Apple iPad mini 4
Perhaps a sign that the mighty iPad’s popularity is waning, Apple announced the iPad mini 4 (and iPad Pro) alongside the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus (page 30) rather than hosting a separate event this year. But if you’re in the market for a new tablet, the mini 4 has plenty to offer.
Design
Glance at the new 8in tablet and you might not immediately spot the subtle changes in its chassis. But just as Apple made the iPad Air 2 thinner than the original iPad Air, the mini 4 is now 18 percent thinner, a little taller and lighter.
While the old Smart Cover will physically fit, you really need one designed for the mini 4 because the magnets appear to have been repositioned and the old covers don’t connect as well.
Specific-fit cases for older iPad minis are unlikely to work with the mini 4 either. Apple hasn’t made a Smart Case for the new tablet, but you can pair the new iPhone-style silicone case with a Smart Cover to get all-round protection.
If you missed it on the Air 2, you’ll also miss the mute/lock rotation slider on the iPad mini 4, because it’s gone. Those settings are now only in the Control Centre which you get to by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.
Display
It still has a 7.9in diagonal and a 2048x1536 resolution, but the screen on the mini 4 is a big upgrade. It’s the one we’d hoped for on the mini 3, but at least it’s here now. Apple has removed the air gap between the cover glass and LCD, which not only improves the build quality. The tablet feels more solid - but it also improves contrast (a lot) and makes everything look noticeably better.
The screen also gains the antiglare coating of the Air 2 and while there are still reflections, it makes a noticeable difference and helps to cut down on glare and improve the screen’s perceived quality.
Measuring the new display with our Spyder4, we’re pleased that the iPad mini finally matches its bigger brother and has – as near as makes no difference – 100 percent sRGB coverage. What that means in the real world is that colours are vibrant instead of a bit muted: put an older iPad mini next to an mini 4 and it’s obvious that it has an inferior quality screen. They’re also more accurate, so photos and videos will look the same on an iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 and mini 4.
Performance
Many will think of the mini 4 as a shrunk-down Air 2, but it’s not quite as powerful. Instead of the A8X chip, Apple instead furnished the new tablet with an A8 out of the iPhone 6 - or at least a similar version.
Put simply, the mini 4 is not as fast as the Air 2. In Geekbench 3, it managed 1719 (single-core) and 3101 (multi-core). The Air 2 scored 1816 and 4523 respectively, so in some apps, which take advantage of more than one processor core, the Air 2 is considerably faster. Those that don’t will run with roughly the same performance. According to Geekbench 3, at least.
Again, in real-world use, the mini 4 zips along and feels every inch the premium tablet. There’s a slight hesitation when using two apps at once in the Split View mode, but it’s smooth for the most part and we love the iOS 9 picture-in-picture mode where you can watch a video in a small window that sits over another app. What it means is you can browse the web while the news say, plays in the corner.
When it comes to 3D, the Air 2 also strikes out ahead. It