iPhone 12 mini iPhone 12 mini vs. iPhone 13 mini

[DTeam]

I had a mini for a couple of days before returning it: the 13 Mini doesn't have the macro camera.

The macro feature requires the ultra wide lens to have autofocus, which is only on the Pros.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

anyone getting the mini for anything besides its size seems to be missing the point…

 

[CrazyForCashews]

anyone getting the mini for anything besides its size seems to be missing the point…

Yeah pretty much.

The name (and as a result the size) is the dead giveaway. Everything else is gravy. But that's not to say everything about the iPhone mini aside from the size is poor. The iPhone 12/13 mini are excellent phones with great features, tech, cameras, and reliability. What more do you really need? A close up picture of your cat's eyeball?

 

[xpxp2002]

Yeah pretty much.

The name (and as a result the size) is the dead giveaway. Everything else is gravy. But that's not to say everything about the iPhone mini aside from the size is poor. The iPhone 12/13 mini are excellent phones with great features, tech, cameras, and reliability. What more do you really need? A close up picture of your cat's eyeball?

I would have liked to have gotten the autofocus UW lens for macro photography like the 13 Pro has. And I still miss the telephoto lens from my X. I'd appreciate the 3x lens even more. It's a great phone overall, but there are times that I'm trying to take a specific type of photo and think about how the mini/non-Pro camera limits me compared to the Pro models.

I understand that the mini is a compromise device and given that next size up is way too big, I accept that these are the compromises Apple made to build the mini. But if they offered a 5.6" or 5.8" 13 Pro mini with the same build quality (stainless steel, frosted glass, etc.), ProMotion, and tri-lens sensor arrangement from the 13 Pro, I'd have bought that in a heartbeat.

 

[CrazyForCashews]

But if they offered a 5.6" or 5.8" 13 Pro mini with the same build quality (stainless steel, frosted glass, etc.), ProMotion, and tri-lens sensor arrangement from the 13 Pro, I'd have bought that in a heartbeat.

I'm sure many people would do the same, although for me I'm grateful they even made a mini iPhone. Also considering the rumours, it seems like Apple is going all in with their larger sized phones next year so we gotta appreciate the Mini for just what it is and be happy that it at least exists, for now...

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

Oh absolutely. I’d pay a super premium ($1200 or so) for a base model 128gb iPhone Pro mini.

 

[SF-RR7]

I traded in my 12 mini for a 13 mini and I am very satisfied.
First off the battery gains are very noticeable and I love I extra speed of the A15.
I also have a 13 PM and the 120hz for me is not a big deal.
Personally I am one of those people that upgrade every year and if they do not release a 14 mini,I will be content with the 13 mini for another few years.

 

[walterpaisley]

I loved my 12 mini but the battery life degraded quickly. Within 10 months the health dropped to 87% after mostly daily optimized charging (at night). Apple support said what I expected: after running diagnostics the battery was healthy and would only be available for a battery replacement if it dropped below 80%. I'm pretty convinced I had a lemon but I couldn't convince at least Apple's phone support to do anything about it.

I traded it in for a 13 Pro but am still on the fence whether I'll keep this or swap it out for the 13 mini.

 

[klasma]

I loved my 12 mini but the battery life degraded quickly. Within 10 months the health dropped to 87% after mostly daily optimized charging (at night). Apple support said what I expected: after running diagnostics the battery was healthy and would only be available for a battery replacement if it dropped below 80%. I'm pretty convinced I had a lemon but I couldn't convince at least Apple's phone support to do anything about it.

I traded it in for a 13 Pro but am still on the fence whether I'll keep this or swap it out for the 13 mini.

Did you use MagSafe charging? Just curious.

 

[MikeAK]

anyone getting the mini for anything besides its size seems to be missing the point…

Totally. I see a lot of people here making complaints about the Mini that very clearly didn't do their own research before and didn't know what they were getting. I guess people just don't read description and feature lists anymore.

The Mini is not for power users. Period. If you live on your phone, or if it's your main device, it's not for you. Trying to make it for you if you're a heavy user is not the phones fault.

If, however, you use your phone as an actual phone/texting device with emails sprinkled on top for flavor, it'll be the best thing for you since sliced bread.

 

[xpxp2002]

I loved my 12 mini but the battery life degraded quickly. Within 10 months the health dropped to 87% after mostly daily optimized charging (at night). Apple support said what I expected: after running diagnostics the battery was healthy and would only be available for a battery replacement if it dropped below 80%. I'm pretty convinced I had a lemon but I couldn't convince at least Apple's phone support to do anything about it.

I traded it in for a 13 Pro but am still on the fence whether I'll keep this or swap it out for the 13 mini.

I've heard quite a few people with all of the iPhone 12 models, mini/regular/Pro/Pro Max report rapid battery degradation from November 2020 to now. I really do believe many of those phones shipped with batteries from an OEM that were faulty. I have an iPhone X with a three-year-old battery at 92% health, but the 12 mini already reached 89% after less than 9 months. Both have been charged using the same chargers.

I'm not sure if they haven't investigated it (perhaps out of fear that it might lead to another service program and fines), or have and aren't admitting to it. But either way, I don't think there's any other reasonable explanation for the number of reports of quickly degraded iPhone 12 batteries.

 

[FlyingTexan]

I've heard quite a few people with all of the iPhone 12 models, mini/regular/Pro/Pro Max report rapid battery degradation from November 2020 to now. I really do believe many of those phones shipped with batteries from an OEM that were faulty. I have an iPhone X with a three-year-old battery at 92% health, but the 12 mini already reached 89% after less than 9 months. Both have been charged using the same chargers.

I'm not sure if they haven't investigated it (perhaps out of fear that it might lead to another service program and fines), or have and aren't admitting to it. But either way, I don't think there's any other reasonable explanation for the number of reports of quickly degraded iPhone 12 batteries.

Same here I'm at 89% on my mini. There's also other functions newer phones have and I don't know how much that could drain. I miss the iPhone X. As someone that travels a lot I love the mini but there's many times I'm stuck on an airplane watching video on it and wish I'd had more screen. It's always a tossup.

 

[xpxp2002]

Same here I'm at 89% on my mini. There's also other functions newer phones have and I don't know how much that could drain. I miss the iPhone X. As someone that travels a lot I love the mini but there's many times I'm stuck on an airplane watching video on it and wish I'd had more screen. It's always a tossup.

I don't find that to be an issue, personally. The mini's portability and ease of fitting into pockets and one-handed use is invaluable, IMO.

For video, a 5.4" screen is small...but comparatively speaking so is a 6.1" or 6.7". I don't really see a meaningful difference between the mini's display or one of the Pro sizes -- they're all small in that sense and I don't see being any more satisfied trying to hold an obnoxiously large 6.7" phone one handed just so that video is a tiny bit bigger. If I'm going to watch hours of video on a plane or somewhere that I don't have an actual television or monitor in front of me, I'll use my iPad.

 

[FlyingScot]

To anyone with the 13 mini, does it have good close up auto focus? Put your hand close to the camera, does it focuses? They said the 13 mini have the same camera that was in the 12pm. I know for a fact that the 12pm does not auto focus at all, close shots. Examples below are from my 12pm and 8Plus.

Yes great sharp focus on zoom, surprisingly so. Can see the diamond pattern on the skin. All reviews state this is the camera from the Pro Max 12 with better chip and software. Camera is better than I would have expected.

 

[MikeAK]

Yes great sharp focus on zoom, surprisingly so. Can see the diamond pattern on the skin. All reviews state this is the camera from the Pro Max 12 with better chip and software. Camera is better than I would have expected.

This was a battery and camera upgrade year. All the early reviews I've read so far are praising the camera in the 13 Mini. I don't know exactly what is the same as last years 12 Pro Max, but it's definitely on par which is saying a lot because that was a flagship camera just 1 year ago.

 

[walterpaisley]

Did you use MagSafe charging? Just curious.

A mix of both, but definitely more MagSafe than wired. I'm avoiding MagSafe for now with my 13.

 

[walterpaisley]

I've heard quite a few people with all of the iPhone 12 models, mini/regular/Pro/Pro Max report rapid battery degradation from November 2020 to now. I really do believe many of those phones shipped with batteries from an OEM that were faulty. I have an iPhone X with a three-year-old battery at 92% health, but the 12 mini already reached 89% after less than 9 months. Both have been charged using the same chargers.

I'm not sure if they haven't investigated it (perhaps out of fear that it might lead to another service program and fines), or have and aren't admitting to it. But either way, I don't think there's any other reasonable explanation for the number of reports of quickly degraded iPhone 12 batteries.

I'm glad to hear about this because I was starting to gaslight myself about whether the battery health drop was normal or not. I would love to go back to the Mini's size but alas, unless I make a decision soon (before the return window closes on my 13 Pro) I think my Mini days are over.

 

[DeepIn2U]

I had a mini for a couple of days before returning it: the 13 Mini doesn't have the macro camera.

The macro feature requires the ultra wide lens to have autofocus, which is only on the Pros.

FYI the mini was be never advertised to have macro.

so e tubers with pior ruff cut editing confused a lot of ppl.

 

[snipr125]

This video on YT shows the battery improvements on the 13 Mini. Very impressive, basically has the same battery life as the Normal iphone 12.

 

[frozzbite]

This video on YT shows the battery improvements on the 13 Mini. Very impressive, basically has the same battery life as the Normal iphone 12.

i’m curious to see the battery health of the 12 mini in this video. Seeing how the posters here like me are having below 90% after 8 to 10 months, its very likely his mini isn’t ”like new”.

 

[yticolev]

My 12 mini battery capacity is down to 86%, started service Nov. 13 last year. Optimized Battery Charging has been turned on the whole time. Charging with very few exceptions has been with the Apple magsafe puck.

Just checked, launch day Mini 12 at 99%. Not surprised as I never charge to 100% other than on long plugged in drives. Instead I time my charge to land at 80% on my old 5 watt charger (47% per hour).

 

[snipr125]

i’m curious to see the battery health of the 12 mini in this video. Seeing how the posters here like me are having below 90% after 8 to 10 months, its very likely his mini isn’t ”like new”.

In the video at the beginning he does show that both iphones have 100% battery health (actually shows the battery capacity screens) to keep the test fair.

My day 1 purchase 12 mini is currently on 97% (mainly using 2.1 amp charger and sometimes 18 watt), so mileage seems to vary.

 

[CaseBorne]

Upgrading 13 mini from 12 mini is not a move I will do
Wait for 14 or choose 13 pro series

 

[jm31828]

Upgrading 13 mini from 12 mini is not a move I will do
Wait for 14 or choose 13 pro series

I upgraded from a 12 Mini to a 13 Mini. I was excited about the added storage and upgraded camera. But now that I have gotten it- it's a great phone- but I am realizing I don't really use the phone camera that much anyway and in my testing, I am not seeing a difference between the two.... and the storage is nice, but I am not pushing the limits of the 64GB on my 12 Mini yet anyway.

My 12 Mini's battery health is still at 98%, and for some reason the display is easier on my eyes on my 12 Mini, so I am likely going to return the 13 Mini.
Not because there is anything at all wrong with it- but the slight discomfort on my eyes along with the unnecessary cost for this upgrade when it's not that different have given me buyer's remorse.

 

[Think creative]

I was going to skip till 14’s, but I realize my se (2) isn’t enough to get through the day, and I love the form factor. Plus my trade in is almost $200 off still. May just grab the mini and see where phones are in two years.