With the holiday season approaching, many people are beginning to wonder what gadgets they should buy, either for themselves or for their loved ones. For those interested in picking up a new tablet, the decision could prove difficult due to the many new releases coming from the world’s most prominent electronics manufacturers. Two of the most recently unveiled tablets are the Apple iPad Mini 2, and the LG G Pad 8.3. LG hasn’t really been an active player in the tablet market segment, and many are wondering if the G Pad can change that. Join us below as we discuss how these two slates compare to each other.
Raw Specs Battle
When comparing two products that aim for the more affordable market, it all comes down to value for money. What other way to determine the value of these two slates, if not by taking a look at the hardware specifications?
Starting off with the iPad Mini 2, Apple’s latest slate features an IPS LCD 7.9-inch display with a pretty impressive resolution of 1536 x 2048, resulting in a pixel density of 324 pixels per inch. The device is being powered by the same dual-core A7 64-bit SoC that is to be found under the hood of the iPhone 5s and packs 1 GB of DDR3 RAM. The gadget is being offered with four storage options, including 16 / 32 / 64 and 128 GB. There is a 5 MP main camera on the back panel, complemented by a 1.2 MP front-facing sensor delivering 720p at 30fps recording capabilities.
On the other side of the fence, we have the LG G Pad 8.3 which, unsurprisingly, delivers an 8.3-inch display. The resolution is a tad lower than the iPad Mini 2′s, at 1200 x 1920 pixels. Given the larger diagonal of the panel as well as the lower resolution, the amount of pixels per inch is also lower (273 PPI).
The G Pad features a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor clocked at 1.7 GHz, and 2 GB of RAM. On paper, these specs are more impressive than what the iPad Mini 2 has to offer, but in reality, Apple’s A7 processor does a tremendous job with only two cores and a lower frequency (1.3 GHz).
While the G Pad is being offered with only 16 GB of on-board storage, it does take advantage of a microSD card slot that allows the user to expand it by up to an additional 64 GB.
Much like the iPad Mini 2, the G Pad 8.3 features a 5 MP main camera with 1080p at 30fps video recording capabilities, and a slightly larger 1.3 MP front-facing sensor.
As far as software goes, LG’s 8.3 inch slate arrives with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box, whereas the iPad Mini 2 is a totally different beast that runs on iOS 7. Comparing these two operating systems would take a full-sized story and then there would probably still be room for additional bullet points. Needless to say, not much has changed throughout the years and both platforms have their own pros and cons.
Value for Money and Verdict
Once again, both the iPad Mini 2 and the LG G Pad 8.3 are being marketed as affordable slates, and neither one of these devices aim at competing with the high-end alternatives out there. As such, the price plays a pretty big role in this comparison. It’s all about value for money.
The iPad Mini 2 has a starting price of $399 for the Wi-Fi-Only 16 GB model. In contrast, the G Pad 8.3 boasting the same storage and connectivity is accompanied by a price tag of $349. In other words, as long as you’re willing to pay $50 more for the iPad Mini 2, and assuming that you have no objection with joining the Apple ecosystem, then the Mini 2 seems to be the way to go, as it delivers a flagship-worthy display, premium design and a top-tier Apple processor.
As for those of you who would prefer to join the Android ecosystem, unfortunately for LG, there are still better options out there, such as the new Kindle Fire HDX line-up, or the new Nexus 7. The latter would set you back only $229 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi-Only variant, or, if you’re willing to go all the way up to $349 (the price of the G Pad 8.3), then you could get a Nexus 7 boasting 32 GB of storage and LTE connectivity.
Are you planning on purchasing a tablet by the end of the year? If so, don’t hesitate to let us know which one.
Vlad Andrici is editor for gforgames.com and writes about technology issues. Follow Vlad on Google Plus.