The iPad Mini Retina has been spotted in the wild running at 1.3GHz which is just slightly below the 1.4GHz that the brand new iPad Air is running at. It is also the exact same speed as the iPhone 5S which, in our experience, is a very quick device.
Looks like the processor in the iPad mini with Retina Display is running at 1.3GHz. http://t.co/flPePv3Ioh
— John Poole (@jfpoole) November 12, 2013
The Mini Retina looks like it has done a great job of offering crystal clear graphics with a fast chip, all in a small form factor compared to its big brother. The slower speed is most likely due to heat and trying to keep it low. The heat in previous iPad models was an issue, so hopefully Apple has addressed it in this version.
The Mini Retina launched last night in the Apple Store with no real publicity push.