I am using 18.1-release candidate on my mini13 and Sequoia-release candidate on my M1 MBA without issues.
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iPhone 13 mini iPhone 13 mini users - will you upgrade or keep using?
- Thread starter sleven
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I am using 18.1-release candidate on my mini13 and Sequoia-release candidate on my M1 MBA without issues.
I have mine since start of 2023 and couldn't imagine not having it. Did I mention it's in that awesome Blue? For a long flight I purchased the MagSafe battery pack and am still using it for the occasional charging, though now with CarPlay it's topped up most of the time.
Back then I bought 2 sets of the same Apple silicone case (before they stopped making it) and also the clear Otterbox one for change of scenery and to see the 13 Mini's colour again. Had initially bought the Apple clear case but found it extremely slippery. Now I'm ranting.
This phone is my second iPhone and replaced the OG 5SE which I used for six years and still have. So yes, will be getting quite many more years of service out of the 13 Mini. I'm keeping it on iOS 17.7 for now as the new iOS 18 features don't really appeal and I've seen too much battery decline with so many iOS iterations with the 5SE. That's the plan anyway.
Back then I bought 2 sets of the same Apple silicone case (before they stopped making it) and also the clear Otterbox one for change of scenery and to see the 13 Mini's colour again. Had initially bought the Apple clear case but found it extremely slippery. Now I'm ranting.
This phone is my second iPhone and replaced the OG 5SE which I used for six years and still have. So yes, will be getting quite many more years of service out of the 13 Mini. I'm keeping it on iOS 17.7 for now as the new iOS 18 features don't really appeal and I've seen too much battery decline with so many iOS iterations with the 5SE. That's the plan anyway.
Will ride my 13 Mini until it dies, or something else this size or smaller (preferably) comes along ... from any ecosystem
I'm no longer confining my phone purchases to just Apple
I'm no longer confining my phone purchases to just Apple
Honestly an iPad is all you need most of the time. I think that’s a great idea.
What iOS version is your OG SE running? I’m currently on iOS 13 and I’ve found iOS 15 battery life to be flat out awful. However, I do miss a more modern Apple Watch so I’m on the fence also
Using the latest iOS 15.8.3 on my OG SE1 with a new battery that I replaced six months ago and i’m having zero problems.
With my usage, the battery lasts two days easily...
I find your experience very interesting. What exactly did you do to enhance your battery life besides new battery? Did you do any tricks like disable background app refresh or anything else? I’m interested in your setup because I would much rather use the SE1 over my mini or SE3 simply due to its size. The 4” size just gets me every time where I keep going back. Currently, my SE1 on iOS 15.8.3 drops the battery percentage in seconds from just using and even idle. And I am also at 98% battery health so I don’t know what I am doing wrong. Wondering if I should do a factory reset and any other suggestions you might have? Thanks!Using the latest iOS 15.8.3 on my OG SE1 with a new battery that I replaced six months ago and i’m having zero problems.
With my usage, the battery lasts two days easily...
Also SE1 here with 15.8.3 - battery will also go for a couple of days unless heavy usage (replaced about a year ago).
I agree that the 4" screen still beats anything for convenience and efficiency, as I'm not interested in watching media on the move.
I've switched off background refresh and don't use dynamic wallpaper or leave icloud backups running. It helps to reinstall iOS from scratch every couple of years which clears out all the old apps you don't use and keeps battery and RAM use to a minimum.
I agree that the 4" screen still beats anything for convenience and efficiency, as I'm not interested in watching media on the move.
I've switched off background refresh and don't use dynamic wallpaper or leave icloud backups running. It helps to reinstall iOS from scratch every couple of years which clears out all the old apps you don't use and keeps battery and RAM use to a minimum.
I agree with you on the size also and I’m not big on social media. Good to know about wiping clean every now and then. I think I will do a factory reset and install only the apps I will use on a regular basis. Hopefully this will eliminate the extra battery drain I experience with this version of iOS. iOS 15 is actually what I prefer using and I also want to use a newer Apple Watch (Series 7) with it. I’m currently rocking SE1 with iOS 13.5 paired with Apple Watch Series 5. Series 5 versus Series 7 is actually quite a big jump in both hardware/software, I‘ve observed.
Hmmm… good question… my Background App Refresh is on only for the apps im using on a daily basis, same goes with notifications. I don’t use iCloud or Siri so they always off, keeping the brightness as low as possible (while being usable), don’t have any automatic downloads/updates, and I made automation with Shortcuts to activate the Low Power Mode bellow 40%.
Also I never re-install the iOS.
I have an SE1 running 15.8.3 with a relatively new battery (6-12 months old but still 100% battery health). I can go ~ 50 hours from 100% -> 0% if I want (though I usually charge to ~ 80% and then let drop down to 20-30% over 1-2 days before charging again). What I do is:
-Turn screen brightness down until right above where white doesn't look white (I turn it up as needed in sunlight)
-Disable Background App Refresh on all apps that can't justify to me that they need to refresh while I am not using them. For me that is nearly all apps.
-Disable Celluar Data on all apps that can't justify to me that they need to access the Internet while I am not at home/etc. For me that is nearly all apps.
-Disable Location Services of all apps that can't justify to me that they need my location. For me that used to be nearly all apps but is now all apps. If I used my phone as a GPS/navigation system I would enable it just for Apple Maps, etc.
-Disable Siri & Search. Within apps as well as 'Listen for "Hey Siri"', etc.
Not sure if the last few impact battery or just make me feel better about privacy.
P.S.Like geta I also have almost all notifications turned off but that is just because I don't like to be interrupted. Similarly, I have all automatic updates off but I did so because I don't like things changing when I am not looking. I don't use iCloud either. Again not sure which of these if any impact battery.
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Reinstalling iOS (ex: delete to factory settings and start over) and only using my essential apps should improve my battery life, right?
Thanks for these tips. Later I’m going to boot up the phone and do a factory reset on all content and settings. Then I will only download my essential apps and do the recommendations you provided. Hopefully this helps out my battery life because I really want my day-to-day phone to be the SE1 for as long as it still works (vacations excluded). After that I will have to permanently move to my mini or SE3 which both still run iOS 15.7 perfectly well
Don’t think so. I’m going to give it a shot. Also, do you have an Apple Watch paired to yours?
We don't really have enough information to predict that. Then are you going to do a full restore from backup after the factory reset? If so not sure you will see much difference.
Otherwise likely that approach would work but it's probably not the only way to get there. I think the key is to systematically eject any apps you don't really need and then go through the rest and disable the capabilities you don't really need them to have (e.g. background app refresh).
When you go to Settings -> Battery -> Activity by App, do you recognize your high users and how much time they were activated and on-screen?
Also the screen uses a lot of power and the significance of whether you set brightness high or low doesn't show up anywhere. However, it's probably the single biggest thing you can control as far as battery usage. Not that the other things don't matter -- especially in aggregate -- but it's a pretty big lever on the control box.
Last, note that phones report battery charge and battery health with more precision than accuracy. Before you do anything you should benchmark your current phone/setup. Looking at at whether the battery charge is 98 or 99% 5 minutes after taking off the charger isn't is a good measure. How long does it last 100%->0% (or 100%->20% or 80%->20%, etc) under light usage? (if you make 8 hours of phone calls per day and leave it on speakerphone the whole time while only getting 1 bar, that's not comparable to my usage).
Similarly, battery health is very non-linear. Battery health was reporting ~ 80% on my old battery but it would literally die sometimes as soon as I took it off the charger. Then it would last maybe a few hours off the charger (yeah I procrastinated on replacing that battery way too long). In these devices a battery that can only maintain 80% of the voltage of a new battery is basically useless. As such, just because your phone reports battery health at 98%, doesn't mean it will last 98% as long as a new battery. Probably less than 90% but you need to run it 100%->0% to know its actual capacity. And then after you tweak everything or do a factory reset, again to see what it's real life is.
Thanks for the insights. Interestingly, ever since I deleted the extra fluff with apps that are not deemed essential and tweaking the system settings, I have noticed an increase in battery life again and battery percentage is not dropping within seconds as it did before. I am also reducing the screen brightness and as soon as I pop my SIM card in again I will comb through the apps that are currently set to use cellular data to switch them only to WiFi. I am currently running one of my other SE1s on iOS 13.5 but the Apple Watch Series 5 kind of sucks compared to Series 7 and up. So far your recommendations seem to be working. I think I previously had apps that were RAM intensive and I’ve eliminated any games, banking, and entertainment apps like YouTube and Disney+. I’m going back to just the essentials and trying to focus on minimalism. This sized phone is just too good to give up and I just want to rock it as long as possible. I think its demise will be when LTE shuts down from carriers but I think we are a few more years from that happening. Similar to the 3G shutdown a few years back. If I could I would still be rocking my iPhone 5 running iOS 6 today. The SE1 is the closest thing to that now. Long live the 4” mobile device!
Great and thanks for sharing the results! That helps everyone to hear what actually worked.
I've found that healthier too
100% and not worried about 4G/LTE going away in the near future. From what I've read it's got at least another 5 years and more likely 10 left in it. I suspect my SE1 won't quite be technically viable or even working by then.
At which point I may be looking at something like the NanoPhone...
If some of you want to upgrade, AT&T has the iPhone 15 for $5.99 per month.
no trade in.
no trade in.
got the 16 pro max and I almost hate it. For basic uses, there isnt much of a difference other than battery life. if you are a basic phone user, the upgrade wont change your life.
My Sept '21 13 Mini's battery health is down to 74%. Unfortunately it doesn't have AppleCare, and I was ready to have Apple install a new battery. But then I noticed a hairline crack in the screen, and learned that Apple won't replace the battery with a damaged screen (apparently non-negotiable). That would be another $229.
I've been looking at the 16 base model, and it seems like a colossal upgrade, to the extent that I just might be able to deal with the added size and weight. My carrier will give me a $700 credit, which seems amazing considering it's 3 years old and the battery sucks. Looks like I can get a 3rd party replacement screen installed locally for $89, which would allow me to get full credit on the trade in, even without True Tone working and the dreaded "important display message" warning.
FWIW, if I upgrade through Costco, I can get a $100 Costco gift card, a $50 credit applied over 10 months, and get the $35 activation fee waived, in addition to the $700 trade in credit (At&T, I'm assuming the same for other carriers). So tempting!
I've been looking at the 16 base model, and it seems like a colossal upgrade, to the extent that I just might be able to deal with the added size and weight. My carrier will give me a $700 credit, which seems amazing considering it's 3 years old and the battery sucks. Looks like I can get a 3rd party replacement screen installed locally for $89, which would allow me to get full credit on the trade in, even without True Tone working and the dreaded "important display message" warning.
FWIW, if I upgrade through Costco, I can get a $100 Costco gift card, a $50 credit applied over 10 months, and get the $35 activation fee waived, in addition to the $700 trade in credit (At&T, I'm assuming the same for other carriers). So tempting!
I upgraded from the 12 mini to the base 16. It's a great upgrade and the battery is outstanding - I can just about squeeze 3 days on the base 16 with normal/light usage. My 12 mini was dead by 6-7PM on the same day of charge.
Also, you soon get used to the size/weight of the base 16. I tried the 16 Pro for 2 weeks, and couldn't get past how heavy it felt.