Here's were we compare the established 7.9-inch iPad mini and the new 7-inch Tesco Hudl tablet. Keep reading this iPad mini vs Tesco Hudl comparison review to find out more about the differences between the two popular small-screened two tablets.
The most obvious difference between the iPad mini and the Tesco Hudl is the price. The Apple tablet costs £269 inc VAT for the entry level 16GB model, while the Tesco tablet – which only comes with the one storage option of 16GB – is less than half the price at £119 inc VAT. See also: The top 10 best tablets: What's the best tablet you can buy in 2013?
iPad mini vs Tesco Hudl: Display
The Tesco Hudl is punching well about is weight in terms of its screen, boasting very impressive 1440 x 900 pixels its 7-inch display, this works out at 242 ppi. The pixel count absolutely creams the iPad minis stats, which is a lowly 162 ppi from 769 x 1024 pixels on its 7.9-inch screen. Take a look at our Kindle Fire HD vs Tesco Hudl tablet comparison review too.
The problem is that we don't live in a specs-only world, and while the Hudl's screen is good for its price, it's still not without its faults. The Hudl's touchscreen was sometimes unresponsive to the touch and while the viewing angles of the display were very impressive, brightness has to be constantly set to full. There is also pretty substantial amount of bezel on show too, which is something that makes the Hudl's screen feel pretty small in comparison to the overall size of the device. That said, the overall quality of the Hudl's screen clarity was good.
The iPad mini on the other hand has minimal bezel on show, meaning the extra 7.2 x 5.9mm of height and width on offer on the Apple tablet is put to use a lot more effectively, giving the impression of a much bigger screen, when in reality there is only an extra 0.9-inches diagonally.
In terms of reading text and looking at images/videos on the iPad mini, its relatively low ppi count isn't really an issue. You wouldn't describe website text on the mini as pin-sharp, but the overall brightness and viewing angles quality – which are better than the Hudl's - of the screen go a long way to making up for this.
In our opinion, the bigger display of the iPad mini edges this round. The iPad mini's screen size, brightness, viewing angles and responsiveness cannot be ignored. Credit should be given to the Hudl's screen for its pluckiness and clarity though, but its small size and unresponsiveness lets it down.
iPad mini vs Tesco Hudl: Specifications and performance
We were pleasantly surprised with the performance of the Tesco Hudl, we certainly didn't expect it to be as snappy as it was given its £119 price tag. The only issues we had with its overall performance was that browsing the web was a little on the slow side and (as we mentioned before) its screen was sometimes unresponsive. Other than that, the Tesco Hudl was pretty nippy at carrying out all the usual tablet tasks.
Under the hood of the Tesco Hudl is 1GB of RAM, with a 1.5 GHz quad-core A9 processor and 16GB of storage (12GB available to the user), with a microSD card slot available that allows you to expand the tablet's storage by 42GB.
The iPad mini only has 512MB of RAM and a 1 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 processor; it comes with either 16/32/64GB storage with no expandable storage slot.
The iPad mini is in a league above with its overall performance; it opens and closes apps in double-quick times, while navigating around apps and the home screen is performed with no noticeable lag. We have minimal complaints about its general performance.
iPad mini vs Tesco Hudl: Cameras
Both the iPad mini and the Tesco Hudl have front and rear-facing cameras on offer, but none of the cameras on offer here should be considered for any serious kind of photography. The iPad mini has a rear-facing 5 Mp camera with 1080p video capture @30fps, as well as a 1.2 Mp front facing camera with video recording and 720p @30fps.
The Tesco Hudl is a couple of tiers bellow the iPad mini in terms of its main camera, with only 3 Mp on offer. Its front facing camera is slightly better though, with 0.8 more megapixels, making for improved Skype/video chat clarity.
In real-world tests the iPad mini's primary camera wipes the floor with the Hudl's. The iPad mini takes sharp pictures, even in low-light conditions, whereas the Hudl has trouble focusing even in full daylight.
iPad mini vs Tesco Hudl: Software
This one is down to personal preference. Some people love Apple's iOS, while some people simply can't stand Apple's way of doing things. The same can be said for Google and its open platform Android operating system.
What we can say with confidence is that these are the two most user friendly and popular operating systems on the market. Both of which have a wealth of apps, songs, films, TV shows, magazines and books to chose from, with very content available at very similar prices.
While some other tablets that are produced by retailers – such as the Amazon Kindle Fire – run heavily customized versions of Google Android, the Tesco Hudl running a surprisingly vanilla version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The major “bloatware” (if you can call it that) that Tesco have included is a T button located in the bottom left of the screen which is a shortcut to the supermarket chain's Clubcard TV and Blinkbox services among others. Something that you can't really complain about given the remarkably cheap £119 price tag.
The iPad mini comes with iO7 installed, which on the whole has received positive reviews as an upgrade from iOS 6, once people have got used to the different colour scheme and theme. Note: If you buy an iPad mini, it may be part of the older stock that has iOS 6 preinstalled as its operating system. Don't panic though, the hardware is exactly the same as those with iOS 7 installed, you simply need to update the software once you get it, which is free to do. Take a look at our iOS 7 review to find out more about the iPad mini's software and features.
iPad mini vs Tesco Hudl: Design and build
This is one category where the iPad mini is a clear winner. Its look, feel, weight and materials used are all superior to that of the Tesco Hudl.
While we think the iPad mini has the better design and general appeal of the two tablets, we are still impressed with what the Tesco Hudl offers. If feels secure in your hands and it plastic rear-cover – available in Black, Purple, Red and Blue – offers plenty of grip, although it does collect some rather oily fingerprints. The micro-HDMI port that the Hudl offers and the iPad does not should not be overlooked either, as it allows you to connect your tablet to your TV and watch certain content purchased via the Google Play store in all it's full screen glory.
The iPad mini is only slightly bigger in terms of height and width than the Tesco Hudl, but importantly it is thinner – 200 x 134.7 x 7.2mm plays the 192.8 x 128.8 x 9.85mm of the Hudl – the iPad also has a bigger screen by 0.9-inches, and weighing 308g it is also 62g lighter.
