What do you get when you cram an iPad into a smaller and lighter frame?
iFixIt fired up their trusty iOpener and took a look. “The iPad Mini has not one, but two speaker grilles to pump out its mini beats,” iFixIt reports. “Don’t let the iPhone 5’s dual grilles fool you; the Mini is the first handheld iDevice to house stereo speakers.”
“Though the markings on the back of the LCD don’t turn up much information, the Samsung display driver IC [W1235 S6TNMR1X01] reveals that Apple once again went with Samsung in its display manufacturing,” iFixIt reports. “Apple has reportedly been working to move away from Samsung as a primary supplier, so it’s somewhat surprising to see a Samsung LCD inside. With that said, Apple often relies on multiple suppliers for a single component, meaning there’s quite likely other LCD manufacturers lurking inside other iPad Minis.”
iFixIt reports, “The iPad Mini inherited the connector-fastened battery from its larger sibling, not the soldered-in battery found in the iPod Touch… the Mini does indeed sport stereo speakers. In this one regard, the Mini outdoes the still-mono Retina iPad.”
More info and all of the gruesome dissection photos in the full article here.