The A5 SoC inside Apple's iPad mini isn’t new to us. We discussed it in quite a bit of depth last year in Apple's iPad 2 Review: Tom's Goes Down The Tablet Rabbit Hole. In short, though, this is still a 1 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9-based chip complemented by a dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU. Memory capacity is no different; the CPU and GPU share 512 MB of LPDDR2-800.
Almost two years have passed since Apple started using the A5, though. It was originally manufactured at 45 nm, but emerged as a 32 nm SoC earlier this year. You can call it a second-generation A5, but nothing changes performance-wise. As you can see in the benchmarks below, pre-2012 iPad 2 performs comparably to the iPad mini. Even graphics performance looks the same, since both tablets employ the same 1024x768 resolution.
45 nm A5 vs 32 nm A5 (Source: Chipworks)
In addition to the revised iPad 2 and iPad Mini, Apple's die-shrunk A5 is also found in the fifth-gen iPod Touch and third-gen Apple TV.





...And the price. I'm not going to give a second thought when I see a $200 tablet with removable storage versus $330 for 16GB of internal storage and no expansion options.
If the device was closer to say $260 for the 32GB version, or just included an option for removable storage... Then I would certainly see the iPad mini as being a viable option even for someone used to Android.
The main factors (in my opinion) for a great device are,
1: A good quality screen, it needs to have vibrant, accurate colours.
2: Even if during benchmarks the device is slow, if it FEELS snappy and quick, that's all that counts.
3: Removable storage for god sake, I know by practice apple enjoys their closed system, but COME ON!
4: It doesn't need to have some amazing 15 hour battery life, but I certainly don't want it to die on a full charge after a movie and a few youtube videos.
...And the price. I'm not going to give a second thought when I see a $200 tablet with removable storage versus $330 for 16GB of internal storage and no expansion options.
If the device was closer to say $260 for the 32GB version, or just included an option for removable storage... Then I would certainly see the iPad mini as being a viable option even for someone used to Android.
The main factors (in my opinion) for a great device are,
1: A good quality screen, it needs to have vibrant, accurate colours.
2: Even if during benchmarks the device is slow, if it FEELS snappy and quick, that's all that counts.
3: Removable storage for god sake, I know by practice apple enjoys their closed system, but COME ON!
4: It doesn't need to have some amazing 15 hour battery life, but I certainly don't want it to die on a full charge after a movie and a few youtube videos.
you're right
I'm glad that i bought the Nexus7. 16GB is enough, and rootet i can plug in external device. And as for all my techy stuff, i doubt i've to send it in before the 2y warranty expires
You mean, the Galaxy Tab 7.7. But yes, they should sue Apple fir design infringement.
The apps are phenomenal and far more abundant than any competitor as well.
But as I've said, the problems are:
1) Price is way to high
2) Screen quality (Would NOT be an issue if the price wasn't stupidly high. If we're paying $130 more for a tablet, we atl east want retinta.)
3) No storage expansion. I understand that storage is being used to "tier" these things like consoles are doing, but its pretty silly not to all for a simple SD expansion.
Unlike a lot of younger techies, I don't feel that the closed environment or the lack of "customization" is really a flaw. Most individuals don't want to spend a lot of time tinkering around with their tablet. They just want to use it or accomplish a task with it. To most adults, its more of a tool to get a job done that a toy to be tinkered with constantly. I'm ok with leaving the device alone and simply reading, listening to music or watching movies on a plane.
its got almost the same specs as the kindle, an sd card slot, and a better screen(1440x900). similar price too.