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Hands-on: First generation iPad mini disassembled and framed by GRID

As we previously covered, GRID Studios is known for recycling old Apple products and turning them into art. More specifically, the company frames disassembled products. And while some of you may already be familiar with the framed iPhone and Apple Watch, GRID now has the first framed iPad – a first generation iPad mini.

The GRID iPad mini follows the same recipe as the company’s other framed devices. This one, however, is quite unique as we’re talking about a product that’s much larger than a phone or smartwatch. Seeing the insides of an iPad is fascinating enough, and having these parts in a frame is even better.

First generation iPad mini

The first iPad mini was unveiled by Apple in October 2012 and hit stores a few weeks later in November. It was not only a smaller iPad but also the first iPad to introduce a design language that would be followed by every other iPad model in the years to come.

As we can see from the framed piece, the logic board of the first generation iPad mini was quite compact compared to the entire size of the device. iPad mini was one of the first Apple devices to feature the Lightning connector as it was introduced right after the iPhone 5. However, it still had a regular Home button (Touch ID was only introduced in 2013 with the iPhone 5s).

The display was 7.9 inches with a resolution of 1024×768 pixels, which means that it wasn’t a Retina display with high pixel density. It also had a 5 megapixel rear camera and 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera. On the inside, this iPad was equipped with the A5 chip, the same as the iPhone 4s. It was Apple’s first chip with a dual-core CPU.

One thing I really miss from the old iPads is the physical ring-silent switch just above the volume buttons, which could also be set to lock the screen rotation. Apple has kept the switch on iPhones, but it has been removed from the iPad Air 2 and later.

You can get a better look at the GRID framed iPad mini in the pictures below:

More about GRID

And, if you want your own GRID iPad mini to decorate your home or to give to a friend, GRID is now selling it for $199 (down from the regular price of $249). GRID also has other framed devices, including pretty much every generation of the iPhone up to the iPhone X, the first Apple Watch, and even some game consoles like Nintendo’s Game Boy and Sony’s PSP.

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Avatar for Filipe Espósito Filipe Espósito

Filipe Espósito is a Brazilian tech Journalist who started covering Apple news on iHelp BR with some exclusive scoops — including the reveal of the new Apple Watch Series 5 models in titanium and ceramic. He joined 9to5Mac to share even more tech news around the world.