Retina iPad mini teardown uncovers giant battery, iPhone-class A7 chip

Many were no doubt caught off-guard by Apple's not-quite-surprise release of the iPad mini with Retina Display, but iFixit was clearly prepared -- it has already torn down the tiny tablet. The device isn't just a shrunken iPad Air, according to the repair shop. It now includes a (relatively) massive 24.3Whr, dual-cell battery that represents a huge upgrade over the 16.3Whr unit of the original mini. The A7 processor is also the low-power version from the iPhone 5s rather than the souped-up chip found in the Air. iFixit isn't a fan of the Retina iPad mini from a repair standpoint, scoring it two out of 10; there's still gobs of adhesive that would complicate most fixes, the company says. It's unlikely that you'll replace any parts yourself, then, but there's still plenty of juicy details available at the source link.