What is the battery capacity of the iPad 2. Detailed review and testing of the Apple iPad Air. An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device

It happens that iPad 2 owners are faced with the problem of rapid battery drain. There can be many reasons, as well as solutions, but we will consider the most radical solution to this problem - its replacement.

A new battery can be purchased on similar sites. You can also try to order it from service centers that repair Apple equipment, but in this case the delivery time can be very long.

Attention: All actions that you carry out according to this manual may, if used carelessly, damage your iPad 2. If you are not confident in your abilities, please contact a service.

In order to disassemble the iPad tablet you will need:
— Hair dryer, to soften the plastic and weaken the effect of the glue.
— A plastic tool for separating the front panel (available at phone parts stores).
— Plastic mediators, for the convenience of separating the panel (you can use everything that is at hand and has similar qualities).
— Special small-sized screwdrivers (can be ordered online, or use sets for mobile phones).

Let's get started:
At the initial stage, you will need to separate the front panel of the device; to do this, use a hairdryer to heat the area to the right (home button at the bottom) of the home button for convenient separation. Be careful when directing the hot air stream, the button may be damaged if it gets too hot.

Step 1

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After separating the front panel, you need to unscrew the 4 screws securing the device screen. For this you will need a small Phillips screwdriver, preferably with a magnetic tip. Also, it is better to think in advance where you will put the screws so as not to lose them.

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Then we will need to unscrew a few more fasteners, we do everything as in the photo.

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To remove the battery, it is better to heat the iPad from the back with a hairdryer, and you can proceed to disconnect.

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After installing a new battery, reassemble the tablet in the reverse order. To tighten the screws more conveniently, we recommend slightly twisting them against the thread to get into it.

If you have any difficulties or additional questions, please leave a comment and we’ll try to figure it out together.

The leader among compact tablets

With a slight delay after the start of global sales of the iPad Air, the second new Apple product presented on October 22 - the iPad mini with Retina display - became available to customers. Being, perhaps, one of the most anticipated devices of this year, the iPad mini went on sale in Russia at the same time as the whole world, which is very rare. True, the official online store indicates a delivery time of 2-3 weeks, but this did not stop us from quickly getting hold of the new product for testing.

Since all the general information about the iPad mini with Retina display has already been given in the report from the Apple presentation, we will not repeat it. Let us only note that this is the first update to the iPad mini, and it is all the more important that Apple not only updated the “internals” of the device, but also equipped it with a screen of a fundamentally higher level.

• Apple A7 SoC @1.3 GHz (2 cores, 64-bit Cyclone architecture based on ARMv8)
• GPU PowerVR G6430
• Apple M7 motion coprocessor including accelerometer, gyroscope and compass
• RAM 1 GB
• Flash memory from 16 to 128 GB
• No memory card support
• Operating system iOS 7.0
• Touch display IPS, 7.9″, 2048×1536 (326 ppi), capacitive, multi-touch
• Cameras: front (1.2 MP, 720p video via FaceTime) and rear (5 MP, 1080p video)
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (2.4 and 5 GHz; MIMO support)
• Cellular (optional): UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 3.5mm stereo headset jack, Lightning dock connector
• Lithium polymer battery 24.3 Wh
• A-GPS (version with cellular module)
• Dimensions 200×134.7×7.5 mm
• Weight 331 g (our measurement)

Let's compare the iPad mini Retina to its main competitor, the 2013 Google Nexus 7, as well as the first-generation iPad mini and iPad Air.

	iPad mini with Retina display	iPad Air	iPad mini first generation	Google Nexus 7 2013
Screen	IPS, 7.9″, 2048×1536 (326 ppi)	IPS, 9.7″, 2048×1536 (264 ppi)	IPS, 7.9″, 1024×768 (163 ppi)	IPS, 7″, 1920×1200 (323 ppi)
SoC (processor)	Apple A7 @1.3 GHz (2 cores, 64-bit Cyclone architecture based on ARMv8) + M7 coprocessor	Apple A7 @1.4 GHz (2 cores, 64-bit Cyclone architecture based on ARMv8) + M7 coprocessor	Apple A5 @1 GHz (2 cores, ARM Cortex-A9)	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro @1.5 GHz (4 Krait cores)
GPU	PowerVR G6430	PowerVR G6430	PowerVR SGX543MP2 (2 cores, 200 MHz each)	Adreno 320
Flash memory	from 16 to 128 GB	from 16 to 128 GB	from 16 to 64 GB	16/32 GB
Connectors		Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headphone jack	Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headphone jack	Micro-USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Memory card support	No	No	No	No
RAM	1 GB	1 GB	512 MB	2 GB
Cameras		front (1.2 MP, 720p video via FaceTime) and rear (5 MP, 1080p video shooting)	front (1.2 MP, support for video communication 720p) and rear (5 MP, video recording 1080p)	front (1.2 MP) and rear (5 MP, 1080p video shooting)
Internet		Wi-Fi (optional - 3G, as well as 4G/LTE)		Wi-Fi (optional - 3G and LTE)
Battery capacity (mAh)	6471	8820	4440	3950
operating system	Apple iOS 7.0	Apple iOS 7.0	Apple iOS 6.0 (upgrade to iOS 7.0 available)	Google Android 4.3
Dimensions (mm)*	200×134×7.5	240×170×7.5	200×138×7.2	200×114×8.7
Weight (g)	339**	480	311***	294
average price	T-10546224	T-10548616	T-8485573	T-10451398

*according to manufacturer information
** the weight of the version with a cellular module is indicated
*** the weight of the version without cellular module is indicated
**** for version with 16 GB flash memory and without cellular module

It is clearly seen that the iPad mini Retina is identical to the iPad Air in almost all characteristics (except for dimensions). And this is incredibly cool, because the first generation iPad mini, released simultaneously with the iPad 4, had the same characteristics as the iPad 2. That is, now the iPad mini line has made a leap through two generations!

As for the comparison with Google Nexus 7, it is difficult to draw clear conclusions from the data presented in the table. However, it is significant that Google's tablet is slightly lighter and more compact than the iPad mini Retina. But at the same time it has a smaller screen and a plastic body.

Interestingly, despite the appearance of the new iPad mini, the previous model also remains in the company’s lineup, and its cost starts from 12 thousand rubles (which is 4 thousand less than the iPad mini Retina). In our article we will also try to answer the question of how much the difference between the two iPad minis is adequate to the amount of 4,000 rubles and how relevant the first iPad mini is today.

Packaging and accessories

The packaging of the iPad mini Retina is practically no different from the packaging of the previous generation tablet.

As for the packaging, everything here is also similar to the first iPad mini: leaflets, charger (5.1 V 2.1 A), Lightning cable, stickers and a key for removing the SIM card cradle (in the version with a cellular module).

Design

If the update of the large iPad affected, first of all, the design, then the appearance of the iPad mini remained practically unchanged.

The all-metal body (made of anodized aluminum) pleases with both appearance and functionality, and the frames around the screen even today, a year after the release of the first iPad mini, seem quite thin.

All buttons are metal and can be pressed with little effort. Their location is similar to the previous model. Top right is the Power button, top left is a 3.5 mm headphone jack. At the top center is the hole for the built-in microphone. On the right side there is a screen auto-rotate lock lever and a volume rocker.

On the model with a cellular module, there is a plastic insert at the top that hides the antenna. It, of course, somewhat spoils the overall appearance, but does not dampen the signal.

The main difference between the new iPad mini and the old one is the increased weight (by more than 20 grams) and thickness (by 0.3 mm). Visually they are the same. The photo above shows two iPad minis of different generations. But if the difference in thickness is really not visible, then the changed mass is already noticeable. However, this is quite acceptable, and these changes do not have a fundamental impact on the user experience.

Screen

The main feature of the new iPad mini is its Retina display with a resolution of 2048x1536. When testing the first iPad mini, which had a resolution of 1024x768, we noted the lack of a Retina display as its main disadvantage. And now Apple has solved the problem. True, today you won’t surprise anyone with screens with such a density of dots per inch, so other characteristics come to the fore, which, as a rule, are not indicated in official technical specifications and are revealed only through careful testing.

A detailed examination of the new Retina screen was carried out by the editor of the “Projectors and TV” section, Alexey Kudryavtsev.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, there is a very effective anti-glare filter, approximately equal in reducing the brightness of the reflection to the screen filter of the Google Nexus 7 2013 (we will compare it with it below). For clarity, here are photographs in which a white surface is reflected in the turned off tablet screens (from left to right: Nexus 7, iPad mini with Retina display and old iPad mini):

Visually, the brightness of the reflection is difficult to assess due to differences in color tone and frame color, but statistics from the graphics editor show that the screen on the new iPad mini is slightly lighter (average brightness value is 95) than that of the Nexus 7 (83), and darker than the old iPad mini (108).

The reflection in the screen triples, which suggests the presence of an air gap between the surface of the matrix and the outer glass. From the point of view of image perception, this is a minus, but a screen with a separate outer glass (also known as a touch panel) is easier and cheaper to repair. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, but still worse than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 410 cd/m², and the minimum was 8 cd/m². The maximum value is quite high, and, given the good anti-glare properties of the screen, the image on the screen should be clearly visible in bright daylight. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front camera eye). In this case, the brightness can only automatically increase - when the level of external illumination decreases, we did not wait for a corresponding decrease in screen brightness. However, if you put the tablet into sleep mode and turn it back on, the brightness will be set in accordance with external conditions. The minimum and average levels in Auto mode depend on the initial position of the brightness adjustment slider. So, when the slider is set to maximum, automatic adjustment does not work - the brightness remains maximum regardless of external conditions. If the slider is approximately in the middle of the scale, then in bright light (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) the maximum brightness is 410 cd/m², in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 400 lux ) - 200 cd/m² (normal), in the dark - 150 cd/m² (too much). If the slider is at a minimum, then under the above conditions the values ​​are as follows: 410, 70, 8 cd/m². Thus, this function works adequately at some average and slightly below average brightness adjustment positions. At the extreme initial positions of the slider, the brightness is either always maximum, or decreases too much in the dark. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.

This tablet uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are photos in which the same images are displayed on the screens of the Nexus 7 (pictured above) and the new iPad mini (bottom), with the brightness of both screens set to approximately 200 cd/m². Picture perpendicular to the screens:

And a white field under the same conditions:

Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not “float” on both tablets.

And a white field at an angle:

The brightness at an angle for both tablets decreased equally (about four times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the color tone did not change much.

When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened weakly and acquires a red-violet tint or remains almost neutral gray. A photo from the Nexus 7 shows this for comparison (the brightness of both tablets is the same!):

And along the other diagonal:

It can be seen that the new iPad mini has a different color tone of the black field depending on the diagonal, but its brightness is the same or slightly lower than the black brightness of the Nexus 7 at the same angle.

When viewed from a perpendicular perspective, the uniformity of the black field is very good, since in fact only along one edge one can see some hints of areas with increased brightness of the black field:

The Google Nexus 7's black uniformity is worse, but it has better black depth in the center of the screen. Indeed, the contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) of the new iPad mini is not the highest - about 790:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 22 ms (13 ms on + 9 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 34 ms. The gamma curve constructed using 32 points did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the index of the approximating power function turned out to be 2.22, which is not significantly higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates little from the power-law dependence:

The color gamut is noticeably narrower than sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix’s light filters mix the components with each other, and the spectra confirm this. This technique allows you to increase the brightness of the screen with the same energy consumption for backlighting. As a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and these are the vast majority) have a slightly reduced saturation. You can't tell from the photos above, as the camera slightly increases the color saturation.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is very good, since the color temperature is close to the standard 6500 K and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is significantly less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the variation in color temperature and delta E is small, which also has a positive effect on the visual perception of color balance. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

The range of brightness adjustment for the iPad mini Retina screen is quite wide, and the anti-glare filter is very effective, which allows you to comfortably use the tablet both on a sunny summer day outside and in complete darkness. There is automatic brightness adjustment, and it works more or less adequately, but only up, which will force the user to either set the brightness manually, or force the brightness to decrease, putting the tablet into sleep mode and turning it back on. However, all Apple tablet users are probably already accustomed to this feature. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, a standard gamma curve, very good color balance and excellent black stability to deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen surface, as well as excellent black field uniformity. It was strange to discover that the color gamut is still less than sRGB, but this tablet must have at least one drawback!..

In terms of software, the iPad mini Retina has nothing fundamentally new except for the fact that it is sold with pre-installed iOS 7, while the previous model left the factories with iOS 6. But it can also be updated to iOS 7. We also note that users iPad mini Retina offers popular Apple apps such as Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and GarageBand for free.

Performance

Like the iPhone 5s and iPad Air, the iPad mini Retina runs on Apple's new A7 SoC. In the articles on the links provided, we talked in detail about this SoC, so we won’t repeat ourselves and go straight to the tests. We were also interested in what the difference is between the two iPad minis with iOS 7.0.4 installed on both devices. That is why the test results below may differ from the results that were published in the article about the first iPad mini, since the benchmarks have since been updated and a new version of the OS has been released.

Let's start with browser tests: SunSpider 1.0, Octane Benchmark and Kraken Benchmark. In all cases, we used the Safari browser from iOS 7 on Apple devices, and Google Chrome on Android.

The results are interesting. The new iPad mini is about four (!!!) times faster than the first generation iPad mini, but at the same time is slightly behind the iPad Air, although it runs on the same SoC. It can be assumed that the SoC in the iPad mini Retina regulates the energy saving process a little differently and, for certain tasks, slightly reduces the CPU frequency. But, we emphasize, this is only an assumption. But the main Android competitors remained far behind the iPad mini Retina (although, of course, they overtook the first iPad mini).

In Geekbench 3 - a multi-platform benchmark that measures CPU and RAM performance - the situation repeated itself.

The layout is the same as in browser tests. And this indicates that the results are indeed correct.

Now let's look at the GPU performance. There are two multi-platform benchmarks available here: GFXBench (formerly GLBenchmark 2.7) and 3DMark. Let's start with the GFXBench results.

	Apple iPad mini second generation (Apple A7)	Apple iPad mini first generation (Apple A5)	Apple iPad Air (Apple A7)	Google Nexus 7 2013 (Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro)	LG G Pad 8.3 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 600)
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	27 fps	3.4 fps	27 fps	15 fps	14 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen)	21 fps	6.4 fps	21 fps	15 fps	13 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen Fixed Timestep)	25 fps	3.5 fps	25 fps	14 fps	13 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen Fixed Timestep)	20 fps	6.9 fps	20 fps	14 fps	13 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 Egypt HD (C24Z16)	63 fps	15 fps	63 fps	39 fps	35 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 Egypt HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	49 fps	22 fps	49 fps	30 fps	35 fps

And again we see the same picture, with the only difference that now the results of both devices on the Apple A7 are exactly identical.

Here again you can see a slight loss of the iPad mini Retina to its older comrade. But what's more striking is the difference between the two generations of iPad mini. I can’t believe that these devices are only one year apart! However, the gap from Android tablets is also significant.

Thus, the iPad mini with Retina display is the most productive modern tablet in the mid-price segment. If you love playing 3D games and want a device that can be updated at least twice to a new version of the operating system, you can safely buy the iPad mini Retina. But the previous generation iPad mini is no longer relevant today, since for the same money (about 12 thousand rubles) you can buy a much more productive Android tablet with a Full HD screen.

Autonomous operation

If we knew the approximate level of performance in advance (since we had already tested solutions on the Apple A7 SoC), then the situation with autonomous operation created a real intrigue. After all, now the device needs to display an image with twice the higher resolution, but the body dimensions remain the same, so the battery cannot be greatly increased. This raised natural concerns that the new iPad mini would be inferior to its predecessor in terms of battery life.

However, as tests showed, these fears were in vain. The battery life not only did not decrease, but even increased slightly. Here, however, it is worth making a reservation that for this comparison we tested the first generation iPad mini on the latest version of the operating system - iOS 7.0.4. It is possible that on the original iOS 6 with which it was released, the result would have been a little better. But even in the current version, this is a decent operating time - for both iPad minis.

The results are presented in the table.

Interestingly, the sensational result of the 2013 Google Nexus 7, obtained in reading mode, could not be surpassed by the new iPad mini. In general, all other devices are like the Moon. But in the other two modes, the iPad mini Retina outperforms both Android competitors.

We also note that under load, the new iPad mini heats up more than its predecessor, in which the heating is almost not felt.

Camera

iPad Air is equipped with two cameras - front with a resolution of 1.2 megapixels and rear with a resolution of 5 megapixels, similar to the cameras of the first iPad mini and iPad Air. Since the iPad mini is much more suitable for shooting than the larger iPad, we decided to do a full test using our smartphone camera testing methodology, and at the same time compare the new product in terms of camera quality with the first generation iPad mini and iPad Air. Photography and commentary were done by Anton Soloviev.

iPad mini Retina
Good dynamic range and well-processed noise.
The sharpness is not bad, but the lack of any stabilization noticeably affects it.
The sharpness is quite good; if you wish, you can make out the license plate of the nearest car.
There is noticeable blur in the corners of the frame, although the upper central part is quite sharp.
The number plate of the nearest car is clearly visible.
At shorter shutter speeds the situation improves noticeably. Sharpness is uniform across almost the entire frame.
In such scenes, the camera chooses exposure well.
The camera is relatively good at macro photography in low light.

We can say that the shooting quality of the iPad mini Retina camera has not changed noticeably compared to the iPad mini. Minor improvements have only been made to noise processing: the algorithm for the noise reduction has remained almost unchanged, but visually its work has become softer, and due to this, small details are better processed in the pictures. However, the camera is still afraid of noise and tries to work at minimum photosensitivity values, compensating for exposure at the expense of shutter speed, so in low light there is a high probability of blur due to relatively long shutter speeds. As it turns out, relatively long shutter speeds in this case are values ​​from 1/40 of a second and higher, since the iPad mini Retina camera does not have any stabilization system. For example, almost all of the above photographs were taken under identical conditions, each in triplicate, and in almost all cases, two out of three photographs were blurred.

Lighting

As can be seen from the graph, in terms of relative resolution, the iPad mini Retina camera is not so far behind the iPad mini camera and has almost caught up with the iPad Air camera. However, after a detailed examination of the photos of the stand, it becomes clear that the iPad mini Retina is still a significant step forward compared to the iPad mini. It's also worth noting that the camera's angle of view has become slightly smaller, despite the same nominal focal length indicated in EXIF. Even though the camera hasn't changed much, it now looks refined. There are still some points that I would like to improve, but these are, rather, purely software limitations.

Among the characteristic features of the camera, we can highlight good noise reduction, good and fairly uniform sharpness across the plans and across the field, and a reasonable choice of exposure.

Overall, the camera's image quality is decent, especially for a tablet, despite the low resolution. The camera probably has no obvious shortcomings, but the lack of a flash significantly limits its scope of use. However, it is quite suitable for artistic or documentary photography in appropriate lighting.

conclusions

The previous iPad mini evoked mixed emotions: the form factor seemed interesting (the screen is larger than 7 inches, but the body can be grasped with one hand in a vertical orientation), but the low resolution of the display spoiled the whole impression. This was especially noticeable if you were using a larger iPad with a Retina display. After that, working with the iPad mini was simply physically uncomfortable.

And now Apple has released the second version of the iPad mini - and here it not only corrected the situation with screen resolution, but also radically increased the performance of the device. The price remained quite attractive, and the battery life and dimensions remained virtually unchanged.

Thus, the choice is no longer between “large and modern device” and “compact but outdated”. Now you have to choose exclusively between two screen diagonals and, accordingly, the dimensions of the tablet (which, however, does not affect the thickness). If you prefer a more compact format, plan to regularly take the tablet with you on trips, or use it in transport, then you can safely take the iPad mini Retina. It is a little more expensive than Android tablets of a similar form factor, but it is significantly better in performance.

In our opinion, the more likely competitors of the iPad mini Retina are not even tablets of a compact form factor, but tablet phones - Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, etc. In terms of performance, they are approximately on the same level with the iPad mini Retina, and in terms of screen quality are not inferior (and even superior in terms of pixel density per inch), but they can be used both as a tablet and as a smartphone. True, the cost of top-end tablet phones is significantly higher than that of the iPad mini, but the screen is still smaller. Therefore, the Apple product has its own specific niche, different from both tablet phones and compact Android tablets.

Overall, we definitely recommend purchasing the iPad mini with Retina display, unless you have already bought an iPad Air (or are not planning to do so). But the first generation iPad mini seems to us to be an acceptable option only if the buyer wants to get an Apple tablet as cheaply as possible, and the rest doesn’t matter. If possible, then, of course, it’s worth paying an additional 4,000 rubles and getting a fundamentally more modern device. And, by the way, owners of the first generation iPad mini can also safely go to stores for a new iPad mini, if their financial capabilities allow it. The update will not be superfluous at all.

In conclusion of the article, we bring to your attention our video review of the Apple iPad mini tablet with Retina display:

16 GB (+3G)	32 GB (+3G)	64 GB (+3G)	128 GB (+3G)
Average price according to Yandex.Market
T-10546224 (T-10546225)	T-10546226 (T-10546227)	T-10546228 (T-10546229)	T-10548766 (T-10548769)
iPad mini Retina 16 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10546224-5		L-10546225-5
iPad mini Retina 32 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10546226-5		L-10546227-5
iPad mini Retina 64 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10546228-5		L-10546229-5
iPad mini Retina 128 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10548766-5		L-10548769-5

The thinnest and lightest full-format tablet

Global sales of the iPad Air started on November 1. The new generation of full-length Apple tablets was presented on October 22 (we told you about this event), and this announcement turned out to be sensational in some sense: no one expected that Apple would rename its tablet by adding the word Air to the name (previously used only in the line of ultra-thin laptops ). The manufacturer explained this by the significantly reduced weight and thickness of the device. And today we have the opportunity to check how revolutionary the changes turned out to be, not only in form, but also in essence (we thank the online store for providing it for testing).

Since all the general information about the new product has already been given in the report from the Apple presentation, we will not repeat it. We just note that the previous major update to the iPad design was already two and a half years ago, when the iPad 2 came out. The third and fourth generation iPads had no major design differences from the iPad 2. Therefore, the current update is doubly important. Here is a list of iPad Air specifications.

• Apple A7 SoC 1.4 GHz 64 bit (2 cores, Cyclone architecture based on ARMv8)
• GPU PowerVR G6430
• Apple M7 motion coprocessor including accelerometer, gyroscope and compass
• RAM 1 GB
• Flash memory from 16 to 128 GB
• No memory card support
• Operating system iOS 7.0
• Touch display IPS, 9.7″, 2048×1536 (264 ppi), capacitive, multi-touch
• Cameras: front (1.2 MP, 720p video via FaceTime) and rear (5 MP, 1080p video)
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (2.4 and 5 GHz; MIMO support)
• Cellular (optional): UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 3.5mm stereo headset jack, Lightning dock connector
• Lithium polymer battery 32.4 Wh
• A-GPS (version with cellular module)
• Dimensions 240×170×7.5 mm
• Weight 480 g (our measurement of the version with cellular module)

A separate explanation needs to be made regarding LTE bands. As we know, previous generations of iPads did not support Russian LTE bands in hardware. Now hardware support has appeared: in the characteristics above you can find Bands 7 and 20 used by Russian operators. However, this does not mean that the iPad Air will work in LTE from the very first day of purchase. The fact is that Apple has not yet certified Russian LTE networks for its devices. As soon as this happens, devices with hardware support for the corresponding bands will most likely receive a software update, after installing which it will be possible to connect to the LTE network. However, there remains some possibility that Apple does not certify Russian LTE networks - for example, due to their insufficient coverage. Therefore, if it is important for you to be able to use LTE, and not 3G, then buying an iPad Air is a risk, and perhaps you should take a closer look at other tablets that definitely have support for Russian LTE networks and are already working. A little later, confirmation appeared that iPad Air works without problems in Russian LTE networks, so there are no risks in this regard.

Let's compare the iPad Air to its competitors, as well as the fourth-generation iPad.

		fourth generation iPad	Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition)	Asus Transformer Pad Infinity (2013)
Screen		IPS, 9.7″, 2048×1536 (264 ppi)	PLS, 10.1″, 2560×1600 (299 ppi)	IPS, 10.1″, 2560×1600 (299 ppi)
SoC (processor)	Apple A7 1.4 GHz 64 bit (2 cores, Cyclone architecture, based on ARMv8) + M7 coprocessor	Apple A6X @1.4 GHz (2 cores of Apple's own architecture based on ARMv7s)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 @2.3 GHz (4 cores Krait 400) / Samsung Exynos 5 Octa (4 cores ARM Cortex-A15 @1.9 GHz and 4 cores ARM Cortex-A7 @1.3 GHz)	NVIDIA Tegra 4 @1.8 GHz (4 cores + 1, ARM Cortex-A15)
GPU	PowerVR G6430	PowerVR SGX 554MP4 @300 MHz	Adreno 330 / Mali-T628 MP6	NVIDIA GeForce
Flash memory	from 16 to 128 GB	from 16 to 128 GB	from 16 to 64 GB	32 GB + 5 GB in Asus Webstorage cloud storage
Connectors		Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headphone jack	Micro-USB (with OTG support), 3.5mm headphone jack	dock connector, Micro-USB, Micro-HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Memory card support	No	No	microSD (up to 64 GB)	microSD
RAM	1 GB	1 GB	3 GB	2 GB
Cameras		front (1.2 MP, 720p video via FaceTime) and rear (5 MP, 1080p video shooting)	front (2 MP, 1080p video transmission) and rear (8 MP, 1080p video recording)	front (1.2 MP, support for video communication 720p) and rear (5 MP, video recording 1080p)
Internet	Wi-Fi (optional - 3G, as well as 4G LTE)	Wi-Fi (optional - 3G, as well as 4G LTE without support for Russian networks)	Wi-Fi + 3G (optional LTE)	WiFi
Battery capacity (mAh)	8820	11560	8220	unknown
operating system	Apple iOS 7.0	Apple iOS 6.1	Google Android 4.3	Google Android 4.2.x
Dimensions (mm)*	240×170×7.5	241×186×9.4	243×171×7.9	263×181×8.9
Weight (g)	480	652	544	585*
Average price** (Ya.Market)	T-10548614	T-8485661	T-10498474	T-10549018

*according to manufacturer information
** for the version with 32 GB of flash memory and 3G/4G module, if available

As you can see, in many characteristics the iPad Air is inferior to top Android devices. However, since Apple devices exist in their own closed software ecosystem, it is impossible to draw any conclusions from the fact that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has three gigabytes of RAM, while the iPad Air has only one. But weight and thickness are undoubted and objective indicators, and they are certainly on Apple’s side. In principle, we can already say that the iPad Air is the thinnest and lightest full-size tablet. But let's see how this affects the feel when using it.

Packaging and accessories

The packaging of the iPad Air is practically no different from the packaging of the previous generation tablet.

As for the packaging, everything here is also similar to the iPad 4: leaflets, charger (12 W, 2.4 A, 5.2 V), Lightning cable, stickers and a key for removing the SIM card cradle.

Design

But if the equipment has not changed, then the tablet itself looks significantly different. The most important thing: it has become thinner, lighter and more compact. These are not just numbers on scales and rulers - these are sensations that are impossible not to notice if you have used an iPad before.

Firstly, the tablet has become more elongated: this was due to a significant reduction in the side frames (to the right and left of the screen). In the photo below you can clearly see this in comparison with the previous generation iPad.

And here's another telling photo: the iPad Air rests on top of its predecessor.

No less revealing is a photograph of this couple from a different angle.

Here we can already appreciate not only the reduced edges around the screen, but also the thickness of the iPad Air. True, if in the previous three generations of iPad the edges narrowed almost to the point of “cutting bread with a tablet,” then the iPad Air does not have such a narrowing, so at a quick glance at the edges it seems that there is almost no difference or it is not even in favor of the new product. But actually it is not.

In general, the iPad Air borrows its design from the iPad mini: it feels like they took the same body and simply increased the length and width. They even have almost identical thickness: the iPad mini is three tenths of a millimeter thinner. But the second iPad mini (announced on October 22 along with the iPad Air) is already exactly the same thickness as the iPad Air. But if the thickness of the iPad mini does not surprise anyone, in the case of the full-size iPad it really makes an impression.

As for the placement of connectors and buttons, everything here is identical to the iPad mini - even the buttons are the same (metal, not plastic, like the iPad 4) and pressed with the same light force. In addition to the Home button on the front side, there are two volume buttons and a lever that, by default, blocks changing the screen orientation, located on the right side. On tablets with a cellular module, on the same side we see a slot for a Nano-SIM format SIM card.

The left side is completely free of buttons and connectors. On the bottom edge there is a Lightning connector and on the sides of it there are speakers.

On the top edge we see the Power button, a 3.5 mm jack for connecting a stereo headset, and a microphone hole. On tablets with a cellular module, most of the top edge is covered with a plastic insert (moreover, on light-colored tablets it is white, not dark, as is the case with the iPad 4). Honestly, it spoils the appearance of the device. But, apparently, it is impossible to ensure reliable 3G/LTE reception in an all-metal case.

In general, the design of the iPad Air is, of course, its main advantage, distinguishing the device from all its competitors. When you hold this almost weightless (compared to previous iPads) and thin glass-metal board, you experience almost the same sensations as you did from the first iPad when it first appeared. Perhaps this feeling will gradually dull, but at first you can’t get enough of it: how great it is to read magazines, surf the Internet, play on such a tablet...

At the same time, it’s gratifying that Apple was able to achieve such outstanding performance by using not plastic, like Samsung in the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, but metal (except for the plastic insert on tablets with a cellular module). To summarize, we can say that at the moment the iPad Air simply has no competitors in design among full-size tablets.

Screen and software

Like the iPad 3 and iPad 4, the iPad Air features a Retina display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536. If a year and a half ago this figure was unsurpassed, and a year ago the only tablet with a higher resolution was the Google Nexus 10, which never reached Russia, now tablets with a resolution of 2560x1600 no longer look like such a curiosity. In addition, since the release of the iPad 4, our test laboratory has seen many tablets with excellent screens. How does the iPad Air screen look against their background?

Here is a detailed examination of the Retina screen, previously conducted by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, there is a very effective anti-glare filter, approximately equal in reducing the brightness of the reflection to the screen filter of the Google Nexus 7 of 2013 (we will compare it with it below).

For clarity, here are photographs in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens of both tablets:

Visually, the reflection has approximately the same brightness, and only statistics from the graphics editor show that the Nexus 7's screen is slightly darker (average brightness value 52.73) than that of the iPad Air (average brightness value 59.3).

The reflection in the screen triples, which suggests the presence of an air gap between the surface of the matrix and the outer glass. From the point of view of image perception, this is a minus, but a screen with a separate outer glass (also known as a touch panel) is easier and cheaper to repair. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, but still worse than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 425 cd/m², and the minimum was 7 cd/m². The maximum value is quite high, and, given the good anti-glare properties, the image on the screen should be clearly visible in bright daylight. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front camera eye). In this case, the brightness can only automatically increase - when the level of external illumination decreases, we did not wait for a corresponding decrease in screen brightness. However, if you put the tablet into sleep mode and turn it on again, the brightness will be set in accordance with the external light level. The minimum and average levels in Auto mode depend on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. So, when the slider is set to maximum, automatic adjustment does not work - the brightness remains maximum regardless of external conditions. If the slider is located approximately in the middle, then in bright light (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight), the maximum brightness is 425 cd/m², in an office illuminated by artificial light - 145 cd/m² (normal), in the dark - 38 cd/m² (acceptable). If the slider is at a minimum, then under the above conditions the values ​​are as follows: 425, 14, 7 cd/m². Thus, this function works adequately only at some average brightness adjustment positions. At the extremes, the brightness is either always maximum, or decreases too quickly when ambient light decreases. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.

This tablet uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are photos in which the same images are displayed on the Nexus 7 and iPad Air screens, with the brightness of both screens set to approximately 208 cd/m², perpendicular to the screens:

And a white field:

Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not “float” on both tablets. White field:

The brightness at an angle for both tablets decreased approximately equally (about four times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the color tone did not change much.

When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened weakly and acquires a red-violet tint or remains almost neutral gray. A photo from the Nexus 7 shows this for comparison (the brightness of both tablets is the same!):

And along the other diagonal:

It can be seen that the iPad Air has a different color tone of the black field depending on the diagonal, but its brightness in any case is slightly lower than the brightness of the black Nexus 7 at the same angle.

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is good, since in fact only along the bottom edge there are dim areas with increased brightness of the black field (bright points are dead pixels on the camera matrix):

The Google Nexus 7's black uniformity is worse, but it has better black depth in the center of the screen. Indeed, the contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) of the iPad Air is not a record - about 850:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 21 ms (11 ms on + 10 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 34 ms. The gamma curve constructed from 32 points did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the index of the approximating power function turned out to be 2.24, which is not significantly higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve barely deviates from the power-law dependence:

Color gamut is close to sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix filters mix the components with each other to a moderate extent. The spectra confirm this:

As a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and the vast majority of them) have natural saturation. The balance of shades on the gray scale is good, since the color temperature is close to the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the variation in color temperature and delta E is small, which also has a positive effect on the visual perception of color balance. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

The range of brightness adjustment for the iPad Air screen is quite wide, and the anti-glare filter is very effective, which allows you to comfortably use the tablet both on a clear day outside and in complete darkness. There is an automatic brightness adjustment, and it works more or less adequately, but only up, which will force the user to either set the brightness manually, or force the brightness to decrease, putting the tablet into sleep mode and turning it back on. Apparently, this implementation makes the transition from previous versions of the iPad easier - habits can be maintained. The advantages of the iPad Air screen include an effective oleophobic coating, close to sRGB coverage, good color balance and excellent black stability to deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen surface, as well as good black field uniformity. In general, the screen quality is very high.

In terms of software, the iPad Air has nothing fundamentally new except for the fact that it is sold with iOS 7 pre-installed, while the previous model left the factories with iOS 6. But it can also be updated to iOS 7. We also note that iPad users Air is available for free popular Apple applications - Pages, Numbers, Keynote and GarageBand.

Performance

Like the iPhone 5s, the iPad Air runs on Apple's new A7 SoC. It is curious that Apple did not create an original name for the tablet SoC. In iPad 3 and 4, the SoC name also had an X prefix: Apple A5X and Apple A6X. Now it’s just Apple A7.

The main feature of the new SoC is the 64-bit “desktop-class” architecture (as was said at the presentation of the iPhone 5s).

It is also worth paying attention to the presence of the Apple M7 motion coprocessor. The idea is this: the gyroscope, compass and accelerometer now transmit data to the M7 coprocessor, which collects and processes this data. Among other things, it allows applications to use the information of these modules more efficiently, and also saves SoC energy (which ultimately saves battery life).

We wrote about other characteristics of the Apple A7 in the article about the iPhone 5s. Everything said there is true for the iPad Air.

Well, let's see what results the new iPad Air shows in benchmarks.

Let's start with browser tests: SunSpider 1.0, Octane Benchmark and Kraken Benchmark. In all cases, we used the Safari browser from iOS 7 on Apple devices, and Google Chrome on Android.

It is clearly seen that the iPad Air is the undisputed leader. And, of course, the gap from the fourth generation iPad is especially impressive.

Now let's see how the iPad Air performs in Geekbench 3, a multi-platform benchmark that measures CPU and RAM performance.

As you can see, the results are generally similar to the previous test. The iPad Air outperforms (albeit within the margin of error) even the eight-core Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Well, in single-processor mode it is a third faster than its main Android competitor and almost twice as fast as its predecessor, which indicates a significantly more efficient architecture of the Apple A7.

Now let's look at the GPU performance. There are two multi-platform benchmarks available here: GFXBench (formerly GLBenchmark 2.7) and 3DMark. Let's start with the GFXBench results.

	Apple iPad Air (Apple A7)	Apple iPhone 5s (Apple A7)	Apple iPad fourth generation (Apple A6X)	Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition (Samsung Exynos 5 Octa)	Toshiba Excite Write (NVIDIA Tegra 4)
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	27 fps	25 fps	16 fps	23 fps	16 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen)	21 fps	27 fps	12 fps	14 fps	10 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen Fixed Timestep)	25 fps	23 fps	16 fps	21 fps	15 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen Fixed Timestep)	20 fps	26 fps	12 fps	13 fps	10 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 Egypt HD (C24Z16)	63 fps	56 fps	38 fps	41 fps	28 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 Egypt HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	49 fps	48 fps	50 fps	60 fps	43 fps

As you can see, in Offscreen modes (in which the scene is displayed on the screen in Full HD resolution, regardless of the tablet screen resolution), the new iPad Air is quite a bit ahead of its Android competitors. But in Onscreen mode, which reflects the real “life” performance of games on a particular device, the iPad Air takes a big lead: the super-resolution of Android tablets plays against them.

And again, the iPad Air shows the best results, outperforming both its predecessors and competitors from the Android camp.

As we can see, Apple, despite the tougher competition, still manages to maintain leadership in productivity. Add to this the fact that all the best games are still released on iOS first, and also the fact that they are optimized best for iOS (because there are a limited number of configurations), and we get the obvious conclusion: iPad Air is the best gaming tablet for today. Of course, in favor of the same Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition we can say that it has a higher resolution. But whether you will feel this difference when looking at the screen is a big question. But you can feel a decrease in performance due to this resolution in top games.

Autonomous operation

We tested the tablet for only a short time, and it was not possible to do detailed tests of battery life. But, nevertheless, we were able to test the new product in the most difficult mode, simulating a 3D game. This is the Epic Citadel (Guided Tour). With the screen brightness set to 100 cd/m², the tablet worked for just over six hours. The previous generation iPad showed the same result. Thus, Apple's claims that the battery life of the iPad Air has not deteriorated compared to the previous generation of Apple tablets can be considered true.

No less interesting is the comparison with other current tablet models. As you can see from the table with the results, both the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and tablets based on NVIDIA Tegra 4 and Intel Atom Z2560 outright lost to the iPad Air. However, it is worth considering that the screen resolution of Samsung and Toshiba devices is higher than that of the iPad. But the fact remains: in high-load scenarios, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition will last less than the iPad Air.

Camera

The iPad Air is equipped with two cameras - a front one with a resolution of 1.2 megapixels and a rear one with a resolution of 5 megapixels, similar to the cameras on the iPad 4. This is not very high, especially by modern standards, but on a full-size tablet the camera should still be perceived as more of an addition. Although many (for example, Japanese tourists) do not think so. In any case, a good camera is a plus, but its quality is not determined by megapixels alone. Therefore, we decided to fully test the iPad Air camera using our smartphone camera testing methodology. Anton Soloviev photographed the stand and commented on the photos from the street.

The iPad Air's camera turned out to be quite good. In general, it copes with shooting in good lighting, but perhaps does not show anything outstanding, with the exception of excellent macro. The camera not only manages to choose the focus well on a close object, but also gives the photo an artistic touch by blurring the background well. Macro photography in the camera is really implemented very well, it feels like this is where the emphasis was placed. On the one hand, this is very reasonable, since the camera in a tablet is often useful for shooting documents; on the other hand - to each his own.

In varying lighting conditions, the camera performs slightly better than the iPhone 5s camera. Unfortunately, the iPad Air does not have a flash, which significantly limits the range of use of its camera. Also, the camera's capabilities are limited by its low resolution - only 5 megapixels, which does not allow it to be classified as a documentary camera.

The camera can be positioned as an artistic camera with good macro and document photography capabilities.

Video

The rear camera can shoot 1080p video at 29.97 fps.

The camera manages video quite well, with slight ripples, but without significant delays or lags between different parts of the frame from each other.

conclusions

Well, Apple has once again released a great tablet, showing all its competitors (including the most aggressive ones who have already decided that they are the new leaders) who knows how to combine design, functionality and a great user experience better than anyone else. You can list for a long time the disadvantages of the Apple platform and, conversely, the advantages of the Android platform, but if you ignore the “religious wars” and just pick up the iPad Air, it will become clear that this is truly an excellent product. And if among your needs there are none that cannot be fulfilled without, say, connecting an external drive, the most convenient access to Google services and a stylus, then perhaps you should opt for the iPad.

If you just want to surf the Internet, read books and magazines, watch YouTube videos, play games, check email, and are willing to buy or rent movies from the iTunes Store, then the Apple iPad Air is a clear favorite among the candidates for purchase. Of course, in this case we are not considering budget options, since we are talking specifically about top-end devices.

But even those users who have any specific preferences that are incompatible with Apple’s restrictions should also say thanks to the company created by Steve Jobs and now headed by Tim Cook: thanks to the iPad Air, Android tablets will soon also lose weight and lose weight , in the meantime, their sellers will have to lose weight: prices on many top models should fall. Otherwise, they are unlikely to be able to compete with the iPad Air.

But who seems to us to be the most formidable competitor to the iPad Air is the new iPad mini, which, at a price of $100 lower, has all the same capabilities and qualities (including a screen resolution of 2048 × 1536 and the Apple A7 SoC), but at the same time it is more compact , which can be regarded as a plus by many users (although this is a controversial issue: after all, the pleasure of reading, watching videos and surfing the web on a 9.7″ screen is much higher than on a 7.9″ screen). However, the iPad mini and its comparison with the iPad Air is a topic for a new article, which will be published immediately after the updated iPad mini goes on sale worldwide. Stay tuned!

At the end of the article, we bring to your attention our video review of the Apple iPad Air tablet:

16 GB (+3G)	32 GB (+3G)	64 GB (+3G)	128 GB (+3G)
Average price according to Yandex.Market
T-10548616 (T-10548613)	T-10548618 (T-10548614)	T-10548620 (T-10548615)	T-10548752 (T-10548750)
iPad Air 16 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10548616-5		L-10548613-5
iPad Air 32 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10548618-5		L-10548614-5
iPad Air 64 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10548620-5		L-10548615-5
Offers iPad Air 128 GB (+3G) according to Yandex.Market
L-10548752-5		L-10548750-5

It's quite difficult to find a person who doesn't love Apple technology. One of the most popular gadgets is the iPad, and today we’ll talk about its battery capacity.

When choosing a tablet, battery capacity is one of the main reasons to buy an iPad over other tablets. It just works for an unrealistically long time.

What is the battery capacity on the iPad?

Over the entire existence of tablets, many models have been released and in each of them you can find a different capacity.

Let's get started, look at absolutely all gadgets without exception.

Battery capacity iPad, iPad 2,3,4

The very first models of iPads were quite large and therefore installing a large, large battery in them was not particularly difficult.

Despite the very wide frames, the tablet was in great demand and many who bought them at the time of release still use them with pleasure.

• iPad: 6600 mAh;
• iPad 2: 6930 mAh;
• iPad 3: 11560 mAh;
• iPad 4: 11560 mAh.

As you can see, the jump in size is sometimes quite large and this means that technology has not stood still. We were constantly improving things.

Battery capacity iPad Air, iPad Air 2

These two models were a kind of leap, because iPad Air, both 1 and 2, became much more beautiful thanks to very thin frames and the appearance of new body colors.


The thickness of the device has also decreased significantly, so installing a larger capacity battery has become a little more difficult. But Apple always found a way out of any situation.

• iPad Air: 8827 mAh;
• iPad Air 2: 7340 mAh.

Don't assume that the significant reduction in volume has affected runtime. Iron has become less energy-consuming, which is why we see such results.

Battery capacity iPad mini, iPad mini 2,3,4

A series of these small tablets has always found its buyers. Very compact and convenient, which is very useful if you travel a lot.


Always the latest hardware and updated periodically. Although Apple puts the main emphasis on larger models, while on Mini models they spend a few seconds on presentations.

• iPad Mini: 4440 mAh;
• iPad Mini 2: 6471 mAh;
• iPad Mini 3: 6471 mAh;
• iPad Mini 4: 5124 mAh.

As you can see, despite its small size, the battery capacity is very impressive and will last for a very long time.

iPad Pro Battery Capacity

The most recent iPads surprised me the most. After all, there was a breakthrough in performance and the iPad Pro tablet with a screen size of 12.9 inches appeared for the first time.


But a smaller copy of this device was also presented and it has the usual display size of 9.7 inches.

• iPad Pro (12.9): 10307 mAh;
• iPad Pro (9.7): 7306 mAh.

The newest models still have the same impressive operating time, and during the existence of all iPads, no one has managed to outdo them.

conclusions

Basically, this is all the information I wanted to share about the battery capacity of all iPad models. Now you know what's in your favorite device.

It will also probably be very useful for those who are just planning to buy a new gadget. When new models appear, I will definitely add them to the list.

iPad mini- an amazing device. When in 2012, rumors began to creep across the Internet that a smaller version of the familiar and beloved ten-inch iPad was being prepared in the depths of Apple headquarters, fans of the Cupertino technology rudely expressed their opinion, arguing the negative with fragmentation, imitation of the Android camp, impracticality, meaninglessness, etc. more... Few of them could have thought that literally a year later people would begin to abandon the classic iPad in favor of the iPad mini.

Having a good aspect ratio, the iPad is better suited for web surfing than widescreen tablets. The smaller version of the iPad turned out to be even more convenient for everyday use, all thanks to its excellent weight and size characteristics. The first iPad mini had only two significant drawbacks - its low resolution and the relatively weak A5 processor at the time of release. iPad mini 2 was deprived of these disadvantages and now it is, in my subjective opinion, the best tablet on the market.

We still have the same practical device, the design of which has not changed. The only visual difference between the iPad Mini Retina and the first-generation iPad Mini is color. The silver-white model remained unchanged, but the black one became gray; the color was officially named Space Gray, which in Russian localization sounds like “milky gray.”

What's inside the second generation iPad Mini? Let's talk about everything in order...

What's new in iPad mini 2 (Retina)

First, let's look at the differences between the iPad mini 2 and the previous model.

1. First and foremost is the Retina display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536.
This is exactly the same screen resolution as a ten-inch iPad, as a result of which the number of dots per inch of the iPad mini is exactly the same as the iPhone - 326 pieces! For a tablet, this is an impressive figure, the image is simply stunning. The display has become brighter, more contrasty, and the colors are even more saturated; the viewing angles are beyond praise, however, as always. It’s endlessly pleasant to look at both the elements of the iOS interface and programs, as well as games; there’s no need to talk about fonts at all. The text is a pleasure to read.

326 pixels per inch. Pixels cannot be seen with the eye

2. Powerful filling.
The new iPad mini is significantly more powerful than the first model. The outdated dual-core A5 processor (the same one in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S) was replaced by a 64-bit A7 with a frequency of 1.3 GHz. Judging by synthetic tests, the performance increase is over 400%, and graphics processing speed has increased to 800%! The iPad mini Retina is almost the same in power as the iPad Air, the only difference in the filling is the lowered frequency of the A7 processor by 100 MHz. The tablet also has an M7 coprocessor, its task is to process data about the position of the device in space - gyroscope, accelerometer, GPS.

3. Other changes:

• the new iPad mini 2 received a quad-core g6430 graphics processor;
• the amount of RAM was increased from 512 Mb DDR2 to 1024 Mb DDR3;
• The tablet has become 0.3 millimeters thicker;
• the weight of the Wi-Fi version is increased from 308 g to 331 g, the weight of the Cellular version is increased from 312 g to 341 g;
• The battery capacity has been increased.

Specifications iPad Mini 2 (Retina)

Display	IPS 7.9 inches (4:3), oleophobic coating Resolution 2048 × 1536 px (326 ppi)
CPU	Apple A7 64-bit (2 cores, 28nm) + M7 Frequency 1.3 GHz
GPU	PowerVR G6430 (4-core)
Memory	1 GB DRAM DDR3
Storage capacity	16/32/64/128 Gb
Camera	iSight 5 Mpx Full HD video recording 1080p/30fps, stabilization
Front-camera	1.2 Mpx HD video recording 720p/30fps
Sensors, modules	GPS, Glonass, light sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer Micro-SIM, Digital Compass, 1 Microphone, Hotspot, Wireless Printing, AirPlay Mirroring	Battery (hours of operation)
		Music Video Internet 3G* Internet LTE* Internet Wi-Fi Expectation	up to 140 to 10 until 9 until 9 to 10 up to 744	6471 mAh
iOS version Sales	iOS 7.0 11/12/2013 - Present	Dimensions (mm)
		Length Width Thickness	200 134.7 7.5	331 (341*) grams
Communication standards	GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS/HSUPA/HSDPA (3G)*, CDMA, LTE (4G)*, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0
* - Cellular model

But what about the iPad Mini 2 in use?

iPad Mini Retina, like the previous generation tablet, is ergonomic to infinity. I’ll add that I, being a fan of Apple technology for many years now, have always not had a very good attitude towards the classic 9.7-inch iPad. I never liked it for many reasons, from weight and size characteristics to the visual component. Huge weight, inconvenient dimensions, a wide frame around the display - everything prevented me from using the large iPad as a portable and practical tablet, and it increasingly turned into a device for the home, and the tasks that I assigned to it were increasingly compensated by computers and phones, in As a result, I practically stopped using the “toy”.

In the case of the iPad Mini, the situation is diametrically opposite. The tablet is lightweight and extremely practical for portable use; it fits into the inner pocket of most jackets, jackets and down jackets, even in a case; taking it with you on the road is a pleasure; you can hold it with one hand for a long time, and playing is a special pleasure. Considering the powerful hardware, I can recommend choosing the iPad Mini Retina for games rather than the iPad Air; it’s really very convenient to play, primarily due to its small dimensions.

As for battery life, everything is great here, however, as always with Apple. iPad Mini Retina can survive heavy use with modern games (for example) for up to 7 hours. Of course, this indicator depends on the individual brightness settings and the included modules, but I managed to squeeze out 10 hours in everyday use, which was mainly web surfing, light games, and email. There are screenshots online that someone managed to torture their iPad Mini 2 for 13 hours without recharging at low brightness. Agree, impressive numbers.

So, does the iPad Mini Retina have any downsides?

There are, where would we be without them, there are no ideal gadgets. But the second generation iPad Mini really has few downsides.

1. Apple has equipped its latest line of iOS devices with one gigabyte of RAM. Not only has there been more memory, it has also become faster, but by today's standards this is still not that much. In the Android camp, 2Gb of RAM is already the norm; if the iPad Mini 2 and iPad Air were equipped with the same amount, not many would want to change the gadget in a year, but at the end of the year Apple will happily announce that the next iPad will now have twice the RAM more and many of us will run to the store with a smile on our faces. Although, on the other hand, the existing hardware will be enough for modern games for another couple of years and this is more than enough not to think about the hardware inside the device.

2. Retina display. “How can this be, because this is its most important advantage!” - you say. Absolutely true, but this display is a little worse than the one on the iPad Air. The iPad Mini 2 display is inferior in contrast, brightness and color quality, but gains in picture clarity and this is visible to the naked eye. However, this small drawback should not be a reason to doubt the purchase; in practice, you will notice the difference only when directly comparing the iPad Mini 2 and iPad Air, but you can notice the higher clarity and pixel density of the Mini 2 without comparison.

3. The iPad Mini Retina is equipped with a 10-watt power supply, when a 12-watt power supply has been on sale for almost a year and a half. Thanks to this, charging the tablet takes a really long time.

4. When playing “heavy” toys for a long time, the Mini 2 case heats up significantly; the large iPad Air is less susceptible to this problem, thanks to the large aluminum case. Essentially, this is a radiator for a tablet, so it turns out that a smaller radiator takes less heat from the processor. Moreover, at some point games may begin to slow down, this happens because the processor frequency, upon reaching a certain temperature, begins to decrease in order to prevent overheating.

5. Perhaps the last drawback, which can be called temporary. It concerns modern games, on the iPad Mini Retina you can see some stuttering in them, I won’t say that they are very noticeable, but they are there. This is due to the fact that not all developers have yet updated their applications for 64-bit processor architecture, hence the corresponding problems.

It is also worth noting that some users have encountered the problem of a low-quality display, which allegedly distorts the color rendition the next second after a long display of a black image. I haven’t encountered this problem, but even if you are “unlucky”, you shouldn’t get hung up on it, it’s a trifle.

The first generation iPad Mini is still on sale, is it worth saving or is it better to buy an iPad Mini Retina?

You can save a lot and buy a first-generation iPad Mini, but you must realize that you are buying obsolete hardware that will not last for several years and soon you will experience slowdowns in both games and iOS. If possible, compare the screen of the first and second generation iPad Mini, you will understand that the choice is obvious in favor of the second.

But what to choose, iPad Mini 2 (Retina) or iPad Air?

Actually the question is quite simple. Both tablets are almost the same in power, you won’t notice the difference. The 9.7-inch iPad has become significantly lighter at 469 and 478 grams for the Wi-Fi and Cellular versions, respectively. Its frame around the edges has become thinner. In general, the iPad Mini 2 and iPad Air are almost identical tablets, which differ in only three things:

• price – each iPad Air model is exactly 4000 more expensive than a similar iPad Mini 2;
• size – iPad Air is significantly larger than Mini 2;
• weight – iPad Air is approximately 140 grams heavier than iPad Mini 2.

iPad performance (single-core performance)

iPad performance (multi-core performance)
Source http://www.primatelabs.com/geekbench/

It’s simple, if you want a mobile, convenient, productive tablet, then don’t hesitate to take the iPad Mini 2 (Retina), if you want a larger screen, then the iPad Air. For everyday use, the iPad Mini 2 will be more convenient, more enjoyable to play, and higher image clarity. The iPad Air loses a little in portability and image clarity, but the screen is brighter and has better color reproduction, but still, it is more suitable for home use. The Mini is easier to carry, even if the Air were the same weight as the iPad Mini, it would still be large and bulky, while the Mini is compact and as practical as possible.

If we go to Wikipedia and look up the meaning of the word “Convenience”, we will see a detailed definition:

“Convenience is suitability for use, the presence of conditions, opportunities for easy, pleasant, unburdensome use of something or the satisfaction of any needs or requirements.”

And for the iPad Mini 2 these words are more applicable than for the iPad Air. Air is the same, only bigger, hence its disadvantages, if this is a plus for you, take the iPad Air.

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