iPad Mini 2 With Retina Display – Specs Price Release Date And Features

Apple has finally released the long-awaited iPad Mini with Retina Display and we are proud to give you a little insight on all of the specs.
It’s official now the iPad Mini 2 has been launched. But Apple has made the decision to call it the iPad Mini with Retina Display. We bring you the official news and let you decide if you want to upgrade to the new model or if you’d rather stay with original iPad Mini. Or perhaps even change to the Nexus 7. Figure it out while reading our full review on the iPad Mini with Retina Display here.

Despite having rumors going round and round in circles over the last few weeks, Apple is certain to make you wait a little longer until it reveals all the facts. For now, we’ve got a little synopsis of all the rumours, leaks and updates that have led up to the actual launch.

The iPad Mini With Retina Display Design

The actual design of the iPad Mini hasn’t been changed by Apple for the iPad Mini with Retina Display. And to tell the truth, it really didn’t need to do that. With thin bezel and rough aluminium construction it looks amazing and it’s still one of the best small-screen tablets out there in terms of looks. In fact Apple is so pleased with this design that it even used it for the iPad Air.
Everyone’s biggest concern was whether or not the new iPad Mini will get the Retina Display. And Apple was working quite hard to meet those demands. The lowly 1,024×768 resolution is now replaced and bears no comparison to that of the Nexus 7. And what’s more, it’s very smart use of screen space due to the use of the iOS makes it look even more spacious than the Android version.

Apple did quite well meeting everyone’s expectation this time around creating a 7.9in screen with a resolution of 2,048×1,536 (326ppi) mini Pad, exactly the same as the iPad Air’s. A Retina display in Apple’s definition is a screen where the pixels are so small that they can not be seen when looked at from a normal viewing distanced. What this means from a technical perspective, is that the iPad mini with Retina Display has the same number of pixel on a 7.9 inch display as the iPad Air on a 9.7 inch screen. Which means the iPad mini with Retina Display has more pixels than it actually needs.
But if you take the resolution into consideration things will begin to make more sense. To begin with, we will say that it is 4 times the resolution of the iPad Mini ( if you double the horizontal and the vertical that is). This makes it increasingly easy for applications to be scaled up or down. What’s more is that Apple has only two resolutions available for its iPad range, which give developers a whole lot of space and freedom to be creative with.

The iPad Mini 2′s Touch ID

Once the Touch ID fingerprint scanner was introduced with the release of the iPhone 5S, there was only a matter of time before more devies from the Apple family came around to get it. The Touch ID scanner was designed with the sole purpose of giving customers a wider sense of security while unlocking their handset and also for making purchases online via iTunes or the Apple Store. And Apple was very keen to get this technology across to as many devices as possible because it hoped that in the future it might use this technology for other apps as well, for example the apps used normally for banking. Interestingly enough, the company took us all by surprise by deciding not to use the Touch ID in neither of their two new products.

The processor

Along with having the same processor as the iPad 2, the iPad Mini also has the same processor, a dual-core Apple A5. This is actually quite slow. Because of the high-resolution screen, there is a much bigger demand for a faster processor.
But we are happy to announce that Apple has decided to use the same A7 chip, the same kind it used in the recently released iPhone 5S and iPad Air. Since this dual-core chip is the fastest around, at least the fastest that we here have ever seen, it appears that the iPad Mini is going to be indeed very fast.
Also new is the fact that this is a 64-bit processor. Actually it is the very first processor of this kind to hit the mobile market. So when it comes to applications that actually support the 64-bit system, be prepared for better speed. But regardless of that, there are quite a few things in the general-purpose area that the 64-bit A7 is good for. The CPU has to spend less time accessing comparatively slow system memory, speeding up apps whether they are 64-bit or 32-bit. The improves graphics on the chip are another asset, as this means there’s enough power to run the high-resolution screen.

The Storage Space

Even though the iPad 4 benefited from the model that featured 128GB of storage, the iPad Mini didn’t seem to find itself in the same favorable position. Nevertheless, with this new release Apple has finally made it possible for equality to exist between its products. In fact it is now possible for you to purchase the iPad Mini with Retina Display with 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. Something we all know you are excited about!

 The Camera

Unfortunately, the camera on this one seems to be the only part of the tablet that has not been updated yet. It features the same 5-megapixel iSight model that we have seen before. Regardless of this, you can’t really say the camera is no good. But you can say it has aged a little. Since most people nowadays are using their smartphones for the sole purpose of either checking the time or taking photos it is not surprising that more and more users are looking to devices that offer better cameras. It was rather a big disappointment that we didn’t get to see an 8-megapixel camera that is now featured on the iPhone 5.

Connectivity

Apple seems to have increased the wireless capabilities on its new iPad Mini as this device now has MIMO wireless technology. For those of you not familiar with that term, this is a new type of technology that uses multiple antennas in order to improve Wi-Fi range and throughput. Although it is still using the older 802.11n standard it is a significant improvement to the new tablet. In the future we are looking forward to 802.11ac standard to make this improvement even better.
Also available on the Wi-Fi + Cellular model is the new, advanced 4G that helps the iPad Mini with Retina Display work on all LTE networks in the UK.

The Release Date

Obtainable in two variants: the Space Grey and the Silver version the iPad Mini with Retina Display is expected to be available for purchase in late November. But nothing is for certain yet as we do not have a confirmed release date. But on the bright side, there is a confirmed release date for the iPad Air, which is set to launch on the 1st November.
The Price

The best price you can get for the Wi-Fi version of the iPad Mini with Retina Display is £319. If you are interested in buying the 32 GB model be prepared to spend around £399 on this new model. The 64 GB version is available at £559 while the same version that also has the Wi-Fi + Cellular feature will cost £100 more.

So what are your thoughts on the big news? Tell us all about it or just leave us a comment with your suggestions in the comment section below.