New iPad Mini 3 vs iPad Mini 2 Comparison, Review: Not Much Difference, Improvement

Apple put the spotlight on the iPad Air 2, its latest tablet model, when it officially announced the release of its new devices on Oct. 16.

Actually, the California tech giant also announced the release of another new device during the same event – the iPad Mini 3. Unfortunately, this was overshadowed during the keynote talk by Apple marketing head Phil Schiller. This has led to a lot of speculations.

Some experts say the iPad Mini 3 is just a rip-off of the 5.5.-inch version of the iPhone 6 Plus. Others say there is not much improvement made on the device, comparing it to its predecessor, the iPad Mini 2.

In terms of physical design, the two iPad minis look similar. Both minis have exactly the same official dimensions: 200 x 134.7 x 7.5 mm (7.87 x 5.3 x 0.29 inches) and 341/331g (0.75/0.73lbs) for cellular/non-cellular.

Aside from the exterior display, the retina function is also the same. Both have a 7.7-inch 2048x1536 Retina display. Nonetheless, these specs still put the iPad minis ahead of its class.

Given that the external features of the two iPad minis are the same, users were expecting a lot of differences in the internal upgrade. Unfortunately, Apple seemed to have disappointed fans again. The company did not clarify any specific upgrade on its iPad Mini 3.

The device will still have the same A7 chipset used in last year's iPhone 5s.

Its camera is still 5MP. It has the same sensors as the other iPad minis. There are also no known improvements on the slow motion recording or even on the time lapse mode.

The battery life is still the same, as what users might have known by now. In fact, all of the minis only have a 10-hour battery life.

With no improvements at all, it is very surprising that Apple has decided to up its ante on the iPad Mini 3's price. The 16GB is priced at $399, compared to the $299 16GB iPad Mini 2.

According to Forbes, the only update they did was the Touch ID sensor.