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iPad Mini Review

iPad Mini Review

A while back, Apple released the iPad Mini. I used one of these in my recent travels and it is the perfect traveling companion.

The new addition to the Apple product line is a very surprising device. The user experience is very different from a ‘traditional’ iPad and many people will like it very much.

For this review, I am using a 32GB WiFi iPad Mini in white.

iPad Mini: The hardware

The iPad Mini is small, thin and light. Not really a big piece of news, but images only cannot do justice to this — you have to try one for yourself.

The device is significantly smaller than the Retina Display iPad, but not much larger than the Nexus 7, thanks to the thin frame around the sides of the screen.

iPad Mini vs Retina Display iPad - Size
Size comparison between the Retina Display iPad and the iPad Mini.

The device is also very thin. At 0.28”, it is 32% thinner than the Nexus 7 and 24% thinner than the Retina Display iPad.

Retina Display iPad vs iPad Mini - Thickness
Thickness comparison between the Retina Display iPad and the iPad Mini.

At 0.68 pounds (308 g), it makes the Retina Display iPad feels like a brick — it is less than half of the weight. I was using the iPad Mini exclusively in Paris and London last week and when I got home, I picked up the bigger iPad to update apps and thought: “wow… I don’t remember this being so heavy”.

The design changed a bit and follows the 5th generation iPod Touch closely. The front looks like a scaled up version of the iPod Touch, with thin borders of the sides of the screen and a well-polished chamfer where the aluminum unibody meets the glass.

The back is all aluminum, and it also looks like the iPod Touch. Nevertheless, it is very elegant. The black version of the iPad Mini has a black matte finish with a shiny black Apple logo in the back. It is Darth Vader’s iPad.

iPad Mini - Front
The front design resembles the iPod Touch a bit…

iPad Mini - Back
…as the back.

The construction is excellent and, besides being this light, it doesn’t feel cheap. In fact, it makes even a well-built device like the Nexus 7 feel very cheap. Apple’s attention to detail here paid off and this device looks and feels better than the more expensive Retina Display iPad.

Inside, it is roughly an iPad 2 with better cameras. It features a dual core A5 processor, 1024×768 (163 ppi) display, 5MP back camera for photos capable of shooting 1080p HD video, 1.2MP front camera, stereo speakers and a 16.3 Wh battery with an estimated duration of 10 hours.

However, whoever says this is just a smaller iPad 2 has reviewed the device from web pages.

iPad Mini: User experience

The iPad Mini feels incredibly comfortable in our hands. It is light and it can be held with a single hand. It isn’t Kindle-like weight, but it won’t get you tired like the Retina Display iPad. The size is perfect for reading e-books, iPad-designed magazines (but not Zinio magazines) and video.

iPad Mini - iBooks
Perfect size for reading e-books.

iPad Mini - The Economist
Works well for iPad-designed magazines, like The Economist.

iPad Mini - Video
A good size for watching videos.

Since it is very light, it is the perfect companion to throw in a bag and carry around. I found myself carrying it everywhere after I got it, and I have always been reluctant of carrying the bigger iPad around because of its weight. It is the perfect traveling companion.

iPad Mini - Reading at the cafe
Due to its size, it is easier to carry the iPad Mini around, like to the cafe.

The lack of a Retina Display brings up some issues. The most obvious is web browsing: when reading some pages that use small fonts, the lack of a sharper screen makes the experience not very pleasant. The same is true when reading magazines on Zinio.

The experience is better than on the iPad 2, however. Although the display has the same resolution as the old iPad 2, it has a higher pixel density, which minimizes the problem a bit.

iPad 2 vs iPad Mini vs Retina Display iPad - pixel density
Screen comparison between the iPad 2, the iPad Mini and the Retina Display iPad.

The lack of a Retina Display may displease some people, but won’t be a hassle for many. In fact, when I first went to an Apple Store to try one of these, I was listening a chat between a young couple and an Apple employee and they didn’t seem to “notice too much difference” between the displays. Like I said, besides small text, the lack of a Retina Display doesn’t bother me much.

If you are willing to wait for a Retina Display iPad Mini, I would say it is possible that the next generation has it, but the fact that adding a new resolution might be a problem for app development is preventing me of saying it will have a Retina Display.

Speaking of displays, the iPad Mini has a thinner frame around the sides, which may be a problem if you hold it with your both hands. Thankfully, the device is very light and you will find yourself holding it with one hand, gripping on the bottom side of the frame, so accidental touches with your thumb are minimized. And iOS itself has mechanisms to detect accidental touches, which works pretty well most of the time. Sometimes, when you want to hit the ‘X’ on the search box of the App Store, for instance, the touch point is too close to the frame so that the OS will interpret that as an accidental touch, and that is annoying. Other than these minor hassles, the thinner frame doesn’t interfere with the overall experience.

The smaller display will make some apps feel a bit cramped on the screen, but this better than the alternative of having scaled up versions of phone apps for the tablet, as it happens frequently on Android.

Software-wise, it runs iOS 6 like all the other iDevices. I have already reviewed it, so I will not cover it here. Nothing has changed and the iPad Mini is still an iPad. It still runs the same apps we are used to, and runs them fast. I had no performance problems at all. In fact, due to the lower resolution, some tasks feel faster on the iPad Mini when compared to the Retina Display iPad

The iPad Mini has an optional Smart Cover, like its big brother. But unlike the 9.7” iPad, the Smart Cover sucks on the Mini. It doesn’t snap in as easily as in the Retina Display iPad, it doesn’t have a leather option and it doesn’t stick in place firmly like on the bigger iPad.

Glitches aside, it works exactly the same as the old one we all know. I do not recommend it and would prefer a 3rd party folio case, like the ones from Belkin, instead.

iPad Mini + Smart Cover - closed
The Smart Cover looks similar to the old one.

iPad Mini + Smart Cover - Typing
It can be used to make typing more comfortable in landscape orientation…

iPad Mini + Smart Cover - Stand
…or to create a stand for the iPad.

The Smart Cover is also not as useful when used for typing in landscape orientation. Not because of it, but because the keyboard in landscape is borderline useless. The keys are too small for the typical typing hand position. I find myself typing more frequently using my thumbs on the keyboard in the portrait orientation. You can still split they keyboard and this will be quite handy if you have short thumbs, or if you need to type faster in landscape orientation.

All in all, the iPad experience is still there, with some big pluses and the unfortunate lack of a Retina Display.

A new product category for Apple

I was initially skeptical about the idea of a smaller iPad because of two reasons: 7” screens don’t provide a great tablet experience in a great number of scenarios, and adding a third resolution to the iPad ecosystem would be a hassle to developers.

But it started to make sense when someone told me that if you get the iPhone 3GS display and cut it into a 7.9” display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, you would end up with a 1024×768 display, which is exactly the same resolution as the first two generation iPads. The extra 0.9” then would provide the necessary screen real estate to improve the user experience, the 1024×768 would eliminate the problem of adding a third resolution to Xcode (meaning that the same apps developed to the iPad 2 would work on the smaller iPad), and reusing parts that way fits perfectly the Tim Cook’s rulebook for supply chain. Then the rumors started to grow strong and the iPad Mini was finally unveiled in October.

One thing many people are asking is how this iPad Mini compares to the bigger iPad. I believe this comparison is not fair, since each device is targeted to a specific audience. So the first thing we need to understand is that the iPad Mini is a new product, not a ‘lite’ version of the Retina Display iPad.

Apple may have created the current tablet market, but this is the first time they are adventuring into the small tablet category. And the competition has a head start here, most notably with the Nexus 7. However, the company doesn’t seem to be going toe-to-toe against all the small tablets out there. Instead, there are no surprises in the Apple rulebook: they didn’t go for a 7” screen like their competitors and they are not competing on price, but betting on the best tablet ecosystem in the market instead.

It seems a good bet for me. The iPad is a solid product and Apple has a (mostly) mature platform. Add that to the fact that there is a hype around Apple products and people will pay a premium on it, even if it is 65% more than the closest competition. The device is sold out in almost all stores, which sort of proves the point.

Conclusions and recommendations

The iPad Mini positioned itself between the larger, 10” tablets, and the smaller 7” tablets not only in screen size (obviously), but also in price. The base 16GB WiFi model starts at $329, which is $129 more than the Android competition, like the Nexus 7, and $170 less than the 16GB WiFi Retina Display iPad. That brings up two very commonly asked questions:

  • The iPad Mini costs 65% more than the Nexus 7. Is it that much better?
  • The Retina Display looks gorgeous. Shouldn’t I be getting the bigger iPad instead, even though it costs 52% more?

The answer for both questions is: “Well, it depends”.

When comparing to the Nexus 7, Apple has the advantage on the ecosystem — better apps specifically designed for tablets and a mature content distribution system (iTunes Store, iBookstore).

Google has the price advantage and, if you use Google’s platform (GMail, Google Docs, etc), it is a marriage made in heaven. And, contrary to most Android tablets, the Nexus 7 doesn’t suck — in fact, I like it a lot.

So if you are a new tablet user, it is a matter of choosing the ecosystem that you like better — and my tip here is that Apple currently has significantly more apps designed to take advantage of the tablet form factor; most apps for Android tablets are stretched versions of phone apps, which spoils the user experience.

For existing users, it is a no-brainer: stick with what you currently have. Repurchasing duplicate apps in two platforms is not cost-effective, and most of us who are in this business since the beginning have hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars in digital assets concentrated in one platform.

Regarding the Retina Display, you should try the iPad Mini for yourself and check if the lower resolution bothers you. Most people I showed the device to didn’t seem to care. If you do, and the 9.7” size is not a blocker, then get the bigger iPad.

People who have trouble reading small fonts should also get the Retina Display iPad instead. As for me, the only thing I cannot do in the iPad Mini is read sheet music. For that I still have to use the Retina Display iPad, not because of resolution, but screen size. If you require a larger screen size, then the big iPad is the way to go.

Overall, the iPad Mini is excellent and I would recommend it over any other tablet in the market. Despite the lack of a Retina Display, if I had to choose between my two iPads, I’d take the Mini.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

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