iPad mini 3 vs. iPad mini with Retina: What Apple changed

At the company’s October 2014 media event in Cupertino, Apple today announced the iPad mini 3, the successor to the iPad mini with Retina. Apple’s third 7.9-inch tablet is now finally official.

Pre-orders begin tomorrow (October 17), and the devices will ship by the end of next week. Before you put down your credit card though, assuming you’re not enthused by what’s coming in Android 5.0 Lollipop or Windows 10, you might want to see what exactly you’re getting. The comparison table below shows you exactly what Apple has changed between the iPad mini with Retina and the iPad mini 3.

	iPad mini with Retina	iPad mini 3
Storage	16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB	16GB, 64GB, 128GB
Price	$399, $499, $599, $699	$399, $499, $599
Price with LTE	$529, $629, $729, $829	$529, $629, $729
Display	7.9‑inch, 2048×1536, 326 ppi	7.9‑inch, 2048×1536, 326 ppi
Processor	64-bit A7	64-bit A7
Rear Camera	5MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture	5MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture
Video Recording	1080p	1080p
Front Camera	1.2MP photos, 720p video	1.2MP photos, 720p video
Fingerprint identity sensor	None	Touch ID
Assistant	Siri	Siri
Bluetooth	4.0	4.0
Browsing time on cellular	Up to 9 hours	Up to 9 hours
Browsing time on Wi-Fi	Up to 10 hours	Up to 10 hours
Height	7.87 inches (200 mm)	7.87 inches (200 mm)
Width	5.3 inches (134.7 mm)	5.3 inches (134.7 mm)
Depth	0.29 inch (7.5 mm)	0.29 inch (7.5 mm)
Weight for Wi-Fi	0.73 pound (331 g)	0.73 pound (331 g)
Weight for LTE	0.75 pound (341 g)	0.75 pound (341 g)
Connector	Lightning	Lightning
Colors	Space Gray, Silver	Space Gray, Silver, Gold

 

Just like the iPad Air 2, the iPad mini 3 has gained the same price reduction when you want more storage, but it’s neither thinner nor more powerful (it has the same processor as iPad mini with Retina). It doesn’t seem worth the upgrade just to get Touch ID. If you’re a new buyer, both the original iPad mini and the iPad mini with Retina make a lot more sense at their newly reduced prices, $249 and $299 respectively.