iPhone 13 mini iPhone 13 mini users - will you upgrade or keep using?

[Qu1ckset]

I’m currently using a launch day 256gb 12 Mini , it’s been awesome , replaced the battery this year , apple broke the screen while replacing the battery and replaced that too , I’ve thought about replacing with 15 Pro and upcoming 16 Pro but all these new phones have been boring.

At this point I’m thinking about just holding on to this phone till it dies , and hope apple releases a foldable iPhone or new mini. Think this is the longest I’ve owned a single iPhone.

iPhone releases are so stale with minimal changes these days hell the iPhone 17 gets more coverage then the 16 which comes out in 2 months

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I put the 18 public beta on my 13mini yesterday and so far, so good. Since the advanced Ai won’t install on older iPhones, I expect the performance to increase rather than decrease with the RC and GM.

Ok, thank you for the feedback. Interestingly I've seen performance losses (KB lag mainly) settling in, not during the first major iOS updates, but rather following a couple of iterations. So far there's nothing in iOS18 that is a must have for me. I'll be closely following people's experiences with 13 Mini's, who update to the new iOS.

 

[AF_APPLETALK]

I know the iPhone 12 and 13 mini was created to serve a specific, niche market. I realize that Apple determined the market was not large enough to justify continuing the line with the 14 series.

I was so excited for the 13 mini. I was ready for a phone that could not only be held with one hand, but also operated with one hand. It fits so nicely in my pocket, and easily fits into most small sling bags without issue.

While I once enjoyed it, I realize I spend a lot of time reading on it. And it’s small. Maybe I’m getting older, but I don’t enjoy it as much as I once did. My eyes are probably degrading. I don’t like my fingers touching and interlocking as much as they are on the backside. (Queue the “you’re holding it wrong” memes)

Now, I feel I’m approaching a crossroad. Combined with the desire to have something a bit larger and my frequent visits to the Macrumors site, I’m trying to determine what may be my best play this year.

Like most of us, we balance affordability, usability, and features. It’s paid for, which is great. The battery life is not great, but I usually have access to a charger, so I’m never without. I also realize that come sub-80% battery life, I could get the battery serviced by Apple for a sub-$100 fee.

My question to all you Mini users out there.
Will you keep going with the mini?
Will you trade it in or sell it for something different? If you do elect to go for a larger version iPhone, are you thinking 16, or waiting for the 17?

And why?

I’m interesting in understanding the opinions of you all and what is driving your decisions.
Thanks!

Yeah I moved last year from my 13 mini to my 15 Pro Max.

I thought I'd keep the mini till the wheels fell off, but a few things I noticed:

1. It's not only that your eyes are getting worse, it's that the interfaces are getting freaking LARGE these days. The mini's screen is just far too cramped, designers are expecting users to have bigger phones.

2. Battery life - was not good on my 13 mini. Couldn't last 5 hours if I was wearing my Apple Watch, and the battery was over 80% mark.

3. I actually liked the photos that my 13 mini took as opposed to my 15 Pro Max. I suspect there are variance in the camera modules (more than one manufacturer) and my 13 mini camera came from the better manufacturer. Just like back in the day with the 2012 retina MacBook Pros - the Sharp brand displays were better quality. This 15 Pro Max should be amazing, but something about the colors and smoothing were just nicer on 13 mini photos.

4. I got away without using a screen protector for all two years I had the mini phone. Larger phone = more surface area to scratch. You'll definitely need a screen protector.

5. Pro Max is a little too large. Battery life is great, but kind of wish I had gotten the smaller Pro.

 

[dfj74]

I will keep using while it is practical to do so... I used a 2016 SE for many years, and still miss that form factor. The problem that tipped me over the edge was actually not the battery life (although, it was bad and I was never without a powerbank!), but the fact that the small screen was not supported by several apps and websites that I use frequently. Very often I would get critical OK/Cancel buttons placed outside the visible area, without any way to access them. Yes, that's not the phone's fault, but the fact that app designers stopped considering a lower size/res user base. In any case, I had no option.

This same thing has already happened me with the 13mini, albeit only once. I was filling a form to open an account with a (relatively major!) bank, and in one of the screens the Next/Back buttons were not accessible, so I had to do it on my laptop.

So I strongly suspect that, once the userbase for this screen size is sufficiently small, it will not be the phone's ability that renders it obsolete, but the app developers not catering for it.

 

[Alvinc]

Bought iPhone 13 mini in 2022 and I will keep using it till no OS upgrade.

It’s not because you are old, but the human interaction with a smartphone is changing. It doesn’t mean you are more obsessed with social media and entertainment but more and more life experiences are engaged in it, like reading books or writing something on the go. All these may create a need for bigger screen.

My case is the battery life.

However I don’t want to just replace my phone for my changing habit, which is not worth and I can always use iPad or mobile charger for my situation. The size is good for me to put into the pocket of my pant. Bigger screen may relieve my eyes and have more battery but I may have to put it into my backpack which is inconvenient.

 

[Token]

I was so happy to get a 14 mini. It’s a perfect size for me. I feel it is already slowing down a bit and battery life is a bit too short. But I will cling to it as long as possible.

 

[applepotato666]

I know the iPhone 12 and 13 mini was created to serve a specific, niche market. I realize that Apple determined the market was not large enough to justify continuing the line with the 14 series.

The reason it was made was to raise the regular iPhone's price by $100 without any fuss about that and they succeeded. In my opinion they never intended to keep it around.

 

[Andeddu]

The only reason you’d want to move away from a 13 Mini is if you require more than 6.5 hours of SoT per day or a larger screen. The 13 Mini is a powerhouse of a machine and can do pretty much anything a 15 Pro can do.

Even if you’re a heavy phone user and require more battery life, you can always pick up a MagSafe battery pack to extend your SoT to the 10 hour mark.

Genuinely zero reason for 99.9% of 13 Mini users to move away from the device if they’re currently enjoying it.

Most of these 12/13 Mini’s only require an OEM battery replacement from Apple to be as good as new.

 

[sleven]

1. It's not only that your eyes are getting worse, it's that the interfaces are getting freaking LARGE these days. The mini's screen is just far too cramped, designers are expecting users to have bigger phones.

So I strongly suspect that, once the userbase for this screen size is sufficiently small, it will not be the phone's ability that renders it obsolete, but the app developers not catering for it.

YES - I believe the two of you absolutely hit the nail on the head. It feels like too many times I'm having to try to pinch to zoom out just enough to tap the button that is out of sight. Or, the websites have too much floating ads/videos that obstruct the view of the content I want to view.

I wonder if this is what is driving most of my frustration.

 

[MakaniKai]

For me it mostly comes down to whether the AI is good enough on newer phones (and bad enough on my mini) that I would want to switch. Also I am jealous of the light blue iPhone

If the iPhone 16 in blue also had a high refresh rate display I might switch just for that though. It's insane that the base models don't have higher than 60hz when every Android these days is doing 90+. Google Pixel has had 90hz since at least the Pixel 4. I could get the Pro model but I hate the titanium and stainless steel that they usually have, and the boring colors. I want aluminum with that nice light blue glass!

 

[turbineseaplane]

I was so happy to get a 14 mini. It’s a perfect size for me. I feel it is already slowing down a bit and battery life is a bit too short. But I will cling to it as long as possible.

There was no 14 Mini

 

[phillyman]

YES - I believe the two of you absolutely hit the nail on the head. It feels like too many times I'm having to try to pinch to zoom out just enough to tap the button that is out of sight. Or, the websites have too much floating ads/videos that obstruct the view of the content I want to view.

I wonder if this is what is driving most of my frustration.

Hi,

another mini user adding his two cents worth. I had the 12 and upgraded to the 13 because the rumors were pretty consistent on it being the last mini. I very much agree with one of the first posters who said, it really comes down to what your needs are, not what we say. I LOVE my mini and plan on keeping it for a couple more years. I'm intrigued by some of the AI features and I also like the idea of satellite reachability when camping/hiking off grid. Sooo I might test a newer bigger iPhone but doubt it.

But I never even considered that the developers are catering for larger and larger screens making the mini phones less usable. I've noticed frequently buttons not being accessible or can't close pop up windows because I can't maneuver around them. These are probably very obvious points for UI designers and developers but never thought of them.

My hope is that possibly the next SE doesn't get too big and I can upgrade to that. More likely though is that 4-5 years from now possibly some Apple foldable can fix reliability and durability issues the current models have.

One anecdotal observation/question from this thread and past mini threads. A fair number of people that have upgraded from a mini went to the Pro Max, this is very surprising to me since it is a 180 of the small phone philosophy. For those upgraders, why did you decide to go with that over a regular iphone or pro model? Just curious, not judgement.

Also as another one or two posters mention and keeps me very happy with a mini. I use it for phone, texting, email and maybe some very light browsing. For media consumption my iPad is almost always close by. When on the road the phone is the mobile hotspot. For my use cases it gives me the best of both worlds.

Philly

 

[turbineseaplane]

A fair number of people that have upgraded from a mini went to the Pro Max, this is very surprising to me since it is a 180 of the small phone philosophy. For those upgraders, why did you decide to go with that over a regular iphone or pro model? Just curious, not judgement.

I'm not in this camp, but I suspect it's likely a "screw it..." thing that once you give up on having something actually convenient and pocketable and easily usable in the hand -- you just go all the way to "the best"

 

[Timpetus]

I upgraded to a 15 Pro from my 13 mini and it's definitely bigger than I'd like, but I wanted ProMotion, better cameras, Ti, and the better battery and performance are nice. If Apple made a mini Pro I'd go back to that size in a heartbeat, but I doubt they'll ever make a non-compromised smaller phone.

 

[phillyman]

I upgraded to a 15 Pro from my 13 mini and it's definitely bigger than I'd like, but I wanted ProMotion, better cameras, Ti, and the better battery and performance are nice. If Apple made a mini Pro I'd go back to that size in a heartbeat, but I doubt they'll ever make a non-compromised smaller phone.

I guess I would have first tried the pro and gotten most if not all the features but as always. Everyone has different needs/tastes. Thank you for replying. I guess another way to look at it... If I have to go big I might as well go all in

 

[NT1440]

I’ll upgrade…when this phone isn’t working for me anymore. There’s probably a battery replacement before that time comes.

Unless of course another small iPhone comes along…

 

[Frantisekj]

For the most part, the only thing you’re going to get out of a bigger phone is more screen real estate. Apple keeps the base PPI (resolution/2 for LCD or 3 for OLED) about the same across the range, so the UI elements remain the same size across the range. The exception is fixed resolution content like videos with burned in subtitles, which will get bigger with screen size since that’s not rendered by the device.

That was ma surprice when I got iPad mini. UI elements have been small. In some places you can change text size but it is not supported everywhere.

I still keep original SE as second device and 13 mini is going to be my next phone as I really hate when I can not operate whole phone with thumb.

 

[WindBlast]

I'll keep using my 13 mini as long as possible. I don't see any reasons for now to upgrade.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

I just upgraded my daughter's 12 mini to a 15, mostly for USB-C and to get the trade in value at AT&T which was twice what the phone was worth.

She's very tiny with small hands, and appreciates the extra real estate on the 15 for her games.

 

[platinumaqua]

That was ma surprice when I got iPad mini. UI elements have been small. In some places you can change text size but it is not supported everywhere.

I still keep original SE as second device and 13 mini is going to be my next phone as I really hate when I can not operate whole phone with thumb.

iPad mini was the exception. They put the same resolution (1024x768) from the regular iPad in a smaller screen so the developers don't have to change anything. Back then the developer will have to make changes to each resolution class.

The result is smaller UI since the PPI got higher.

 

[powerbook911]

I use my 12 mini and 13 mini in bed. I don't want to hold a pro max above my head.

I have a pro max for daytime use.

I don't know what I'll do when the 13 mini becomes too old as even a second phone. I used a 5S in bed before the mini phones came out.

If you don't have a weird use case like mine, lol, I don't see the purpose of the mini. Big screen is great.

 

[Astuces iOS]

iPhone SE 4 could be a kind of mini phone...

 

[257Loner]

Since I'm not excitedly anticipating spending $800 on a replacement, I'm sticking with my 13 mini until it goes to phone heaven.

 

[Qu1ckset]

I don’t know why Apple just doesn’t do production runs on IPhone Mini’s every 2-3years or something , clearly a lot of fans of it..

 

[stanza.richi]

One anecdotal observation/question from this thread and past mini threads. A fair number of people that have upgraded from a mini went to the Pro Max, this is very surprising to me since it is a 180 of the small phone philosophy. For those upgraders, why did you decide to go with that over a regular iphone or pro model? Just curious, not judgement.


Philly

I upgraded from 12 mini to 14 pro max in December 2022. I did it because of battery life, better camera, larger screen. Each time I took out the mini from is box I miss a little bit the portability, I admit.