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"
32 GB
WiFi
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

Apple iPad 2

Apple iPad 1

90%

93%

89%

FeaturesView Details

82%

100%

96%

Popularity

90%

88%

81%

PerformanceView Details

87%

84%

80%

ReviewsView Details

SortableScore

First reviewed November, 2012

Features Key features of the Apple iPad mini

7.9”

iOS 6

The ability to still touch them, combined with a rich interactivity on a level that can't be matched by their printed counterparts has really given new life to what I feared was becoming a dying trade.

Rated 100% by by Scott-Showalter

screen size

iPad mini7.9"

Eee Pad Transformer TF30010.1"

Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF70010.1"

It makes this the perfect device to use as an ereader because it can be held in one hand, yet it has the full functionality of a full size iPad minus advanced retina display.

iPad mini by Crabigail-Cassidy--Crabby-Abby (Nov, 2012)

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)

screen resolution

Apple iPad mini

1024 x 768 resolution screen

iPad mini 1024 x 768 resolution screen

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF700

1920 x 1200 resolution screen

Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF700 1920 x 1200 resolution screen

Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF300

1280 x 800 resolution screen

Eee Pad Transformer TF300 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)

First off, while this does not have the advanced retina display of the iPad3, it produces a very clear and crisp image.

iPad mini by Crabigail-Cassidy--Crabby-Abby (Nov, 2012)

memory

0 GB

Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF7001 GB

iPad mini0.5 GB

Eee Pad Transformer TF3001 GB

1 GB

camera resolution

0 MP

iPad mini1.2 MP

iPad 20.3 MP

PlayBook3 MP

3 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 new iPad mini brings a phenomenal new high-quality 5MP camera to market that picks up where the iPad 2's half-megapixel camera left off.

iPad mini by Scott-Showalter

processor

Apple iPad mini

Dual core

iPad mini Dual core

Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF300

Quad core

Eee Pad Transformer TF300 Quad core

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF700

Quad core

Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF700 Quad core

+ Processor: A5 (dual core) vs. A6X (dual core with quad core graphics) - same as the new iPod touch, but not quite as powerful as the latest iPad, yet it doesn't need to be because the iPad mini display totes a quarter as many pixels!

iPad mini by Scott-Showalter

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)

Performance Real world tests of Apple iPad mini

cpu speed

iPad mini1 GHz

Arc1.5 GHz

Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF7001.33 GHz

Processor speed seems to be quick.

iPad mini by Benjamin-K.-Lee (Jan, 2013)

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)

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

BlackBerry PlayBook

2,326 ms

PlayBook 2,326 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

PlayBook 7 hour

Tablet S 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
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)
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 have a GPS

Cannot automatically pinpoint your location on a map
Doesn't support Flash

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

Poorer input sound quality
Doesn't support 3G

need wi-fi or wired connection to be online
Slow processor

1 GHz
Doesn't support face unlock

must unlock manually

full specs

Reviews Word on the street

	Read the review (Nov, 2012) Elsewhere the iPad mini sports the standard headphone jack on its top edge while on the inside you’ve got Wi-Fi and 4G options, as well as Bluetooth 4.0.

	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 269 users at amazon.com I made the mistake of purchasing the iPad mini, mainly because it was more compact to fit in a briefcase. Rated 60% by by BGH (Jan, 2013) But I found myself still preferring to use my small laptop as multitasking is so much easier. Rated 80% by by JP (Jan, 2013) It's the perfect size and weight for me. Rated 100% by by M-Jacobson (Jan, 2013)

Screen

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

Apple iPad mini 32 GB | 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 32 GB | Rated 100% by by Ozgoddess--BBB

Now there seems to be new screen technology emerging that might solve some of these problems, but apparently the "yield" (usable to unusable percentage of production) is very low on the larger versions of these screens (and Apple apparently has a screen shortage even on the lower-tech iPad mini screen).

Apple iPad mini 32 GB | Rated 100% by by MWebb (Nov, 2012)

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 32 GB | Rated 100% by by W.-Zimmerman (Jan, 2013)

Web-based email such as Gmail typically support this out of the box, and Gmail accounts are the easiest to setup on the iPad mini.

Apple iPad mini 32 GB | Rated 100% by by Scott-Showalter

Board games and lap-friendly games are better for the 10" iPad than the iPad mini.

Apple iPad mini 32 GB | Rated 100% by by Scott-Showalter

Resolution

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

Apple iPad mini 32 GB | 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 32 GB | 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 32 GB | Rated 100% by by Ah-Pui

Operating system

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 32 GB | 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 32 GB | Rated 90% by by The Verge (Oct, 2012)

In the context of software though, applications that allow you to edit office documents are commonly referred to as productivity software.

Apple iPad mini 32 GB | Rated 100% by by Scott-Showalter

Music

The only problem that I had is that I own a Galaxy SIII and is really shocking how closed an limited you feel when you go from android to iOS, the system is not open at all, is like apple already limited the user to use the tablet the way they want you to use it and not the way you want to use it, you cannot download any material (music, videos, etc) directly from the internet, if u want to do that u can download it from your computer and transfer it to your ipad using itunes.

Apple iPad mini 32 GB | Rated 80% by by Daniela-Torres (Feb, 2013)

Still very happy with this first tablet and use it everyday, but I do see plenty of room for improvement, specifically with music interface and HD possibilities.

Apple iPad mini 32 GB | Rated 80% by by Michael--troppo67 (Dec, 2012)