AppleInsider Staff
A teardown of Apple's new iPad mini 4 shows the tablet is indeed a shrunken hybrid version of last year's iPad Air 2, but comes with a few surprises like a slightly tweaked component layout.
While Apple gave a fairly comprehensive hardware rundown of the iPad mini 4 during its announcement last week, repair firm iFixit cleared up a few points of contention by disassembling the device on Thursday. Perhaps most notable is confirmation that iPad mini 4 sports 2GB of RAM, a welcome addition that should boost performance system wide.
Aesthetically, the device is 1.4mm thinner than the iPad mini 3 and features round speaker ports to match iPad Air 2 and the upcoming iPad Pro. For its latest mini tablet, Apple opted to go with a fully laminated Retina display that providers users with a better visual experience.
Inside is a thin 5,124mAh single-cell battery putting out 19.1-watt-hours of energy. Apple claims the battery is good for ten hours of use on Wi-Fi models or nine hours for cellular versions. The previous iPad mini 3 used a double-cell battery with a capacity rated at 6,471mAh.
Apple worked some miniaturization magic and reduced the front-facing FaceTime camera's footprint substantially. Interestingly, the new mini's Wi-Fi antenna arrays are split — at least in the Wi-Fi only version — one on top next to the camera and another on the bottom near the speaker. Previously, both modules were positioned at the tablet's base, while iPad Air 2 keeps its antennae up top. Other interesting parts include Apple's A8 SoC, an 8MP iSight camera and Touch ID module integrated into the display cable.
Apple's iPad mini 4 takes the place of iPad mini 3 and starts at $399 for a Wi-Fi model with 16GB of storage. Higher capacity 64GB and 128GB variants come in at $499 and $599, respectively, while Wi-Fi + Cellular models start at $529.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
20 Comments
A8, not A8X. Apple isn't that nice.
I hope this isn't the last year of the Mini.
[quote name="BlueFire1" url="/t/188326/teardown-of-apples-ipad-mini-4-reveals-5-124mah-battery-2gb-of-ram-refined-layout#post_2778401"]I hope this isn't the last year of the Mini.[/quote] It certainly seems like the Mini 2 was an abberation, and Apple intends to keep it one year behind the Air.
It seems to me that now iPad mini will get the previous generation non-X chip each year so A9 next year (there is no space for a separate RAM module; they need it all integrated together like iPhones; the iPad Air 1's A7 chip is technically A7X due to a separate RAM module and heat spreader just like A5X and A6X). Then, iPad Air is no longer the flagship of iPads, they will get the previous generation X chip each year so A9X next year. iPad Pro will be the flagship and gets all the latest hardware so A10X next year. My guess of iPad mini 2 being an exception is because the A6 is too weak to drive the Retina display. They cannot put A6X into the mini so they used the same A7 in iPhone 5s to drive the display (not the same A7 to iPad Air 1 though). All this time their intention is mini being one generation behind, and now that applies to iPad Air as well. On the other hand, multiple YouTube reviews say the iPad mini 4 display is much better now that it has anti-reflective coating, fully laminated and a much more accurate colour gamut. That is good to hear. It may probably be the perfect small sized tablet with no compromises.
It seems to me that now iPad mini will get the previous generation non-X chip each year so A9 next year (there is no space for a separate RAM module; they need it all integrated together like iPhones; the iPad Air 1's A7 chip is technically A7X due to a separate RAM module and heat spreader just like A5X and A6X). Then, iPad Air is no longer the flagship of iPads, they will get the previous generation X chip each year so A9X next year. iPad Pro will be the flagship and gets all the latest hardware so A10X next year. My guess of iPad mini 2 being an exception is because the A6 is too weak to drive the Retina display. They cannot put A6X into the mini so they used the same A7 in iPhone 5s to drive the display (not the same A7 to iPad Air 1 though). All this time their intention is mini being one generation behind, and now that applies to iPad Air as well.
On the other hand, multiple YouTube reviews say the iPad mini 4 display is much better now that it has anti-reflective coating, fully laminated and a much more accurate colour gamut. That is good to hear. It may probably be the perfect small sized tablet with no compromises.
"It seems to me that now iPad mini will get the previous generation non-X chip each year so A9 next year..."
That' assuming that Apple sees the iPad mini as part of its "long-term" future.