Michal Ždanský We can almost say with certainty that the new generation of the smaller iPad mini tablet will appear in the fall, roughly in a quarter of a year, although only Apple knows the exact date. With the first generation, the company showed that it is not ignoring the small tablet market and presented competition to the Kindle Fire or Nexus 7, and it paid off.
With a lower purchase price, the mini version outsold the 9,7″ device. Although the smaller tablet does not offer the same performance as the fourth generation of the large iPad, it is very popular thanks to its compact dimensions, light weight and lower purchase price. The second version is just around the corner, so we have prepared a possible picture of what its specifications will be.
Display
If there was one thing that was most often criticized about the iPad mini, it was its display. The tablet inherited the same resolution as the first two generations of iPad, i.e. 1024×768 and with a smaller diagonal of 7,9″, the iPad mini has one of the thickest displays on the market, equivalent to the iPhone 2G–3GS. So it is easy for the second generation to include a Retina display with twice the resolution, i.e. 2048×1536.
During the last two months, several analyzes were published, one said that we will not see the Retina display until next year, another claimed that the introduction of the iPad mini itself will be postponed due to this, now Apple has to make it again with the Retina display in the fall. What do all these analyzes tell us? It's just that they can't be trusted. My assumption is not based on any analysis, but I believe that the Retina display will be one of the main improvements of the tablet.
A possible problem for Apple is the fact that the Retina display on the iPad mini will have a higher pixel density than the large iPad, and it can be assumed that the panel will be more expensive as a result, which could reduce Apple's already below-average margin on this product. However, Apple has a unique network of manufacturers, thanks to which it can obtain significantly lower component prices than the competition, so it is possible that the company will be able to contract displays at such a price that their margin will not suffer too much.
There have also been reports of use this month IGZO displays, which have up to 50% less consumption than current IPS panels, on the other hand, this technology may be too young to be deployed in mass-marketed devices.
Processor and RAM
The choice of processor will directly depend on whether the iPad mini 2 will actually have a Retina display or not. Apple is likely to use an older, already used processor just like the previous generation, which used the A5 processor (32nm architecture) from the second revision of the iPad 2. Apple now has several processors to choose from: A5X (iPad 3rd generation), A6 (iPhone 5 ) and A6X (iPad 4th generation).
The A5X processor proved to be insufficient in terms of graphics performance for the Retina display, which is why Apple may have released the next generation after half a year (although there are more reasons, such as the Lightning connector). In addition, compared to the A6 and A6X, it has a 45nm architecture, which is less powerful and more energy-intensive than the current 32nm architecture. The A6X processor is the only one of the three named to have four graphics cores, so its use, especially with the Retina display, would make the most sense.
As for the operating memory, it can be expected that the operating memory will be doubled to 1 GB of RAM in the second generation iPad mini. In iOS 7, Apple introduced advanced multitasking, which is battery-friendly, but will require more RAM, 1 GB, which the iPhone 5 also has, so it seems like a clear step.
Camera
Although the quality of the camera is not the most important feature of the iPad, the last two generations took very decent photos and were able to shoot video even in 1080p resolution, so we can expect minor improvements in this area as well. In the first generation iPad mini, Apple used the same camera as in the 4th generation iPad, i.e. five megapixels with the ability to record 1080p video.
This time, Apple could use the camera from the iPhone 5, which takes pictures at a resolution of 8 megapixels. In the same way, the quality of night photos could be improved, and what's more, an illumination diode wouldn't hurt either. It's a little ridiculous to take photos with an iPad, but sometimes this device is the closest to hand, and users will certainly appreciate it when quality photos come out of it.
Apart from the above, I don't expect any revolution from the second generation, rather a reasonable evolution that will turn the small iPad into an even more powerful device with a better display. And what do you expect from the new iPad mini?
iPad 3rd and 4th generation shoot full HD video!
True, 720p is the front camera.
I don't really believe in retina. In my opinion, the iPad mini has a relatively good display in the resolution/size ratio, we get something between an iPad with retina and one without. In addition, in my opinion, it is considered more like a cheaper and smaller iPad, which may not be nearly as good in all respects as its big brother. Rather, I expect a different display technology - as already mentioned - more economical, better color display, etc. I basically agree with the others. :)
I agree.. I don't believe that the ipad mini 2 will get retina.. if only because it would have a finer display than the main big one.. the only time I know of a worse resolution is on the desktop.. in magazines and books it's completely fpoho.. besides, you I don't think that most people bought the ipad mini because of the lower price, but because of the compactness.. at least that's how I think most of them think about it.. people who buy, for example, android.. think about the price.
I had an ipad 2 and as soon as the mini came out, I bought it on November 2.11.2012, 2. I was looking forward to it from the first moment they showed it. Now I'm looking forward to XNUMX and I really hope retina will be there. A high-quality display is the only thing missing from the iPad mini.
iPad with Retina display can record videos up to 720p.
No way, 720p is the front camera, 1080p is the rear camera, see http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/
Retina would have four times the resolution.
Mathematically speaking, yes, or will be four times the number of pixels. But the moment I write "quadruple resolution", five others say that it should be double. Probably the best way out of this is to write twice the point density, obviously...
I have an iPad mini at home, and twice in a row, and I can't praise it enough. There is a lot of talk about Retina in the iPad mini, but to be honest: I don't miss it at all, the resolution is perfect for the diagonal of the iPad mini, or point density such that everything is rendered very well. I think that Retina will come, but only with the third generation, when the pressure from the public and companies producing tablets will increase. Now, Retina on the iPad mini in the 2nd generation doesn't make much sense to me. The battery, operating costs, etc., etc. would have to be addressed. I may be wrong, but this is how I see it so far :) Otherwise, I recommend the iPad mini! I had a "big" iPad 2 and had to give it away because it's (sorry) a heavy paddle...
It's very beautiful what you're writing here, but do you really think it's real? The price of the device would rise to approximately 12 thousand + margin. Don't you think that this device would then lose its meaning? Definitely. And that's why I believe in less radical changes. Only Steve Jobs would put double the resolution in this device. Today's Apple doesn't have the balls. Personally, I'm hoping for a maximum increase of 20%, but the price of the device is as much a priority in this case as it is with the Mac mini, so I only expect a change in the two or three places you mentioned here.
Did the price go up between the 2nd and 3rd generation iPads? The change was roughly the same.