The Good Though we're disappointed by the lack of upgrades, Apple's smaller iPad is still a great choice. Both the display and battery life are excellent, and the addition of Touch ID takes care of our biggest complaint from last year.
The Bad Other than a gold option and Touch ID, the iPad Mini 3 is identical to last year's model. It lacks the processor and camera upgrade of its big brother, the Air 2, and it's still priced at the high end for midsize tablets.
The Bottom Line One of last year's best, the iPad Mini 3 is still a compelling choice despite the lack of upgrades. However, the nearly identical and significantly cheaper iPad Mini 2 is a smarter buy.
In the world of consumer technology, things move quickly. That's particularly true for mobile devices, where today's hotness is tomorrow's has-been. The annual refresh cycle has become de rigueur, fueling an insatiable and addictive hunger for the latest and greatest.
So, then, it's interesting to see Apple basically taking the iPad Mini, one of our favorite tablets of 2013, pulling it aside and telling it to basically sit things out for a year. Yes, we do have a new Mini this year, and yes, it has a new name plus some new features. But take one look at the specs and you'll see it's déjà vu all over again for Apple's little guy.
Up front is the same 7.9-inch, 2,048 x 1,536 display that made last year's Retina Mini such a huge upgrade over its lower-res predecessor. That display still looks great at all angles, with plenty of contrast, great color reproduction and all the IPS goodness you've come to expect.
It's powered by the same A7 processor as last year, running at 1.27GHz and paired with 1GB of RAM. That gives this slate plenty of performance for most situations; indeed, matching last year's iPad Air for the most part. But, as the new iPad Air 2 gets bumped to a 1.94GHz A8X chip and steps up to 2GB of RAM, it's hard to not look on somewhat enviously. You certainly can't call the Mini lacking for performance right now, but a few years down the road, when iOS X is offering to reinvent your device all over again, you might just be wishing for the sort of oomph the Air 2 offers today.
Again, though, the Mini 3 is not wanting for now. We spun up all of our favorite games, and everything is perfectly playable. Nothing skipped a beat or missed a frame. So it goes for Web surfing. Safari loads pages quickly and offers a perfectly responsive touch experience. Plus, the 473ms SunSpider score is nothing to sneeze at -- though that does make it about a third slower than the Air 2.
It's all housed in the same chassis as last year, with the rounded edges and other styling cues we see continued on in the iPhone 6. This is now the third year that we've seen this design in use on the Mini, and while it still looks fresh, its 7.5mm thickness feels a bit portly next to the 6.1mm iPad Air 2. Thankfully, the battery life doesn't disappoint, still rated for the same 10 hours as last year. In our testing, we easily managed a full day of serious use. Cameras, too, remain the same: 1.2 megapixel in the front, 5 megapixel in the rear.
So, what has changed? The big thing is the addition of Touch ID. Yes, you can finally unlock your iPad Mini just by touching the Home button. This also opens the door to iTunes authorizations without typing in your password, and thanks to iOS 8.1, Apple Pay purchases, too. No, the iPad Mini does not have the required NFC circuitry to enable actual purchases at retailers. Apple Pay is just used for in-app purchases here.
Another change is the new Apple SIM for the cellular model, which enables activation on any (approved) carrier you like. Beyond that, the only other tweak over last year is the choice of a golden exterior in addition to silver or space gray. And...that's it. Everything else is the same.
The new iPad Mini 3 starts at $399 for a 16GB model. 64GB will cost you $499, and the top-spec 128GB model is $599. (Add $130 to each of those if you want a model with cellular connectivity.) Meanwhile, last year's nearly identical Mini, now called the Mini 2, starts at $299 at 16GB, or $349 for 32GB. And just like that, it becomes the 3's most compelling alternative.
Is it worth the premium for Touch ID? If you need the extra storage, then you don't have much choice. Or, perhaps if you're really craving that gold color, and if so, we certainly won't judge. Otherwise, it's a bit of a tough sell.
Just like 2013's model, the 2014 iPad Mini 3 is a great tablet. It's the perfect size for those who want something a little more mobile than the Air, and its mixture of performance, battery life and aesthetics still place it among the best small tablets on the market. However, the market has progressed over the past year, and with the compelling Nexus 9 just around the corner and more great devices than ever to choose from, it's hard to see this new Mini offering the same value today that the old one did 12 months ago. Thankfully, last year's model is now even cheaper, and that's where we'd put our money.
via Cnet
photos by Tinhte.vn
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