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David Taub

macrumors member
Apr 2, 2016
59
22
Miami Beach FL
Yep, I was rubbing my eyes and refreshing the page once the event was over to make sure it was not my perception mistake. 🤷🏻‍♂️

If you buy it from Apple directly you can get a 24 months 0% interest credit from Alma. If you are close to the Swiss border, you could also pick it up there, where it now sells for comfortable 699 CHF = 715€. ✋
Sadly, I'm not close to the border. I did see it about 50 euros cheaper on amazon in france. Does getting apple care for it work the same way? Just give 'em the serial number and it'll be covered? I am hesitant. Easy to give apple my old phone for some cash, only 150 euros at this point, and send back if there's a problem. Don't have that much confidence in amazon. I'll wait a week or two and see what happens to prices. But the 14 is too big and expensive. Even the 13 is too big. I'm a mini kind of guy.
 

one more

macrumors 603
Aug 6, 2015
5,159
6,577
Earth
Sadly, I'm not close to the border. I did see it about 50 euros cheaper on amazon in france. Does getting apple care for it work the same way? Just give 'em the serial number and it'll be covered? I am hesitant. Easy to give apple my old phone for some cash, only 150 euros at this point, and send back if there's a problem. Don't have that much confidence in amazon. I'll wait a week or two and see what happens to prices. But the 14 is too big and expensive. Even the 13 is too big. I'm a mini kind of guy.

You could also check the carrier prices, as they will be doing deals from now on. For example, Sosh sell 13 mini for 769€, so 40€ off, and other deals will follow - pre-holiday sales, French days, etc. Essentially, we have a year to find out best deal.

For Apple Care, it is a service we buy on top and this can be done within 60 days of activating your device:

 

David Taub

macrumors member
Apr 2, 2016
59
22
Miami Beach FL
You could also check the carrier prices, as they will be doing deals from now on. For example, Sosh sell 13 mini for 769€, so 40€ off, and other deals will follow - pre-holiday sales, French days, etc. Essentially, we have a year to find out best deal.

For Apple Care, it is a service we buy on top and this can be done within 60 days of activating your device:

thanks one more...
 
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Anthony T

macrumors 65816
Jul 10, 2008
1,021
132
Part of me wonders if the mini would’ve been more successful sales-wise had their been a “Mini Pro” option. I know I was disappointed that those of us who wanted the smaller screen had to settle for less features, but honestly I’ve discovered that I don’t really need a Pro.

Sticking with my red (previously had blue but swapped) 13 mini for now.
 

throAU

macrumors G3
Feb 13, 2012
9,278
7,449
Perth, Western Australia
Part of me wonders if the mini would’ve been more successful sales-wise had their been a “Mini Pro” option. I know I was disappointed that those of us who wanted the smaller screen had to settle for less features, but honestly I’ve discovered that I don’t really need a Pro.

Sticking with my red (previously had blue but swapped) 13 mini for now.

I think if it was made more clear just how much bigger the battery is in the mini vs the SE they would maybe have sold better. It’s 40-50% higher battery capacity. In a smaller device.

If I’d known that I would have bought a mini much earlier.

That said I think the price may also have been just a little too rich for some who bought the SE instead; adding the camera features of the pro would definitely not have helped that even if they could make it fit.
 
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Macalicious2011

macrumors 68000
May 15, 2011
1,869
1,997
London
Part of me wonders if the mini would’ve been more successful sales-wise had their been a “Mini Pro” option.

Unlikely. The elephant in the room is the screen size. Your average consumer use their phone as their:
-....phone
-Tablet
-Computer
-Camera

For all those purposes, a large screen is advantageous. Unlike members of this forum, not everyone can afford the latest iPad or Macbook to use along side their phone. Therefore a phone with a large sized screen is the ultimate do-it-all device.

Adding Pro features and bumping up the price would have made the Mini even more niche. 120Hz and an additional camera would not have done the already challenged battery life any favours.
 

throAU

macrumors G3
Feb 13, 2012
9,278
7,449
Perth, Western Australia
OK so battery life comparison for me so far... for anyone considering 13 Mini vs SE.

2020 SE (with 86% health) was running around 30% by the time I finish work.

2 hours to go and the 13 Mini is on 80%.

I don't have a couple of messaging apps installed, but still....


I'm quite happy with the difference.

Screen brightness on the mini display can go much, much brighter and guessing the XDR display on it is more efficient at the lower light levels that are totally usable on it during the day.
 

tjktony

macrumors member
Aug 3, 2009
32
6
I think of it was made more clear just how much bigger the battery is in the mini vs the SE they would maybe have sold better. It’s 40-50% higher battery capacity. In a smaller device.

Where are you seeing that difference in battery capacity?

Specs show:
SE: Video playback 15 hours; Video playback (streamed) 10 hours; Audio playback 50 hours; 2018 milliAmp hours
13 mini: 17; 13; 55; 2406

That's nowhere near 40-50%.

Are you comparing the SE to one of the larger 13 iPhones?

EDIT: or maybe the 2nd gen/2020 SE to the current 13 mini? Not a relevant comparison when there's a current 3rd gen/2022 SE....
 
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throAU

macrumors G3
Feb 13, 2012
9,278
7,449
Perth, Western Australia
Where are you seeing that difference in battery capacity?

Specs show:
SE: Video playback 15 hours; Video playback (streamed) 10 hours; Audio playback 50 hours; 2018 milliAmp hours
13 mini: 17; 13; 55; 2406

That's nowhere near 40-50%.

Are you comparing the SE to one of the larger 13 iPhones?

This is the thing: I'm not comparing battery life estimates playing video only - which any phone can do literally in its sleep these days.

I'm comparing battery size in terms of mA/h from third party sites (as this will give a better idea of actual battery capabilities outside of contrived video benchmarking - i.e., web browsing, running apps, day to day stuff):

iPhone 13 mini: 2438 mA/h
iPhone SE 2020 (what I upgraded from): 1820 mA/h
22 SE is a bit better: 2022 mA/h

Sorry - I meant 30-40 percent (vs the 2020 SE). And yeah its only 20% or so better than the 22 SE.

The 13 has a more efficient chip in it than the older SE as well (and more advanced LED screen than both SE models) which probably explains the huge difference I'm seeing. My SE 2020 battery life was below expectations from day one.

Source:


Either way, I think the 12/13 mini would have sold a lot better if more was made of the actual real world battery difference vs. the SE (especially the older one).
 
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CrazyForCashews

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 1, 2018
1,048
2,759
It is difficult to explain how much different the iPhone 13 Mini feels from the standard iPhone 13 in use, but I was shocked at how much of a technological marvel it was in practice. It was genuinely one of Apple's best iPhones to date.
Indeed, the Mini is so tightly packed.

It’s a marvel how much tech and juice is crammed into this little chassis.

On a side note, although the Mini is slightly narrower than the iPhone 8, I still find it easier to type on and make less mistakes than on the 8. Perhaps a case of a more responsive screen and CPU?
 

wingennis

macrumors regular
Mar 9, 2016
148
254
Northern Arizona
I haven't used an iPad with Touch ID on the power button. Does it work well? My gut reaction is that it can't be as secure as Touch ID on a home button, less area to analyze. But I admit that's just a gut reaction and not based on any knowledge of the engineering.
I have had no problems with my iPad mini
 
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ericg301

macrumors 68020
Jun 15, 2010
2,329
2,640
I have come here not to bury the iPhone mini, but to praise it.

I owned both the 12 and 13 variants, but have a trade-in and preorder for an iPhone 14 Pro pending,

The Mini was the perfect pandemic phone because it wasn’t my primary device. I wasn’t leaving the house for days or weeks on end, so I defaulted to my iPad or MacBook Air. Maybe some casual gaming in the evening, but for the most part, if I wasn’t talking on the phone, I wasn’t really using it. But at its size and weight, it disappeared into my gym shorts and sweatpants (aka “soft pants”) so it was always there if I needed it.

But by the holidays last year—only a few months after the release of the 13 mini—my wife and I were boosted, and most importantly, my children were fully vaccinated. That meant a return to normal life. Flights. Car trips. In the office a few days a week. While the battery on the Mini was certainly respectable, I couldn’t shake the perception that it was the device’s Achilles heel. It never died on me, but I was constantly feeling like I needed to top it off. At Disney World in March, I needed to recharge it throughout the day while my wife’s regular 13 lasted from rope drop to fireworks (she doesn’t doom scroll constantly either).

At some point over this summer, the battery health went down to 93%. That shouldn’t be perceptible, but I definitely noticed the hit. The other morning I took it off the charger at 7AM, streamed music on it for an hour at the gym, browsed a few socials, checked a few emails, and left It on my desk when I signed onto work. When I picked up again around noon, it was down to 55%. Was it a fluke?

The thermals also leave a lot to be desired. Being in the Texas sun for only a few minutes would trigger the screen to dim to almost nothing. And I got the dreaded YOUR PHONE IS OVERHEATED warning moreso than any previous iPhones.

While I loved the one-handedness, there were times when it did feel cramped. I found myself wishing it were a little bit bigger while using mapping apps in the car. Some game controls felt unnatural. Certain apps weren’t scaling right and you’d find things like overlapping UI elements. And my typing on it is terrible. I’d constantly hit.the.period.key instead of space.

Having said ALLLL that, I still had no plans on upgrading. But leave it to the carriers to convince me to trade it in for $800 toward a Pro Max. And knowing that’s over 24 months, I went for 256GB. (I usually get 128). So for $300, I turned the oft-ridiculed Mini into the flagship series. I will give myself the leeway to eat all these words if, after a week of the Pro, I decided it’s too heavy and too unwieldy. Maybe I’ll hang onto the Mini for another year. But I’m guessing that won’t happen. My mind is made up.

My tween daughter traded in her aging SE 2020 for a brand new Mini in Starlight. She went from 64Gb to 256GB, from LCD to OLED, from Touch ID to Face ID, and from 1 camera lens to 2. She loves the upgrade (who wouldn’t), and the size is perfect for her hands and pockets.

I do hope Apple refreshes the line every 2-3 years because there clearly is a need and market for smaller phones with premium features.

But for me, it’s time to grow up.
 
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LeafsFanNL

macrumors member
Oct 27, 2016
53
54
I typically get a new iPhone every three years. I had a iPhone 11 after having a iPhone 7. While I liked the dual camera and especially the wide angle lens and the dark mode, I did not like the heft of the 11. I was due to upgrade, but wanted something smaller. Instead of a 14, I ordered a starlight 128GB 13 mini. It arrived the morning of the 14 release Apple event. I have every intention of making this last for as long as possible.
 

mikext

macrumors 6502a
May 26, 2011
619
734
Dallas
I have come here not to bury the iPhone mini, but to praise it.

I owned both the 12 and 13 variants, but have a trade-in and preorder for an iPhone 14 Pro pending,

The Mini was the perfect pandemic phone because it wasn’t my primary device. I wasn’t leaving the house for days or weeks on end, so I defaulted to my iPad or MacBook Air most of the time. Maybe some casual gaming in the evening on my phone, but for the most part, if I wasn’t talking on the phone, I wasn’t really using it much. But at its size and weight, it disappeared into my gym shorts and sweatpants (aka “soft pants”) so it was always there if I needed it.

By the holidays last year, after a few months with the 13 mini, my wife and I were boosted, and most importantly, my children were fully vaccinated. That meant a return to normal life. Flights. Car trips. In the office a few days a week. While the battery on the Mini was certainly respectable, I couldn’t shake the perception that it was the device’s Achilles heel. It never died on me, but I was constantly feeling like I needed to top it off. At Disney World in March, I needed to recharge it throughout the day while my wife’s regular 13 lasted from rope drop to fireworks (she doesn’t doom scroll constantly either).

At some point over this summer, the battery health went down to 93%, which shouldn’t be perceptible, but I definitely noticed the hit. The other morning I took it off the charger at 7AM, streamed music on it for an hour at the gym, browsed a few socials, checked a few emails, and left It on my desk when I signed onto work. When I picked up again around noon, it was down to 55%.

Also, it’s obvious the thermals leave a lot to be desired. Being in the Texas sun for only a few minutes would trigger the screen to dim to almost nothing..and I got the dreaded YOUR PHONE IS OVERHEATED warning more so than any previous iPhones.

And while I loved the one-handedness, there were times when I did feel cramped. I found myself wishing it were a little bit bigger when using it as a car GPS. Some game controls felt unnatural at the smaller size. Certain apps weren’t scaling right and you’d find things like overlapping UI elements. And my typing on it is terrible. I’d hit.the.period.key instead of space constantly.

Having said ALLLL that, I still had no plans on upgrading. But leave it to the carriers to convince me to trade it in for $800 toward a Pro Max. And knowing that’s over 24 months, I went for 256GB. (I usually get 128). So for $300, I turned the oft-ridiculed Mini into the flagship series. I will give myself the leeway to eat all these words if after a week of the Pro, I decided it’s too heavy and too unwieldy. Maybe I’ll hang onto the Mini for another year. But I’m guessing that won’t happen.

My tween daughter traded in her aging SE 2020 for a brand new Mini in Starlight. She went from 64Gb to 256GB, from LCD to OLED, from Touch ID to Face ID, and from 1 camera lens to 2. She loves the upgrade (who wouldn’t), and the size is perfect for her hands and pockets.

I do hope Apple refreshes the line every 2-3 years because there clearly still is a need and market for smaller phones with premium features.

But for me, it’s time to grow up.
nicely said. i share a lot of these sentiments.
 

kamikazeeMC

macrumors 6502
Aug 18, 2017
476
524
Perth, Western Australia
I know I said I would skip this year, but I really like the purple of the 14 Pro haha..

While the mini is small and disappears in my pocket, it has not been a true one handed phone for me unlike the 5 body. My hands are only 19x10cm, the extra width over the 5 and not having the top and bottom bezel to limit the area to interact with. I can reach over the keyboard to type one handed, but time to time my palm will touch something I don't want and if I want to type anything long I'll use two hands. I love iOS's UI/UX and can navigate easy, but say I want to tap the top to scroll back up, access control center etc. requires me to still shuffle the phone around in my hand to reach.

Sad to see the mini go going forward, maybe they may bring it back as an SE model. Thinking of going full send with a Pro Max to see how I go. In an effort to sit at my desk less, I've been using my phone more and the screen and battery would be welcome.

In saying that, in the past I felt having a bigger phone screen didn't add much to my experience (large previous phones, Galaxy S8+, iPhone 8 Plus, Pixel 2 XL), I was comfortable viewing things on the small screen and if I wanted a bigger screen I would just use a desktop/tv/iPad. I would watch videos on the 12 mini during my lunch break without feeling I need a larger screen. Only recently I've had the thought, maybe I would like the bigger screen now.
 
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Nozuka

macrumors 68040
Jul 3, 2012
3,606
6,120
I almost ordered the 14 Pro, because i'm a sucker for features like the dynamic island, haha

But luckily i remembered how unhappy i was, when i went from the X to the 12 Pro. The bigger size and weight made me unhappy with it. It just felt too big to use onehanded and like a brick in my pants.

Then i ordered the 12 Mini and was in love.

So for me the Mini size is a bigger feature, than anything they added to the new phones.

I'm on a 13 Mini now and will likely keep it for 1-2 years and then try to see if i can get adjusted to the "new reality". Unless Apple is kind enough to release a new small phone, but i doubt it.
 

mikext

macrumors 6502a
May 26, 2011
619
734
Dallas
I almost ordered the 14 Pro, because i'm a sucker for features like the dynamic island, haha

But luckily i remembered how unhappy i was, when i went from the X to the 12 Pro. The bigger size and weight made me unhappy with it. It just felt too big to use onehanded and like a brick in my pants.

Then i ordered the 12 Mini and was in love.
I've tried to switch from a mini to a Pro like 3 times. I always came back to the mini lol.
 

rforno

macrumors regular
Oct 18, 2017
231
347
Size/weight are just as important 'features' as anything on IOS. I have a 13mini and while I'm tempted to get a 14P I can't justify the added weight in my pocket or less one-handed-convenience it provides as a tradeoff for a bit more screen space and the trademarked/patented 'Dynamic Island.' But who knows, I turn 50 this year, maybe I'll welcome a larger screen. :)
 

wingennis

macrumors regular
Mar 9, 2016
148
254
Northern Arizona
I almost ordered the 14 Pro, because i'm a sucker for features like the dynamic island, haha

But luckily i remembered how unhappy i was, when i went from the X to the 12 Pro. The bigger size and weight made me unhappy with it. It just felt too big to use onehanded and like a brick in my pants.

Then i ordered the 12 Mini and was in love.

So for me the Mini size is a bigger feature, than anything they added to the new phones.

I'm on a 13 Mini now and will likely keep it for 1-2 years and then try to see if i can get adjusted to the "new reality". Unless Apple is kind enough to release a new small phone, but i doubt it.
We have the same story. I still regret trading my X for the 12 Pro. And I love the 13 mini almost as much.
 
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