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GaryNoine

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2015
82
37
Atlanta
Pardon my small-ish knowledge on the Apple universe, I'm just wondering what the noticeable differences are between the iPad mini 1, 2, and 3. (obviously there's app launch speed and overall performance flow improvements due to upgrades each passing year with the new models) Besides that, is there really any way one could tell the difference between the mini models?
 
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The mini 1 is like an iPad 2 just smaller (same A5 processor) and I would not recommend it. The Mini 2 and 3 are the exact same internally (A7 processor and the like), but the mini 3 has Touch ID and the gold color option. As for being able to tell the differences, the mini 1 has a lower resolution screen than the other 2, and the 3 has Touch ID so the home button doesn't have that little square on it. So, low resolution display is the mini 1, high resolution display and a square on the home button is mini 2, and a high resolution display and a plaine looking home button is the mini 3.
 
One major difference is the display : Mini 1 does not have a "retina display," while the 2 and 3 do. Would not even consider buying the Mini 1 at this point in time.
 
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