SAN FRANCISCO - The iPad mini has been a sweeping success since its launch last year. Still, Apple's popular tablet has had one glaring omission from the start: a Retina display. That changed at Apple's event here today with the introduction of a new high-res version of the 7.9-inch tablet.
'The one most requested feature to add to iPad mini was a beautiful Retina display, and that's what we're going to do today,' Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said at the event.
The iPad mini with Retina Display will be available for $399. Apple did not detail pre-order or release dates, only saying that it will be available in time for the holidays. The company's website says, 'Coming later in November.'
The original mini debuted last October with a decidedly ho-hum 7.9-inch, 1024 x 768 resolution, display. While this obviously wasn't a deal-breaker for many, the difference between the small tablet and other Apple (and non-Apple) devices was noticeable - particularly for anyone accustomed to the sharpness of a Retina display. Now Apple is giving its smallest tablet a 2048 x 1536 resolution screen, the same as on the new iPad Air. That brings it in line with the rest of Apple's Retina-displayed devices, and more importantly, with other tablets like the Nexus 7.
The new iPad mini also received an internal update, with the latest A7 chip to match the iPhone 5S. It's up to 4x faster at CPU tasks and 8x faster at graphics tasks.
As for colors, it comes in the updated Apple color combos of a white bezel with a silver back, or a black bezel with a 'Space Gray' back. The original iPad mini will also still be available for purchase at $299. ($30 less than the original price, and $100 less than the iPad Mini with Retina Display.) And even with the addition of a power-hungry display, Apple claims the new device can still maintain the original iPad mini's 10 hours of battery life.
Also see photos of the new iPad Air, the new Macbook Pro, and the new Mac Pro.
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