SpecEagle review · Apple
Apple iPad mini (1st gen) review: 2012 first 7.9" iPad mini.
SpecEagle Editorial·Nov 2012·$329
Overall
78/100
Class rank
#1 of 1
Tier
Vintage
Buy?
At the right price
The verdict, up front
iPad mini (1st gen).
Apple's 2012 first iPad mini brought 7.9" form at 308 g — $329 affordable companion to full iPad.
01Display
76/10076/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
TypeIPS LCD
Size7.9"
Resolution1024 x 768
02Performance
74/10074/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
ChipsetApple A5
CPU1 GHz dual Cortex-A9
RAM512 MB
03Camera
70/10070/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
Main5.0 MP AF
Front1.2 MP HD
04Battery
78/10078/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
Capacity4,440 mAh
Web10 h
05Software
86/10086/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
What works
- First iPad mini at 7.9".
- 308 g featherweight.
- $329 affordable.
- Lightning connector.
What doesn't
- Non-Retina display.
- Apple A5 dual-core only.
- 512 MB RAM tight.
- Final iOS 9.3.6.
How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 1-phone cohort of vintage devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .