iPad Mini Retina - A Small Breath of Air (Out Now! Limited Supply!)

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Managed to get the 128GB Verizon model in Slate Gray last night. Found it on the stock tracker at a semi-local store, placed the order, cancelled the online order and headed out there and grabbed it.

It's a beautiful little machine. So fast. I've already started to upload a subset of my movie and TV collection to VLC.
 
Greyface said:
I'm finding it really hard to believe that you can't read PDFs on the iPad mini retina. Do you use glasses perhaps?
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My wife says the same thing. The print just gets a bit too small for comfortable studying if you view it at full screen on a mini, especially on the PDFs that aren't formatted as forgivingly. Now, I got her the original mini last year, which she absolutely loves. She was never interested in the fullsize iPad, but the mini's size and weight is a perfect fit for her.

But as a grad student she pretty much lives off journal articles--her reason for wanting an iPad to begin with. So she gets PDFs and loads them up on her mini for reading and marking up and notating. It was great at first, but lately she's been getting annoyed at having to zoom in to a comfy size and scroll the text into view as she reads it. She's been debating getting a full-size iPad the next time around to make studying PDFs easier.
 
just got mine earlier today and will be returning it on monday. The height and weight difference is really noticeable, making the whole device feel rather bulky. the shiny silver bezel is annoying and way too reflective, really draws attention to it. though what seals the deal is os7. can't believe that even on new hardware it's a laggy mess, it's pretty much either pointless animations and delays or laggy ui. and maybe next year's version is finally gonna include enough ram to browse more than 2 sites.

that stupid obsession with "retina" displays ruined pretty much every first gen so far. ipad 3, last year's mb with only an igp and now the new ipad mini. they all would have benefitted from another year for tech to catch up.
 
Crunched said:
The hardware is more than capable of powering the display.
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not what I meant. heavier and bulkier devices suck, in this case it's clearly to accommodate the higher res screen. and performance still sucks compared to the previous gen, don't think it matters much that it's the os that's crap.
 
Carlisle said:
My wife says the same thing. The print just gets a bit too small for comfortable studying if you view it at full screen on a mini, especially on the PDFs that aren't formatted as forgivingly. Now, I got her the original mini last year, which she absolutely loves. She was never interested in the fullsize iPad, but the mini's size and weight is a perfect fit for her.

But as a grad student she pretty much lives off journal articles--her reason for wanting an iPad to begin with. So she gets PDFs and loads them up on her mini for reading and marking up and notating. It was great at first, but lately she's been getting annoyed at having to zoom in to a comfy size and scroll the text into view as she reads it. She's been debating getting a full-size iPad the next time around to make studying PDFs easier.
Click to expand...

Which does she have the mini or mini retina? She shouldn't need to zoom in the mini retina unless the PDFs she's reading are double paged image scans.

Reading and annotating PDFs is my primary use case for a tablet too
which is why I'm going for a windows tablet not an iPad
 
Performance shouldn't be worse than the previous gen. The retina mini is much more powerful than the old one. Some animations are choppy and the five-finger close animation is not finished, but performance in-app should be improved. It's quicker in every respect. iOS 7 is not as fluid as 6, but you get that same disjointed experience on both platforms.
 
Greyface said:
Which does she have the mini or mini retina? She shouldn't need to zoom in the mini retina unless the PDFs she's reading are double paged image scans.

Reading and annotating PDFs is my primary use case for a tablet too
which is why I'm going for a windows tablet not an iPad
Click to expand...

She's on the non-r mini, and she uses Good Reader to work on her files. I dunno if it's the resolution that's the issue, we'd have to compare pdf reading and annotating on the two models side-by-side. But it sounds more like a size issue. It's taking the text of a full 8.5X11 sheet of paper and shrinking it down.

This might be fine for reading, but then she's also tapping around to highlight words and sentences. It's harder to get that precise touch on text that's too small, so she finds it easier to zoom in a bit and read/annotate that way. It's a trade off she wouldn't have to make with the full-sized iPad. But for that, she'd have to give up the size and weight of the mini. So she's weighing those pros/cons in considering her next model.
 
zou said:
not what I meant. heavier and bulkier devices suck, in this case it's clearly to accommodate the higher res screen. and performance still sucks compared to the previous gen, don't think it matters much that it's the os that's crap.
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You must have Super man level of sensitivity.
 
its heavier than the mini, but i got used to it... after what, an hour?


Do turn off all those transition animations. Turning them off makes ios7 usable.

general->accessibility->Reduce motion -> on
 
chickdigger802 said:
but even then 10" screen of big ipad vs 7.9" with both at the same resolution.
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Yeah the big iPad is still smaller than a letter sheet, but that 2" makes a noticeable difference in readability. It's going from small to...smaller basically. Detail will be there either way cause the resolution now, it's just a matter at what distance you'll be reading at.
Carlisle said:
My wife says the same thing. The print just gets a bit too small for comfortable studying if you view it at full screen on a mini, especially on the PDFs that aren't formatted as forgivingly. Now, I got her the original mini last year, which she absolutely loves. She was never interested in the fullsize iPad, but the mini's size and weight is a perfect fit for her.

But as a grad student she pretty much lives off journal articles--her reason for wanting an iPad to begin with. So she gets PDFs and loads them up on her mini for reading and marking up and notating. It was great at first, but lately she's been getting annoyed at having to zoom in to a comfy size and scroll the text into view as she reads it. She's been debating getting a full-size iPad the next time around to make studying PDFs easier.
Click to expand...
Heh, part of the reason I got rid of my 3rd gen recently (while keeping my mini) was cause I'm done with school soon, so I figure I have less need to read PDFs, textbooks, and other fixed format stuff.
Carlisle said:
She's on the non-r mini, and she uses Good Reader to work on her files. I dunno if it's the resolution that's the issue, we'd have to compare pdf reading and annotating on the two models side-by-side. But it sounds more like a size issue. It's taking the text of a full 8.5X11 sheet of paper and shrinking it down.

This might be fine for reading, but then she's also tapping around to highlight words and sentences. It's harder to get that precise touch on text that's too small, so she finds it easier to zoom in a bit and read/annotate that way. It's a trade off she wouldn't have to make with the full-sized iPad. But for that, she'd have to give up the size and weight of the mini. So she's weighing those pros/cons in considering her next model.
Click to expand...
It's a matter of both size and resolution for me, but it depends on the font/size choices in the file. Some have small enough fonts that you have to zoom in cause the resolution isn't there, others are ok resolution wise (if a bit ugly) but still are small enough that you want to zoom in to make the text larger for readability. Textbooks are generally extra sucky cause they usually have small text on relatively big ass pages. Stuff like Inkling (completely reformatted books) is a godsend for those.

One little tip in case she isn't making use of it, crop the page view down if possible. If the stuff I had to work with you could usually crop down a decent chunk off all the edges to give a little extra zoom without sacrificing the full page view. I believe GoodReader has an even/odd page crop too in case the pages have different margins (like with printed pages).
 
The extra weight is definitely noticeable even if it is only like a 10% increase.

Edit: To the last comment, here is a link that says as little as 2% of a change in mass is noticeable: http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/353/Just-Noticeable-Difference.html

It doesn't say anything about thickness but does say what is detectable in things varies from one person to the next and your 15% is way off. I'm sure someone could detect the extra thickness of the new Mini even if you can't.
 
Bought this yesterday. Needed a very simple, timeless sleeve for backpack travel. I prefer Apple devices naked and thus don't use cases for my iPhone etc.

61iRsIcYg7L._SL1500_.jpg
 
Well, I got my iPad Mini Retina, going from an iPad 4, and it is great. Much happier with the smaller device, much easier to hold, and way more portable. Hardly even notice the smaller screen size too. Can't see me going back to the full size iPad.

The Apple leather Smart Case is also fantastic. Kind of makes it feel like a book. Very very happy.
 
I'm currently wrestling with myself about getting an iPad mini Retina or not. I already own a tablet (Nexus 10) and I'm still very happy with it. I only really need Youtube, a web browser, an email program and the Twitch.tv app, which my tablet handles just fine.

Is there ever a reason why I would need a second tablet? I'm in a spending mood but can't really see how I could explain this purchase to my fiancé without sounding like a maniac...
I'd love to play FTL and Hearthstone on a tablet once they release but one of them is already confirmed for Android and the other one might also follow at some point.
 
Fucking Apple-amateurs.Their QC has gone to shit. Received my Mini with two spots where the aluminum has been pressed...

I hope I don't have to swap it a second time as with my iPhone 5...
 
leng jai said:
The discrepancy in hype between pre and post release is surprising. Seems like no one cares after the stealth launch.
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It's such a predictably iterative release, though. Not a single surprise - the Air is a lot more exciting (and therefore hyped) because of its dramatic form factor transformation.

The Mini will still sell better, though.
 
leng jai said:
The discrepancy in hype between pre and post release is surprising. Seems like no one cares after the stealth launch.
Click to expand...
In think people have been surprised by the extent of the fullsize iPad's weight reduction and design overhaul. It has made the main aspect of the Mini's appeal no longer a huge differentiating factor - the Air is now light enough. Add a higher price tag on the Retina Mini, and compare it against the Nexus 7 for those who genuinely want a smaller screen, and it becomes less interesting. Add the delay to the Retina Mini and all the well-deserved glowing reviews of the Air, and many people who had their heart set on the new Mini have decided to go with the Air instead.

On the other hand, there will be many people realising that there is barely any compromise on the Retina Mini aside from this gamut issue, and therefore a cheaper way of getting an iPad Air. As such, they're both going to sell incredibly well for months to come.
 
I can definitely see the color difference between my 4th Gen and the new Mini, but I think I can deal with it. I saw the Air while at Best Buy and Apple did a nice job with it. It was a little tempting.
 
Got a mini and an Air. Side by side comparisons there's no denying - ipad mini looks washed out and dull. Very disappointing. Love the retina mini form factor but can't live with the downgrade in displays.

No image retention issues though and the display is perfectly uniform...just uniformly dull :( honestly mine looks worse than some of the comparison shots online when it comes to colors being off.
 
TheChewyWaffles said:
Got a mini and an Air. Side by side comparisons there's no difference - ipad mini looks washed out and dull. Very disappointing. Love the retina mini form factor but can't live with the downgrade in displays.

No image retention issues though and the display is perfectly uniform...just uniformly dull :( honestly mine looks worse than some of the comparison shots online when it comes to colors being off.
Click to expand...

Think you may just have been unlucky. Mine is great
 
I am actually finding the screen bad. Will probably take advantage of one of the trade in deals for the A8, 2GB ram, fingerprint scanner 3rd gen model next year.
 
TheChewyWaffles said:
Got a mini and an Air. Side by side comparisons there's no denying - ipad mini looks washed out and dull. Very disappointing. Love the retina mini form factor but can't live with the downgrade in displays.
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I'm fine with it. Besides, the Retina Mini still has the higher PPI than the Air, so it's still the superior display in my book, color issues or not.
 
Yeah, the colors aren't as vibrant, but whatever. It doesn't bother me that much, though it's noticeable enough that it'll be a deal killer for some.
 
acheron_xl said:
Yeah, the colors aren't as vibrant, but whatever. It doesn't bother me that much, though it's noticeable enough that it'll be a deal killer for some.
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I honestly don't think it's something I even would have noticed or cared about if there hadn't been an internet fuss about it. It doesn't even bother me unless I'm actively thinking about it.
 
are there direct comparison screenshots around?

have no air to compare with, so i find the screen to be fine. i mostly use my mini to read gaf and reeder anyhow.
 
So much of this sounds like confirmation bias. There's been accurate reports about a reduced color gamut from some technical reviews, and even though many of those reviews concluded that it shouldn't be a concern for the vast majority of users, here we are: holding up all of our iOS devices to one another to see if OH YEAH THERE IT IS, a slight difference in color between my iPhone and Retina Mini.

I have to wonder if I even would have noticed the color issue if the internet didn't point it out to me. It's that insignificant to my overall enjoyment of the device.
 
The above is my thoughts about retina. Sure retina display is sharper but I go back and forth between my iPhone 5 and an OG Mini all the time and it doesn't bother me at all unless I hold them side by side. Big reason why I am in no rush to get a new Mini until the next iteration when it will feel like a real upgrade.

Sometimes people just want the best display on paper though so I could totally see why someone would go with the Air over the retina Mini for that reason.
 
Porthos said:
The above is my thoughts about retina. Sure retina display is sharper but I go back and forth between my iPhone 5 and an OG Mini all the time and it doesn't bother me at all unless I hold them side by side. Big reason why I am in no rush to get a new Mini until the next iteration when it will feel like a real upgrade.

Sometimes people just want the best display on paper though so I could totally see why someone would go with the Air over the retina Mini for that reason.
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This is completely different and way crazier.

If we are talking pictures or video, I can kind of see where you are coming from, but using my wife's og mini when I am used to my ipad 3 is jarring. The lower resolution is super noticeable for me on text.
 
Having just got my new mini, the only place I noticed the color difference was in Bastion. Everything else looks exactly the same to me, but that game has an almost washed out look to it now, which honestly isn't bad considering the theme.
 
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