Announced in California, an unveiling of the first Apple iPad Mini was shown to the world. The reduced size tablet is Apple’s smallest to date and was built to offer a portable experience. With a 7.9 inch display and prices starting at £269, will the iPad Mini make a massive impact on the tablet market?

Apple iPad Mini Features

The key feature of the Apple iPad Mini is it’s reduced size. The smaller 7.9 inch display breaks the tradition of 9.7 inch iPads to offer a device you can hold in one hand. Even though the iPad Mini is smaller, the resolution of 768 x 1024 pixels is identical to the iPad 2 release and ensures that apps still look pristine and in shape on the new screen. Maintaining the traditional aspect ratio of 4:3, the wider format makes the iPad Mini a great e-reader over its Android rivals.

Apple has reworked the whole iPad design to maximise portability. Compared to previous releases, the Apple iPad Mini is 23% thinner and 53% lighter making it great for travelling. The portability truly comes to life when Apple’s latest release still offers an impressive 10 hour battery life, meaning you can read, watch and play for longer when on the move.

The Apple iPad Mini utilises an A5 chip; a 1 GHz dual core processor that featured in 2011’s iPad 2 release. This strength processor will comfortably load many of the top titles from the App Store smoothly. The Mini also packs the latest big features from Apple including iOS 6 features. It’s even integrated with Siri, so you can stay clued up on the sports scores and more when you speak to Apple’s personal assistant.

iPad with Retina Display

An unexpected surprise to the iPad Mini announcement was the release of an additional full sized 4th generation iPad. What’s new compared to the 3rd generation release of March time? The latest iPad upgrades the processor within to a high performing A6X chip. The latest chip offers twice the speed and twice the graphics performance over the A5X found in the March iPad release. This boost is great news for app lovers who use their iPad for intense gaming as their titles launch instantly and run smoother.

As with the iPhone 5, FaceTime on the iPad with Retina Display can take place in 720p High Definition; all the better to make those video calls special. As with the iPad release in March, the latest iPad still offers 1080p through its main camera and 5 megapixel photos.

The 4th generation iPad release also sees an upgrade to the Lightning connector port. Being 80% smaller than the obsolete 30 pin cable, the Lightning connector is faster at transferring and is reversible to ensure you can’t plug in the wire the wrong way.

New Apple products coming soon

Both products are released in the UK from the 2nd November. Going on pre-order from the 26th October, stock will surely be tight as Apple fans snap up the perfect Christmas gift. For the latest news on Apple iPad stock, sign up to our tablet mailing list to be in the know of when Mobiles.co.uk will be ranging.