After endless speculation, we can officially announce the iPad mini release date and preorder date. At an event in California Tuesday morning, Tim Cook and Phil Schiller unveiled, along with a pile of other new products, the 7.9-inch iPad mini, all its specs and features, and its release date. Here’s everything you need to know about about the iPad mini, including its release date, design, hardware specs, and price.
iPad Mini Release Date and Price
All iPad mini versions (white, black, WiFi-only, Wifi + 3G) will be available for preorder on Friday, October 26th. It will then ship and hit stores on Friday, November 2nd. Pricing for the WiFi-only iPad Mini is $329 (16GB), $429 (32GB), and $529 (64GB). The pricing on the WiFi + 3G model is $459 (16GB), $559 (32GB), and $659 (64GB).
iPad Mini Design and Specs
The iPad mini has entirely different interior and exterior than the iPad (3, for lack of a better way to describe it) released in March and the iPad 4 unveiled today.
For starters, the iPad mini boats a 7.9-inch Multi-Touch display, it is 23% thinner and 53% lighter than the third generation iPad, and it has an all-new aesthetic design. To some, the screen size makes the iPad mini a peer of other smaller tablets out there, but Apple is quick to point out that is offers “35 percent more screen real estate than 7-inch tablets and up to an astonishing 67 percent more usable viewing area when browsing the web.”
As with the other devices in the line, iPad mini has both FaceTime HD and iSight cameras. The iSight camera was upgraded to 5 megapixels, that can capture 1080 HD video.
The new aluminum-and-glass design is as flawless as that of the iPhone 5.
A few drawbacks of the mini include its processor, its display, and its price. First, the processor is a dual-core A5. Both the iPhone 5 and the just-announced iPad 4 use versions of A6 chips. Presumably the A5 was chosen to preserve battery life and keep prices down, but it would be impossible for me to walk into a store and buy a mini knowing not only that new hardware would come out in a few months, but new hardware already exists in Apple products.
Second, the display isn’t retina. Again, this was most likely excluded to keep price down, but you know Apple will drop a retina mini within the next 8-12 months.
Finally, the price point. The most basic Mini (no 3G and 16GB) is $329. The Amazon Kindle starts at $159 and the Google Nexus goes for $199. Unless you plan on using the mini only at home (which would be odd, considering it is intended to better cater to on-the-go users) you’re starting at $459. That’s not exactly an “impulse buy,” “rainy day self-gift,” or casual present for a family member.
