When the original Apple iPad Mini came out one of the most asked for hardware features was a retina display. I can’t tell you how many emails and comments on our videos got the “I have an iPad and will skip this until they come out with a Retina Display.” It looks like Apple has heard their pleas and announced a new 7.9 inch iPad Mini with a resolution of 2048×1536 that matches the larger iPad.
The Retina display actually made the iPad Mini a bit thicker measuring in at 7.5 mm thick and 0.73 pounds compared to 7.2 millimeters and 0.68 pounds for the first generation.
Underneath the hood the Retina iPad mini includes a 64-bit A7 processor, M7 motion co-processor, and an upgraded 5-megapixel rear iSight camera with a backside illumination sensor. It will be able to totally render videos in full and glorious 1080p.
The front of the device now features a new FaceTime HD camera and has dual microphones. This should give users who use video and audio programs such as BBM a reason to upgrade. The new iPad mini also now features multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) technology that offers up to 2x faster Wi-Fi, with both 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and LTE cellular models that available with up to 10 hours of battery life.
The new model is poised to launch next month and will start at $399, the LTE version should launch a few weeks later.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.