The iPad mini 2 is Apple's best mini yet, but it's too similar to last year's model and substantially worse than the iPad Air 2 .

Stylish design; Touch ID; Good screen

Underpowered; Very similar to mini 2; Expensive

What can I say about the iPad mini 3 that hasn't already been said No, seriously, what can I say Apple's latest mini is essentially the same product as the first iPad Mini With Retina display with exactly four upgrades, only three of which are significant.

This is a fantastic iPad Mini, but it's a terrible deal. We recommend you buy a cheaper 32GB iPad Mini 2 and wait a year to get a fingerprint sensor.

Touch ID sensor; High-quality retina screen; Great size for reading; As good as any

Limited upgrade over iPad Mini 2; Last year's specs offer little incentive to upgrade; Entry-level model's 16GB of storage doesn't cut it

The Mini 3 is futureproof thanks to fingerprint scanning but makes the iPad Mini 2 too much of a bargain to ignore

The best small tablet experience; Touch ID for unlock and iTunes; Gorgeous build; stunning Retina screen; All-day battery life

The Mini 2 is now much better value; No spec bumps like the iPad Air 2; Non expandable; no 32GB; Slightly inferior colours next to Air 2

It makes little sense to run down everything in Apple's iPad mini 3 ($399-$729) that's the same as what you'll find in last year's iPad mini with Retina display - a model that thankfully was renamed

We review the Apple iPad Mini 3, the gold-tinted tiny tab rocking TouchID. Apple's iPad Mini 3 reveal felt a little half-arsed at best, taking up around 27 seconds of the launch event where we also saw the Air 2 drop.

Still great; now with more storage options and Touch ID

Apple's iPad mini 3 is one of two new tablets launched last week at a special event in Cupertino, and it is definitely the one that got the least attention from Apple's product development team over the past year.

Small size is still more portable; Touch ID adds convenience

$100 more than new price for iPad mini 2; Touch ID lone change

It's not often that Apple drops the ball on a product – but this is definitely a dropped ball. The iPad mini 3 isn't a bad tablet by any standards; it's just almost identical to last year's iPad mini 2 , which is still on sale. For less money. So what are the differences?

Good hi-res screen; Solid design

Essentially the same tablet as the iPad mini 2 but a lot more expensive

Apple unveiled the new iPad mini 3 at a special event on 16 October, alongside the bigger iPad Air 2. We've spent some time with Apple's 7.9in tablet to bring you our iPad mini 3 review, which we'll update regularly over the next year as we spend more time with the tablet.

Gorgeous design; Touch ID fingerprint sensor; new gold colour option; more affordable 64GB model

Almost identical to the now £80 cheaper iPad mini 2; misses out on iPad Air 2's great processor & specs

Nov 25 2013 - The iPad Mini with Retina display is such a huge improvement over the original that it is hard to use the new one and even consider looking at the older one. In essence, Apple has taken all the things they did with the iPad Air and then offered them in the smaller tablet and with a...