Thermal throttling. The SE has a small chassis. Back when A12 was launched in iPhone XS, reviewers already noted performance would drop by 25% in a matter of minutes if pushed.
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iPhone 13 mini iPhone 13 mini - how futureproof will it be?
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Thermal throttling. The SE has a small chassis. Back when A12 was launched in iPhone XS, reviewers already noted performance would drop by 25% in a matter of minutes if pushed.
I've just recently replaced my OG SE (64G) with a 13 Mini. That 2016 with its A9 received the last iOS update of 15.7.2 one month ago. Possibly vital security updates may even still appear, so that's a tad over 6 yrs support. I expect the Mini to have at least 5 yrs of official support.
Ahh, I didn’t realise the chip ran so hot in phones. Such a shame because the A12 is still powerful by today’s standards when at its full potential.
I can confirm, my mini 5 is still strong as ever. It may need an upgrade next year though... when you push it a lot in games, sometimes it overheats.
iPhone SE 2 (2020) is Not an A12.
Apple A13 Bionic APL1W85 (7 nm)
Apple A13 Bionic APL1W85 (7 nm)
My wife just bought the 13 mini and we expect it to stick around for at least another three years before replacing it.
I completed Alien Isolation on my Mini 5 which has to be hands down the best looking game on the platform and I didn’t experience any thermal throttling. My iPad is in an Otterbox Defender case also. Perhaps something like Genshin Impact would cause throttling but I have never tried it.
The Mini 5 will be fine for the next 3-4 years for everything other than the latest games. I have no intention of replacing it anytime soon. I’ll probably splash out in 2025 for a new iPad Mini and I’ll replace my 12 Mini too.
Yeah, it is still a good powerhouse. But that's the issue - I am looking to play the latest games, so I would probably need a newer iPad sometime soon.. unfortunately they all got a big price increase from losing the bezels. i don't care about whatever liquid retina is... I just want power
Definitely look into the M2 iPad Pros as they’ll be future proof and save you money in the long run. I wouldn’t go near a normal A class chip if gaming was an important use case for me.Yeah, it is still a good powerhouse. But that's the issue - I am looking to play the latest games, so I would probably need a newer iPad sometime soon.. unfortunately they all got a big price increase from losing the bezels. i don't care about whatever liquid retina is... I just want power
Well, gaming isn't my number one use. I'd just like a device that can perfectly *handle* new games, but not one that's focused on it. I also enjoy doing casual things like web browsing and video playing. So I'll probably save up a bit and then buy an M2 air when it comes out so I don't have to pay the extra 200-something dollars that getting an M2 Pro right now would cost.
they're all so expensive...
The iPad Mini 5 performs extremely well on iOS 16. It’s almost perfect which is why it’ll handle anything that can be thrown at it. I agree that you should keep the Mini 5 for another year or two and hopefully get an M2 Air at a cheaper price. I use my device mostly for web-browsing, music, media apps, online shopping apps and video conferencing. Even my iPad Mini 4 can do most of that well other than web-browsing which it performs poorly in.
Yeah, iPads are expensive now compared to 3-4 years ago. I guess the M class chips come at a premium. Looking at the benchmarks they are totally worth it though.
Yeah, I guess it's worth paying about double I paid for the mini 5 if it means I also keep it twice as long.
The 13Mini has the A15 chip.
That same chip is in the current iPhone 14 and 14+, the current iPad mini, the current Apple TV… most of the products its in aren’t even a full year old yet.
Also, even newer products like the iPad 10 are still on the A14.
The A16 is literally only available in one product line, the iPhone 14 Pro.
Everything else is A15 or below.
Even the current Mac chip with the M2 is based off of the A15 processor.
All this to say, you should absolutely not worry about the 13Mini, or any A15 product, losing iOS support anytime soon.
Remember, it’s just been within the last four months that Apple stopped giving updates to products with the A8 and A9 cpus.
I wouldn’t expect products with the A15 to even be considered for software support loss until at least 2026, probably even later than that.
Edit: I just checked the support list.
I totally forgot that the iPad fifth generation, released six years ago this March, with the going on eight years old A9 chip and the actually going on eight years old first generation iPad Pro still get OS16 support.
One of their low end products from six years ago that had a processor two years out of date when it was released is still getting updates today.
There should be Absolutely no concern about the barely a year old A15 chip and 13Mini.
It’s quite possible software support for that thing could see the 2030s.
That same chip is in the current iPhone 14 and 14+, the current iPad mini, the current Apple TV… most of the products its in aren’t even a full year old yet.
Also, even newer products like the iPad 10 are still on the A14.
The A16 is literally only available in one product line, the iPhone 14 Pro.
Everything else is A15 or below.
Even the current Mac chip with the M2 is based off of the A15 processor.
All this to say, you should absolutely not worry about the 13Mini, or any A15 product, losing iOS support anytime soon.
Remember, it’s just been within the last four months that Apple stopped giving updates to products with the A8 and A9 cpus.
I wouldn’t expect products with the A15 to even be considered for software support loss until at least 2026, probably even later than that.
Edit: I just checked the support list.
I totally forgot that the iPad fifth generation, released six years ago this March, with the going on eight years old A9 chip and the actually going on eight years old first generation iPad Pro still get OS16 support.
One of their low end products from six years ago that had a processor two years out of date when it was released is still getting updates today.
There should be Absolutely no concern about the barely a year old A15 chip and 13Mini.
It’s quite possible software support for that thing could see the 2030s.
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i’m going to take a wild assumption here and guess that it’s the battery making that phone slow, not the processor.
The SE2 has a legendarily terrible battery, and if they bought it in 2020 it’s going on three years old.
If the battery degrades too much, the software will slow down to compensate, this is well known.
I'm seeing 89% health - do you think that's low enough to impact performance?
Thanks for all the replies everyone! Sounds like I should get a few years out of an iPhone 13 mini at least!
If you're willing to forego updating iOS every year, you could probably go a very long time without it feeling sluggish. It certainly runs iOS 15 very smoothly -- though battery life is pretty horrible versus iOS 14, in my experience.
The only thing that isnt future proof is the battery - you'll have to change it after around 1,7 years(based on 12 mini experience) because you need to charge it more times than the regular iphone, so its capacity lowers faster. But other than that - it has same chip as the iPhone 13, same camera module as the iPhone 13(except zoom) so to answer your question - It is as future proof as iPhone 13. But better.
I went from 6s to 13 mini. I did change the battery 3x (1 under battery replacement program)
I just ordered a Mini 13 to replace my regular 12 as part of my work package so after 2 year i can choose something else and hand down my old phone to my kids.
I choose the Mini because the 12 is heavy and big and i am anti social media etc so i want something compact for a few things only.
My AW ultra needs to be connected, and the SE2020 is super outdated for the price, so i went for the 13 mini for the better camera over the 12 mini for those spicy night pics
I choose the Mini because the 12 is heavy and big and i am anti social media etc so i want something compact for a few things only.
My AW ultra needs to be connected, and the SE2020 is super outdated for the price, so i went for the 13 mini for the better camera over the 12 mini for those spicy night pics
