The screen on the mini is not amazing. It barely has more pixels than an iPhone 5. After using a retina iPad it is not enjoyable to look at in the least. A retina iPad mini would be the perfect eReader.
The CPU and the GPU (and RAM too) matter quite a lot because it affects how long developers, and more importantly Apple, will support the device. Essentially the current iPad mini is an iPad 2 shrunken down, so it's got a lot of catching up to do. It won't be supported very long compared to the 4 because it's already 2 years behind.
The mini is popular because of its form factor, but that's its only advantage. If nothing else matters to you then yes, go ahead and buy the mini. But if you care about games, readability of the screen, performance, or support, then hold off on buying.
That's a pretty extreme opinion...though in response to another 'extreme' opinion. The screen isn't amazing. Though its not nearly as 'bad' as so many have made it out to be. The processor is actually a shrunken die of the original A5---the A5x of which is in the iPad 3..only a year old. The iPhone 4S also has limited RAM and at 1GB in the retina iPads...part of it helping with the display... App developers aren't likely to abandon the platform anytime soon. It's the highest population of devices (iOS) right now.
That said...as an owner of both the '4' and mini, I'm looking forward to a retina 'mini'. Just not for the reasons you've outlined. It's a damn fine tablet
I agree with you. I think they will continue to build out certain aspects but not add all the latest tech. If they add retina they will need to continue to evolve their battery technology in parallel. They may go backward on some aspects if it is necessary to strike that balance, like how they sacrificed on thinness to introduce the retina to the iPad, making it thicker than the predecessor.
Although if I remember correctly, that was when Steve was at he helm. Not sure if they could do it as gracefully today without his marketing and branding swagger.
IGZO panels, more efficient A7 processing and graphics...as well, maybe an additional 20-40 grams in the mini (Apple added weight from 2-3 to allow retina) could very well fit into your vision while maintaining battery life. Like Intel, ARM processors are also based on efficiency with each evolution....while also gaining significant performance advantages of their predecessors.
And that is exactly why the Mini is fine. Pushing 4x less pixels, it should perform on par with a 4x less GPU.
An argument can be made for the CPU because of that as well. I had both and used them frequently, the Mini was not significantly slower at all.
Ya beat me to it
. Precisely. I still have both and haven't noticed any performance degradation on any apps in comparison (4vs.Mini). Games, surfing and reading...notes and casual stuff. Video manipulation on the iPad 4 though, very nice. Both Avid and iMovie are a blast. The mini works just fine, though a bit slower. Certainly not to the point of ever crashing or significant degradation.
The biggest issue with the mini is the lack of RAM with 512Mb. Any modern IOS device needs 1Mb RAM imho to make it a smooth experience. Any kind of multitasking or multiple tabs in Safari for example shows up the lack of RAM.
The screen itself is absolutely fit for purpose, we have just been spoiled by the retina. My first LCD panel was a 15" model @ 1024x768 and that was fine at the time. I know others had a similar size screen with 800x600.
My first panel was monochrome. First color was effectively 140x192 due to pixel placement restrictions....Apple IIe. New (modern) devices WILL have 1+GB of RAM. But, as mentioned earlier....there are still a couple hundred million A5/512 models on the streets...some less than a year old. App developers are smart enough to program to the "masses" while there will be the typical evolutionary drop in support as time moves on. However, my eight year old son could care less about specs and speed. He's very much happy with the original iPad and often prefers to play his fourth gen iTouch instead of his new, 5th gen (from his grandparents...I don't buy him a new touch each year
).
Spoiled by retina is exactly right. It's amazing, I own the rMBP and am hoping the Windows OEMs catch on to the fad this year too. I'm a sucker for these sharp displays but its definitely not a deal breaker on my iPad mini. I love mine. Bought on launch and returned it for an LTE model at AT&T for a hundred bucks off. I use it constantly and it's always with me. Tough to beat this form factor, speed, LTE and YES....Even this display in such a portable package. When the iPad 2/3 mini with retina drops, I'll be in line and won't care much at all taking the hit on the resale of the original.....or more likely, replacing the aging iPad original of my son's with the first gen mini. Again, he could care less about 'retina'. Sometimes I think those of us self proclaimed 'geeks' have lost that technological innocence that the mass society still retains. Hence the continuing sales of the iPad 2 and cheap laptops with terrible displays (sub $500 Windows machines). When it comes to the 'rest Of the world' and display performance, Apple clearly has the industry beat, regardless of your choice of device. iPhone. iPad. MBP. rMBP. iTouch...they're all top or near top of their class. It would be cool to see other OEMs also take the time to calibrated their displays on the way out the manufacturing door.
Just my eleven cents
Tl;dr....the mini is an excellent device. Screen is good, not great, not excellent but still....very good
J
