Thomas Verschoren gives his thoughts based on resolution and dpi.
6 thoughts on “Figuring out the Retina iPad mini”
I think the reason for non-retina is simpler. In the mini, Apple was trying to build an iPad that could be held in one hand. Weight was paramount, and going retina would have meant more weight. Also, Apple was trying to compete at a lower price point, and retina would have increased the cost.
Weight, price, battery life, and margins. This time next year, most or all of those issues go away, so they’ll release the iPad Mini retina, plus they’ll be able to drop the price on the non-retina mini, and maintain their margins due to reduced cost of manufacturing.
He’s likely wrong about the res for a retina iPad mini, but setting that aside he completely missed the real reason. Battery life. The retina display in the iPad 3 and 4 is a total hog. No way would a retina iPad Mini with a much smaller battery get the same ‘up to’ life. And that is a spec Apple does care about
no mention of power consumption? Apple’s priority on the mini is the form factor. Retina takes too much power to fit a battery good for at least 10 hours of use into that case. So no retina this generation.
How does the mini compare to a Nexus 7 in terms of battery life?
Mini apparently gets about 12 hours , 7 about 10 hours in a movie playback test.
I think the reason for non-retina is simpler. In the mini, Apple was trying to build an iPad that could be held in one hand. Weight was paramount, and going retina would have meant more weight. Also, Apple was trying to compete at a lower price point, and retina would have increased the cost.
Weight, price, battery life, and margins. This time next year, most or all of those issues go away, so they’ll release the iPad Mini retina, plus they’ll be able to drop the price on the non-retina mini, and maintain their margins due to reduced cost of manufacturing.
He’s likely wrong about the res for a retina iPad mini, but setting that aside he completely missed the real reason. Battery life. The retina display in the iPad 3 and 4 is a total hog. No way would a retina iPad Mini with a much smaller battery get the same ‘up to’ life. And that is a spec Apple does care about
no mention of power consumption? Apple’s priority on the mini is the form factor. Retina takes too much power to fit a battery good for at least 10 hours of use into that case. So no retina this generation.
How does the mini compare to a Nexus 7 in terms of battery life?
Mini apparently gets about 12 hours , 7 about 10 hours in a movie playback test.