the A5X and the A5; same CPU, worse GPU balanced by the fact that it's only driving 1/4 the number of pixels. I have an iPhone 4S, so the iPad mini feels a bit snappier than it. For me, it's a wonderful tablet that I plan on keeping for some time to come. I'm sure that a retina mini will come about at some point, and I'm sure that I'll upgrade to one some day. But for now, I am happy

ZBoater · Jan 3, 2013

PeterKG said:
... It is underpowered, and lacks a decent display...

Underpowered? To do what, exactly?

And I guess retina is the only "decent" display around? Right...

throAU · Jan 3, 2013

Waah, no retina...

I remember when 1024x768 was considered high resolution on a 17" CRT.

Oridus · Jan 3, 2013

macguy360 said:
I have had the iPad mini for a few days and so I decided to write a review summarizing what I have noticed about the ipad mini.

Battery Life: Compared to the iPad 3&4, I would estimate that the iPad mini gets about 30% more real world usage battery life. Battery life is phenomenal.

Size: Just right. This is what the iPad should have been to begin with. The screen real estate is perfect and not much smaller than a regular iPad but the size and weight are just perfect.

Screen Quality: I own both an iPad 4 and the mini and the only time I notice that the resolution is not retina is when viewing webpages. Watching video on netflix, hbo go, or itunes videos are all very high quality and indistinguishable from the retina version. This is most likely due to the fact that there are no retina quality streaming videos or itunes videos.

Complaints: The only complaints I have are the non-retina when reading web pages and the noticeable slowdowns when on the web and on the app store. You can tell the A5 processor is being taxed during certain applications. It's not even slowdowns per say but just skips on web pages where the iPad 4 is silky smooth.

Conclusion: Even with the non-retina, the mini is a joy to use. This is what the iPad was meant to be and I could imagine apple eventually just selling iPad mini's and phasing out the regular iPad. As it is, the mini is the best tablet on the market but when Apple releases a retina version with a faster processor it will be on an entirely different level.

This is more of an opinion statement rather than a review...

For me, the iPad 4 is the perfect iPad. I think that the size of the screen is perfect since i want to use it as a laptop type of replacement.

I don't doubt one bit that the mini is a joy to use, but you have to keep in mind that maybe not everybody wants that small of a screen. I wouldn't believe your statement that you think that the mini is how the ipad should have been to begin with. They would also never phase out the regular ipad. That would be voluntary suicide of their marketshare of the tablet industry.

batting1000 · Jan 3, 2013

Oridus said:
This is more of an opinion statement rather than a review...

For me, the iPad 4 is the perfect iPad. I think that the size of the screen is perfect since i want to use it as a laptop type of replacement.

I don't doubt one bit that the mini is a joy to use, but you have to keep in mind that maybe not everybody wants that small of a screen. I wouldn't believe your statement that you think that the mini is how the ipad should have been to begin with. They would also never phase out the regular ipad. That would be voluntary suicide of their marketshare of the tablet industry.

Reviews usually are opinions - opinions of the reviewer...

Oridus · Jan 3, 2013

batting1000 said:
Reviews usually are opinions - opinions of the reviewer...

That's why I said opinion statement. A review would be an actual objective breakdown of all the different aspects of the device. The OP essentially just said what he liked about it, rather than actually writing up a review with contrasting the main aspects of the device.

batting1000 · Jan 3, 2013

Who really cares? The guy is giving his opinion on things. Go to any tech blog and their reviews will include opinions. No need to be technical.

SlasherDuff · Jan 3, 2013

Having mine for at least a month I am quite happy with it. Myself having low vision I really don't notice the lack of screen resolution though

syd430 · Jan 3, 2013

macguy360 said:
Conclusion: Even with the non-retina, the mini is a joy to use.

Really depends what you are using your ipad for. 99% of my usage is text heavy websites, word processing and PDF's. Is the mini a joy to use for me? I tried it and returned it. The ipad 4 is much more suitable for my purposes. There is no need to make blanket statements and assume that it applies to everyone.

macguy360 said:
This is what the iPad was meant to be and I could imagine apple eventually just selling iPad mini's and phasing out the regular iPad.

No. You are under the assumption that everyone just uses their ipad to stream Netflix videos, play angry birds and nothing else. Not everyone holds their ipad when using it. Not everyone values the reduction in weight and size over loss of screen real estate. You do realise that ipads are used in many professional fields (one of the biggest buying groups)? Many CIO's have already come out and made it clear that 7.9" screen is simply too small for many use cases. The fact that you think that Apple will phase out the full sized ipad just because the Mini makes a great little personal entertainment device tells me that you have a very narrow view of the world.

Cartaphilus · Jan 3, 2013

The variability of reaction to non-retina current Apple screens is astonishing. There are people like me and some other posters on this thread who can barely tell any difference between retina and non, and others who say they can hardly bring themselves to even look at non-retina.

Somebody on here must know some vision psychologist or other expert who can account for this difference. While I don't deny the existence of just plain snobbery, there are too many who seem quite sincere in their perception of a significant difference, and there are plenty of others who take moderate positions, like the OP who only notices a difference in the rendering of web pages.

Even with wine, which attracts plenty of posers, you seldom see such wide differences of strongly-held opinions.

Anybody have a possible explanation?

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