Apple iPad mini with Retina Display: Reviewed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 16, 2013 8:00 AM ESTThe Display
The big story behind the new iPad mini is of course its 7.85-inch Retina Display. We’re talking about the same 2048 x 1536 resolution as the iPad Air, but in a much smaller form factor. The result is the highest pixel density of any Apple display ships today, tying with the iPhone 5S. The impact on the overall experience is pretty significant. Text is obviously a lot sharper, but even graphics are a lot nicer to look at on the new Retina Display. The gains aren't quite as obvious as they were on the larger iPad, but after living with the Retina mini for a while I can't easily go back to the previous version.
iPad mini (left) vs. iPad mini with Retina Display (right)
I ran Marco Arment's image retention test on the Retina mini and didn't see even the slightest degree of image retention. My old, non-Retina iPad mini on the other hand exhibited image retention. I suspect Apple is multi-sourcing its displays here, which could obviously contribute to varied behavior. At least on the two minis I have, image retention isn't an issue.
In the conclusion of my iPad Air review I wrote about the new mini as finally being a no-compromises smaller iPad. Much like my assertions last year of a Retina mini not being in the cards, it turns out that I was wrong on this point as well. Although display resolution is no longer a concern on the mini, color gamut hasn’t changed between the old and new minis. A quick look at our gamut test gives us an idea of what’s going on:
The iPad mini with Retina Display has the same color gamut as the standard iPad mini, which is narrower than the iPad Air and less than the sRGB coverage we normally look for. The biggest issue here is that there are other smaller tablets in this price range that do offer sRGB coverage (e.g. Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HDX 8.9).
I suspect the justification here is Apple likely views the bigger iPad as being a better fit for photographers/those who care about color reproduction, but it’s a shame that this is a tradeoff that exists between the two iPads especially given how good Apple is about sRGB coverage in nearly all of its other displays.
One of the simplest visual tests is to use one of iOS 7’s more colorful wallpapers and compare the Retina mini and iPad Air side by side:
Pay attention to the color of the red triangles in the lower left
From left to right: iPad Air, iPad mini with Retina Display, iPad mini
The difference is small but apparent, particularly if you’re used to panels with full sRGB coverage like the iPad Air or any of the rMBPs/iMacs. The biggest deviations are in reds/blues and magenta in between as you can tell from the CIE chart above.
Within its gamut coverage, the mini’s panel is fairly accurate. A look at our GMB checker test shows performance competitive with the Nexus 7 and not far off the 4th generation iPad. Grayscale reproduction is also quite good. The display looks really good otherwise, but you don’t get the same visual punch you do on the iPad Air.
Compared to the previous generation mini we’re obviously talking about a much better panel. But for those of you on the fence between the mini and Air, the Air does still hold a display advantage.
Black levels are competitive and contrast ratio stays fixed at around 800:1 regardless of whether we’re talking about max brightness or the 200 nits we run all of our battery life tests at. Max brightness is down a bit compared to the iPad Air.
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akdj - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
I frequent about a half dozen tech sites a say. A couple specific to iOS/Android. As well as Anand. I'm curious if it's YOU that's 'new to the internet'? No. Anand's Android reviews and comment sections are actually very friendly and without iOS interjection or conjecture based on 'mine's better than yours' bullshit. In fact, I find the same on the two Android forums I visit. AndroidCentral and XDA. Neither have routine iOS/iPhone/iPad users spreading their drivel....in fact. With almost 200 comments, have you noticed that you're one of maybe three or four people accusing Anand of bias? Arguing objective date? Actually taking the time out of your day to post about something you've got no passion or appreciation for? Might wanna get out of that basement. Feed your spider, move out of mom's place....and start breathing through your nose, too.
Puberticus - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
You put that very well. I agree.It's almost pathological -the way you see android and Windows users who would never in a million years go near an Apple device, immediately flock to an Apple review site. I've never known quite what to make of it.
Conversely, Apple fans apparently just don't give a damn. I guess they figure it's not their worth their time to criticize anything.
KoolAidMan1 - Sunday, November 17, 2013 - link
Fandroids are very vocal and very insecure. Saying that Apple has great hardware and iOS has great apps sets them off in ways that make console fanboys look sane.doubledeej - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Never trust a review from someone who relies on getting hardware from the manufacturer. In order to keep new devices coming they have to write nothing but overwhelmingly positive reviews, especially if it is for an Apple product -- we've seen many times in the past where reviewers are cut off from future Apple products when they write less-than-stellar product reviews.If you want a fully honest review, you have to seek out those that buy the hardware outright. It's just a fact. Reviews of products provided by the manufacturer just can't be trusted, whether it is an Apple product or from someone else.
While I really like Anand, and I will be buying an iPad Mini with RD, this review (like that of the iPad Air) is missing any significant critiques of the device. Any proper review will have both the pros and cons. And a quick two sentence mention of a competitor's product doesn't count as a con. A proper review would say "this is why you should get the device" but would also contrast it with "here is why you shouldn't get the device." It's like what you'd do in a debate class... weigh both the positives and negatives. This, like many other Apple product reviews, is pretty much missing the latter entirely. If this was taken as 100% honest, there is no meaningful reason for anyone NOT to buy an iPad Mini with Retina Display. Not even those that can't afford it, or maybe have already invested into another ecosystem. You get the impression that this device is basically perfect for everyone. While it may be perfect for some portion of the population, it just isn't going to be perfect for everyone.
Here's to hoping that future reviews will be more objective...
iLovefloss - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Yeah, look at the glowing review AnandTech has given the R9 290 and R9 290X. They totally glossed over any fault within those cards because AMD has been bankrolling AnandTech (they even have a dedicated AMD section on the site).Hey, maybe you should get over yourself. Anand has given his opinion of the device. That's what a review is. He even included some objective information. He doesn't gloss over any significant fault of the device. He likes it. If you don't like it, that's your opinion. But don't start whining because Anand didn't stop to wonder how random people on the Internet will feel about every feature of the device.
Do you people who always complain about objectivity or subjectivity in these reviews actually know what reviews, subjectivity, and objectivity are?
You can't have a tech review without a significant degree of subjectivity. These aren't scientific papers. The author of any review will have to insert his or her values and (subjective) judgements on the device they're reviewing. Instead of whining about this, how about looking towards a reviewer who shares your values?
iLovefloss - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
Seriously, how do you expect Anand to be any more objective than he already is? Discard his own opinions about the device completely? If he did that, then why bother reading the review. Just take a look at his pretty graphs.You, of course, probably mean neutrality when you say objectivity, right? You want him to be unbiased or appear so. Well, he is. Anand was pressed to review and no one forced/coerced his Final Words. He was just genuinely impressed with the device. He prefers iOS and Apple products. Given their performance and his own subjective feelings, he feels like the iPad Mini w/ Retina Display offers a good experience that is worth the money. He gives his reasons for his feeling, and he offers numbers and other objective measurements to back up/reinforce his general impression of the device. That's a review. You're complaining that he doesn't spend enough time complaining about a device he genuinely likes.
"If this was taken as 100% honest, there is no meaningful reason for anyone NOT to buy an iPad Mini with Retina Display. Not even those that can't afford it, or maybe have already invested into another ecosystem. You get the impression that this device is basically perfect for everyone."
I'm sorry if that what was you taken out of the review. It is easy to call you intellectually dishonest, but I feel you're really just clueless. Read Anand's Final Words. He implied that if you prefer Android to iOS then you should check out the Nexus 7. He implied with this implication (implication inception, mutha fuckas) that your feelings on Android and iOS comes down to personal preference.
If you took everything this review as 100% truth, you'd think that the iPad Mini with Retina Display is a good tablet for Anand. You'll also think that whether you like the Nexus 7 or iPad Mini with Retina Display better would be left up to whether you prefer Android or iOS.
Reading reviews isn't hard! You just need a fourth grade level of reading comprehension.
doubledeej - Monday, November 18, 2013 - link
You obviously didn't read my full comment. "...I will be buying an iPad Mini with RD."If you want to see what a real review looks like go take a look at the on on Ars Technica. They still praise the device, but they also include the cons as well. I'm not asking for a negative review, just an honest one.
ruggia - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
so you are telling me TheVerge got cut off from Apple because they were not praising their iDevices enough?solipsism - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
They gave the Retina iPad Mini a 9.3 out of 10. Sounds like high praise to me.ws3 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
So the iPad Mini Retina gets good reviews on every site? Maybe that means it's a good product.