iPad Mini vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0

It is always controversial when we compare two devices side-by-side and this is never more true than we look at a Samsung vs Apple battle.

Both of these brands have a hoard of dedicated followers who passionately defend their brand choice so today we’ll see who will come out on top as we compare the Apple iPad Mini to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0.

iPad vs Tab 3 specs and design

The iPad mini is the same as the iPad Air in every way – except that you can hold it in one hand – and it truly has that high-quality feel thanks to its aluminium uni-body construction.

The 7.9-inch Retina display is absolutely amazing and crams in a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. This is in fact a higher resolution than that experienced on a HD TV and with 326ppi the eye can no longer distinguish separate pixels.

The iPad mini boasts desktop quality graphics and visual effects, and when coupled with a 1.3Ghz dual-core processor and dual Wi-Fi antennas that offer up to twice the download speed (300Mbps), then you know you have something remarkable in the palm of your hand.

This cutting edge technology certainly doesn’t come at the cost of the design, with a body that is only 7.5mm thick and weighs 350g.

The processor and co-processor combination is also energy efficient so you can enjoy up to 10 hours of interrupted multimedia use.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 shows its first signs of weakness straight off the bat with a smaller 7-inch display that has a less refined resolution that is set at 1024 x 600 pixels. Side-by-side with the iPad mini the Samsung Galaxy Tab clearly has the weaker visuals out of the two.

The Galaxy Tab 3 does however come in slightly lighter at 300g but on the flip side it has a bulging waistline that is 9.9mm thick. A 1.2GHz dual-core chip gives processing power that is very similar to the iPad mini and sustained multimedia use of up to 8 hours isn’t a million miles away from that offered on the iPad Mini.

iPad Mini 1: 0 Galaxy Tab 3

iPad features vs Samsung features

With 500,000 apps in the Apple App Store you are certain to be entertained or become more productive if you purchase the iPad Mini for work purposes. Either way Siri will be there to handle your tasks or answer your questions and a new dual-mic combination ensures your personal virtual assistant works more accurately than ever before.

A series of built-in apps include iMovie and GarageBand, where you can create music and fine tune your songs with mixing and editing tools. iCloud has also become more intuitive that just a place to back-up your files and so, for example, if you start to watch a movie on your iPad Mini then you can pick up from where you left off at home with Apple TV.

Professionals have every reason to be delighted as they explore the Pages word processor and Numbers spreadsheet software where pre-built formulas and interactive charts can be created. Keynote is also included and this can use Apple designed themes to create presentations with cinematic transitions.

The Samsung App Store has a slightly smaller selection on apps available at 30,000 but as this tablet runs on Android you will have access to the Google Play Store’s humongous app store as well. You can easily back-up your files on the cloud with 50GB of Dropbox storage offered as a freebie for 2 years.

There is also a selection Samsung apps pre-installed on the Galaxy Tab 3 and these include the Video Hub which has over 1,000 titles with virtually no wait time during progressive downloads.

The Music Hub gives you access to a full music store and the Game Hub is loaded with premium and multiplayer games.

QuickOffice HD is the place for professionals and this includes a processor, spreadsheet, PDF reader and presentation programs.

Camera Comparison

The Apple iPad Mini has a 1.2 megapixel FaceTime HD camera for making video calls or capturing a selfie whilst the main iSight camera has a 5 megapixel resolution and can record video at 1080p HD. Those dual microphones offer exceptional sound quality and of course you can use iCloud to share your photos across all of your devices.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 has a slightly more powerful video calling camera at 1.3 megapixel but the main camera is sadly lacking at 3 megapixel. Video recording is also possible at a quality of 720p.That said, with your usual set of Samsung editing features on board, there’s plenty that can be done to jazz up your pics!

iPad Mini 3: 2 Galaxy Tab 3

Verdict

Whilst I am a lover of almost all things Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 unfortunately doesn’t quite match up to the Apple iPad Mini. However with a the cheapest iPad prices being considerably more than that of the Galaxy Tab 3, the Samsung tablet could be a great money saving alternative with a brand name that you can trust.