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CairnsRock

macrumors regular
Jan 9, 2013
108
21
Toronto
If the iPhone 5 can have retina, then their is no reason that the mini can't have it too.

Maybe a slight weight increase, but not substantial and worth it to get retina.

A faster processor plus retina in the mini at $329 would be a kick ass product.
 

KylePowers

macrumors 68000
Mar 5, 2011
1,688
197
I'd imagine an A5X or A6(X) + a bump to 1GB of RAM. They'll essentially use the leftover stock from iPad 3/4s, tack on a retina display, and voila - the 'best tablet ever'

... I'd be excited as hell and would buy it immediately!
 

MrWillie

macrumors 65816
Apr 29, 2010
1,465
482
Starlite Starbrite Trailer Court
Typical processor/CPU bump. I also wonder if they will go to 32, 64,128 Gb of storage. I am up in the air over the retina display.


Just a micro sd card slot should do, no wonder other tablets manufactures are eating their market. As simple as that.

Which tablet manufactures are eating their market ? Loss of share was inevitable, but the sales numbers from Apple compared to any manufacture are lopsided. Also remember that there are people out there, for whatever reason, flat out hate Apple, and would never buy an Apple product. Apple could invent a device that ends world hunger and provides clean fresh potable water to all and they would still be hated. People would still want to give their money to Samsung.
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,726
1,132
If the iPhone 5 can have retina, then their is no reason that the mini can't have it too.

Maybe a slight weight increase, but not substantial and worth it to get retina.

A faster processor plus retina in the mini at $329 would be a kick ass product.

That price would only cannibalize larger iPads even more so I say higher because Apple ain't gonna let that happen again.
 

WLS

macrumors 65816
Jul 10, 2008
1,288
109
I don't see the need for retina on the mini. I do expect an improvement in screen technology. Thinner and less power with better color. OLED is not out of the realm of possibility. I'm not expecting a new iPad of either size until Fall now. If there were anything in the pipeline for Spring we would have had some good rumors and leaks by now. I still would like to see something new this spring though, it's a long wait till Fall.
 

Yr Blues

macrumors 68030
Jan 14, 2008
2,687
889
retina is a must and the reason i didnt buy the mini.

i hate the chamfer bezel that gets all scratched up on the black model. make it rounded like the big ipad so it won't damage so easily.
 

GreatDrok

macrumors 6502a
May 1, 2006
561
22
New Zealand
If the iPhone 5 can have retina, then their is no reason that the mini can't have it too.

Maybe a slight weight increase, but not substantial and worth it to get retina.

A faster processor plus retina in the mini at $329 would be a kick ass product.

The iPhone 5 has an A6 processor and is pushing 1136 x 640 pixels for 727040 total. The iPad mini has an A5 processor and is pushing 1024x768 pixels for 786432 total. So, the iPad mini is moving more pixels than the iPhone so there's a reason why the mini can't have retina. You're confusing PPI with number of addressable pixels. Pushing the mini up to retina resolution will mean it has over 4x as many as the iPhone 5 does and that requires a brighter backlight since the pixels are smaller so there is less transmission (the iPad 3 went to two light bars from the single one in the iPad 2 when it went to retina to retain the brightness) and you also need more GPU power to move those pixels around which is why the iPad 4 has an A6X processor. All this chews power so you'll need a bigger battery which means a thicker tablet with more weight. Now the iPad 2 was already pretty heavy, and reducing the size of the motherboard and process for the CPU/GPU die allowed them to squeeze more battery in while only increasing weight and thickness by about 10%. Can they do the same with the mini 2? Who knows, but my bet is retina on the mini will require a different screen tech and a more energy efficient processor and GPU otherwise it will get significantly bigger and likely more than the 10% that the iPad 3 went up by.

People need to realise that a smaller screen like a phone can be retina much more easily than a bigger screen like a tablet can. Also, since Apple made the decision to go with 4:3 for all iPads, and doubling pixel density in both axes for 'retina' they won't release a non-4:3 '1080p' screen for the iPad mini just because Android tablets do since those have more freedom over the screen size and shape (but then again, that also shows in the way apps handle all these different screens.)
 

dylin

macrumors 6502a
Jun 10, 2010
663
52
California
Realistically, I was thinking that they will keep the screen the same and just put an A6 in it, and possibly 1GB of ram.

But yea, im hoping for retina too if it doesn't hurt the weight too much, and that way put the A6X. but that has a much bigger die than the A6 and possibly need to make the mini much thicker.

On top of that maybe get 128 GB storage too.

i guess time will tell.
 

DesertEagle

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2012
609
8
/home @ 127.0.0.1
Retina is all that is needed :D

... in addition to extra RAM and CPU power to avoid sluggishness, and don't forget the extra battery power needed (for the display and for the processor).

If they add only a retina display and keep the rest of the hardware the same, we will se a significant drop in performance and in battery life. If they improve the performance by adding new hardware, the battery life will be reduced even further unless a bigger one is provided.
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
yes, and they probably don’t care that your pristine iPad looks like it has a giant dingleberry while in that setup.

You know, every iPhone has a slot for a sim card. I don't think it takes away from the look at all. A slot for an SD card built the exact same way would allow iDevices to go from a max (internal) memory cap to whatever amount of added storage could be added on 1+ SD cards (which is why I think Apple doesn't build them in). New iMacs and Macbooks have SD card slots too. And I don't think their looks are destroyed either, nor do I see them as less pristine. It is nice to have the added hardware functionality though.
 

Irishman

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2006
3,388
842
I'm thinking of buying an iPad mini, and I really have no qualms about it. i was just wondering what features everyone thinks the mini 2 could have.

Face recognition, and a fingerprint scanner, oh, and a terminal case of the munchies! And a holographic keyboard and...uh....

42!! 42!!

:)
 
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