Starting at $399, Apple announced Tuesday that its iPad mini with Retina Display was available through its online store.
Featuring a 2048 x 1536 resolution at an beautiful 326 ppi for its 7.9-inch display, the iPad mini with Retina display is Apple's latest move for domination of the tablet marketplace. Tim Cook expects the tablet to be a sure hit this Holiday season.
"We continue to view the tablet market as 'huge," said Cook during the company's earnings call last month. "We see it as a large opportunity for us. We are not solely focused on unit share, as we've said many times, but on usage and customer satisfaction and other things that are very important to us."
Though the tablet is sure to be a hit and add even more to Apple's bottom line, the difficulty in repair will surely have many turning to AppleCare. However, those who are not under AppleCare warranty will find it tough because iFixit has given the tablet a 2 out of 10 low repairability score.
The DYI electronics repair site disassembled the smaller version iPad and revealed some interesting details of its guts. Repairability should be easier (which is a stretch) as the tablet features a logic board seated over screws instead of glue. Adhesive is used under the panhandle full of connectors and Lightning connector cable.
When it comes to the devices' screen, the display is provided by LG and powered by the similar Parade LCD driver found in the iPad Air. Previous iPad minis featured a 16.3 Whr battery weight, but the Retina display model has a huge 24.3 Whr. The device's 16 GB NAND flash comes from Toshiba.
Watch the breakdown for iFixit below. However, we strongly advise not trying this at home.
