Apple iPad mini, Now with Retina Display, 64-bit Apple A7

iPad_mini_2013

iPad_mini_2013

Apple‘s highly anticipated special event in San Francisco certainly had “lots to cover,” as the tech giant unraveled the new flagship 10-inch iPad Air, new MacBook Pros with Intel Haswell chips, the cool Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks and a slew of other software releases. One of the highlights, however, is the new iPad mini, now upgraded with Retina Display and the same 64-bit Apple A7 chip that powers the iPad Air and iPhone 5s.

The iPad mini now houses a 7.9-inch Retina Display bearing 2048×1536 @ 326PPI, a huge leap in display quality and pixel density from its predecessor.

The new mini tablet will be available in November for USD$399 (approx. RM1,399), slightly higher than the original iPad mini when it debuted. Apple is retaining the previous generation iPad mini in the line-up, reducing its price down to US$299 (approx. RM1,099).

The iPad mini with Retina Display is available in white-silver or space gray-black.

Apple has also added a new 128GB storage option that will set consumers back US$699 (approx. RM2,449) for the Wi-Fi version, or US$829 (approx. RM2,999) for the 4G LTE version. A lot of money to pay for a 8-inch tablet, but for consumers who need more storage, this could be the ultimate setup.

Together with the hardware line-up, Apple is also bringing new Smart Covers for US$39 (approx. RM129).

So, an impressive, expanded line-up of iPads from Apple, although not much of a surprise in the end. Apple however decided to not integrate TouchID into the new iPads, and the inclusion of the now slow-poke iPad 2 (US$399) is an oddball move.

The iPad mini comes naturally with the latest iOS 7, and open to the plethora of 475,000 made-for-iPad apps in the Apple App Store.

So, the iPad mini or iPad Air?

Vernon
Vernon is the founder and chief editor of Vernonchan.com. A graphic designer by profession, he has a deep love for technology, cars, gadgets, food, and travel. He tweets too much and is also known as a caffeine bacterium ("life's too short for bad coffee"). Bleeds Blue (go Chelsea FC!) and considers BMW, Porsche, Alfa Romeo cars to have in the garage--hallmarks of a true petrolhead.