Apple iPad Mini 2 Versus Samsung Galaxy Note 3 – Which Will Win?

These past weeks we have seen many smart phones and tablets being announced and / or launched, by companies such as Samsung, Nokia, Sony or HTC. It is now time for Apple’s devices (the iPad Mini 2, the iPad 5 and the iPhone 5S) to get the spotlight. However, Apple is silent when it comes to reveling its iDevices’ specs. A direct consequence of Apple’s silence is a plethora of rumors as people try to guesstimate the specs of Apple’s upcoming iDevices.

Samsung is at the other side of the spectrum as they don’t shy away from offering details about their upcoming products, even though they are not really official yet. Thanks to rumors and the numeorus reports about the two competing products (the Apple iPad Mini 2 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3) we have enough to make a direct comparison between the two tablets.

Release Date

According to a few rumors from some time ago Apple was said to release the iPad Mini 2 during this May. Those rumors were recently proved wrong when Tim Cook (Apple CEO) mentioned a fall launch for the company’s iPad mini 2. A September release seems likely.

There are no rumors regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 3′s release date so we can only speculate. Samsung too may opt for a fall release for the next generation Galaxy Note, so our guesstimate is September – Ocotber.

Processor

Apple’s A7 system on a chip (SoC) is supposed to launch this Summer, in June or July. It is a faster SoC than the Apple A6X used in the iPad 4 and we think that it will be used in the iPad mini 2.

The Exynos 5 Octa SoC will be available in the second quarter of 2013 and it is the fastest SoC available at the moment for any mobile device. It will also power the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 so that’s good news for those looking for performance.

Battery

Apple will probably make sure that its next iPad mini tablet will have a battery that would assure an usage of about ten hours.

For the Galaxy Note 2, Samsung used a very powerful battery of 3100 mAh. The Galaxy Note 3 will probably use an even more powerful battery, necessary given the extra power that the Exynos 5 Octa SoC will bring.

Display

When it comes to the iPad Mini 2′s display, rumors mention a 7.9 inch screen running at a 2048 x 1536 screen resolution which is four times higher than the iPad mini’s resolution. The iPad Mini 2 is also rumored to be equipped with a IGZO display made by Sharp, a display that would make the tablet even slimmer than the actual iPad mini.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will be equipped with a 6 inch FHD AMOLED display.

Camera

Regarding the iPad Mini 2′s cameras, there isn’t much information available. However, we are pretty sure that the iPad Mini 2′s cameras will have the following functions: iSight, FaceTime and Full HD video recording.

Samsung always equipped its devices with high quality cameras and the Galaxy Note 3 won’t make an exception. The Galaxy Note 3 will probably come equipped with a high quality 13 MP camera.

Price

It’s probably safe to assume that Apple will follow its standard pricing patterns so the iPad Mini 2 will most likely have the same price as the first iPad Mini.

The price for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is rumored to be up to somewhere around $800.