Although it doesn't venture far afield from what we expected, Apple has always focused at least as much on precise execution as it has on anything else — and the result of that focus is a small-sized tablet that more than holds its own against increasingly earnest competition.
The same 7.9-inch display now features four times the pixels, a full 2048 x 1536 resolution, which makes text sharp and readable. Just as importantly, it makes iOS 7 look much better than it does on the original iPad mini, which often feels a little out of place on lower resolutions. iOS 7 also benefits from the iPad mini's new 64-bit A7 processor, making scrolling and everything else notably faster and smoother.
You know where to find your iPad Mini Retina cases...