Now that Apple has released an updated mini, Chris Martin reveals which one is the better deal
The new iPad mini is a tablet for that many people have been waiting eagerly. With it’s ‘better than HD’ Retina screen and new, much faster processor, it’s a considerably better tablet. But it’s also more expensive, while the old model is still on sale at a lower price. Maybe you already own an iPad mini and are wondering whether to upgrade. The decision isn’t easy, but we’re here to help.
Price
Apple usual keeps its pricing the same when it brings out a new model of an iPad. However, the iPad mini 2 is £50 more than the previous generation and so starts at £319 instead of £269. The original iPad mini is still on sale but unless you buy second hand is only available in 16GB with a slight price drop to £249. The extra £70 for the iPad mini 2 is going to be worth it for the Retina display and A7 processor. You see the full price breakdown in the table below.
Dimensions
On the face of it, the iPad mini 2 looks identical to its predecessor. However, as with the iPad 2 being upgraded to a Retina display for the iPad 3, the tablet is slightly thicker and heavier. Luckily the small increase in thickness and weight is minimal so you shouldn’t worry about it. The iPad mini colours now refl ect the iPad mini 2, iPhone 5s and iPad Air: black/slate grey and white/silver.
Screen
The iPad mini 2 remains the same size as the original so therefore has a 7.9 in screen which is also LED-backlit and an IPS panel. The key change is that the resolution has been upgraded to Retina quality and is one of the main reasons to opt for the newer model over the original. Apple has doubled the resolution to same as the full-size iPad Air meaning that the pixel density has also doubled and the amount of pixels is four times the iPad mini. That’s a big di erence and gives the iPad mini 2 the best ppi for any iPad model.
Processor
The original iPad mini was a bit underpowered, but the new version gets the same A7 chip that’s also inside the new iPad Air. That means it’s a 64-bit device, which makes it more future-proof than if it had stuck with a 32-bit processor. It also gets the M7 motion co-processor, which should help prolong battery life when you’re using fi tness or activity tracking apps. It doesn’t quite live up to Apple’s claims, but the second-generation iPad mini is a LOT faster than the original. In our graphics tests, the Retina-equipped mini ran at 48fps in the Egypt HD test. That’s twice as fast as the original iPad mini. Apple says the new tablet is up to 8x faster, which it may well be in certain apps and games. Similarly, general 2D performance is impressive. In Geekbench 2, the iPad mini 2 managed 2222 (on verage). This is roughly 3x faster than the fi rst iPad mini. In SunSpider 1.0.2, the new model completed the test in just 397ms – a stunning result. The original iPad mini took an average of 1300ms in the same test, and the new one really does load web pages faster.
Storage
Unless you’re going to buy a second-hand iPad mini, there is a big di erence in terms of storage. The original is still on sale at Apple but only in 16GB. Meanwhile the iPad mini 2 has a new larger capacity at 128GB. There’s more fl exibility then with the iPad mini 2 and it almost goes without saying that there is not microSD card slot for expansion.
Cameras
Both tablets have a 5Mp rear facing iSight camera and 1.2Mp front-facing FaceTime HD webcam. For photos, there’s little to separate the two, but videos shot on the new iPad mini are noticeably sharper – here’s an example of footage we took on the iPad mini 2:
Connectivity
As is typical with new generations of iPads, connectivity remains largely the same, but not entirely. The iPad mini 2 still has the Lightning connector, albeit with a beefi er 10W USB power adapter, and Bluetooth 4.0. However, wireless in terms of Wi-Fi and cellular has been upgraded. It now has dual-antennas and MIMO (multiple input multiple output) which Apple says doubles the speed compared to the original iPad mini (300Mb/s versus 150Mb/s theoretical). As per usual, you’ll only get GPS if you buy the cellular version of either iPad mini, but the iPad mini 2 has support for more 4G LTE bands making it better suited to roaming.
Software
When comparing Apple devices with each other, you can essentially ignore the software. Both iPad minis come pre-loaded with iOS 7 if you buy them new now (the original iPad mini can be upgraded from iOS 6 if you buy one second-hand). However, it’s worth noting that iPad mini original owners won’t get the benefi t of apps optimised for the Retina display and 64-bit processor of the iPad mini 2.
Battery
According to Apple, there’s no di erence between the two iPad minis for battery life. Despite a more power hungry Retina display, the iPad mini 2 retains the 10-hour benchmark for surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music. That’s borne out in our testing, so there’s no advantage or disadvantage buying the iPad mini with Retina display over the original model.
iPad & iPhone User buying advice
If you’re choosing between the two, the old model is best for those on a tight budget – there are plenty of deals around if you keep your eyes peeled. We recently saw the 16GB Wi-FI + Cellular model for under £300. However, if money isn’t an object, the new iPad mini o ers better future proofi ng and a much better screen.
