The iPad Mini 2 (with Retina display) faces two rivals: Samsung’s Tab 3 8.0 and Tab 3 7.0, each one having nice specs and features. These are mid-range tablets and their prices were set in concordance with the sizes. But, let’s find out more about the three tablets.
Displays and sizes
The iPad Mini 2 stands out with its 7.9inches LED-backlit IPS LCD display, which renders a much higher resolution than the two opponents, 1536x2048pixels, while the pixel density is 324ppi. The Tab 3 8.0 has a TFT display with a display that supports 800x1280pixels and 189ppi, while its sibling with a 7inches TFT screen supports only 600x1024pixels and 170ppi.
But the ascending order in terms of weights puts the Tab 3 7.0 on the first place with 306grams (188×111.1×9.9mm), being followed by the Tab 3 8.0 with 314grams (209.8×123.8×7.4mm), while the WiFi variant of the iPad Mini 2 is weighting 331grams and the 3G/LTE variant is 10grams heavier. This model measures 200×134.7×7.5mm.
Hardware and OS
Under its hood, the iPad Mini 2 hides a 1.3GHz dual core Cyclone processor, which is backed by an Apple A7 chipset and uses a PowerVR G6430 GPU. It came loaded with iOS 7, but now it’s running on iOS 7.1.2 and in the near future it will receive the iOS 8 update. The tablet has 1GB of RAM DDR1 and four unexpandable variants of internal storage: 16/32/64/128 GB.
The Tab 3 8.0 has a 1.5GHz dual core processor running on an Exynos 4212 chipset with a Mali-400 GPU and 1.5GB of RAM. The internal storage is either 16GB or 32GB, but the device supports expansion up to 64GB. This tablet runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) OS.
As for the Tab 3 7.0, this tablet runs on a 1.2GHz dual core Cortex A9 processor, based on a Marvell PXA869 chipset, and uses a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. It hosts 1GB of RAM and 8 or 16GB of internal storage, but with a microSD card, you can expand the memory up to 64GB. The operating system supported by this device is Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean).
Cameras
The iPad Mini 2 and the Tab 3 8.0 have rear cameras of 5MP, but the Apple tablet has more features. The front camera on this device is 1.2MP with features that include FaceTime over WiFi or Cellular, face detection and video recording at 720p@30fps. The Tab 3 8.0 and the 7.0 model have the same video recording capabilities on their 1.3MP front cameras, but the bigger tablet has a 5MP camera on the back, while the smaller tablet has a 3.15MP secondary camera.
Batteries
None of the tablets have user removable batteries, but of different capacities. The iPad Mini 2 has a Li-Po 6471mAh battery, while the Samsung tablets have Li-Ion batteries: the 8.0 model hosts a 4450mAh battery while the 7.0 version has a 4000mAh battery.
Prices
The 16GB variant of the iPad Mini 2 is 340 dollars. The Tab 3 8.0 16GB variant is priced at 250 dollars and the 16GB variant of the Tab 3 7.0 is 90 dollars cheaper.
Related ItemsSamsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 vs Tab 3 7.0 vs iPad Mini 2
