I'm super excited for the new iPad mini with retina display, but I was thinking about it and I'm concerned that this iPad will suffer from the same issues that the 3rd gen. iPad suffered from. At the time, being used to an iPad 2 and going to a 3 actually took some getting used to due to the extra heat, weight, lag, and battery charging duration. I know with the A7 chip, lag on the new mini shouldn't be an issue, and the weight is more but not significantly more. However, I have a feeling that due to an unprecedented amount of PPI, this product will be run very hot and use energy up quickly - more so than any other iPad before it. I noticed that in Apple's description of the iPad mini retina's battery life they now claim "up to 10 hours" where as with previous iPad's many reviewers claimed to get somewhere in the range of 12-13 hours of battery life. It's smaller than the full size iPad, with the same number of pixels. On top of that, iPad mini retina owners will also have to deal with a tremendously long battery charging duration, if it is similar to that of the iPad 3rd generation. Obviously I don't know any of these things for sure, but I thought I'd just throw the idea out there and get everyone's take on this possible issue.
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iPad mini iPad mini retina = 1st gen retina = bad
- Thread starter Mjmar
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You are absolutely justified in your concerns about the retina iPad mini. Personally, I don't see how the retina mini will have charging times remotely as quick as the current mini or other non-retina iPads. Regarding heat, it might run a little warmer than the current mini, but it shouldn't be uncomfortable by any means- barely noticeable, I would think. Finally, the battery life could be a little lower than the older mini, but for what it's worth, Apple rated the original mini for "up to 10 hours" as well.
Overall, it looks to be a worthy upgrade. I'm anticipating the first reviews, that's for sure.
Two things:
1) The idea that the iPad 3 was "bad" is ridiculous. I've got one, had it since day one and it's still perfectly serviceable today with iOS7 on it (and will be sold on for probably another two years at least of use by its new owner). At the time I bought it it was just as quick as the 2 (in the real world) with the added benefit of the retina display. Could it have been quicker? Actually, at the time, no the SoC just wasn't available but the iPad 4 was certainly a big step forward. Didn't make the 3 a bad product though.
2) Sorry but I really don't follow your logic with regards potential problems. The PPI of the display should make virtually no difference to the heat. The LCD itself should generate very little heat, it's the backlight and any additional electronics that do that as far as the screen goes. As for power remember that while the battery may be smaller than its big brother so is the screen. Smaller screen equals smaller backlight which *should* equal less power. Add in the A7 which, as we've seen in the 5S, is a beast of a SoC that somehow manages to sip power and I'd expect it to hit Apple's battery claims. Might not have the same ridiculous life as the 1st gen Mini but remember that Apple only claim 10 hours for that too, it was just in the real world it got more.
As for charging it will depend what they put in the box. Only reason the retina iPad's take so long to charge is the size of the battery (43wH) compared to 32.4wH for the iPad Air and 23.8wH on the Mini Retina. Just for the record the current Mini has a 23.4wH battery so charging times should actually be faster as Apple are putting a 10w adapter in the box rather than the 5w that comes with the 1st gen.
So basically I wouldn't worry. The problems with the iPad 3 have been blown out of all proportion in the geek world and there's nothing in the specs or design of the Retina Mini to suggest that any major issues will be present.
1) The idea that the iPad 3 was "bad" is ridiculous. I've got one, had it since day one and it's still perfectly serviceable today with iOS7 on it (and will be sold on for probably another two years at least of use by its new owner). At the time I bought it it was just as quick as the 2 (in the real world) with the added benefit of the retina display. Could it have been quicker? Actually, at the time, no the SoC just wasn't available but the iPad 4 was certainly a big step forward. Didn't make the 3 a bad product though.
2) Sorry but I really don't follow your logic with regards potential problems. The PPI of the display should make virtually no difference to the heat. The LCD itself should generate very little heat, it's the backlight and any additional electronics that do that as far as the screen goes. As for power remember that while the battery may be smaller than its big brother so is the screen. Smaller screen equals smaller backlight which *should* equal less power. Add in the A7 which, as we've seen in the 5S, is a beast of a SoC that somehow manages to sip power and I'd expect it to hit Apple's battery claims. Might not have the same ridiculous life as the 1st gen Mini but remember that Apple only claim 10 hours for that too, it was just in the real world it got more.
As for charging it will depend what they put in the box. Only reason the retina iPad's take so long to charge is the size of the battery (43wH) compared to 32.4wH for the iPad Air and 23.8wH on the Mini Retina. Just for the record the current Mini has a 23.4wH battery so charging times should actually be faster as Apple are putting a 10w adapter in the box rather than the 5w that comes with the 1st gen.
So basically I wouldn't worry. The problems with the iPad 3 have been blown out of all proportion in the geek world and there's nothing in the specs or design of the Retina Mini to suggest that any major issues will be present.
Dude chill! It's going to be alright. I have a Retina Mini and it works fine...before this replacement one animist got, my other got 15 HOURS of usage.
