October 23, 2013
Apple launches new iPad mini with Retina display and A7 processor for $399
by Sayan ChakravartyWhen Apple launched iPad mini last year, despite the good things working for it, the low resolution display was a deal breaker leaving the tablet vulnerable to competition Nexus slates. So, to put it in simple words, a high resolution Retina display was the most anticipated and demanded feature on the new iPad Mini and thankfully Apple delivered. Apple has launched the new iPad mini with Retina display which has a resolution of 2048 x 1536 and 326ppi, – same as on the bigger iPad. Putting it next to the old iPad mini shows how much it has improved. But it still doesn’t have clear advantage over other competitors in the same segment namely the Nexus 7 and the new Kindle Fire HDX 7-Inch which have displays with similar resolution.
As far as the specs are concerned, the new iPad mini comes with a new heart which should make it a lot faster. Like the new iPad Air launched alongside and the iPhone 5S, the new Mini will be powered by the A7 chip. The 64-bit chip makes it 4x faster as before and gives the iPad mini with Retina Display 8x faster graphics. The new M7 motion co-processor has also found its way in the new mini and we think iOS 7 should be a lot smoother on this slate. Apple also claims the 802.11n Wi-Fi with MIMO tech will make the WiFi 2x faster.
Due to the addition of Retina Display, the new iPad mini has added some weight but it’s hardly noticeable. But the most surprising thing of all is the increase in price. The old iPad mini when it was launched was priced at $329 which has now been reduced to $299 for the 16GB version. The pricing for the new iPad mini with Retina display starts at $399 for 16GB of storage for the Wi-Fi version, continuing to $499 for 32GB, $599 for 64GB, and $699 for the newly added 128GB configuration. Minis with LTE start at $529 for 16GB and the mini with the highest specification will retail for a whopping $829 for 128GB. Apple will start shipping them later next month.
