[NewsPoster]

Apple on Tuesday announced a much-anticipated update for its iPad mini, giving the diminutive iPad a Retina display. The new iPad mini will feature a 2048x1536 display, bringing it to par with its slightly-smalled sized competitors like the Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX. At the same time, though, Apple revealed that its first-generation iPad mini would be sticking around, and available at a lower price. Apple also announced new cover options for buyers of the new iPads, including a premium leather Smart Cover.

In addition to its 2048x1536 display, the new iPad mini will have an A7 processor of the like seen in the iPad Air, which had been announced just minutes before. Apple says that the 7.9-inch device's processor will be four times faster than its predecessor. For graphics operations, the Mini will prove eight times faster than its predecessor. The new Mini should also be capable of up to 10 hours of operation, similar to the first-generation model. It will feature Wi-Fi connectivity, and customers will also have an option for a cellular-enabled unit.

The first-generation iPad mini isn't going away, though; Apple announced that it would be keeping the first-generation model at a lower price. The older Mini now drops to $299 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model, making it the lowest entry-level price for an iPad that Apple has announced. The new iPad mini, though, will sell for $399 for a 16GB Wi-Fi only model. That device will become available later in November.

The iPad maker also announced new covers for both the iPad Air and the iPad mini. The new covers include a standard version that is similar to Apple's current Smart Cover. That version will sell for $39. Apple is also making a leather version, which will sell for $79. Apple also announced a (Product)RED version, though the company did not specify price for that model.

[Grendelmon]

Yeah, they just screwed up their product line pricing.

1) They raised the price of the base Mini by $70
2) The base model is *still* 16gb, the same as 2010
3) iPad 2 is $400, the same price as a brand-new Mini

...WTH?

[robttwo]

lol. Right, because Apple knows so little about marketing products.

[coffeetime]

At least the last generation iPad Mini is now $299.

[Grendelmon]

Originally Posted by robttwo 

lol. Right, because Apple knows so little about marketing products.

Did I say they didn't know how to market? Nope. I said they screwed up the PRICING.

When the iPad went retina, they didn't raise the price. Yet the new mini's are now $70 more, and they are STILL 16gb. Give me a flipping break. I was waiting for the new Minis but I'll pass on this.

[Grendelmon]

Originally Posted by coffeetime 

At least the last generation iPad Mini is now $299.

Yeah, that's true. It is kind of nice that they are getting into the model of continuing to produce previous generation models at reduced pricing.

[Gazoobee]

As a mini user this really pisses me off. More expensive, heavier, and for what? retina? How does retina improve any of the things I do with the computer? It doesn't. It adds fucking nothing, ruins the device and adds 23 grams of weight. If I don't want retina, I have to get a 16GB (no where near big enough) and it's a bad deal again, because it's the same processor and only 512 of system RAM. The current mini can barely run iOS 7, it's two generations old and it needs a replacement, but "because:retina" the replacement is an overpriced, heavy, POS.

[Gazoobee]

re: "reduced pricing"

You people are drinking the kool-aid. It's only 40 bucks less (less than the taxes!), for THREE YEAR OLD INTERNALS that barely even run the latest OS without significant lag.

The old mini is a bad, bad, deal and it's a joke to call the pricing "reduced."