Review Last year's iPad Mini really was playing second fiddle to the regular iPad. Not merely smaller than its sibling, the Mini had a much lower resolution display. It had a less powerful processor too. It felt like a product Apple was obliged to make rather than one it actually wanted to.

The iPad mini Retina is here and it clears up one of the biggest complaints about the original iPad mini: the screen. With the original it wasn't as good as the iPad or the iPhone, but with the Retina display now on board the iPad mini 2 looks to be an incredible tablet device.

Portable; powerful; great screen; as a tablet should be

No Touch ID; not 802.11ac; no microSD

In our review of Apple's original iPad mini last year, we remarked that its exceptional iOS app catalogue, outstanding build quality and super light weight were only let down by a mediocre screen.

Excellent battery life; Retina screen a big upgrade; Fast; snappy performance

More expensive than predecessor; Screen can't match iPad Air

In our review of Apple's original iPad mini last year, we remarked that its exceptional iOS app catalogue, outstanding build quality and super light...

Excellent battery life; Retina screen a big upgrade; Fast; snappy performance

More expensive than predecessor; Screen can't match iPad Air

The Good - Superb build quality and design - Cutting-edge processor and graphics performance - iOS 7 a beautiful and powerful complement to hardware - Outstanding built-in and free iWork, iLife apps - Retina display most pixel dense iPad display yet The Bad - Relatively high up-front price -...

- Superb build quality and design - Cutting-edge processor and graphics performance - iOS 7 a beautiful and powerful complement to hardware - Outstanding built-in and free iWork; iLife apps - Retina display most pixel dense iPad display yet

- Relatively high up-front price - Slightly thicker and heavier than non-Retina model - Retina display outclassed by iPad Air Retina display - No Wi-Fi 802.11ac support

The iPad Mini 2 with Retina Display is the iPad Mini we always wanted. We really liked last year's original model, but it always felt like the underpowered, under-specced smaller sibling to the full iPad. Now all that separates the two is size, and that makes for quite the pint-sized proposition.

Stunning screen; Fast performance; Premium design; Fantastic app selection

Each and every year, Apple refreshes their tablet line-up with new hardware and new features. The full sized iPad got faster, lighter, slimmer and even received a new name ( iPad Air ), while the second-generation mini is more impressive than ever, thanks to a major update.

Very portable, with a well built, well designed body; Retina display is very crisp, powered by fast, significantly upgraded hardware; iOS has by far the best selection of tablet apps going around

Pricey, especially for storage upgrades and the cellular model; Display color gamut is lacking

Many of you screamed for an iPad mini with a Retina display, and now Apple has delivered. It's an improvement on last year's iPad mini in every way possible, but we can't help but think it's still a little on the pricey side.

The iPad Mini Retina is a worthy successor of the first iPad Mini generation and a very good tablet. However, it does not quite deserve a place on the podium. The Retina display is an excellent new feature, but its limited color space coverage and poor color accuracy are shortcomings for a premium...

Bright; high-contrast display; Good touchscreen; Lightning-fast SoC; Excellent battery life; First class manufacturing; Good browser performance; Great speakers..; Such a high resolution display is unique in a device of this size; and subjectively it's a very attractive feature

...that are poorly positioned; No current data transfer standards; Limited color space coverage; Poor color accuracy; Somewhat heavier and thicker than its predecessor; Expensive; A larger array of connections; Flash support and expandable storage

Listen, I don't have the greatest history when it comes to tablet relationships. We have… a checkered past . I was pitched on this fabled third device long ago, but I can't help but feel that we've all been hoodwinked.