Apple iPad Mini vs Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Which One Will You Buy?

To squeeze the best sales in the current competitive market, manufacturers are doing all the possible tweaks and experiments in their upcoming product offerings to win the fierce race. While, some manufacturers are making smartphones bigger with 5 inch displays, on the other hand, some are unveiling tablets equipped with smaller 10 to 7 inch displays.

Following on the similar lines, two such interesting recently launched devices from rival companies are Apple iPad Mini and Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

While the Galaxy Note 2 has already been released in India with a price tag of Rs 39,990, the iPad Mini, which was unveiled on Tuesday is expected to release in November.

But, how does they both stack up against each other? Are they having similar specs and features? Which one is a better device to buy? These are some of the questions that need to be answered before one plans to buy either of them.

Hence, here is a comparison between iPad Mini and Galaxy Note 2 – the newly launched tablet and phablet.

Dimensions & Weight: iPad Mini boasts a dimension of 200 x 134.7 x 7.2mm and weighs in at 308 grams and Galaxy Note 2 boasts a dimension of 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm and weighs around 180 grams.

Display: When it comes to the display, iPad Mini packs a 7.9 inch LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution, however, it is not a Retina Display.

In comparison, Galaxy Note 2 houses a larger 5.5 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution.

Further, Galaxy Note 2 comes with an enhanced S-Pen stylus support, which has a revamped rubber tip for better touch response.

Processor: In this segment, iPad Mini has a 1GHz dual core Apple A5 processor and Galaxy Note 2 is equipped with a Samsung Exynos 4412 Quad chipset.

Operating System: When it comes to OS, iPad Mini runs on iOS 6, but, Galaxy Note 2 runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS.

Speaking about the new features of the operating systems, iOS 6 iOS 6, the latest version of the Apple"s mobile OS is loaded with 200 new features including Apple Maps, improved Siri, new Safari browser, iCloud cloud storage, deeper integration to Facebook, new PassBook app, PhotoStream app and more.

On the other hand, Jelly Bean has Project Butter for faster, smoother and more responsive performance, expandable and contractible notifications, resizble app widgets, simplified task navigation, live wallpaper preview, high resolution contact photos and many more.

Camera: On the camera optics front, both the devices have a 5MP rear camera with autofocus and LED flash features.

Further, iPad Mini has the iSight technology with features including backside illumination, HDR, panorama support and faster aperture speed.

In terms of front camera, iPhone 5 has a 1.3MP front camera and Galaxy Note 2 has a better 1.9MP front camera for video chatting sessions.

Memory: On the storage front, both the devices come in three configurations – 16GB, 32GB and 64GB internal storage. Moreover, iPhone 5 comes with 512GB RAM, which is unconfirmed and Galaxy Note 2 has 2GB RAM. However, there are rumors claiming that the tablet will also come in 8GB version.

Further, Galaxy Note 2 has a micro SD card slot supporting up to 32GB expandable memory, which is not present on iPad Mini.

Connectivity: When it comes to data connectivity, iPad Mini comes with a Lightning port, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth features. However, the 3G and 4G supporting iPad Mini will be launched in mid-November.

On the other hand, Galaxy Note 2 has features including 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, NFC and micro USB 2.0.

Battery: iPad Mini is claimed to have a 16.3 Whr Li-Po battery delivering up to 10 hours backup, whereas, Galaxy Note 2 is powered by a mammoth 3,100 mAh Li-ion battery.

Price: On the pricing front, the smaller iPad will be priced at Rs 31,874, Rs 38,819 and Rs 45,763 for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB Wi-Fi + Cellular versions. At the same time, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is priced starting at Rs 39,990 for the 16GB version.

Check out Galaxy Note 2 online price.

Verdict

Both iPad Mini and Galaxy Note 2 are devices belonging to different categories – tablet and phablet respectively and hence they will have footprints and display and are targeted towards different consumer segments.

However, while comparing the features, Galaxy Note 2 that is designed on the lines of Galaxy S3 – the flagship smartphone of Samsung is preloaded with exclusive S features including S Beam, S Voice, Smart Stay and more.

When it comes to the iPad Mini, as it is based on iOS 6, the tablet will have all the new features of the platform as mentioned above like PhotoStream, PassBook and others.

Taking about specs, iPad Mini, the new tablet is meant for those consumers who would like to prefer a tablet with a different form factor, different from the 7 inch and 10 inch devices existing in the market.

Further, the tablet has a better camera with iSight technology and decent battery backup of 10 hours. However, it does lack the Retina Display feature, which is quite disappointing.

Detailing on the Samsung offering, the phablet comes with the S-Pen support for convenient touchscreen usage, lighter footprint for those concerned on the usability of the device, voice calling feature with SIM support, better front camera performance and increase storage options.

Hence, the final decision is based on the requirement of the buyers and depends on which operating system and features they would like to have and yes of course! Budget is also one important aspect.