The ultimate tablet comparison chart, with the new iPads

Windows, Android, iOS, Samsung, Nokia, Microsoft all commingle here.

by Casey Johnston - Oct 22 2013, 10:15pm +0300

Today Apple unveiled significant updates to both of its tablets: the iPad was reborn as the slimmer, lighter iPad Air, and the flagship iPad mini is now available with a densely packed retina display. Below we have the numerical breakdowns of some of the most popular tablets, all of them recent releases that will be competing with Apple's entries.

Enlarge / A handful of iPad minis with retina display, in silver and space gray.

7-8 Inch Tablets	iPad mini (2nd gen)	Nexus 7	Galaxy Tab 3 7.0	Galaxy Tab 3 8.0	Kindle Fire HDX 7	Galaxy Note 8.0
Screen size (in)	7.9	7.02	7.0	8.0	7.0	8.0
Screen type	IPS	IPS	TFT	TFT	IPS	TFT
Resolution	2048×1536	1920×1200	1024×600	1280×800	1920×1200	1280×800
PPI	326	323	170	189	323	189
Dimensions (in)	7.87×5.3×0.29	7.87×4.48×0.34	7.4×4.37×0.39	8.26×4.87×0.29	7.3×5.0×0.35	8.3×5.35×0.31
Weight (lb)	0.73	0.64	0.666	0.692	0.688	.745
Camera (front)	0.9MP	1.2MP	1.3MP	1.3MP	0.9MP	1.3MP
Camera (back)	5MP	5MP	5MP	5MP	none	5MP
Processor	Apple A7	1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro	1.2 GHz dual-core Cortex A9	1.5 GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos	2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800	1.6GHz quad-core Cortex A9
RAM	unknown	2GB	1GB	1.5GB	2GB	2GB
Storage options	16/32/64/128GB	16/32GB	8/16GB	16/32GB	16/32/64GB	16/32GB
Battery size (mAh)	unknown	3,950	4,000	4,450	4,550	4,600
Estimated battery life (hours)	10	9	8	11	11	8
OS	iOS 7	Android 4.3	Android 4.1.2	Android 4.2.2	Fire OS 3.0 Mojito	Android 4.1.2
Starting price	$399	$229	$179.99	$279.99	$229.99	$379

The retina iPad mini now bests all of its competitors in pixel density at 326 PPI, barely edging out Google's latest Nexus 7 and Kindle HDX 7. It ties the Galaxy Tab 8.0 for thinness, though it's the heaviest of the bunch (the 4G LTE version is still a hair heavier, at 0.75 pounds).
The iPad mini with retina falls to the middle of the pack for battery life, and its front-facing camera is among the lowest in resolution. For the rear-facing camera, it appears the tablet gods have decided that five shall be the number of megapixels for this generation. Per usual, Apple has been tight-lipped about both the mini's and Air's internals, save to say that they are both packing a version of Apple's 64-bit A7 processor.
The iPad mini's other major point of loss is price: it is by far the most expensive of the group, with its starting price at $399.

Enlarge / The iPad Air.

9-11 Inch Tablets	iPad Air	Galaxy Tab 3 10.1	Surface 2	Surface Pro 2	Nokia Lumia 2520	Nexus 10	Galaxy Note 10.1
Screen size (in)	9.7	10.1	10.6	10.6	10.1	10.0	10.1
Screen type	IPS	TFT	IPS	IPS	IPS	IPS	TFT
Resolution	2048x1536	1280×800	1920×1080	1920×1080	1920×1080	2560×1600	2560×1600
PPI	264	149	208	208	218	301	299
Dimensions (in)	9.4×6.6×0.29	9.57×6.93×0.313	10.81×6.81×0.35	10.81×6.81×0.53	10.52×6.61×0.35	10.38×6.99×0.35	9.57×6.75×0.31
Weight (lb)	1.0	1.12	1.49	2	1.4	1.32	1.23
Camera (front)	1.2MP	1.3MP	3.5MP	0.9MP	2MP	1.9MP	2MP
Camera (back)	5MP	3MP	5MP	0.9MP	6.7MP	5MP	8MP
Processor	Apple A7	1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom	NVIDIA Tegra 4	Intel Core i5	2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800	1.7GHz dual-core Cortex A15	1.9GHz Exynos 5420
RAM	unknown	1GB	2GB	4/8GB	unknown	2GB	3GB
Storage options	16/32/64/128GB	16/32GB	32/64GB	64/128/256/512GB	32GB	16/32GB	32/64GB
Battery size (mAh)	unknown	6,800	4,200	4,200	8,000	9,000	8,220
Estimated battery life (hours)	10	8	10	6 to 7	11	9	10
OS	iOS 7	Android 4.2.2	Windows RT 8.1	Windows 8.1 Pro	Windows RT 8.1	Android 4.3	Android 4.3
Starting price	$499	$359.99	$449.99	$899.99	$499	$399	$549

In its product category, the iPad Air now stands much further apart from its competitors in form factor. It has dropped half a pound since the last generation and is the thinnest by a couple tenths of an inch. Early speculation suggests that the Air and mini's form factors may have been too thin to include the Touch ID sensor that is now embedded in the iPhone 5S.
The Air's retina display bests all but the Nexus 10's 301 PPI resolution, though its breadth of storage configurations continue to set it apart. The cameras remain unremarkable at 1.2MP and 5MP, and again in price it falls to the middle of the pack.
These charts don't cover all of the feature minutiae of each model—for instance, the iPads have been upgraded to MIMO Wi-Fi and can now access new LTE bands—but they're a good starting place for basic comparison. While neither of Apple's new products eclipse its competitors, where the company chose to hit, it hit pretty hard.