AnandTech Reviews the Retina iPad mini

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Apple announced the second-generation iPad mini in October. Apple quietly released the second generation iPad mini around 3am EST on Tuesday, November 12.

The most notable feature to be included in the second-generation iPad mini is a Retina display which measures in at 2048 x 1536 with a pixel density of 326ppi.

The iPad mini with Retina display also features the A7 chip which debuted in the iPhone 5S and a larger battery to help drive that beautiful display. Having a Retina display and a bigger battery means some sacrifices need to be made, namely a slightly thicker and heavier device. These are very slight increases that you probably won’t even feel the difference.

AnandTech has a full in-depth review of the new iPad mini and I encourage you to read it.

The mini’s smaller display does make reading some content a little more difficult compared to the big iPad. Reading, particularly given the new Retina Display, is pretty good on the mini. Small text is always easier to read when it’s on a larger display, but if you’re looking at content that’s properly formatted for a tablet you’ll be in good shape on the mini. I was asked to look into the comic reading experience on the mini and also came away pretty pleased. Text bubbles were definitely not as easy to read as on the iPad Air, but overall the experience was still good in most of what I read. Ultimately you don’t sacrifice a ton of functionality if you choose the mini instead of the Air. What you do lose, you definitely make up in portability. It’s really a question of where you’re going to use the tablet that’ll determine which one to go with.

The new iPad mini with Retina display starts at $399 [$419 in Canada] for 16GB and is available in stores, pick-up, and from Apple’s online retail store today.

You can watch our unboxing and first look of Apple’s Retina iPad mini here.

If you have purchased the new iPad mini with Retina display leave a comment below and tell us what you think about it.

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