iPad Air vs iPad mini with Retina Display

Beyond a difference in screen size, how does the iPad Air compare with the iPad mini with Retina?

Last year the iPad mini not only had a difference in its size from the larger iPad, but also a lower resolution display and a less powerful processor. Apple has now updated both of its tablets and it’s time to see how they stack up against one another with the 2013 editions. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below of how the two devices look to you this year.

iPad Air

iPad mini with Retina

iPad Air iPad mini with Retina Display
Display Specs 9.7-inch, 2048 x 1536 pixel display (264 ppi) 7.9-inch, 2048 x 1536 pixel display (324 ppi)
Operating System iOS 7 (at launch) iOS 7 (at launch)
Processor A7 chip with 64-bit architecture and M7 motion coprocessor A7 chip with 64-bit architecture and M7 motion coprocessor
Storage
  • 16GB
  • 32GB
  • 64GB
  • 128GB
  • 16GB
  • 32GB
  • 64GB
  • 128GB
External Storage No No
Main Camera (Back) 5MP iSight Camera 5MP iSight Camera
Secondary Camera (Front) FaceTime HD 1.2MP FaceTime HD Camera
Network
  • CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1900
  • UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900
  • LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
  • UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
  • CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900 MHz)
  • LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26)3
  • Data only4
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n; dual channel (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and MIMO 802.11a/b/g/n; dual channel (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and MIMO
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0 Bluetooth 4.0
Battery Built-in 32.4-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery Built-in 23.8-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
NFC No No
Connectivity
  • 3.5mm Headphone jack
  • Lightning
  • Lightning connector
  • 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
Sensors
  • Three-axis gyro
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Three-axis gyro
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light sensor
GPS
  • Digital compass
  • Assisted GPS and GLONASS (Cellular models)
  • Cellular (Cellular models)
  • Digital compass
  • Assisted GPS and GLONASS (Cellular models)
  • Cellular (Cellular models)
Height 9.45 inches (24 cm) 7.87 inches (19.99 cm)
Width 6.67 inches (16.95 mm) 5.3 inches (13.46 cm)
Depth 0.30 inches (7.5 mm) 0.29 inches (7.5 mm)
Weight 16 oz (454 g) 0.73 pound (331 g)
Colors Silver, Space Gray Space Grey, Silver
Supported Audio Formats AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
Supported Video Formats H.264 video up to 1080p, 60 frames per second, High Profile level 4.2 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 60 frames per second, High Profile level 4.2 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format