Retina iPad Mini Has 1.3 GHz A7 Processor With 5X the Performance of the Original Mini

[MacRumors]

Apple's new Retina iPad mini includes the same 64-bit A7 chip used in the iPad Air and the iPhone 5s, which offers significantly better performance than the A5 chip found in the original iPad mini.

According to new Geekbench 3 benchmarks, the Retina iPad mini is running at 1.3Ghz, much like the iPhone 5s. The iPad Air, however, clocks in at 1.4Ghz, giving it a slight performance edge over both the iPhone 5s and the new mini.

The Retina iPad mini scored a 1390 on the single-core test and a 2512 on the multi-core test, which was similar to the iPhone 5s score of 1399/2523, and lower than the iPad Air at 1466/2856. Compared to the 261/493 score of the original mini, the Retina iPad mini marks an incredible boost in performance speeds.

It is unclear why the mini is clocked at 1.3Ghz instead of 1.4Ghz like the iPad Air, but in terms of real world usage, users are unlikely to notice the small speed differences. It is possible that Apple chose the lower clock speed in the iPad mini to improve overall battery life or to reduce heat within the smaller chassis.

Apple's Retina iPad mini went on sale last night at midnight and is currently still available from the Apple Online Store and in Apple retail locations via Personal Pickup.

Article Link: Retina iPad Mini Has 1.3 GHz A7 Processor With 5X the Performance of the Original Mini

 

[sevimli]

Is it surprising?

 

[angemon89]

But how many rams?

 

[tann]

I want to see what gpu performance is like next, iPhone 5S or iPad Air? Or in the middle..

 

[MTL18]

Ordered one this morning at 8:30am EST. Very happy that Apple released it quietly, gives the nerds a one up! Should make for an amazing xmas present this year

 

[monkor]

"5X Better Performance Than Original Mini"

Well yeah, the original Mini was nerf'd spec wise.

(Note for all the idiots: I am not saying the iPad Mini was a piece of crap, merely that the specs were pretty paltry at release time.)

 

[Sydryx]

But how many rams?

1GB (975 MB) according to the full benchmark. I was thinking it'd only have 512 MB to help differentiate it from the Air. Glad to see I was wrong.

 

[rick snagwell]

now if i can only buy one!

 

[Dreamer2go]

Got an Air already ummm
In the end, for me, I think the Air's screen size suits my need more…

I think the mini is great for the girls though!

 

[Einz]

On Apple website it said 4X faster that the original mini, so that good news

 

[djtech42]

Retina mini is a good deal

 

[angemon89]

1GB (975 MB) according to the full benchmark. I was thinking it'd only have 512 MB to help differentiate it from the Air. Glad to see I was wrong.

Ah, didn't click on that link. Thanks!

I will most likely get it then. The lack of RAM in the previous model made it almost unusable (for me).

 

[Menneisyys2]

1GB (975 MB) according to the full benchmark. I was thinking it'd only have 512 MB to help differentiate it from the Air. Glad to see I was wrong.

It'd be absolutely useless with 512MB RAM. After all, the Retina screen means for example Safari needs tons of more RAM to render the same webpage. This is why for example none of the 1GB RAM Retina iPads (3/4/Air/Mini2) can keep more webpages open than the non-Retina, 512MB models, assuming the same iOS version and the same Web pages.

 

[Menneisyys2]

According to new Geekbench 3 benchmarks, the Retina iPad mini is running at 1.3Ghz, much like the iPhone 5s. The iPad Air, however, clocks in at 1.4Ghz, giving it a slight performance edge over both the iPhone 5s and the new mini.

That's pretty bad news, particularly if there's also thermal throttling as in the 5s, vastly reducing the performance after 1-2 minutes of full-speed operation.

----------

Is it surprising?

Frankly, secretly I hoped for the same CPU speed as with the Air. After all, Jim Cook (or the Apple Store homepage?) did state it has exactly the same internals as the Air. While the difference isn't as big as between the 4 and the Mini 1, it's still significant if you, for example, use software decoding for, say, MPEG-2 1080i60 video.

Now, I may still be going for the Air and just keep the Nexus 7 2013 as my truly pocketable tablet.

 

[CrazyNurse]

It's so interesting nowadays that tablets are benchmarked compared to the old days of the PC.

The smart phones and tablets have become so indispensable because they are convenient and powerful enough for everyday use, while keeping everyone socially connected.

Our kids will laugh at us one day because we had to use the mouse and keyboard for so long.

 

[ColdShadow]

Retina iPad Mini is the best iPad yet.

 

[Rogifan]

1GB (975 MB) according to the full benchmark. I was thinking it'd only have 512 MB to help differentiate it from the Air. Glad to see I was wrong.

Isn't the smaller screen size differentiation?

 

[jclardy]

1GB (975 MB) according to the full benchmark. I was thinking it'd only have 512 MB to help differentiate it from the Air. Glad to see I was wrong.

If that happened it would be the worst iPad ever. Retina graphics assets + apps built for the 64-bit chip would mean RAM would be eaten up way too fast. It would probably be worse than the original mini...

 

[anomie]

Got an Air already ummm
In the end, for me, I think the Air's screen size suits my need more…

I think the mini is great for the girls though!

Nice try to justify what you just bought while you realize you bought the wrong product.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

1GB (975 MB) according to the full benchmark. I was thinking it'd only have 512 MB to help differentiate it from the Air. Glad to see I was wrong.

How would it differentiate the products?
Apple does't advertise the amount of RAM in iOS devices.

 

[Sydryx]

Isn't the smaller screen size differentiation?

I meant in terms of what you’re getting for the price. It’s essentially an iPad Air with a higher pixel density screen. Obviously this isn’t going to make a difference in real life use (unless you have way above average eyesight). I thought they’d have some other differentiator in terms of specs to warrant people spending the extra 100 on the Air.

 

[TrollToddington]

The retina iPad mini will be a fantastic Christmas present! I want one, black, 32GB, WiFi

 

[aliensporebomb]

Interesting.

So basically compariing apples to apples it benches better than my original 2.5 ghz G5 tower did.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

Walked into Best Buy to pick up a movie and asked a sales guy in passing if he knew when they would be receiving the Retina Minis, totally not expecting them to have them.

Walked out as the first customer to get one from that store. 128GB silver is currently syncing.

 

[dooyou]

No yellow hue?