Device Comparisons

iPad mini vs. BlackBerry Playbook hands-on

By Chris Parsons, Tuesday, Nov 6, 2012 a 8:47 pm

Rene already expressed the opinion that if Amazon, Google, et. al really want to come at the iPad mini based on price, what they're really doing is telling people to buy a $150 BlackBerry PlayBook. So, in the interest of science, I picked one up to put it's through it's paces.

iPad mini vs. iPad 2 vs. iPad 4 vs. iPhone 5: Display density macros

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Nov 3, 2012 a 7:00 pm

The iPad mini is the first non-Retina display iOS device Apple has introduced since the iPad 2 in the spring of 2011. The iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5 are all Retina devices, as are the iPod touch 4 and iPod touch 5. There's are a lot of technical reasons why Apple made that choice. Lighting, powering, and paying for a 2048x1536 panel would have resulted in a substantial thicker, heavier, more expensive iPad mini. But how much of a difference does it really make?

If you're competing with the iPad mini based on price, you're telling people to buy the BlackBerry PlayBook

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Nov 1, 2012 a 2:09 pm

Apple absolutely left an umbrella beneath the iPad mini's $329 starting price. From the moment they showed off the Google Nexus 7 on stage at the October iPad and Mac event, Apple was making the case that the iPad mini was worth more than smaller, cheaper competing tablets. Apple was arguing premium over discount, value over cost. It's the same argument Apple made against low-margin netbooks when they released the MacBook Air. And it's an argument that leaves Apple as wide open to competitors playing the "cheaper" card now as it did then.

iPad mini vs. Nexus 7: Which should you get?

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Oct 31, 2012 a 8:07 pm

Apple has introduced their lighter, thinner, more "concentrated" iPad mini but they certainly weren't first-to-market with a small tablet. Most recently, Google and their partner, Asus, launched the Nexus 7, the best Android tablet to date.

Still, the Nexus 7 hasn't really caught on beyond Android aficionados and gadget geeks. And that's despite it's decent build quality, ultra-modern operating system, and the full-on Google support only Nexus-class devices enjoy. It remains to be seen if Apple's small tablet will fare any better in the thus-far completely big iPad dominated market, but if you're looking for an alternative, there's very few other places to look.

So what happens when you put Apple's iPad mini up against Google and Asus' Nexus 7? Apple's engineering precision up against Google's Android power? Let's take a look.

iPhone 5 vs. Nexus 4: Spec shoot out

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Oct 29, 2012 a 1:38 pm

Google and LG have just announced their all-new Android 4.2 flagship phone, the Nexus 4 and it's a doozy. We all know Apple and the iPhone 5 are more about experience and ecosystem than speeds and feeds, but that doesn't mean we're not still curious how exactly those specs stack up. After all, specs are the engine that drive the experience, and while Apple's end-to-end integration lets them get better results with less horsepower, it's still fun to see what Android manufacturers are able to cram into their devices.

We also tossed in a couple other Android flagship devices, including the ubiquitous Samsung Galaxy S3 and stellar HTC One X as well as the also upcoming Windows 8 Phone, the Nokia Lumia 920.

So check out the chart up top, and if you want to know more about the Nexus 4, our Mobile Nations sibling site, Android Central, has you coved:

iPad 4 vs. Kindle Fire 8 HD vs. Nexus 7 vs. Surface RT vs. PlayBook: Spec shootout!

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 a 8:18 pm

Apple not only released the iPad mini but also a brand new iPad 4 to sit on top of the tablet food chain. It's got the new Apple A6X processor, the new Qualcomm international LTE radio, and the new Lightning connector.

iPad mini vs. Kindle Fire 7 HD vs. Nexus 7 vs. Surface RT vs. PlayBook: Spec shootout!

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 a 6:29 pm

Apple has just announced the iPad mini and that means they've fully entered the small tablet space. Priced starting at $329, however, they didn't obliterate it as some (including yours truly) thought they would. There's now plenty of room under Apple's umbrella for competitors to compete on price.

iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Which one should you get?

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Sep 29, 2012 a 12:06 pm

Apple has released the taller, thinner, faster, lighter, brighter iPhone 5 -- and we've got your definitive iPhone 5 review right here -- and now Samsung is bringing their next-generation giant, the Galaxy Note 2 to market.

As much as Samsung has been labeled a "copyist" over the course of the last couple years, the Galaxy Note series has always been a big exception, literally. Due to its size, some have labeled it a "phablet", half phone, half tablet. While it's both of those things, it's also neither. It's really a Wacom-style digitizer put into highly mobile form. And as anyone who's ever used a Wacom knows, it resembles a stylus in shape only.

So what happens when you put Apple's precision up against Samsung's power? The iPhone 5's elegance against the Galaxy Note 2's enormity? Let's take a look.

iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4S vs iPad 3 vs Android: Benchmark shootout

By Allyson Kazmucha, Sunday, Sep 23, 2012 a 1:03 pm

For some, simply knowing that the new iPhone 5 is twice as fast as the last iPhone is enough. But some of us want numbers. We want to know how much faster. Sure, Apple typically brings experience to a spec fight, but it's the specs that drive the experience. It's the engine in the meticulously appointed car. It's the stats behind the championship team. It's the science behind the art.

So with that in mind we ran the iPhone 5 through a whole battery of benchmarks, and to give it some context we put it up head to head, device to device against the iPhone 4S, iPad 3, and added in scores for the Samsung Galaxy S3 and a sampling of other competing phones.

iPhone 5 vs. iPhone 4S vs. iPhone 3GS vs. iPhone design evolution gallery

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Sep 22, 2012 a 2:42 pm

The iPhone 5 Apple's 6th version, and 4th major design revision, of the iPhone. It might well have been inevitable, and still be working its way towards Jonathan Ive's Platonic ideal, but it's also a fascinating visual evolution of case shrinking, screen lengthening, and materials improving over generations.

We've done the iPhone 5 in both stunning portrait, and in intimate macro. Here's the Darwinian march of iPhone designs through the years, from the original 2007 iPhone to the 2009 iPhone 3GS to the 2011 iPhone 4S to the brand new 2012 iPhone 5.

Here are the backs, from aluminum to plastic to glass and back to aluminum.