Apple Debuts Second-Generation iPad Mini with Retina Display

[pavelkolp]

Expensive!!!

They did everything people wanted with the iPad mini but one thing... They jacked up the price a little high, I would of bought it for $329-$349 but the $400 price tag is just way to much, going to wait for the prices to come down

 

[KPOM]

Which means they priced it correctly since you yourself can justify the extra cost.

And I think people would be more happy if Apple paid us $500 to use an iPad instead as well, but that doesn't mean it should happen.

And no, you cannot find a similar spec tablet for $199. Even the Nexus 7 is $229 and its resolution is lower AND the CPU is not as good. Plus the screen is 0.9 inch larger. It might not seem like a big difference but if you look at the Amazon HDX, the 8.9 version is $140 more than 7 inch version with slight difference in resolution but same CPU.

The .9" is a bigger deal than it looks on paper, because the iPad mini has a 4x3 aspect ratio while the Nexus 7 has a 16x9 aspect ratio. The screen on the iPad mini is about 40% larger.

 

[TC03]

Agreed. With the same CPU in both to the air being more mobile friend (weight and size). The decision will come down to price and screen. Personally, I love the 9.7 inch screen size and it is easy for me. Again, other might be fine with the 7.9 inch and they will get the Mini.

It is like comparing a 13" labtop to a 15" labtop, they are targeted to different markets. I think Apple got enough feedback for iPad Mini where people want the best performance in a smaller package and are willing to pay more for it. The Retina mini is not trying to compete directly with the 7" tablets from Google, Amazon, etc. Again, these tablets are good as well, just target at a difference audience with different needs.

Yeah.

Also, consider this.
iPad Mini weight: 301 gram
iPad 4 weight: 651 gram

iPad Mini retina weight: 338 gram
iPad Air weight: 469 gram

Difference in weight is MUCH smaller.

 

[croooow]

So A5 chip is officially has the longest life cycle of all ARM processor Apple ever made. I'm kinda proud since I own a 4S and iPad 2. But also feels a bit sour because it proves Apple being a bit lazy with development

Move on and stop being cheap. iPad 2 for $399 NOW. What the F?!

They did keep developing their processors (A5, A6, A7, etc) they just keep using the A5

 

[bigkool2]

They did everything people wanted with the iPad mini but one thing... They jacked up the price a little high, I would of bought it for $329-$349 but the $400 price tag is just way to much, going to wait for the prices to come down

You won't have to wait long. Around this time next year, this retina mini will be starting $369.

 

[SpectatorHere]

Presumably the same reasons everyone else gives in the pro-Android camp, which mean the same little amount to anyone in the pro-iOS camp. I don't need to repeat them here.

It's a preference; people are allowed to have those. For everything Camp A touts as a huge plus, Camp B has something they say is even better. In the end, both options are equivalent overall, and it comes down to preference.

Android gets features that were already in iOS. iOS gets features that were already in Android. However, you can use either to do pretty much the same thing, except for when you really "need" one or the other. Your perceived needs decide which one is ultimately better for you personally.

This was probably the case an year or so ago after Google finally triple-buffered it's display and eliminated the lag. At that point the two os's were fairly similar with the big distinction being Google's open platform against Apple's mature app ecosystem.

Since then, iOS 7 has made devices slower and buggier, while Google's app ecosystem has largely caught up.

Today, there is no doubt in my mind that stock Android is the better OS. I guess many will think I'm some cheerleader fanboy, but I could care less.

 

[joshuarayer]

Presumably the same reasons everyone else gives in the pro-Android camp, which mean the same little amount to anyone in the pro-iOS camp. I don't need to repeat them here.

It's a preference; people are allowed to have those. For everything Camp A touts as a huge plus, Camp B has something they say is even better. In the end, both options are equivalent overall, and it comes down to preference.

Android gets features that were already in iOS. iOS gets features that were already in Android. However, you can use either to do pretty much the same thing, except for when you really "need" one or the other. Your perceived needs decide which one is ultimately better for you personally.

This was probably the case an year or so ago after Google finally triple-buffered it's display and eliminated the lag. At that point the two os's were fairly similar with the big distinction being Google's open platform against Apple's mature app ecosystem.

Since then, iOS 7 has made devices slower and buggier, while Google's app ecosystem has largely caught up.

Today, there is no doubt in my mind that stock Android is the better OS. I guess many will think I'm some cheerleader fanboy, but I could care less.

jsw had one of the most neutral, non-camp favored posts about Android and iOS and you had to go and disagree with him.

Disclaimer: Stock Android fan and iOS7 hater.

 

[leroypants]

What makes this tablet $170 dollars more expensive than a 16gb Nexus 7?

The apple logo.

 

[DVK916]

It makes no sense, why would someone get an IPAD 2 for 399. They could at the very least given the IPAD 2 a specs increase to an A6.

 

[Syk]

Apple throw in the Iwork, Ilife, Inumber, Iworks, Imovie etc.. It must be somewhere between 50-75 worth of stuff.. I think Apple is counting on the apps to sell the Ipad. Remember Apple pay the price of holding off the change of display resolution to keep the app implementation easy. So now Apple is ripping the benefit of having a better app population. It seems to be fair.

I doubt many people use that iStuff to justify to the majority of normal users the price different.

The iPad 16GB has been $499. The iPhone has pretty much stayed the same prices since the 3G. People have been condition to a certain price but we get the mini revision and get a price increase.

Stinks, more so after the early comments about others charging you for OS, but we're giving you this free, the MB price drop, wow magical, then we have the thinner, lighter powerful iPad Air, yes sir the same price you always love $499, iPad mini Retina we beefed it up sorry we're going to make you pay for it so it doesn't cut into the full size iPad sells. Oh why while we're at it we're going to sell you a 3 yr old device for $400 instead of killing it off and moving the iPad4 to that price point.

What's that word kids use? That's cray or something like that.

 

[uphoriak]

Looks awesome, but the price factor turns me off.

£399 for the entry level iPad Air is a lot of money when the tablet market as a whole is getting cheaper. For example, I was looking at getting someone a Nook HD as a present for christmas - you can get them for as little as £46 now, with the new iPad mini at £319. I know the Nook is 8Gb, but still, is the iPad really worth being almost 7 times more expensive?!

Anyway, I just forked out for a 5S, and my iPad 2 is still going strong. Although I was tempted, I'm gonna wait this one out.

 

[PracticalMac]

Last July buy.com had the iPad mini bundled with $80 credit for $299, effectively making it a $219 device. If I knew then what I know now, would have santched one.'

I would have snatched it anyway!

 

[bobob]

They didn't mention that the new Mini increased depth from 7.2 to 7.5 mm and gained 10% in weight:

Depth:
0.29 inch (7.5 mm)
Weight (Wi‑Fi):
0.73 pound (331 g)
Weight (Wi‑Fi + Cellular):
0.75 pound (341 g)

http://store.apple.com/us/ipad/compare

10%?!?

That's a little less than 3% weight gain.

 

[jsw]

It makes no sense, why would someone get an IPAD 2 for 399. They could at the very least given the IPAD 2 a specs increase to an A6.

The iPad 2 is there almost exclusively to drive people to the Air or the mini. That said, Apple presumably makes as much (more?) off the 2 than the others just because the lines are mature.

They'll still sell 2s, but not many. $399 for many-years-old tech just makes no sense except to those who know almost nothing about tech. That said, an older buyer (or anyone with poor vision) might see good reason to spend $100 less to get the larger screen, and the increase in power in the new ones might not matter at all to them.

 

[joshuarayer]

It makes no sense, why would someone get an IPAD 2 for 399. They could at the very least given the IPAD 2 a specs increase to an A6.

Wouldn't that just make it an iPad 3?

 

[AdonisSMU]

329ppi, 64bit, A7 hmmmm I can deal with the price hike….

 

[vanzantapple]

Both new iPads looks great but if I bought one it would be a mini.

Hopefully the FULL specs will come out before they go on sale. And NO the fact the it says A7 is no guarantee that it is the same as the iPad Air or the iPhone 5S. Anyone remember the iPod Touch 4 debacle where they crippled it with only 256MB of RAM. I'm probably the only one.

 

[FightTheFuture]

What makes this tablet $170 dollars more expensive than a 16gb Nexus 7?

The fact that it's not running Android?

 

[DVK916]

Both new iPads looks great but if I bought one it would be a mini.

Hopefully the FULL specs will come out before they go on sale. And NO the fact the it says A7 is no guarantee that it is the same as the iPad Air or the iPhone 5S. Anyone remember the iPod Touch 4 debacle where they crippled it with only 256MB of RAM. I'm probably the only one.

Rumor had it that the Air will get 2GB of ram, and the Mini will have 1GB like the IPhone 5S. So this could still very well be true.

 

[terraphantm]

Wouldn't that just make it an iPad 3?

iPad 3 had A5X and retina display. So no, not really

 

[danpass]

It's nice that the non-retina mini option is only 16gb.

Keeps the resale value up for the 32 and 64

(<--- 32gb owner )

 

[leroypants]

Can we all be more outraged that Apple keeps up with the $100 price increase for 16 GB --> 32 GB across all iDevices?

It's disgusting how Apple charges 100 dollars for a 16 gig increase from the 16 to 32 gig and then only charges 100 dollars for 32 gigs when you upgrade from the 32gb to the 64gb model.

They can do it thought because like moths to a flame people will line up and pay.

 

[Taipan]

Gorgeous.

Guess it's time to finally upgrade my iPad 2.

Why, it's a current model?

 

[koigirl]

Even more so when you can get the LTE verson with 32GB for $350. A 16GB refurb Wifi/Cellular mini is $360

I'm a guy that doesn't mind paying a little extra but I don't see anyway for me to justify that price difference.

You have to compare the Nexus 7 to the ipad mini retina to get a fair comparison. Nexus 7 has a beautiful HD screen. iPad mini retina 16GB with LTE = $529. Yikes!!!

 

[Michael Scrip]

Actually yes. If the Mini has the same resolution as the full size iPad but on a smaller screen, then yes everything on the Mini is from a literal physical standpoint, scaled down and all assets designed for an iPad at full size are rendered smaller and potentially harder to "click". They only way they aren't is if the developers, in the code, test to see the device being used and change the UI to reflect that smaller screen device.

Aren't some touch-targets on the iPhone even smaller?