The iPad minis display provides the same resolution as the original iPad and the iPad 2: 1024 by 768 pixels. Thats much lower than the 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution of the Retina display found on the third-generation and fourth-generation iPads. The new taller iPod touch models have 1136-by-640-pixel resolution.

However, keep in mind that while the first two iPads offered 1024 by 768, they did so on 9.7-inch screens, whereas the iPad mini has the same pixel dimensions on a 7.9-inch screen. As a result, the of the iPad mini is considerably higher than that of the old iPads, working out to 163 pixels per inch on the iPad mini, versus 132 ppi on the iPad 2. Thats not even close to the 264 ppi of the third- and fourth-generation iPads or the 326 ppi of the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. But next to the iPad 2, this is a significantly sharper screen. One other consequence: The on-screen keyboard could be pretty tight. Well find out more when we have more-extensive hands-on time with the device.

Thankfully, no. Because the iPad minis screen has the same resolution as the screen on the first two iPad models, iPad apps that work with those modelsmeaning the vast majority of iPad-optimized appswill work with the iPad mini without any developer tweaks.

On the other hand, everything will be smaller on an iPad minis screen. If a particular app uses especially small interface elementsbuttons, for examplethose items may be more difficult to tap on the iPad mini. We suspect that some developers will need to adjust their apps to be more usable on the iPad mini.