Technology News - Apple iPad Battle: Mini 4 vs. Mini 3

Apple Inc. launched the iPad mini 4 on September 9 at its “Hey Siri” event. The latest tablet is a refreshed version of the iPad mini 3. The device is said to be better than its predecessor with some key enhancements in certain areas. The tablet has been upgraded as lighter, faster, and thinner.

During the event, the iPad Pro was presented as “the biggest news in iPad since iPad.” So, the iPad mini 4 was not the center of attention on stage, as it was not given any over-the-top design enhancements in comparison to its previous version.

On the other hand, the iPad mini 3 was launched last year. It is a pretty decent tablet that came out with a gold color option and a fingerprint sensor feature to distinguish itself from the iPad mini 2.

The two tablets iPad mini 4 and 3 are similar with some specs, but a few highlighted differences might help consumers decide whether to upgrade to the latest version or not. Here’s a how the two models stack up against each other.

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Design

Apple usually updates displays of its devices, but that does not seem to be the case here. The iPad mini 4 sports a 7.9 inch LCD Retina display along with 2048 x 1536 pixels resolution, similar to the iPad mini 3. The latest iteration has the same Touch ID fingerprint sensor below the home button.

The upgrade in design was with the thickness. The new version is now thinner at 6.1mm from 7.5mm thick iPad mini 3. The resolution is not 4K quality but is still decent for a tablet to watch videos or play games.

The company was also able to make the tablet lighter from 331g to 299g.

Power and Performance

The Verge reported that the iPad mini 4 is very similar to the power and performance of the iPad Air 2. The iPad mini 4 is powered by an A8 chipset processor with 2GB of RAM, which is a huge upgrade from the A7 chip with 1 GB in iPad mini 3.

The new tablet also jumped from iOS 8 to 9. The real difference in performance can be felt through the new iteration being prepackaged with the iOS 9 along with new software updates ensured to provide better user experience. A user will have to download the iOS 9 and install it, if they have the iPad mini 3.

To refine the latest device by making it lighter and thinner, Apple had to move around some built-ins to make the upgrades better. The 7.9 inch latest tablet’s battery has 5,124 mAh, while the iPad mini 3 battery has 6,471 mAh. With that said, both tablets can survive a longer life of up to 10 hours.

Another upgrade to be noted is the 8 megapixel from 5 megapixel rear camera in the refreshed version. However, the 1.2 megapixel front camera is still the same for both devices.

Pricing and Availability

The entry level iPad mini 4 is priced at $399 that includes the Wi-Fi only-version, while the cellular plus Wi-Fi version costs $529. Both devices are available in the 16, 64, 128 GB models. The iPad mini 3 is priced at $400, while the cellular version of the iteration starts at $500.

Apple stopped selling the iPad mini 3, since the latest iteration was announced to become a replacement. If consumers wish to buy the older version, then they will have to contact third-party retailers.

The Verdict

The iPad mini 4 simply wins the match. It is the obvious winner as it is quicker, lighter, and slimmer. Considering the price, the models are almost the same with the entry-level Wi-Fi models, so consumers can make the smart choice and opt for the better version.

Apple

Technology News - Apple Unveils Design Book With 450 Photos Chronicling 20 Years of Products

Apple has just announced a hardbound book that compiles 450 photographs chronicling all the products that the company has made in the past. This book has been released to commemorate co-founder Steve Jobs, and it represents Apple's journey since its foundation days.

The book is titled 'Designed by Apple in California' and it comes in two sizes - the smaller one with dimensions 10.20x12.75-inch is priced starting at $199 (roughly Rs. 13,500), while the large hardbound book with dimensions 13x16.25-inch is priced starting at $299 (roughly Rs. 20,300). The design of the book is sparse at best, and it contains just Apple product photographs lined up in ascending order one page after the other.

In the book's foreword, Design Chief Jon Ive explains, "While this is a design book, it is not about the design team, the creative process or product development. It is an objective representation of our work that, ironically, describes who we are. It describes how we work, our values, our preoccupations and our goals. We have always hoped to be defined by what we do rather than by what we say. We strive, with varying degrees of success, to define objects that appear effortless. Objects that appear so simple, coherent and inevitable that there could be no rational alternative."

While it's rather odd of a company to boast of its own achievements, Apple is considered as the pinnacle of success when it comes to design and consumer products. Its evolution in design is worth being documented, but monetised? That's another debate altogether. Ive claims that this gathering of product designs in one book, will give a huge understanding and learning of how products evolved over the years, and be a rich resource for design students in the future.

In any case, "Designed by Apple in California" is available on the company website in Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the UK and the US, and in select Apple Stores.

Best iPad Pro Deals for November 2016

The iPad Pro range from Apple represents the best that iPad has to offer, from slim design to the best screens and the most powerful internal components.

Both iPad Pro versions represent the crème-de-la-crème of the tablet market, if you like. If you want the best tablets money can buy, it’s probably an iPad Pro that you want as both models include features you won’t get in any other device.

For a start they use ambient light sensors to detect the level of light in the environment and adjust the screen accordingly - this all works separately to the new Night Shift mode which adjusts the amount of blue light emitted by the display late at night to help your pending sleep. And these being Pro-level tablets, both have support for the Apple Pencil stylus as well.

The very best iPad Pro 9.7 deals

The latest 9.7-inch iPad is the most expensive but also by far the best ‘regular’ iPad ever

If you want a regular sized iPad – that would be 9.7-inches – and you want the best there is, the iPad Pro 9.7 is your huckleberry. It’s the most powerful iPad there is, sporting a stunning screen and all sorts of other clever features never before seen in an iPad. This is by no means the cheapest iPad out there, being the very latest model, but if it’s the one for you you’ll find the cheapest deals below!

The very best iPad Pro 12.9-inch deals

It’s the biggest iPad ever and it’s not cheap but there are some good deals out there

This is the iPad for you if you want something with the wow-factor. At 12.9-inches it’s by far the biggest iPad Apple has ever made and it packs super powerful internal organs that turn it into a hyper productivity device. Again, this is not the cheapest iPad out there but the prices are a lot lower than they were on launch day – the best iPad Pro 12.9-inch deals can be found here:

Today's cheapest iPad Pro 12.9 deals:

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