iPad Mini 2 display and Nexus 7 2
It seems that the iPad mini 2 screen is so important to some people that they are claiming anything other than a Retina display will make them give the iPad mini 2 a miss. These users might go for the iPad 5 at launch instead of a mini version lacking Retina, but from what some of our readers are stating it seems a growing number might move towards Nexus 7 2 instead.
We have published a few articles previously looking at Android vs. iOS, and in most cases a lot of people are so invested in iOS that they couldn’t dream of moving to Android even if they wanted to. This isn’t the same for everyone, and there are still thousands of people that would want an iPad mini 2 with Retina and anything short wouldn’t cut it.
One of Phones Review’s readers stated, “the lack of Retina made me wait for iPad mini 2, if Apple leave this feature out again I’m going with the Nexus 7 2nd generation for sure”. We have seen a number of comments like this, but is the Retina display really worth it?
Another reader has a different take on the term Retina, which Apple invented, and they don’t think too highly of a Retina display on 7-8-inch devices. This is what they had to say, “The Retina display was created by Apple to hype up a higher pixel density for their iPads and iPhones. Any greater pixel density isn’t appreciated on a 7 or 8-inch screen like that expected on the iPad mini 2. Don’t get caught up in gimmicks, as this higher PPI comes with bad battery life and thanks to the hype all everyone cares about is a higher PPI. All I want is a longer battery life rather than these ridiculous specs”.
There is no doubt that some people will go for what they claim is better Nexus 7 2 specs, especially if they think the iPad mini 2 display is lacking in screen resolution or PPI but are consumers being mislead when it comes to display pixel numbers? Could this be a reason why Apple might leave the higher PPI out of an iPad mini 2?
Let us know in the comments if you’re planning to purchase either the iPad mini 2 or 2nd generation Nexus 7, and if so what your ideal specs sheet would look like? When it comes to price you can expect the next Nexus 7 to win in this area, and the price range should stay around $199 to $249.
What are your thoughts on the term Retina? How much do you care about PPI on your tablet display? At the time of writing mass production for the iPad mini 2 hasn’t started, but rumors suggest this should happen by the end of July. You can see what the Nexus 7 2 specs might be in a leak from earlier this week.
Battery life key to lack of iPad mini 2 Retina — if the recent reports by certain analysts are correct and we won’t see a Retina on the iPad mini 2, then it most properly means the battery issues haven’t been fixed since the original iPad mini. The consensus for the current model is that Retina would have drained battery life too fast, so it was initially expected that a Retina would arrive on the iPad mini 2.
This still boils down to battery life vs. Retina on such a small form factor, and things won’t change until technology improves enough to deliver better battery with higher PPI on such a small form factor.
Comments
44 thoughts on “iPad Mini 2 display and Nexus 7 2”
I’d rather have better battery life than a Retina on the iPad mini 2, if they launch with lower battery life and a Retina I wouldn’t be impressed.
That’s like saying I’d rather have an e ink display instead of an lcd because of better battery life. First of all I’d take a hit of 1-2 hours of battery life if it means I would get more from my device. Have you ever used a retina ipad??? The screen blows everything out of the water, most people have never seen a screen this good, or look at the nexus 10 for only $70 more.
Anyone passing on an iPad mini because of its screen is missing the point, as well as a fantastic iPad. The screen is still beautiful and the thin, feather lightness makes this iOS device amazing. Done pass it up for a lesser android device.
Have you even bothered to look up the specs of the iPad Mini?
Nexus 7>iPad Mini thanks to:
Tegra 3
1GB RAM(512MB for an iPad is pathetic if you ask me)
Longer OS support
Awesome battery life
iPad Mini 2>Nexus 7 thanks to:
Better display
Awesome Battery Life
Questions?
But you still can’t run emulators on an iPad….
But you still cant connect the nexus to your tv. have fun watching you movies ONLY on the 7in nexus screen
thats where nexus 7 2 comes in
thats why apple would need be to conect to a tv to avoi the crappy screen
“I think you’re the one missing the point. Ipad mini should have at least had 1gb of ram from the start”
“1GB RAM(512MB for an iPad is pathetic if you ask me)”
Have you ever considered that the software inside an Apple product might be optimised to make the most of it’s components. I.e they engineer the software in such a way that it doesn’t require such powerful hardware – let’s put it this way, it’s like comparing a naturally aspirated beast of a huge engine to a 2 litre engined car which has been engineered differently perhaps to the inclusion of a turbo and although there is a clear difference in engine capacity, you find that in actuality, in straight line speed they’re quite similar. So it’s not just the engine capacity alone that counts but how it and the surrounding components are engineered that matters, going on headline facts and figures alone is always only a part of the story…
Sorry for late reply here!
I understand what you’re saying(My S2 uses 2xxMB RAM at any given time with NO apps that I have opened running) and I do know that Apple makes friendlier software for lower-end hardware so as to increase battery life and general performance. However, as a mobile gamer, I think 512MB isn’t going to cater to premium games a year from now. Apple should have put in 1GB RAM minimum. Crashes on games(which result in bad game reviews from iPad users who don’t know what’s under the hood of their device- it must be good! It’s Apple!) are going to be inevitable. Lifeline matters to me, and it doesn’t seem Apple cares. All they want is for customers to hop onto their next big thing! The shortage of RAM(even if 1GB is included in the 2013 model) is the only reason-since my standard is know 1.5GB+- why I won’t go Apple.
Haha lesser?
You can’t type with one finger on an iPad. You can’t emulate game consoles on an iPad. You can’t even reprogram an iPad to serve another purpose than to be a slave to Apple.
lol slave to apple lol
I think you’re the one missing the point. Ipad mini should have at least had 1gb of ram from the start and ipad mini retina display trumps ipad mini ipad 2 display any day of the week, it’s not even a contest.
Of course, display is important- but to an extent. Apple users are so fascinated by the retina display that they don’t understand what it actually means. It is just an advertising term for the impressive PPI!
In hindsight, Apple has always left behind something with each iPad:
1- Bad processor, unable to keep up with newer OS
2- Good processor and battery life but NO retina display despite their ability to include it
3- Retina display but with the same old processor- users get lag and bad battery life with higher end games
4- RAM very likely won’t stand the test of time. Games today need more RAM and soon enough will force users to upgrade.
My point is they use this to get you to upgrade. They didn’t include ‘RETINA’ on iPad Mini as users wouldn’t switch to iPad Mini 2.
I am not an Android fanboy, but I know good tech when I see it. Apple products use old and medium-end parts, with a good battery life, excellent display(I can not lie), as well as an incredibly dumbed-down OS to keep it’s hypnotized users intact.
I’ll be getting the Nexus 7(2) anyway, as good parts, good battery life, good product life(fast OS updates) and an intuitive OS make up for a PPI short of ‘RETINA’
You think that is a coincidence?
As long as they can fool people they’ll be making overpriced devices which strictly have a lifespan of only 1 year.
A 1-year lifespan at the price they charge at that.
Apple has an excellent marketing team and long-term business-planners as they plan ahead so well, that today so many people buy their products annually because of that Apple logo! I have nothing against Apple- but more and more users are switching to Android and Windows 8 devices as they give more value for your money and guarantee a better lifespan. Apple has a brighter future- but it will only come when they need to dig deep to keep their sales up by utilizing the latest tech they can get their hands on. I know that I won’t be bothering with any flagships of theirs for a few years.
I agree.
The first Ipad mini on purposely had bad hardware. You see,Ipad mini was selling well because it was new,it was desireable and had the new fresh design,a nicer form factor etc.
The Ipad mini 2 however will have better hardware but the same design. That means people will buy it just because it will be better,even the original Ipad mini users will want the new one because their Ipad mini 1 in comparisment will suck.
The Ipad mini 3 will have the new design and most likely new IOS8 when it comes out. Again people will like it because it will be new. There will be a major design difference between Ipad mini 2 and 3 so that everyone will notice you have ‘the older one’. That’s why people will begin buying the new Ipad mini 3,even though their Ipad mini 2 will be pretty much the same under the hood.
There it is.
Apple will sell 3 generations of Ipad mini,even though they could have released the IPad mini 3 in 2012, They have the technology but since they can sell an Apple user three Ipad mini’s with current technology,why would they give their best?
This same basic prinicple applies for Iphones too.
Iphone 3G – nice,fresh,good looking,bad hardware (2 MP camera!)
Iphone 3GS – better hardware,better camera,software update but the same design
Iphone 4 – nice glass phone,fresh design,bad hardware
Iphone 4s – same design but better hardware (ex. dual core cpu)
So basically some Iphone X sells because it is new and nice,and Iphone Xs sells because it has the new hardware… 😉
Yeah. And so many people get fooled by them each of them each year. My guess is they’ll 1-up the Retina with this years iPad 5(assuming they stay creatures of habit) and call it ‘Super-Retina’ or ‘Ultra-Retina’ and hundreds of herds of iSheep will all flock in the direction of the new iPad. Poor iSheep… (*_*)
Yup,seems like a smart move for Apple,especially since some 4-5 inch phones have similar resolutions like their 9.7” Ipads 😉
I personally think that a device must have PPI around 250. If it is higher than that, its okay, but I think its useless as you can’t determine the pixels anyway. I don’t understand it with the PPI of 441 in the GS4 and HTC 1.
However, if the PPI drops below 200, I would throw the device away. Everytime i look at my iPad 2 my eyes start to scream “no!”. I hate stuff like that.
Besides that, the Displays on the latest Apple devices are outstanding. Not just the Retina macbooks (which are unique!) but also the iPhone 5 display. I think the iPhone 5 display is better than the Galaxy S4’s, although the Galaxy’s pixel density is way higher!
(I’m sorry for my bad english^^)
I agree!
Nono, your English is perfect. 🙂
The iphone 5 display uses a different technology than the s4, the s4 uses amoled and a pentile pixel arrangement (both which have their pluses and minuses, and in my book more minuses.) The HTC one’s screen looks better than the iphone 5’s but phones now a days lack the option for users to calibrate them and I think that is something that consumers should start demanding of any device no matter the ppi. The ipad 4’s display is tons better than the ipad mini’s. If I can have an ipad mini with an ipad 4 display it would be an a product worthy of the $330 price tag, think about it the nexus 10 is $400 only $70 more and you’re getting a bigger screen with a tremendous resolution, plus more horsepower.
I’m more interested in what the solution to device “death” due to the way SSD works in tablets is going to be.
I don’t want to spend any money on a product that I am told has a good chance of rendering itself useless due to the way it is designed within the space of a year, no matter what company we’re talking about.
Two impressive new tablet models worth reviewing are the Pipo U8 ($189)
that compares to the 8 inch mini iPad — as well as the Pipo M6
($279)… a 9.7-inch, full-size tablet with a Retina display along with
Android 4.2.2 and the latest Rockchip Quad Core processor. Both Android
models launched last week and offer the latest features and are available at T ab l e t S p r i n t–
So far those who constantly install daily builds of their operating system of choice (me included) haven’t had any issues.
Just don’t get an iPad if you’re wanting excellent life
You mean like Cyanogenmod? What do you mean by daily builds though?
nexus 7
Ah who cares about the iPad mini? I wanted to get some information about the next Nexus 7.
Resolution matters no matter what size the tablet is. My iPhone 5 has brilliant Retina display whereas my iPad mini is very poor, pixelated, grainy and badly in need of a higher resolution.
Conversely, my Nexus 7 is excellent. All that … with a very reasonable increase in resolutions. Apple and their followers seem to have excuses for everything.
Keen on greed, I believe Apple is making the profit they seek with the current model and have no real reason5 to make changes.
Even with the specs aside, I wouldn’t care to be locked into IOS’s ecosystem or deal with a forked or bloated version of Android.
I was an early purchaser of the Kindle Fire and, at the time, thought it was great. Now I equate it to my kids circa 1999 Gameboy.
I’m sticking with Nexus 7x.
I have the opposite feeling. With TVs I think 720p is perfectly viewable. I can however justify the improvements in contrast and brightness by having more pixels on the screen. In terms of iPads and android tablets, however, I like a better display, because its near field viewing. My ipad is about 2 feet away when I’m watching a movie, but only about 1 during other use. The change in pixels is very apparent at that range. Personally I prefer battery life first so I use an anker battery pack. Battery pack plugs in when ipad is in backpack because I never use my ipad 8 hours straight. Oh I’m going to buy the nexus 7 2 because I prefer google’s system. I also have a nexus 4.
Higher rez is great especially because they are smaller screens it doesnt make sense to make low res small screens it makes it hard to see smaller print and such.I think nexus 7 2 getting amped with higher resolution was a slick move apple tabs just suck,nexus 7 didn’t come out of a cereal box with the same old tiny look.
I would buy a mini 2 if it had a phone.
buy a Note III when it comes out,pretty much the same thing
The retina display requires better graphics and processors, its like getting 2 or 3 computers in one, that brings technology ahead, and one day they will bring technology far enough to cure cancer, so I really don’t appreciate people that want to stay in the past, Its horrible when I hear people say its just good enough resolution.
People like that are anchors that keep us in the dark ages. I want holodeck technology in my lifetime.
Its funny how people actually buy into the “retina” screen when there’s by far clearer tablets out there. Its such an apple move… Let’s call it “retina” and not actually list the screen resolution. That would just expose them and show that the retina is just a gimmick to fool the consumers. Apple products are over rated, way too restricted, over priced and just down right impractical. I’m ashamed of companies that tell people how to use there devices….. The consumers should have that choice. Apple is a trend that will eventually die off once people are properly educated on tablet / phone Technology.
Apple cant innovate they only litigate! Why an LCD screen is called retina drives me nuts! Yes lcd screen uses MORE battery! My question is why did apple steal an entire operating system to make the iOS7 from a two year old ICS instead steal the newest 4.2.2 and the 8.1 ? If your going to steal, why not steal the newest? I cant wait till they make glasses, to see who they are going to sue! Maybe since they patented calling a LCD screen retina, they can say glasses us your retina so only apple can us the glass es. It’s always fun to see who they are going to sue and for why. I got a kick out of Germany saying its illegal to compete against apple. So if you compete against apple, apple can sue you! I didn’t see that one. Maybe I can apply for a new cool job, and if I don’t get the job, sue they other applicants for competing against me! Although, I think it might be a tax thing? If they waste money suing every one, they get a tax deduction? I haven’t checked, does apple have an app for suing people?
Please apple put in a genius invention that’s NOT the retina display. Please. I really want to see the look on those ppl’s faces that said they would forgo the ipad mini 2 if it didn’t have retina display.
here’s some ideas:
4k camera
super long battery life
micro-sd slot
usb…etc
”Please apple put in a genius invention that’s NOT the retina display”
Apple didn’t invent anything since about 2007.
They just use fancy design-no hardware inventions at all.
Those retina displays are made by LG and Samsung.
haha yeah I just really wanted apple to troll all those ppl that wanted retina
Why do people act like Apple products are the GOD out there. Trust me they are just overrated garbage with outdated hardware. Comparing iPad Mini with Nexus 7? Come on…It doesn’t really take a genius.
Apple keep making sequels to their products, I do love Apple products as I have a Macbook Pro 13″ with Retina Display, iPad 4 and iPhone 4. But, why don’t they just make like an iWatch – the thing thats been rumoured for like 2 years now and there has been batteries found that would be good for it as they are flexible!
Apple said that it is hard to make a 7-8″ tablet that has high resolution and good battery life. I guess they forgot to look at the Nexus 7 second generation. Apple claims that they need more engineering time to develop a working model and will take till 2014 to come up with a workable solution. Now, what will Apple do with the Nexus 7 having a 331 ppi screen resolution?