Apple iPad Mini 3 vs. iPad Mini 2: Should You Upgrade?

The Apple iPad Mini 3 has recently been unveiled alongside the bigger iPad Air 2 on October 16. Meanwhile, the mighty iPad Mini 2 was released on November 2013. Readers who are interested in upgrading their iPad Mini 2 with Retina display to the latest Mini 3 should check out the similarities, differences and the verdict.

Similarities

Both the tablets feature the same 7.9-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD Retina display and 1,536 x 2,048 pixels resolution. This combination translates to a pixel density of 324 ppi. Speaking of size, here again, both the devices come with the same thickness and weight of 7.5 mm and 331 g (Wi-Fi) / 341 g (3G LTE), respectively.

Moving on to camera configuration, both Mini 2 and Mini 3 sport a 5 MP primary camera unit, in addition to a 1.2 MP secondary shooter for selfies. Again, the battery unit has not changed and hence the same Li-Po 6470 mAh non-removable unit is maintained in the latest device.

Has the processor changed? The shocking answer is a big "No." Both the devices are powered by the same dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (Apple A7) processor and backed by 1 GB of RAM. Notably, Apple unveiled its A8 processor alongside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The immediate expectation is that the upcoming devices from Apple will be powered by this chipset. But Apple stuck to the same A7 processor seen in the 2013 version. Is this is an opportunity missed?

Differences

The Apple iPad Mini 3 runs on the latest iOS 8.1, while the iPad Mini 2 runs on iOS 7. Nevertheless, it is upgradable to iOS 8.0.2. Furthermore, Apple has bumped off the 32 GB internal storage option seen in the Mini 2 and hence, there are only three choices in the Mini 3 namely 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB.

The Mini 3 comes with a Fingerprint scanner (Touch ID) support, while the Mini 2 doesn't. This Touch ID can be utilised to unlock the tablet and also for making mobile based payments. Thanks to the Apple Pay service in partnership with Visa, MasterCard and AMEX, the iPad Mini 3 owners can pay with the help of their iPads. Lastly, Apple has introduced a new colour "Gold" to the already existing palette of Space Gray/Black and Silver/White in the latest iPad Mini 3.

As far as the price goes, the Apple iPad Mini 3 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB models are priced at and respectively. Meanwhile, the 16 GB iPad Mini 2 with Retina can be purchased for with the latest discount announcement.

Verdict

On the overall design, the latest iPad Mini 3 has not gone through any major upgrade from the original Mini 2. Even though it is a personal choice, the ones owning a 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus phablet should really think several times before buying the iPad Mini 3. Mainly because, the iPhone 6 Plus can do almost all the tasks, a compact tablet can do. However, readers with interest in buying a brand new tablet or the ones who would like to upgrade from a really old tablet, the Mini 3 might be a lucrative device.

On the other hand, there are the iPad Mini 2 owners who are looking to find reasons to either upgrade or not-to-upgrade to the iPad Mini 3. Very candidly, there are not many compelling reasons to make the upgrade. Mainly because, the iPad Mini 3 costs more than the Mini 2 (with the latest discounts) and the Touch ID is the only note-worthy feature one would get out of shelling out the aforementioned amount. Therefore, the iPad Mini 2 provides the best value for money, unless buyers feel the need to have a device with fingerprint scanner, opines Tech Radar.

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