Conclusion Get the lowdown
Features How it compares
Performance Real world benchmarks
Differences Technical showdown
Reviews Word on the street
Competition Others to consider
Discussion Answers and opinions

Full specs

Apple iPad mini

7.9"
16 GB
WiFi 3G
iOS 6

Released November, 2012

Apple has managed quite a feet of engineering by giving the iPad mini an impressive 10-hr battery life, which trumps its nearest rivals by a couple of hours.

by TrustedReviews (Nov, 2012)

Conclusion Check out the Apple iPad mini

Apple iPad mini

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

Google Nexus 7

96%

95%

FeaturesView Details

86%

100%

83%

Popularity

90%

91%

90%

PerformanceView Details

87%

74%

85%

ReviewsView Details

SortableScore

First reviewed November, 2012

Features Key features of the Apple iPad mini

7.9”

iOS 6

She has enjoyed an ipod touch for several years so this was a super nice upgrade.

Rated 100% by by Wrecksrme (Jan, 2013)

screen size

iPad mini7.9"

Galaxy Note 10.110.1"

iPad 29.7"

It has everything the big ipad has except retina display - and I haven't missed that at all on this little baby.

iPad mini by Jerra-Dooley--jerradoo (Jan, 2013)

Would I prefer the retina display over size, the answer is no!

iPad mini by Yasir-Khan (Nov, 2012)

screen resolution

Apple iPad mini

1024 x 768 resolution screen

iPad mini 1024 x 768 resolution screen

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

1280 x 800 resolution screen

Galaxy Note 10.1 1280 x 800 resolution screen

Google Nexus 7

1280 x 800 resolution screen

Nexus 7 1280 x 800 resolution screen

I cannot imagine what a package like this will look like with retina display, looking FWD to that (this one looks very good too, not retina but much better than the Ipad 2).

iPad mini by Fatmir-Sadiku--Fatmir (Dec, 2012)

Man was I happy...Because of the smaller size I find it a lot sharper looking than the Ipad 2 (not the 3 and 4 because it is lacking "retina).

iPad mini by Z.-Hammer (May, 2013)

memory

0 GB

Nexus 71 GB

iPad mini0.5 GB

Galaxy Note 10.12 GB

2 GB

camera resolution

0 MP

Galaxy Tab 7.72 MP

iPad 20.3 MP

iPad mini1.2 MP

2 MP

The iSight 5 megapixel camera takes great pictures and shoots decent movies for what it is.

iPad mini by Jason-Baker--Jason-Baker (Nov, 2012)

The slightly more diminutive size of the iPad mini does make the experience slightly better, and its 5 megapixel backside camera is actually not terrible for general shots.

iPad mini by The Verge (Oct, 2012)

processor

Apple iPad mini

Dual core

iPad mini Dual core

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

Quad core

Galaxy Note 10.1 Quad core

Google Nexus 7

Quad core

Nexus 7 Quad core

The NHL program I use is smoother on the mini than the Nexus, this despite the Nexus having a faster CPU.

iPad mini by G.-Rivet--G---Arabia (May, 2013)

And the A5 is still a very capable CPU.

iPad mini by the-Lorax (Dec, 2012)

Performance Real world tests of Apple iPad mini

cpu speed

iPad mini1 GHz

Galaxy Note 10.11.4 GHz

Xperia Tablet S1.4 GHz

My only reservation is that the processor can seem a bit slow at times, but I have to remember this is not a laptop computer - it's more about convenience than speed.

iPad mini by D.-J.-Pierce (Dec, 2012)

can't say I am bothered by the processor speed , or screen resolution.

iPad mini by Kareem-Abdelhady (Dec, 2012)

sunspider 0.9.1 benchmark

Apple iPad mini

1,426 ms

iPad mini 1,426 ms

Apple iPad 1

3,484 ms

iPad 1 3,484 ms

Amazon Kindle Fire

2,517 ms

Kindle Fire 2,517 ms

engadget.com

Web browsing is very fast but here's where we come to the issue.

iPad mini by Reviewer-MHM-3-5--Reviewer-3-5 (Jan, 2013)

The iPad mini has nice web browser, the applications work well (less crashing issues), the wireless connection is fast and I didn't have any sort of lag between turning on my Mini and getting online, like I often did with my Kindle.

iPad mini by Angela-Streiff

battery life

0 hour10 hour

iPad mini 10 hour

Kindle Fire 7.5 hour

Galaxy Note 10.1 8 hour

On my first charge I got over 15 hours of usage (which included a lot of internet surfing and video watching) and on my second charge I already have over 5 hours of usage and 62% battery charge left.

iPad mini by alspachsl

It charges quickly and has a nice small charging port.

iPad mini by Craig-Wester (Dec, 2012)

Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors

pros

Quite good touch screen

Capacitive
Has a webcam

1.2 MP
Has a rear camera

5 MP
Longer battery life

10 hour
Light

308 g
Has a gyroscope

Play games and use applications that take advantage of device rotation
Has a light sensor

Automatically adjust screen brightness for environmental factors
Supports 3G

be online anywhere that has cell coverage
Quite newly release date

Nov, 2012
Has an accelerometer

Detects movement for interactive apps
Has a compass

Great for maps and navigation apps
Fast Bluetooth

24 Mbit/s (Bluetooth v4.0)
Has a GPS

Get directions and navigation, geotag photos
Small

135 x 200 x 7 mm
Is multitouch

use multiple fingers at once for more complex interactions
Supports voice commands

Can be operated hands free

cons

Supported card formats

None
OS can't multitask

Only one app at a time can run
Small screen

7.9"
Doesn't have an open source operating system

How you can use your tablet is controlled by a corporation
Doesn't support Flash

Many games and videos on the Internet require Adobe Flash
Doesn't have a microphone jack

Poorer input sound quality
Slow processor

1 GHz
Doesn't support face unlock

must unlock manually

full specs

Reviews Word on the street

	Rated 90% Read the review (Oct, 2012) But regardless of market positioning, the iPad mini has to be viewed in a world with a $199 Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD — two strong performers that are a far cry, at least in price, from the iPad mini.

	Rated 83% Read the review (Oct, 2012) The really impressive feat of the iPad Mini, the surprise, is that it seems to handle all the iPad's normal duties while being shrunken down.

	Rated 88% by 297 users at amazon.com I like it better than the iPad because it's smaller but have all the cool functions as the iPad. Rated 100% by by v-wong (Dec, 2012) I have read plenty of ebooks on my ipad using ibooks but this puts the ipad inthe shade ebook wise. Rated 100% by by carol-irvin--carol-irvin (Jan, 2013) The iPad's size is great for watching tv, movies, reading books or light document work but a hassle to carry around. Rated 80% by by Margaux-Paschke (Dec, 2012)

Screen

Besides that, it's great, convenient, fast, has fantastic sound, beautiful crystal clear screen and really, really, really fun!!!!!! Defiantly worth the money !! TRUST ME.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 100% by by cheyenne (Feb, 2013)

I have an iPad with retina display for work, and used and iPod touch before that to take to conferences.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 80% by by DoctorObvious

Will probably sell or give away the larger ipad two we've had since that one came out...this ones extra screen size over other 7 inch tablets gives it a little edge...but if you are merely looking for a small tablet for movie/tv show viewing you could save $$ by getting a kindle fire HD...screen resolution is so much sharper.....But if you have to have this slice of the apple pie (and you have other apple devices and iTunes etc).

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 100% by by Ozgoddess--BBB

Resolution

The display is not retina quality, but it's easily better than the iPad 1 or the iPad 2.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 100% by by Dennis-Baker (Nov, 2012)

The size of this iPad mini is just perfect... I don't miss the retina stuff, wich I think got to be great, but I never had anything that has a retina display.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 100% by by Emilio-Garcia (Feb, 2013)

Text appeared to be fuzzy and less crisp (especially in foreign characters where each character has more strokes), when compared to the razor sharp and clear text in retina display.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 100% by by Ah-Pui

Apps

Choices: My wife prefers the larger iPad for email and my teens like the larger one for movies and drawing, but I love this mini size for travel.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 100% by by W.-Zimmerman (Jan, 2013)

The mini was perfect!! Just a little bigger than my iPhone making most apps the perfect size to see great.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 100% by by Erica-S. (Dec, 2012)

I love listening to music on my ipad mini, the sound quality is outstanding.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 100% by by L.-Lee (Feb, 2013)

Operating system

But I found myself still preferring to use my small laptop as multitasking is so much easier.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 80% by by JP (Jan, 2013)

What I will say is that the fact that it is for all intents and purposes a regular iPad makes it easily the most attractive tablet in this size range when it comes to software.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 90% by by The Verge (Oct, 2012)

On the other hand, Apple has a lot to fill that gulf, including the absolute best software ecosystem for tablets on the planet right now.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 90% by by The Verge (Oct, 2012)

Operating System

iOS is very hardware efficient and you won't feel the lack of 1gb RAM on iOS as much as you would on an android device running jelly bean for example.

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 80% by by casper

Now, when other offerings from Android are coming out with far better resolutions, it's just meh (the Apple Mini's contrast and color are still superior to the Nexus 7 by far, though).

Apple iPad mini 16 GB Cellular | Rated 60% by by D.-Fichtner