Both iPad mini 3 and iPad Air 2 are pretty popular and successful tablets designed and made by Apple.
You wouldn’t go wrong with either of the two, but it is still inevitable to ask ourselves which one has better performance and features. Both of them feature Apple’s well known, elegant design. The most noticeable difference between the two of them is in their size (7.9-inch iPad mini 3 vs. 9.7-inch iPad Air 2), yet there are more distinctions between the Air 2 and the mini 3 that can help you decide which one to choose.
Design
Both of the tablets feature the same premium aluminum design and compared to their forerunners, Apple didn’t make many big changes on the design of these two. At 6.1mm, the iPad Air 2 is now 18% thinner than its predecessor, which makes it the thinnest tablet out there. Also, the mute switch on the iPad Air 2 is now gone. On the other hand, the iPad mini 3 sticks with the same size and design as its predecessor. The biggest change in the design of both the Air 2 and the mini 3 is the replacement of the Home button with the Touch ID, as well as the implementation of the gold in these tablets design. Overall, regarding differences in the design of these two, we can pretty much say that it is all about their size. Therefore, if you prefer your tablet more portable and smaller, the iPad mini 3 is the right choice for you, and if you want a bigger tablet, you should opt for the iPad Air 2.
Camera
Although a few years ago, it sounded unbelievable that people will take photos on their tablets; however, this has become nowadays expanded trend. While iPad mini 3 has the same 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and 5-megapixel rear-facing one, Apple decided to upgrade the rear-facing camera on the iPad Air 2 (it now features 8-megapixels instead of 5-megapixels). Also, with the iPad Air 2’s camera, you can now shoot slo-mo video, as well as use Burst Mode while taking photographs. The camera on the Air 2 also has an improved noise reduction and an image signal processor built in the A8X processor. When it comes to taking videos, there is no difference between iPad Air 2’s and iPad mini 3’s camera, since the front-facing FaceTime HD camera can shoot 720p video, and rear-facing one can shoot 1080p video. Considering all the mentioned facts, we can conclude that the obvious winner in this category is iPad Air 2.
Battery
Regarding the battery life on these two tablets, things are pretty simple. According to a video test ran on both the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3, the Air 2’s battery lasted for about 11 hours and 15 minutes, while the mini 3’s endured for almost 14 hours, providing us with this rank’s winner-the mini 3.
Although it appears that the Air 2 has more improvements and upgrades than the mini 3, both of them are really good tablets, with the biggest difference in their size. So, maybe this will be a deciding factor for most people, depending on how large they want their tablet to be.
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