IPad 2 and 4 differ in size. Review of all iPad models: features and comparison

1. The display is a rectangle with rounded corners. The diagonal of this rectangle, excluding roundings, is 12.9 inches (for iPad Pro 12.9-inch) and 11-inch (11-inch iPad Pro).
2. The amount of available space is less than stated and depends on various factors. Standard configuration (including iOS 12 and pre-installed apps) takes approximately 10 to 12 GB depending on device model and settings. Pre-installed apps take up about 4 GB; they can be deleted and reloaded. The amount of space available may vary depending on the device and software version.
3. Size and weight may vary depending on device configuration and manufacturing process.
4. Battery life varies depending on settings and usage. More details on the page.
5. For FaceTime communication, all users must have FaceTime-enabled devices and a Wi-Fi connection. FaceTime availability over cellular depends on carrier conditions; data transfer charges may apply.
6. Data plan required. Gigabit Class LTE, 4G LTE Advanced, 4G LTE, and Wi-Fi calling are not available in all regions or with all carriers. Speed ​​is based on theoretical throughput and is subject to local conditions. Detailed information for LTE support, contact your service provider or page.
7. Tariff plan cellular sold separately. The model you are purchasing is configured to work with a specific technology cellular networks... For information on support for your device and availability tariff plan cellular service, contact your service provider.
8. Not all carriers support Apple SIM and eSIM cards. Check with your carrier for details. Not available in mainland China. ESIM is supported on iPad Pro 11-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), iPad Air(3rd generation), iPad (7th generation) and iPad mini(5th generation). Apple technology SIM is supported on iPad Pro 9.7-inch, iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad (5th and 6th generation), iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, and iPad mini 4.

I remember very well the birth of the compact Android tablet segment: the first Galaxy Tab, HTC Flyer and a bunch of Chinese people with terrible screens and build. And yet, the choice is potential buyer was not, because Steve Jobs did not even want to look in the direction of compact tablets. After the release of the first iPad with Retina display, I could only once again complain about the lack of a compact version with an equally wonderful display. But when Apple finally decided to release the first iPad mini, there was no limit to my disappointment, because the company installed a display with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels! Of course, the next year the situation was corrected and I still consider the iPad mini 2 one of the most successful models. The third generation, in my opinion, is a pass-through, it could be safely called the iPad mini 2s, but the latest iPad mini 4 is a miracle. But the market for Android tablets also did not stand still: screen resolutions, battery life, speed and stability of firmware grew, in general, now the choice between Android and iOS tablets is not as obvious as two or three years ago. It will be all the more interesting to compare the two best compact tablets of the end of 2015.

Appearance, body materials

Let's start with the design of iPad mini 4. There are three different body colors available to the user: silver, dark gray and gold, I personally recommend the silver model to everyone, it reminds me of the company's MacBook and looks the best. However, lovers of traditional strictly black will appreciate the dark gray body. There is not much to say about the design of tablets in general, most of them have rounded edges, most of the front side is occupied by the display, so the only thing left for manufacturers to “play with looks” is back cover... Apple traditionally uses aluminum for its manufacture: it looks practical and cool, it's not for nothing that some companies copy this approach.

The case in the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 is made of soft-touch matte plastic. Unlike most devices that use such plastic, the S2 8.0 case does not get soiled so much, and the fingerprints themselves are less noticeable. I had a black model in my hands, it has a calm design without pretentious elements, which, in my opinion, is a plus.

From the point of view of appearance, a slight advantage on the side of the iPad mini, and aluminum is still more practical than plastic with a soft-touch coating, but this does not mean that the Tab S2 is significantly inferior in materials or design.

Sound

Both devices are equipped with high-quality stereo speakers with excellent volume headroom. In my opinion, the iPad mini 4 places more emphasis on the performer's voice, while the Tab S2 focuses on the instrumental part.

Control elements

Now I will not consider the power buttons and volume rockers, but will focus only on the central button under the screen (and two touch buttons next to it in the Tab S2). D of both tablets, fingerprint scanners are inscribed in the center button, operating at +/- the same speed. A small advantage of the iPad mini scanner is its integration into the system and the ability to access it with third-party applications, this is very convenient for the same 1Password, unfortunately, this control has not yet been unified in Android.

Galaxy Tab S2 has two touch-sensitive buttons on either side of the center key: "recent applications" and "back". This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the abandonment of the on-screen buttons in favor of the touch buttons allows you to increase the usable screen area, and on the other hand, when using the tablet in landscape orientation, you will touch the touch buttons with your thumb, and this is a big minus, which Samsung does not pay year after year. attention.

In iPad mini 4, the absence of touch keys allows you to easily hold it in any orientation, the chance of accidentally pressing a physical button is much lower than a touch one.

Dimensions (edit)

As you can see from the plate above, in terms of size and weight, we have a clear leader - Galaxy Tab S2, the tablet is slightly thinner and lighter. In everyday use, the difference is almost imperceptible, but if you take both tablets in hand, you immediately feel that the S2 may be slightly lighter, but lighter.

Screen

Before we move on to the comparison of displays, I would like to draw your attention, dear readers, to the fact that we have two tablets with the best screens in the market, so when I say that one of them wins / loses in some qualities, it is important to understand that we are talking about a 5-10% loss, and not about a two-fold difference. For comparison, I used adaptive mode on the Tab S2.

It is customary to scold SuperAMOLED matrices for poor white color rendering, well, let's start our comparison with it. I was surprised to find that even the white display on the Tab S2 is better than the iPad mini 4. A direct comparison shows that the mini 4's display is slightly yellow and not as bright.

When displaying black, the iPad mini 4 shows very good results for the IPS-matrix, but with this color, the advantage is traditionally on the side of SuperAMOLED. If you open a completely black picture, you get the feeling that the display is completely off, while on the mini 4 the picture looks like a dark-dark gray screen.

Galaxy Tab S2 on the left, iPad mini 4 on the right

If we talk about a color image, the difference when comparing identical photos, although it was minimal, but still the advantage is also on the side of Tab S2, the colors on it look a little brighter, a little juicier.

Galaxy Tab S2 on the left, iPad mini 4 on the right

The viewing angles of both tablets are close to maximum, and in terms of brightness, the Tab S2 also wins: both the maximum and minimum brightness are adjusted in a larger range.

Galaxy Tab S2 on the left, iPad mini 4 on the right

Another small advantage of the S2 screen in front of mini 4 is a separate reading mode, which can be turned on in the settings or directly from the notification bar.

In theory, the iPad mini 4's screen was supposed to win out when comparing small text, due to the PenTile in SuperAMOLED matrices, but even with a very small font, I could not see the characteristic red halos on the S2.

In defense of mini 4, I will say that although the screen in it is inferior in all parameters to the S2, it is still very good, and if it were not for a direct comparison, I would not even notice that this display is at least something bad ...

Operating system

I could compare every little thing in Android 5.1 with the installed TouchWiz and iOS 9.2, but I will not do this, since this is unlikely to help you make the right choice, so I will tell you about my general impressions.

In my opinion, Android is suitable for more advanced users who understand what they want from a tablet and appreciate its ability to customize and replace standard applications. I will not deny that the possibilities of working with the file system in Android are much higher than in iOS. Plus, now there are many good applications exactly for tablet android and the difference between it and iOS is no longer so noticeable.

On the other hand, iPad mini 4 and iOS 9.x is a solution for unassuming users who will work with a tablet out of the box and are unlikely to notice any restrictions on the part of Apple.

Your previous user experience should also be considered, of course. iPhone owner it will be easier for an iPad user and an Android user with a Galaxy Tab S2.

Performance

There are three parameters by which I measure device performance: speed of desktops and settings menus; browser speed and work with the most productive games.

I deliberately simultaneously flipped through desktops on devices, launched various pages in the browser and played the most powerful toys on them. And it just so happened that we have parity for all three devices. However, there is one "but" on this moment there are more beautiful and powerful toys for iOS more, while more.

Autonomous work

The battery capacity of the Galaxy Tab S2 is 4000 mAh, the iPad mini 4 - 5124 mAh. The difference of 25% in capacity is clearly visible in everyday use: for example, the Tab S2 in everyday use is discharged in about two to three days (one and a half hours of active screen per day at automatic brightness), and iPad mini 4 under the same conditions - in three four days. But everything changes when we compare the operating time in video mode, here the Tab S2 lasted 12 hours versus 7 hours for the iPad mini 4.

Camera

I believe that tablets are filmed much less often than with smartphones, but on trips I increasingly see tourists with iPads or the same Galaxy Tab, so I asked Roman Belykh to give a small comment on the quality of the shooting.

The quality of the photos is roughly the same when it comes to detail. The main difference is noise. The Galaxy Tab S2, due to its high-aperture optics (F1.9 aperture), produces a relatively clear picture compared to the iPad mini 4 (F2.4 aperture). The viewing angle is wider in Samsung camera... In general, for Galaxy tablet Tab S2 module and optics are very good, and iPad mini shoots at the level of iPhone 4.

iPad mini 4	Galaxy Tab S2

Yes, version 4.0 LE, all popular profiles are supported, incl. A2DP Gps A cold start takes about five seconds Mobile data GSM / 3G / LTE, voice calls GSM / 3G / LTE USB On-The-Go There is No

As you can see, the Galaxy Tab S2 has more fresh version Bluetooth, USB OTG support, and of course the presence of voice calls. You can argue for a long time about the need or unnecessaryness of phone calls from the tablet, but the fact remains: with the Tab S2 you can call if something happens, but with the iPad mini 4 you can not.

Also, for the sake of interest, I compared the speed of both tablets in LTE mode, the same SIM card was used, the measurements were taken from the same place.

Conclusion

First, let's take a look at the prices of the tablets: iPad mini 4 is sold in six different variants: 16, 64 and 128 GB with LTE and Wi-Fi Only:

• 16 GB Wi-Fi - 33,000 rubles
• 64 GB Wi-Fi - 41,000 rubles
• 128 GB Wi-Fi - 49,000 rubles
• 16 GB Wi-Fi + LTE - 43,000 rubles
• 64 GB Wi-Fi + LTE - 51,000 rubles
• 128 GB Wi-Fi + LTE - 59,000 rubles

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 has only two versions:

• 32 GB Wi-Fi - 32,000 rubles
• 32 GB Wi-Fi + LTE - 36,000 rubles

First of all, I would like to note that we have two excellent tablets, personally I could use any of them as the main one without any problems without any problems. Therefore, some particulars play a role, for example, in the Apple iPad mini 4 more interesting design, for him there is large quantity productive toys, the aluminum body can also be an advantage for someone. The Tab S2 has a slightly better display, significantly higher operating time in video viewing mode, there is support for voice calls and it is cheaper with a larger memory capacity, plus let's not forget about the microSD card slot, because now there are already 200 GB cards.

To be honest, I am a loyal user of Apple technology, but if in direct comparison with Tab S2 tablets +/- are similar, then you expect a similar pricing policy, but in fact we see that the 64 GB iPad version with Wi-Fi costs 9000 more 32 GB of the S2 version, and for the modification with LTE you will have to overpay 15,000 rubles. Unfortunately, the restrictive pricing policy makes Apple equipment less attractive to the mass user, it remains the lot of wealthy buyers who love the company's products, but this is a much smaller niche of consumers. Of course, the Tab S2 is also more expensive than last year's generation, but the price increase in the case of this model is not so radical, and the high prices for the iPad make this model one of the best among compact tablets for reasonable money.

I am very closely following the compact tablet market in general and specifically for the iPad mini in particular. I remember that I was waiting for the first generation for a long time, even when there were only rumors about mini. And now, when it was released, I was in for a big disappointment, since Apple saved a lot on the display (1024x768 pixels). For a year I forgot about their tablets, until the second generation came out with a wonderful screen. By the way, I still use it. The third mini was not much different from the second, so I calmly continued to use the "outdated" version. But then there was an update to iOS 9, and mini 2 began to work much worse. The beloved company seemed to whisper: "Look, he's not the same, it's time to update." Literally a couple of months later, mini 4 arrived for the test. It's time to figure out whether you should update your tablets.

Specifications

• Class: compact flagship
• Form factor: candy bar
• Body materials: aluminum
• Operating system: iOS 9
• Network: GSM / EDGE, WCDMA, LTE (nanoSIM)
• Platform: Apple A8
• Processor: Dual Core 1.5 GHz
• Video accelerator: PowerVR GX6450
• RAM: 2 GB
• Storage memory: 16/64/128 GB
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (a / b / g / n / ac), dual-band, Bluetooth 4.2 (A2DP, EDR), Lightning connector for charge / sync, 3.5 mm headset
• Screen: 7.9 '', capacitive, IPS-matrix, 1536x2048 pixels, automatic backlight level control, oleophobic coating
• Camera: 8 MP, video recording at 1080p (1920x1080 pixels)
• Front camera: 1.2 MP
• Navigation: GPS / Glonass (A-GPS support)
• Sensors: accelerometer, position sensor, gyroscope, light sensor, barometer
• Battery: non-removable, Li-Ion, 5124 mAh
• Dimensions: 203.2 x 134.8 x 6.1 mm
• Weight: 299 grams
• Price: from 33,000 rubles

Equipment

• Tablet
• Charger
• PC cable (also part of the charger)
• Documentation
• A clip for removing the SIM card

The tablet comes in a small compact package, the package bundle is traditionally ascetic.

Appearance, materials, controls, assembly

Design has always been a strong point of Apple products, and the new iPad mini is no exception. There are no lurid elements or cheap inappropriate plastic here, the body is made of aluminum, three colors are available for sale: gray, silver and gold.

I would like to draw your attention to the choice of color right away. Many may think that men should stop at the gray model, but it looks very boring, for me personally, the silver version is much closer, it looks better and creates a feeling of continuity between the iPad and MacBooks of the company.

On the front, above the screen, there is a light sensor and a front-facing camera, and below it is a physical button with a built-in fingerprint scanner.

On the right, there is a volume rocker and a tray for nanoSIM, on top - a power button and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Interestingly, this model has abandoned the button that switches the tablet to silent mode.

At the bottom you can see a grid of stereo speakers and a Lightning connector. The speakers have excellent sound quality and a large volume headroom; they do not wheeze, even when turned to maximum.

The tablet is perfectly assembled, all parts are tightly fitted to each other, there are no backlashes, creaks and other assembly defects.

Dimensions (edit)

Throughout the use of the tablet, I got the impression that its dimensions have not changed at all in comparison with the previous generation. However, when I filled out the table above, I saw a very good difference in dimensions. Although there are differences on paper, you won't notice much difference in size and weight with normal use.

Left mini 4, right - mini 2

The tablet is thin and light, a similar weight is usually found in 7-inch models. It is convenient to hold it with both one and two hands, but if we are talking about constant use, then you cannot do without both hands.

Screen

If you only look at specifications screen, it seems that it has not changed at all, but the devil is in the details, or rather, in one, but very important detail. The display in iPad mini 4 has been tightened to match the iPad Air 2 and the air gap between the screen and protective glass... Thanks to this, the picture has become much brighter, clearer, the level of maximum brightness has increased.

The owners of past generations of mini know that on the street or in artificial lighting, the brightness in mini 2/3 was no longer enough, they wanted to tweak it even more. There is no such problem in the new generation.

It is one of the best displays in compact tablets so far, only slightly behind the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0.

Operating system

The tablet works under iOS control 9 and receives actual updates as well as other devices from Apple. We have a detailed overview of the innovations of this operating system, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with it at the link below.

One of the reasons I love any iPad from Apple is the large number of apps optimized for large screens, and although now Android is gradually catching up with iOS, at the moment there are more good colorful games and beautiful programs for the iPad.

Performance

Two key changes to the performance of the device - the updated Apple A8 chipset (also used by the iPhone 6/6 Plus) and 2GB random access memory... However, they are only important on paper, in fact, operating system optimization plays a significant role. So, on iOS 9 mini 2 does not work very well, the same desktops scroll with strong slowdowns, the screen rotates with jams, etc. There are no such problems in mini 4: any programs work quickly and without jams.

There are also no problems with toys, you can easily play any, even the most productive games, including those with support for Metal technology.

Users of previous versions of iPad mini complained about periodic app crashes due to lack of RAM in their devices. To be honest, I myself have not encountered such problems, however, in theory, the increased amount of RAM should exactly solve them.

Autonomous work

Perhaps one of the significant advantages of any iPad over most Android smartphones is the minimum discharge when the display is off. At night, I close the Smart Cover to 36% of the battery, in the morning I open it and see the same 36%, while on Android the night discharge can be from 5 to 20%.

The mini 4 also performs very well in everyday use. When playing HoMM 3 for about an hour a day at medium brightness, its charge was enough for five to six days. Chances are, you won't charge your tablet more often than once a week.

Camera

We've already compared the iPad mini 4's camera to the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, so I recommend checking out that section in that article.

On my own behalf, I will add that, despite the low resolution, I really like the front camera in the iPad mini 4, in the same Skype the picture is very good.

Wireless interfaces

All modules work fine and fast, there is nothing special to add.

Touch ID

I would also like to note the speed of Touch ID, it has significantly increased since the previous version. If on iPhone 6 / mini 3 it took about a second to unlock, then in mini 4 this time was reduced to 0.5 seconds. In words, it looks like a trifle, but in real life it has become even more convenient to use the scanner.

New covers

TO new mini 4, the company also prepared updated branded accessories - a new Smart Cover and a separate silicone cover for the back. They can be used individually or together.

I liked that the outer side in both halves is made of silicone, thanks to which the covers become much more practical, because in case of contamination, it is enough to simply wipe them. I remember the branded cover for mini 2, which completely lost its presentation after six months, and I see that the new models are much better and more practical.

The silicone case is sold for 5,000 rubles, and the new Smart Cover for 3,300 rubles. Of course, these are expensive accessories, but this is a price to pay for a good quality item that will serve you for a long time. Do not forget that we live in a world where the dollar exchange rate is already 75, not 35 rubles.

By the way, on the official Apple website you can see how the new cases for iPad mini 4 in different colors will look like. http://www.apple.com/en/ipad-mini-4/accessories/

Conclusion

Apple has a great update on an already pretty tablet. The company has worked on weak points (improved display, increased RAM) and improved existing advantages (Touch ID speed, dimensions). The updated mini 4 will delight the owners of any of the past generations, rest assured.

And now about the sad things. Moving on to pricing: iPad mini 4 comes in six different variants: 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB with LTE support and Wi-Fi Only options:

• 16 GB Wi-Fi - 33,000 rubles
• 64 GB Wi-Fi - 41,000 rubles
• 128 GB Wi-Fi - 49,000 rubles
• 16 GB Wi-Fi + LTE - 43,000 rubles
• 64 GB Wi-Fi + LTE - 51,000 rubles
• 128 GB Wi-Fi + LTE - 59,000 rubles

With great regret I remember the times when the initial version of iPad mini could be bought for 15,000 rubles, since then prices have doubled more than twice! But this is an already existing reality with which we can do little, so we will evaluate the novelty in accordance with its price.

In my opinion, the cost of mini 4 is very high, and the fact that the minimum version has only 16 GB does not improve the mood. internal memory, and the difference between Wi-Fi and LTE versions is as much as 10,000 rubles. What could Apple do to sweeten the pill for Russian customers? It seems to me that it was worth leaving 32 GB of internal memory in the minimum version, and reducing the difference between Wi-Fi / LTE to 5,000 rubles. Apple has a very loyal audience, people would grit their teeth and still buy a new product. But at current prices, the size of the potential audience has significantly decreased. It's still good tablet, just very expensive.

Alternatively, it makes sense to look towards the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, which is in no way inferior to the mini 4, and in some ways even outperforms it and at the same time is much cheaper, and the memory in it can be increased due to the memory card slot. Another thing is that there are people who like exactly iOS. They will probably have to use their tablets for another year.

If you are not afraid of the price of mini 4, then I can safely recommend the tablet for purchase, because it has no other drawbacks.

On September 9, Apple unveiled the latest miniature model iPad tablet mini 4. Moreover, Russia has become one of the countries of the first wave of sales. While attention was focused on the new iPad Pro and iPhone 6s, the new mini-tablet received the least attention. In the experience of the iPad mini 3, few expected dramatic changes in version 4.

Comparison and review of two tablet models: iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 4

Throughout 2015, there were a lot of rumors on the World Wide Web that Apple was completely ready to abandon handhelds. As arguments, the release of the iPhone 6s Plus phablet was cited, which, with a 5.5-inch screen size, is practically close to the size of a tablet. And even greater simplification would finally push buyers to, as more functional, or to regular versions of the iPad, as larger.

All this led to the fact that even the official presentation of the product was probably the shortest in history. At first glance, it is clear why, because there is really nothing innovative in the new device. Does it differ in something cardinal from its predecessor, or is everything as insignificant as in the case of iPad mini 2 and 3? To figure it out, let's compare iPad mini 3 and 4. After reading this material, you can understand whether it is worth updating your third-generation handheld or you can continue to use it. And if you are in search of the first Apple device, then this will help determine whether it is worth significantly overpaying for a new product.

At first glance, it seems that there are no differences. But once you pick it up, the differences begin to appear. The fourth generation tablet is 1.5 millimeters thinner and almost 50 grams lighter. Those who have not used a similar device of the third generation, of course, will not notice anything, but an experienced user will feel the difference: the iPad mini 4 is only 6.1 mm thick (its predecessor has 7.5 mm), weight - 298 (without a cellular module) / 304 g (with a cellular module) versus 331/341 g for the third version.

The second external dissimilarity is the disappearance of the mute button. On iPad mini 3, this button was, but on 4 it is no longer there. The third difference is that the fourth version is slightly higher than the third. Its dimensions are 203 × 135 mm, while its predecessor has 200 × 134 mm. Because of these extra 3 millimeters, it is impossible to use the cover from the previous tablet. iPad 4 simply doesn't fit in it. And fourthly, the design of the holes for the stereo speakers has changed. As you can see, there are few external differences, and they are not very significant.

Screen

The technical characteristics of both screens are completely identical: IPS-matrix, 7.9 ″ diagonal, resolution 2048 × 1536 pixels, pixel density 326 ppi. But, comparing them with each other, you can easily see the difference. Although no technical innovations were introduced, the picture in iPad mini 4 is much brighter, richer, more contrasting, colors are reproduced more naturally. This is due to the fact that Apple got rid of the air layer between the matrix and the glass, as well as improved anti-reflective coating and color coverage. But such an improvement will lead to a significant increase in the cost of repairs.

Hardware and memory

On the world wide web you can find great amount negative reviews from iPad mini 3 owners complaining about the brakes when the device is running iOS 9. iPad mini 4 does not have such problems, all thanks to the fact that the new product has a new processor - 64-bit Apple A8 with two cores, 1.5 GHz running on Typhoon architecture based on 20nm ARMv8-A chipset in conjunction with M8 coprocessor. According to Apple, it is almost 100% more efficient in battery life and a third more efficient.

The tablet works just fine, there are no freezes, everything turns on and boots up instantly. Not last place in this improvement, the doubled amount of RAM also takes up - now it is equal to 2 gigabytes. By the way, the size of the built-in flash memory has not changed - models with built-in memory of 16, 64 and 128 GB are still available. The video processor has also been improved - the fourth generation iPad mini now has the PowerVR GX6450, while the mini 3 was equipped with the PowerVR G6430.

All of the upgraded hardware has significantly improved performance metrics. Now iPad mini 4 can be compared with the older brother of the second generation.

Camera

Whereas in iPad mini 3 the camera did not differ even from the model before last year, iPad mini 4 took a step forward. The main camera of the novelty has an 8-megapixel matrix with ƒ / 2.4 aperture, autofocus, five-lens lens, light sensor and the ability to record videos in Full HD quality. Despite the improved resolution, the quality is still lame, but, you see, few people buy a tablet for photographing.

The 1.2 megapixel resolution does not differ from its predecessor. It can record 720p video and face recognition. You cannot make a high-quality selfie on it, but for video calls via the Internet it is quite suitable.

Wireless networks and sensors

Both models are available in two variants - Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G / 4G. Each of them supports most of the Wi-Fi standards and can operate in two 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands. iPad mini 4 supports speed standard 802.11ac, Bluetooth version 4.2 (iPad Mini 3 - 4.0). Models with a cellular communication module work equally well in GSM / EDGE, UMTS / HSDPA, CDMA / EV-DO, LTE networks. Both devices have GPS / A-GPS, GLONASS, compass, Touch ID fingerprint sensor, three-axis gyroscope, ambient light sensor, accelerometer, and iPad mini 4 also has a barometer.

Operating system

Initially, the third-generation handheld has iOS 8.1, and the fourth-generation model has. Today, both devices can be updated to the latest iOS 9.2, which was released on December 8, 2015.

Since iPad mini 4 was originally designed for new version OS, it supports all its features like Split View, Slide Over multitasking and Picture-in-Picture. Although the predecessor will also receive all these functions, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, there may be some slowdowns in the interface.

Battery

The most interesting thing is that the battery capacity of the iPad mini 4 has significantly decreased - 5124 mAh versus 6471 mAh. Still, in such slim body Do not install a thicker battery. But at the same time, the indicators did not deteriorate at all. And all because of the better energy efficiency of the new platform.

The following tests were carried out:

• watching online YouTube videos with 720p resolution - about 11 hours 20 minutes (about 10 hours 30 minutes on mini 3);
• Epic Citadel (test game scene) - 6 hours 10 minutes (about 5 hours 30 minutes for its predecessor);
• An hour of play in Asphalt 8 - 16% discharge (17% from a competitor).

As you can see, the performance is even slightly better. And with more power.

conclusions

After our comparison, it is obvious that the difference between iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 4 is greater than between iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 3. This is a better screen, and more powerful filling, and Wi-Fi standard 802.11ac, and Bluetooth version 4.2 instead of 4.0. Is it advisable to buy more new model if you use the previous, third? The starting price for the minimum configuration of both devices ($ 399) complicates the choice even more.

At the September presentation, Apple, among other things, announced a new version of iPad mini - the fourth. However, she got the least attention: both Apple representatives and the press focused on the iPad Pro and the new generation of iPhone. In principle, it is understandable: there is nothing really innovative in the iPad mini 4. But the differences from the iPad mini 3 are much greater here than the iPad mini 3 had compared to the iPad mini 2. A year ago, Apple only equipped the Retina version of its mini-tablet with a fingerprint scanner and a new body color. Now, both the filling and the case itself have been updated - this is not counting the improvements in the software.

Apparently, due to the fact that the iPad mini 4 does not have some kind of technological innovation, Apple was able to release the tablet earlier than the rest of the new items announced on September 9th. Moreover, the iPad mini 4 immediately went on sale in many countries, including Russia (while the official start date for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is still unknown to us, we did not get into the first wave of sales). Thus, today we have the opportunity to get acquainted with the iPad mini 4 and understand how it differs from other current iPad models.

Curiously, at the moment, the iPad mini 3 is missing from Apple's range, while the iPad mini 2 is still available for purchase, and the price for it has been reduced. At the time of this writing, the price for the iPad mini 2 in the Russian online store Apple was 22 490 rubles for the minimum version (16 GB, without a cellular module), while the price for the iPad mini 4 is already 32 990. The difference is substantial, more than ten thousand. And our task is to find out to what extent this difference is justified.

Let's look at the technical characteristics of the new item.

Specifications Apple iPad mini 4

• SoC Apple A8 1.5 GHz 64 bits (2 cores, Typhoon architecture based on ARMv8-A)
• GPU PowerVR GX6450
• Apple M8 motion coprocessor including GPS, barometer, accelerometer, gyroscope and compass
• RAM 2 GB
• Flash memory 16/64/128 GB
• No memory card support
• Operating system iOS 9.0
• Touch display IPS, 7.9 ″, 2048 × 1536 (326 ppi), capacitive, multitouch
• Cameras: front (1.2 Mp, 720p video via FaceTime) and rear (8 Mp, 1080p video)
• Wi-Fi 802.11b / g / n / ac (2.4 and 5 GHz; MIMO support)
• Cellular (optional): UMTS / HSPA / HSPA + / DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
• Bluetooth 4.2
• Touch ID Fingerprint Scanner
• 3.5mm stereo headset jack, Lightning dock
• Li-polymer battery 19.1 Wh
• A-GPS (in version with cellular module)
• Dimensions 203 × 135 × 6.1 mm
• Weight 299 g (manufacturer declared weight of version without honeycomb module) / 307 g (our measurement of version with honeycomb module)

For clarity, let's compare the characteristics of the novelty with the iPad mini of the previous generation (we will consider the second and third versions as one generation) and with the iPad Air 2.

		iPad mini 2/3	iPad Air 2
Screen		IPS, 7.9 ″, 2048 × 1536 (326 ppi)	IPS, 9.7 ″, 2048 × 1536 (264 ppi)
SoC (processor)	Apple A8 @ 1.5 GHz (2 cores, 64 bits, Typhoon architecture based on ARMv8-A) + M8 coprocessor	Apple A7 @ 1.3 GHz (2 Cyclone cores, 64 bits)	Apple A8X @ 1.5 GHz (3 cores, 64 bits, Typhoon architecture based on ARMv8-A) + M8 coprocessor
GPU	PowerVR GX6450	PowerVR G6430	PowerVR GXA6850
Flash memory	16/64/128 GB	16/64/128 GB	16/64/128 GB
Connectors		Lightning, 3.5mm headphone jack	Lightning, 3.5mm headphone jack
Memory card support	No	No	No
RAM	2 GB	1 GB	2 GB
Cameras		front (1.2 Mp) and rear (5 Mp; video 1080p)	front (1.2 Mp, 720p video via FaceTime) and rear (8 Mp, 1080p video)
Internet		Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n MIMO (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), optional 3G / 4G LTE	Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac MIMO (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), optional 3G / 4G LTE
Battery capacity (Wh)	19,1	24,3	27,62
Operating system	Apple iOS 9.0	Apple iOS 7/8 (update to iOS 9.0 available)	Apple iOS 8.1 (update available to iOS 9.0)
Dimensions (mm) *	203 × 135 × 6.1	200 × 134 × 7.5	240 x 170 x 6.1
Weight (g) **	307	339	451
Average price***	T-12859393	T-11153500	T-11153497

* according to the manufacturer's information
** version with cellular module, our dimension
*** for the version with a minimum of flash memory and communication capabilities

IPad mini 4 retail deals
iPad mini 4 16GB Wi-Fi - T-12859393	iPad mini 4 16GB Wi-Fi + 4G - T-12859394
L-12859393-5	L-12859394-5
iPad mini 4 64GB Wi-Fi - T-12859391	iPad mini 4 64GB Wi-Fi + 4G - T-12859396
L-12859391-5	L-12859396-5
iPad mini 4 128GB Wi-Fi - T-12859392	iPad mini 4 128GB Wi-Fi + 4G - T-12859395
L-12859392-5	L-12859395-5

So what should you pay attention to? First, on the SoC. The iPad mini 4 has an Apple A8, and compared to the processor of the same model in the iPhone 6, this is an overclocked version (1.5 GHz versus 1.4 GHz). However, this is not the Apple A8X, as in the iPad Air 2. The differences are in the GPU and the number of CPU cores (three for the iPad Air 2 and two for the iPad mini 4).

As for the comparison with the iPad mini 2 and 3, here it is worth paying attention, of course, to the Apple A8 SoC instead of the Apple A7 and the presence of 2 GB of RAM instead of 1 GB. However, the new iPad mini has a smaller battery than the old one. Apparently Apple expects battery life to be maintained through the power efficiency of the new SoC. Whether it is true or not, we will check in our testing.

Packaging and equipment

Packaging iPad mini 4 is traditional for Apple tablets and practically does not differ from the packaging of the previous generation tablet.

As for the package bundle, there are no surprises here either: leaflets, a charger (10 W, 2.1 A, 5.1 V), a Lightning cable, stickers and a key for removing the SIM card cradle.

Design

Externally, iPad mini 4 does not differ much from its predecessor: all the buttons remain in the same places, the appearance of the front panel has not changed either. However, when you take iPad mini 4 in your hand, you immediately feel the difference: the body has become thinner by almost one and a half millimeters and lighter by about 10% (the exact figure depends on the compared versions - with or without a cellular module), and this can be noticed even without the »Comparisons (of course, provided that you have used iPad mini before).

The rest of the design differences are so insignificant and of such little importance that they are worth mentioning only for the sake of accuracy and completeness of the description. So, the speaker grilles located on the bottom edge now represent one row of holes, not two. At the same time, the number of holes in a single row is also less, but the holes themselves are larger.

This hardly affects the sound quality. In general, we are not inclined to attribute the sound of the iPad mini 4 speakers to either the advantages or disadvantages of the tablet. The advantage here is quite legible speech and relatively good (as far as possible under such conditions) vocals, and the disadvantage is the location of the speakers: it turns out that the sound comes from only one side of the device. We are not talking about the obvious (the missing low frequencies, coupled with slightly rattling mids) - this is the problem of almost all tablets and smartphones.

On the back surface, despite the brushed aluminum, fingerprints are noticeable. This is especially true of the mirrored apple, which almost always looks stained (with daily use of the tablet). On the rest of the surface area, the prints are visible at an angle, but they do not catch the eye and are quite easy to remove.

There are two microphone holes next to the camera. In iPad mini 3, there was only one microphone and it was located in the center of the upper edge. Now iPad mini is completely similar to iPad Air 2 in design and placement of microphones and speakers. But there was no flash near the camera, and no. But there is a fingerprint sensor located in the Home button and inherited from the iPad mini 3.

In general, we can say that the iPad mini 4 is just a reduced in iPad size Air 2. By the way, the thickness of the case of these two tablets is identical. As well as the placement of absolutely all elements.

Screen

Declared parameters iPad screen mini 4 does not differ from those of its predecessor: it is an IPS-matrix with a resolution of 2048 × 1536 and a screen diagonal of 7.9 ″. However, the fact that the key parameters are identical does not mean that the screens are exactly the same in all their properties. There really are differences! Detailed screen testing was performed by Aleksey Kudryavtsev, editor of the Monitors and Projectors and TV sections. Below is his conclusion.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are much better than that of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply the Nexus 7). At the same time, some shade of the screen surface, which appears at large angles, suggests that in the case of the iPad mini 4, some kind of anti-reflective coating is used. For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - iPad mini 4, then in all comparative photos the tested tablet is located below the Nexus 7:

The screen on the iPad mini 4 is noticeably darker (photo brightness 66 versus 111 on the Nexus 7). The doubling of reflected objects in the iPad mini 4 screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS type screen - One Glass Solution). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (such as glass / air) with strongly differing refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked outer glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, but still worse than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are much easier to remove, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

With manual brightness control and with the display of the white field on the whole screen, the maximum brightness value was about 430 cd / m², the minimum - 4.8 cd / m². The maximum brightness is not very high, however, given the excellent anti-glare properties, readability even on a sunny day outdoors will be at a decent level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable value. In the presence of automatic brightness control by light sensors (there are two of them, they are located in the upper corners (in portrait orientation), camouflaged with a white coating from the inside on the glass, while taking into account the readings of the sensor that produces a higher value). V automatic mode when the ambient light conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider - with it the user sets the desired brightness level for the current conditions. If in an office illuminated with artificial light (about 400 lx) the slider is moved to the maximum (we will assume that it is 100%), then in complete darkness the automatic brightness adjustment function reduces the brightness to 4.8 cd / m2 (a bit dark, but something visible), in an office illuminated with artificial light (about 400 lux), the brightness rises to 440 cd / m2 (very bright), in a very bright environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or slightly more) installed on the same 440 cd / m² (as you need it). The brightness slider in the "office" is 50% - the values ​​are as follows: 8.3, 110-130 and 440 cd / m2 (normal), at 0% - 4.8, 4.8 and 31 cd / m2 (dark, but the trend expected). It turns out that the automatic brightness control function works more or less adequately, and it is possible to adjust the nature of the brightness change to the user's requirements, although there are some not obvious features in its work. At any brightness level, there is practically no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering either.

This tablet uses an IPS type matrix. The micrographs show the typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of photomicrographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large gaze deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without tint inversion. For comparison, we present photographs in which the screens of iPad mini 4 and Nexus 7 display the same images, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to about 200 cd / m2 (along the white field in full screen, on iPad mini 4 this corresponds to 65% brightness at using third-party programs), and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K. Perpendicular to the screens is a white field:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And the test picture:

The color balance is slightly different, the color saturation is normal. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not change much on both screens and the contrast remained at a high level. And white box:

The brightness at the angle of the screens decreased (at least 5 times, based on the difference in exposure), but in the case of iPad mini 4, the drop in brightness is less. The black field, when deviated along the diagonal, is lightened weakly and acquires a violet or red-violet tint. The photos below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is about the same!):

And from a different angle:

With a perpendicular view, the uniformity of the black field is imperfect:

Contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is normal - about 760: 1. The response time for the transition black-white-black is 21 ms (12 ms on + 9 ms off). The transition between gray tones of 25% and 75% (by the numerical value of the color) and back in total takes the same 21 ms (but already 9 ms on + 12 ms off). Such an unusual ratio of response times is explained by the fact that for transitions between halftones, a small acceleration of the matrix works - on the fronts of some transitions, brightness bursts are clearly visible:

This does not lead to noticeable artifacts, but the speed of the matrix increases. The gamma curve, plotted using 32 points at equal intervals in terms of the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal a blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 1.70, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve strongly deviates from the power dependence:

Usually, such a deviation is associated with the work of dynamically adjusting the brightness of the backlight in accordance with the nature of the displayed image, but in this case we did not reveal any signs of it.

The color gamut is almost equal to sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix filters mix the components to each other to a moderate extent. The spectra confirm this:

As a result, the colors visually have a natural saturation. The balance of shades on the gray scale is good, since the color temperature is slightly higher than the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the black body spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the color temperature and ΔE vary little from shade to shade - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of the color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen does not have a very high maximum brightness, but it has excellent anti-reflective properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. It is also permissible to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works quite adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, no air gap in the layers of the screen and no flicker, high stability of black to deviation of the gaze from the perpendicular to the plane of the screen, as well as sRGB color gamut and good color balance. There are no significant shortcomings. It is arguably the best display among small-screen tablets at the moment.

Summing up the testing of the iPad mini 4 screen, we can note that a big step forward has been made here compared to the iPad mini 3: firstly, it is getting rid of the air gap between the matrix and the glass; secondly, improved color gamut and anti-glare properties. But you need to understand that if the iPad mini 4 screen is damaged, it will be much more expensive to replace it than if it was iPad mini 3.

Performance

The iPad mini 4 is powered by the Apple A8 SoC, built using the 20nm process technology. The single-chip system includes a dual-core 64-bit CPU with Typhoon architecture based on ARMv8-A, PowerVR GX6450 GPU and Apple M8 motion coprocessor. The difference between the Apple M8 and the Apple M7, used in previous generations of iPad mini, is the presence of a barometer.

As for the SoC as a whole, we already saw it in the iPhone 6/6 Plus, but there the CPU worked at a lower frequency. On top of that, the amount of RAM was half that.

Let's compare the performance of iPad mini 4 versus iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, and iPhone 6 Plus. IOS 9.0 was installed on iPad mini 4, iOS 9.1 beta on iPad Air 2, and iOS 8.0 on other devices.

Let's start with browser benchmarks: SunSpider 1.0, Octane Benchmark, and Kraken Benchmark. Also add to our standard set- a new browser benchmark recommended by the creators of SunSpider as a replacement.

Browser tests show that the iPad mini 4 outperforms both its immediate predecessor and the iPhone 6 Plus, and the gap is significant (apparently, it's about RAM). But the absolute leader is still the iPad Air 2, although its superiority is far from so significant. It is unlikely that it will be noticeable in real use.

Now let's see how iPad mini 4 performs in Geekbench 3, a multi-platform benchmark that measures CPU and RAM performance.

A similar picture is here. The layout is the same, but the gap between iPad mini 4 and iPhone 6 Plus is already minimal. But the difference with the iPad Air 2 in multi-core mode is just the same strongly noticeable.

The last group of benchmarks is dedicated to GPU performance testing. We used 3DMark, GFXBench 3.1, and the new Basemark Metal benchmark, created specifically for devices with Metal technology. In addition, we launched GFXBench Metal on iPad mini 4 (a benchmark variant optimized for Metal devices). We present the results through a slash with the results of the usual version (3.1). For some unknown reason, GFXBench did not start in any version on the iPad Air 2 - perhaps it is the beta version of iOS. So in the table below you can see the results for the iPad Air 2, which were at the time of our first testing of this tablet (respectively, on iOS 8).

Recall that Offscreen tests are displaying a 1080p picture regardless of the actual screen resolution. And tests without Offscreen means displaying a picture exactly in the resolution that corresponds to the device's screen resolution. That is, the Offscreen tests are indicative of the abstract performance of the SoC, and real tests- from the point of view of the comfort of the game on a specific device.

	Apple iPad mini 4 (Apple A8)	Apple iPad Air 2 (Apple A8X)	Apple iPad mini 3 (Apple A7)	Apple iPhone 6 Plus (Apple A8)
GFXBenchmark Manhattan (Onscreen)	15.2 / 16.0 fps	24.5 fps	8.9 fps	18.6 fps
GFXBenchmark Manhattan (1080p Offscreen)	21.5 / 22.5 fps	32.8 fps	13.2 fps	31.2 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen)	37.0 / 38.2 fps	52.5 fps	22.7 fps	44.7 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen)	47.5 / 50.2 fps	70.6 fps	28.5 fps	52.1 fps

So, iPad mini 4 demonstrates unambiguously better results than the tablet of the previous generation - in particular, the T-Rex stage now runs at a frequency higher than 30 fps, and therefore, a game with such a level of graphics will run comfortably on iPad mini 4 and uncomfortable - on iPad mini 3. At the same time, iPad Air 2 is still far ahead. So it is he who remains the best gaming solution. As for the results of the iPad mini 4 in comparison with the iPhone 6 Plus, here it is necessary to take into account that the screen resolution of the iPhone 6 Plus is smaller than that of the iPad mini 4, so in the Onscreen mode the smartphone's results are slightly better, although the GPU is the same.

Next test: 3DMark. Here we are only interested in the Unlimited mode, because in other modes these devices exceed the maximum.

And again the picture is very predictable - with the only difference that the gap between iPad mini 4 and iPad mini 3 is not as great here as in GFXBench.

Finally - Basemark Metal. Since we do not have results on it for iPad mini 3 and iPhone 6 Plus, we present only data on iPad mini 4 and iPad Air 2.

During the display of the test scene, there was a fps counter in the upper left corner. In the case of the iPad mini 4, it showed 5 fps, in the case of the iPad Air 2 - 9-10 fps.

An interesting result, once again proving that iPad Air 2 can still be considered the unrivaled gaming solution among mobile devices Apple (well, at least until the iPad Pro). In general, testing confirmed our assumptions: iPad mini 4 is noticeably faster than its predecessor and slightly faster than iPhone 6 Plus (although it won't be felt in games), but slower than iPad Air 2. However, all this (and the difference between iPad mini of different generations, and the difference between iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4) will be felt only in two years, not earlier - when games appear, focused on fundamentally more powerful SoCs.

Video playback

To test the output of video files on the screen of the device itself, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Testing methods for video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"). Screenshots with an exposure of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the frame output of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and the frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In our tests, we used a standard video player that can be launched from direct links to files. The test results are summarized in the table:

File	Uniformity	Skips
4K / 30p	Great	No
4K / 25p	Great	No
4K / 24p	Great	No
1080 / 60p	Great	No
1080 / 50p	Great	No
1080 / 30p	Great	No
1080 / 25p	Great	No
1080 / 24p	Great	No
720 / 60p	Great	No
720 / 50p	Great	No
720 / 30p	Great	No
720 / 25p	Great	No
720 / 24p	Great	No

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Skips green ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and skipping of frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems related to the playback of the respective files.

According to the criterion for outputting frames, the quality of video playback on the screen of the device itself is nowhere better, since frames (or groups of frames) are always (in conditions this test) are output with uniform intervals and without frame drops. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p) on the tablet screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the wide border of the screen, albeit with inevitable interpolation, which somewhat reduces the clarity. The luminance range displayed on the screen corresponds to the actual range of the video file.

Autonomous work and heating

We ran detailed battery life tests on both tablets. Both of them new iPads have shown excellent results. So, in 3D games you can play them for more than five and a half hours. This is significantly better than the Nvidia Shield Tablet, although the latter is positioned specifically as a gaming tablet. We emphasize that we checked the battery life in games both using the Epic Citadel test scene (it is on the Unreal engine used in games such as Infinity Blade III, Dark Meadow and Horn), and using real game- Asphalt 8.

The time to fully charge the tablet battery from the supplied charger is three hours. Too much!

As for the ergonomics of the iPad mini 4, the Apple tablet remained barely warm during the game in Asphalt 8 and the Epic Citadel scene. This is a great result!

Below is a thermal image of the rear surface taken after a 10 minute battery test in GFXBenchmark:

It can be seen that the heating is a little more localized on the right side of the device, which, apparently, corresponds to the location of the SoC microcircuit. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 38 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is not very much.

Work in LTE networks

The tablet will work on almost all LTE networks. That is, you can safely buy a tablet in another country and at the same time be sure that with us it will be fully functional in terms of communication capabilities.

LTE reception is confident. Speed ​​measurements using the Speedtest.net iOS application (an MTS SIM card was used) showed not the most outstanding results for receiving data, but quite decent ones for downloading. However, the results can be very operator dependent.

Note also that iPad supports hot plugging and SIM swapping (no reboot). And one more detail: iPad mini 4 supports the virtual SIM-card Apple SIM (although this is still relevant only for the United States).

Camera

iPad mini 4 is equipped with two cameras - a front one with a resolution of 1.2 megapixels and a rear one with a resolution of 8 megapixels (for the first time such a resolution in an Apple tablet!). The camera parameters of the iPad mini 4 are identical to the iPad Air 2, and compared to the iPad mini 3, the resolution of the main camera has increased (from 5 to 8 megapixels). Let's see what the iPad mini 4's main camera is capable of! The shooting of the stand and comments on the pictures from the street were made by Anton Soloviev.

As we have repeatedly noted, the camera in the tablet is nothing more than a bonus, the quality of which, nevertheless, is taken very seriously by some manufacturers. And some are not very good. In this case, we can conclude that the camera for a tablet is not bad and can cope with many scenarios, but the iPhone 6 still falls short of the camera.

For fun, we decided to compare the iPad camera to the iPhone 6 camera in the harshest conditions. As a result, we were once again convinced that it is better not to perform night photography with both cameras, although iPhone camera 6 still works better with noise. The camera of iPad Mini 4 is contraindicated for video shooting in low light, since it makes a noticeable noise even in small twilight or in the shadows. In good lighting conditions, in most cases, it will cope not much worse than the iPhone 6.

conclusions

iPad mini 4 is arguably the best compact tablet available today. Yes, there were no revolutionary changes here, but on the little things Apple has made many improvements. From the obvious - a thinner and lighter body (and it really felt), a more powerful SoC, twice as much RAM, a camera with more high resolution and capabilities that iPad mini 3 did not have. Of the less obvious and revealed only in the process of thorough testing - a better screen without an air gap and decent battery life. In general, there are practically no shortcomings. It's a shame that the camera still lacks a flash, and the performance falls short of the iPad Air 2.

At the time of the start of sales of the iPad mini 4 in Russia, they ask for 32,990 rubles for the minimum version (without a cellular module, 16 GB of flash memory). At the same time, the iPad mini 2 remains in Apple's assortment, and its price is about a third lower: from 22,490 rubles. Therefore, despite all the advantages of iPad mini 4, from the point of view of practical considerations, iPad mini 2 seems to be the best solution. All the same, we will not be able to feel the increased performance in real applications (existing games will run equally well on both tablets), and still not everyone uses the camera in the tablet as actively as on smartphones - especially in the absence of a flash. As a result, it turns out that you overpay 10,500 rubles for one and a half millimeters of thickness, a fingerprint sensor and a slightly better screen. If the difference was even five thousand, then it would make sense to think. In the meantime, iPad mini 4 looks like a fashion solution aimed at enthusiastic perfectionists and those users who don't care about the difference of ten thousand rubles.