After using Apple's latest mini flagship tablet iPad Mini 3, I was eager to post this Review . For those who are using Last years iPad mini 2 , iPad mini 3 isn't lot different . It has same body , same feeling , same design , same camera .......But ya With Touch ID .
Apple hasn't delivered anything new – you can get essentially the same tablet for a lot less in the iPad mini 2. Which begs the question: why should anyone buy the iPad mini 3? Unless you really want the latest iPad mini or Touch ID, you shouldn't – Apple hasn't improved it enough.
Key Features: 7.9-inch Retina screen; Dual-core A7 processor with quad-core GPU; 5-megapixel rear camera; Aluminium unibody design; iOS 8
Apple hasn't delivered anything new – you can get essentially the same tablet for a lot less in the iPad mini 2. Which begs the question: why should anyone buy the iPad mini 3? Unless you really want the latest iPad mini or Touch ID, you shouldn't – Apple hasn't improved it enough.
Key Features: 7.9-inch Retina screen; Dual-core A7 processor with quad-core GPU; 5-megapixel rear camera; Aluminium unibody design; iOS 8
Manufacturer: Apple
PROS: - Good high Resolution screen
- Beautiful Solid Design
- Touch ID now comes included
- Long battery life
- Good performance
- Essentially the same tablet as the iPad mini 2 but a lot more expensive
- Only a couple of upgrades
there's only one major feature change on the mini 3: Touch ID. Yep, that's all, unless you count a gold color option as an actual feature (I don't). Otherwise, the hardware is completely identical to last year's mini. All of the stuff you just read (and will continue to read) about getting improved on the Air 2? Nowhere to be found. The dimensions and design style all remain the same as the last mini. Whereas Apple says it built the Air 2 from the ground up, the mini 3 just seems like an afterthought to make it look like the mini line hasn't been forgotten. Well, it hasn't been, but it does look strange that the larger tablet is once again considered the premier option with the best specs. The sudden change in product strategy doesn't add up.
iPad mini 3: Design
The iPad mini 3 is one of the best-designed tablets around. Made of aluminium with a shiny diamond-cut edge where it meets the screen, it looks and feels great in your hand. There’s a light texture to the rear which makes it grippy and easy to hold, even with just one hand.
The iPad mini 3 (right) looks identical to the iPad mini 2
At 331g it’s not the lightest 8-inch tablet on the market – the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is lighter. Regardless, the mini 3 doesn't weigh much and is easily manageable for long stints of browsing or watching movies.
All the buttons are made of metal, adding to the premium feel of the tablet. The power button is at the top and the volume buttons are on the right-hand side – they're all easily accessible. There's a mute/rotation lock just above them, which is something Apple has removed from the larger iPad Air 2.
The iPad mini 3 (right) looks identical to the iPad mini 2
At 331g it’s not the lightest 8-inch tablet on the market – the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is lighter. Regardless, the mini 3 doesn't weigh much and is easily manageable for long stints of browsing or watching movies.
All the buttons are made of metal, adding to the premium feel of the tablet. The power button is at the top and the volume buttons are on the right-hand side – they're all easily accessible. There's a mute/rotation lock just above them, which is something Apple has removed from the larger iPad Air 2.
iPad mini 3: Touch ID
As we’ve already mentioned there’s only one noteworthy difference between the iPad mini 3 and it’s predecessor, and that’s the addition of Touch ID.
Touch ID is a biometric security system that enables you to easily unlock your iPad by pressing your fingerprint on the sensor built into the Home button – we saw it first on the iPhone 5S.
APPLE SIM
This may be the very first time a SIM card has earned its own section in an Engadget review. But a new type of nano-SIM card preinstalled in the Air 2 and mini 3 is worth a mention. Buried in the last few lines of a press release is Apple's first mention of a new "Apple SIM," a first-of-its-kind card that lets you change your cellular carrier without also changing the SIM card. This convenience is limited to just a few countries and carriers at launch -- Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T in the US and EE in the UK -- but over time, the selection of willing operators may improve. It's still very much in the early stages right now, but the idea is a natural fit for an iPad, which doesn't come with a carrier lock or a contract; people will want to switch among carriers depending on what kind of coverage they need and what types of data plans become available.
iPad mini 3: Screen
The iPad mini 3 has the same screen as the mini 2 and quadruple the pixels of the original iPad mini – 2048 x 1536 pixels, or 326 pixels per inch (PPI).
The iPad mini 3’s screen provides a huge amount of detail for such a small display, and the colours are great, too. This is a superb tablet to watch movies on, and bright enough to be viewable even on a sunny day if you whack it up to full.
The screen comes into its own for ebook reading or browsing the Internet. That high resolution makes text look super-sharp, the iPad mini 3 makes a great alternative to an E Ink reader like the Kindle Paperwhite. Of course, you don’t get a battery that lasts for weeks, but then the iPad mini 3 does a lot more than a plain ebook reader.
Unfortunately the screen doesn’t come with the innovations Apple brought to the iPad Air 2. It isn’t bonded, which means it isn't as vivid and it doesn’t have the same anti-reflective layer. It’s a shame. These changes make the iPad Air 2 a lot more usable outdoors, and while the iPad mini 3 works as well as most other tablets in this scenario, we’d like to have seen those improvements made to the smaller tablet.
iPad mini 3: Camera
The iPad mini 3’s camera is solid. It remains 5-megapixel like its predecessor, and the test shots we took were almost identical – unsurprising considering they use the exact same sensor.
What we did find in our comparison between the iPad mini 3 camera and the iPad Air 2's is that the former provides slightly better colour in well-lit conditions. The sunny London skyline is brighter and the palette more vivid in the photos taken on the iPad mini.
Aside from some detail and low-light performance, the main feature you miss out on with the iPad mini 3 is slo-mo video. On the iPad Air 2 this provides excellent 1080p video at 120fps, leading to some slick-looking action videos.
The iPad mini 3 still has one of the best cameras you can get on an 8-inch tablet – although we’ve not yet tested the Nexus 9. It’s just a shame that it’s not any better than its predecessor. Considering the emphasis Apple put on the camera of the iPad Air 2 when it was announced, it seems odd that the same care wasn’t taken over the iPad mini 3's. In fact, the improvements to the camera of the iPad Air 2 would be of even more benefit on a smaller, more manageable tablet.
There’s a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera that deals with FaceTime and Skype calling. That’s not a very high resolution, but it does a decent enough job with video calling. It doesn’t perform as well in low light as the new front camera on the iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2, but most people will be happy with it.
What we did find in our comparison between the iPad mini 3 camera and the iPad Air 2's is that the former provides slightly better colour in well-lit conditions. The sunny London skyline is brighter and the palette more vivid in the photos taken on the iPad mini.
Aside from some detail and low-light performance, the main feature you miss out on with the iPad mini 3 is slo-mo video. On the iPad Air 2 this provides excellent 1080p video at 120fps, leading to some slick-looking action videos.
The iPad mini 3 still has one of the best cameras you can get on an 8-inch tablet – although we’ve not yet tested the Nexus 9. It’s just a shame that it’s not any better than its predecessor. Considering the emphasis Apple put on the camera of the iPad Air 2 when it was announced, it seems odd that the same care wasn’t taken over the iPad mini 3's. In fact, the improvements to the camera of the iPad Air 2 would be of even more benefit on a smaller, more manageable tablet.
There’s a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera that deals with FaceTime and Skype calling. That’s not a very high resolution, but it does a decent enough job with video calling. It doesn’t perform as well in low light as the new front camera on the iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2, but most people will be happy with it.
iPad mini 3: Connectivity
Surprise surprise, the iPad mini 3 comes with the same connectivity options as the iPad mini 2. There’s Bluetooth 4.0, solid Wi-Fi (but not 802.11ac), AirDrop and AirPlay. The Lightning port lets you charge the iPad, sync and transfer data via iTunes. You can opt for a 4G model, too, although you'll need to pay extra.
There’s no microSD card slot, so you’ll need to stump up for your required storage right from the start, with the options being 16GB, 64GB and 128GB. That’s one of the few differences between it and the iPad mini 2, which is now only available in 16GB and 32GB flavours.
iPad mini 3: iOS 8
iOS 8 contains a bevy of new features for you to enjoy. Most of the kinks have been ironed out with the 8.1 update, and in all it’s a win for Apple. We’ve spent a long time tinkering with iOS 8 – here are the highlights:
Keyboards
The standard Apple keyboard now includes predictive text, but more interesting is the fact that you can add your favourite keyboard from the App Store for the first time.
Widgets
You can now add widgets to iOS 8, but don’t expect the all-singing, all-dancing Android ones. On the iPad mini 3 widgets are restricted to the Notification Center. Still, it’s a welcome addition.
Interactive Notifications
You no longer need to jump out of an app to deal with a text message. Interactive notifications let you respond without closing your current app.
Family Sharing
You can now set up unique Apple IDs for other members of your household, allowing them to use your iPad mini 3 with some restrictions. You can set up approval requests so that children can’t rack up in-app purchases, while music, ibooks and movies can all be shared with up to six other Apple IDs.
Continuity
The pick of the changes is Continuity, although it also requires you to have bought into more of Apple’s ecosystem. It lets you answer an incoming call on your iPad mini 3 or Mac computer (OS X Yosemite only) if your iPhone is on the same Wi-Fi network. It also lets you use Hand-off. This is a useful feature that means you can seamlessly work on a project from one device to another.
For an in-depth look at Apple’s new operating system, read our iOS 8 review.
There’s one final thing to consider with iOS, and that’s the App Store. Apple's spent years cultivating the best app marketplace bar none. With more than 675,000 apps optimised for iPads, there’s something for everyone and it lifts the iPads above the competiton.
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