Apple speeds up iPad mini, makes it thinner and lighter

Apple on Wednesday introduced its fourth-generation iPad mini tablet. The new slate is thinner and lighter than all of its predecessors, yet it offers considerably higher performance and image quality than previous models thanks to a new system-on-chip as well as display technology.

The Apple iPad mini 4 – the company’s thinnest and lightest iPad to-date – is based on the Apple A8 application processor (two 64-bit “Typhoon” cores, 1MB L2 cache, 4MB L3 cache, ImgTec PowerVR 6XT GX6450 graphics processor with four clusters) with 2GB LPDDR3 memory. The new chip offers 30 per cent higher general-purpose compute performance and 60 per cent higher graphics processing performance compared to its predecessor.

In addition to the new system-on-chip, the latest iPad mini 4 also has all-new 7.9” retina-class fully-laminated display with antireflective coating and 2048*1536 resolution, which is considerably thinner than retina display used on the iPad mini 2 and the iPad mini 3. Thanks to the new screen and revamped internal design, the new iPad mini 4 is just 6.1mm thick (like iPad Air 2) and weighs 299 or 304 grams.

The new Apple iPad mini 4 will come with 16GB, 64GB or 128GB of NAND flash storage, dual-channel 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi with MIMO and up to 866Mb/s transfer rates, Bluetooth 4.1 technology, 8MP rear iSight camera with backside illumination, 1.2MP FaceTime camera, Lightning connector, touch ID sensor as well as accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, compass and GPS/GNSS sensors. Cellular versions of the new iPad mini 4 support 20 4G/LTE bands and up to 150Mb/s transfer rates. Typical battery life of Apple’s iPad mini 4 is around 10 hours.

The new iPad mini 4 are available for pre-order today in three colours – silver, gold and space gray – starting at $399/£163 for Wi-Fi only version and $529/£419 for Wi-Fi + 4G model.

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KitGuru Says: The ultra-small tablet from Apple just got even sleeker and more powerful than it was, which is good for those, who planned to purchase one. However, what is a bit surprising is that Apple decided not to update its iPad Air at this time. The iPad Air 2 continues to be more powerful than the iPad mini 4 because it uses more powerful Apple A8X application processor.

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