The iPad mini 3 is gorgeous. It has a brushed aluminium chassis, available in the aforementioned new gold, as well as silver and slate grey hues. The addition of a gold model didn’t come as a huge surprise, as it brings the iPad range in line with the iPhone. The gold option was first introduced with the 5s, and is an option for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, too. Apple told us that gold is a popular colour choice.
The bevelled edges surrounding the glass front of the iPad mini 3 add to the overall premium finish, and look great paired with the Home button’s new Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which has a matching metal ring around it. Aside from the gold option and the Touch ID, Apple’s tablet looks the same as its predecessor. It didn’t get the same treatment as the Air 2, which is slimmer and lighter than the model that came before it. It is 7.5mm thin (for comparison, the Air 2 is just 6.1mm), and weighs 331g for the Wi-Fi only model or 341g for the Wi-Fi + cellular model.
During our testing, we didn’t feel that this tablet should be thinner, though, we found it a bit heavy when holding it in one hand for more than 10 minutes, particularly with Apple’s Smart Cover attached. The original mini was lighter than the mini 2 and 3, so we’d like to see Apple shave off a few grams with the next version.
Oddly, the iPad Air 2 (which has a larger 9.7in display rather than the 7.9in screen found here) feels more comfortable to hold, despite being around 100g heavier. This is to do with the difference in the way the device is held.
Touch ID
As we touched on the start of this review, Apple has added Touch ID to the iPad mini 3. During our tests we found it easy to set up, simple to use and it worked flawlessly. It can be a huge time-saver, as you don’t need to enter your passcode every time you want to unlock your device. It can also be used to unlock various apps and to make purchases in the iTunes Store, App Store and iBooks Store.
You’ll also be able to use it to do your online shopping, as long as those online stores have Apple Pay implemented. It won’t work in actual brick and mortar stores, though, as Apple believes people are unlikely to take their tablet shopping in the real world.
Apple hasn’t made any changes to the 7.9in Retina display. It retains the same resolution: 2048x1536 at 326 pixels per inch (ppi). That’s better than the Air 2, which has the same resolution but offers 264ppi due to the bigger screen.
The mini 3 uses the same processor as its predecessor – the A7. It seems Apple has focused its attention on the Air 2 this time round, which comes with a very powerful A8X chip.
Last year, we were surprised that the only difference between the mini 2 and the original Air was their size. Now there will be more reason to buy a larger iPad, which is good news for Apple as it makes more money from that model. It is, however, a disappointment for lovers of the smaller form factor.
Not that the A7 chip is a slouch. It’s a very fast, 64-bit processor. The mini 3 also features the M7 motion co-processor, which helps save power by taking on the task of measuring motion using the builtin accelerometer, gyroscope and compass. Both the A7 and M7 are found in the iPhone 5s.
We carried out a series of benchmark tests on the mini 3 to find out the difference between it and the mini 2 when it comes to speed and performance. We also looked at how it compares to the brilliant iPad Air 2.
In our Geekbench 3.0 performance test, we found that the mini 3 (running iOS 8.1) scored 1376 in the single-core test and 2483 in the multi-core test, which is almost identical to the mini 2’s scores of 1374 and 2484. It is, however, a lot better than the original mini running iOS 8.1, which scored a significantly lower 260 (single) and 494 (multi).
The iPad Air 2, on the other hand, is incredibly powerful judging by our benchmark tests, scoring 1818 in the single-core test and a whopping 4520 in the multi-core trial.
As for graphics, the mini 3 is good, though, it isn’t in the same league as the Air 2. It scored 8.9fps in the Manhattan onscreen test in GFXBench, which is identical to that of its predecessor but way behind the 24.6fps of the Air 2. The T-Rex test results were more impressive, at 22.7fps for the mini 2 and 3 and an incredible 52fps for the Air 2.
When it comes to SunSpider, the JavaScript browser test, the mini 3 scored a speedy 449ms, just like its predecessor. The Air 2 scored a staggering 287ms and the original mini was painfully slow at 1503ms. As we talked about earlier, the mini 3 is virtually identical to its predecessor. This means that unlike the Air 2, it doesn’t come with 802.11ac, which is a real shame.
Instead, it has dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi and MIMO, with download speeds that can reach up to 300Mb/s. If you opt for the Wi-Fi + cellular model of the iPad mini 3, you’ll also get 4G LTE capabilities. Aside from that, though, the tablet comes with Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS, and uses Apple’s Lightning connector to charge.
The mini 3 does, however, get the new Apple SIM, a removable SIM for the UK and US markets. This SIM is designed to be as “flexible as possible” according to Apple. At present, EE is the only company that’s signed up to the scheme in the UK.
As it did with its iPhone 6 line-up, the 32GB capacity option has been dropped. Apple told us that this was a strategy to bring the higher capacities down to a lower price point. When asked why it had kept the 16GB model on, rather than replacing that with the 32GB model, Apple revealed that 16GB has always been popular (due to the lower price we are sure). Unfortunately, we think it’s likely that all those people with 16GB devices are the ones who’ve failed to install iOS 8 because they don’t have enough space left on their device. If you want a 32GB device you’ll need to buy a mini 2, as the mini 3 is available only in capacities of 16-, 32- and 128GB.
Cameras
Like so much else on this device, the cameras haven’t been upgraded, so it has the same rear-facing 5Mp iSight camera with f/2.4 aperture. HDR is supported and with iOS 8 you get the option to take highresolution Panorama shots (up to 43Mp) and the ability to capture time-lapse videos. Video capabilities of the rear-facing camera are 1080p HD at 30fps. The front-facing FaceTime snapper is 1.2Mp, and is capable of capturing 720p video.
Although its cameras haven’t been updated, it still takes decent shots. The entry-level 16GB model is available for £319, rising to £419 if you add cellular connectivity. That’s just £80 less than the iPad Air 2, though, despite the significantly less impressive specs.
As mention above, there isn’t a 32GB iPad mini 3, instead you jump straight to 64GB for £399 (£499 for cellular). The top-of-therange 128GB iPad mini 3 costs £479 (£579 for the cellular version). With so little difference between the price of the iPad mini 3 and the Air 2, and with the former having so few changes aside from Touch ID, we would strongly advise you to consider whether the Air 2 is a better option for you.
The alternative is, of course, to opt for the iPad mini 2, which is still available to buy from Apple in 16- and 32GB models for £239 and £279 respectively. We think the 32GB mini 2 is a much better deal. Plus, it’s well worth checking the Apple Refurbished store (tinyurl. com/6kp9bqv) to find out whether you can save even more money by buying a refurbished model (which are as good as new anyway).
Verdict
The iPad mini 3 is by no means a bad tablet. In fact, it’s a great one, but it’s a bit of a rotten deal. We’d find it difficult to recommend buying one when the mini 2 is available for £80 less and is almost exactly the same, and the hugely more powerful and impressive Air 2 is just £80 more. The only reason to buy a mini 3 over the other options is if you’re set on a 7.9in screen, are desperate for a gold model and you think you can’t live without the Touch ID. If that’s you, then you won’t be disappointed, but a new processor and some other upgrades would have been appreciated. J Ashleigh Allsopp
