Apple's pair of refreshed tablets -- the iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina Display -- have a lot more in common with each other than you may think.
The Air completely replaces last year's fourth-generation iPad, its most relevant new features being the faster A7 processor, a new iPad Mini-inspired design, and coming in at a light 1 pound.
Clearly, the second-generation Mini got more elbow grease out of the two. It receives a higher-resolution Retina Display, which ups the pixel density by quite a bit. It also benefits from Apple undercutting the original Mini with the now ancient -- by CPU standards -- A5 chip. As a result, the new Mini gets a healthy upgrade with the A7 processor, but it doesn't come cheap. The new starting price for the Retina Mini is $70 more than the original price of the Mini and $100 more than the Mini's new $299 -- for 16GB -- price.
The following charts should help better illustrate what's new and what's changed from last year's iPad crop to this year's reboots.
| iPad Air | iPad 4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi capacity and price | 16GB ($499), 32GB ($599), 64GB ($699), 128GB ($799) | 16GB ($499), 32GB ($599), 64GB ($699), 128GB ($799) | |
| Wi-Fi and cellular | 16GB ($629), 32GB ($729), 64GB ($829), 128GB ($929) | 16GB ($629), 32GB ($729), 64GB ($829), 128GB ($929) | |
| Colors and material | Silver, space gray; aluminum | Black, white; aluminum | |
| Dimensions | 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.29 inches | 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.37 inches | |
| Weight | 1 pound (Wi-Fi); 1.05 pounds (cellular) |
1.44 pounds (Wi-Fi); 1.46 pounds (cellular) |
|
| Display | 9.7 inch IPS; 2,048x1,536 pixels (264ppi) |
9.7 inch IPS; 2,048x1,536 pixels (264ppi) |
|
| Processor | A7 chip (64-bit architecture); M7 motion coprocessor |
Dual-core A6X chip | |
| GPU | Unconfirmed | Quad-core PowerVR SGX554MP4 | |
| Rear camera | 5-megapixel camera; 1080p HD video |
5-megapixel camera; 1080p HD video |
|
| Front-facing camera | 1.2-megapixel; 720p HD |
1.2-megapixel; 720p HD |
|
| RAM | Unconfirmed | 1GB | |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours Wi-Fi, 9 hours cellular | Up to 10 hours Wi-Fi, 9 hours cellular | |
| SIM | Micro-SIM | Micro-SIM | |
| Connector | Lightning | Lightning |
| iPad Mini with Retina Display | iPad Mini | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi capacity and price | 16GB ($399), 32GB ($499), 64GB ($599), 128GB ($699) |
16GB ($329), 32GB ($429), 64GB ($529) |
|
| Cellular and price | 16GB ($529), 32GB ($629), 64GB ($729), 128GB ($829) |
16GB ($459), 32GB ($559), 64GB ($659) |
|
| Colors and material | Space gray, silver; aluminum | Black, white; aluminum | |
| Dimensions | 7.87 x 5.3 x 0.28 inches | 7.87 x 5.3 x 0.28 inches | |
| Weight | 0.68 pound (Wi-Fi); 0.69 pound (cellular) |
0.73 pound (Wi-Fi); 0.75 pound (cellular) |
|
| Display | 7.9-inch IPS; 2,048x1,536 pixels (326ppi) |
7.9-inch IPS; 1,024x768 pixels (163ppi) |
|
| Processor | A7 chip (64-bit architecture); M7 motion coprocessor |
Dual-core A5 chip | |
| GPU | Unconfirmed | Dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2 | |
| Rear camera | 5-megapixel camera; 1080p HD video |
5-megapixel camera; 1080p HD video |
|
| Front-facing camera | 1.2-megapixel; 720p HD |
1.2-megapixel; 720p HD |
|
| RAM | Unconfirmed | 1GB | |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours Wi-Fi, 9 hours cellular | Up to 10 hours Wi-Fi and cellular | |
| SIM | Micro-SIM | Micro-SIM | |
| Connector | Lightning | Lightning |
