iPhone SE (2016) As an SE lover, I was waiting for the iPhone 12 Mini - now I’m conflicted.

[timeconsumer]

I do get it that Qualcomm and OLED are worth the up charge... I guess I'm. I don't know.
I'm just bummed everything is more expensive and it doesn't line up with my expectations and hopes going into this 12 season.

there's no perfect solution for me. I would have been really happy with a $599 mini with an LED.

or a $599 mini with 4g only and no 5g. It would have been great to make the Pro 5g only... especially since there's only a $130 difference between 12 and 12 pro (128gb)

I was hoping Apple would bring back the $649 starting price point. Then when I saw $699 I thought it was reasonable. But it’s actually $729. Verizon charges $20 or $40 for an upgrade fee and you could usually avoid it by buying direct from Apple but not this year. I still preordered because $30 isn’t going to make or break the deal for me but it’s definitely annoying.

 

[MartyvH]

I was fine paying US$927 after tax for the 12 mini 128GB because that form factor is central. It is ergonomic. Optimal for my handling, operation and carrying. Apple answered some prayers today. My SE 1st gen still today feels so comfortable, but on-screen elements are dictating that the usefulness of the 4" screen is fading and the battery sometimes glitches and the phone restarts. It's not expensive to replace but the 12 mini is now here.

The 12 mini's larger screen than the SE 2020? It's today's world. I don't go on social media much. I do like just looking at pictures on Instagram but that's it. I am anything but addicted to a smartphone and have minimal (but some important) notifs. A variety of other pursuits take up my time. But my XS peaked at 193 apps and it's very much about that. Exploring the potential of apps today.

iPhones have the best or near-best central phone components in the industry like display, processor, build quality down to the buttons and ports, security and privacy. I keep on seeing the little ways things are made easier. After three years with iPhones I have had nothing but excellent performance day after day, years down the line. Nothing like the lag, disappointing quality and no/few updates of past phones. My SE is three years old but where's the slowness?

Yeah, the 12s are premium level, but I figure I will have the mini until it's at least the same age as a 6S. I look around and people everywhere including co-workers with high qualifications and experience have done the same damn thing - you see the iPhones of various ages in their hands. I know grade 2 and 4 teachers with 11 Pros. My spec level is non-Pro. It's peachy. I can buy a Pro Max but I'm getting most of the features in the mini next week and the money going to a nice apartment one day is better.

The changes and developments in daily life happening, with a smartphone - very often an iPhone - as the platform, are hard to believe. You should get a good phone for this ride.

 

[JM]

What were your expectations?

there's no perfect solution for me. I would have been really happy with a $599 mini with an LED.

or a $599 mini with 4g only and no 5g. It would have been great to make the Pro 5g only... especially since there's only a $130 difference between 12 and 12 pro (128gb)

 

[neoelectronaut]

I look at it this way:

I bought an 128GB iPhone SE in 2017 for $499, if I remember correctly. (And if this Verge article is to be believed.)

That phone lasted me almost four years. I've managed to never break a screen or incur any other damage outside of minor scratches on the screen from daily use. The only real problem is the battery, which barely holds a charge these days. A new battery would cost me $50 from Apple ($25 if I replaced it myself) and I could probably get another year (or more) of use out of it, but I'm just ready for something fresh.

It helps immensely that T-Mobile has a killer trade-in offer, more than I could get selling the phone secondhand myself. They're giving me $215 back on a $749 purchase, which actually almost brings the phone down to the price of the 128GB iPhone SE I paid for in 2017.

And considering the iPhone I purchased in 2017 was a storage/price refresh of a 2016 model which in turn was actually a smaller variant of a 2015 iPhone, I was buying "old" hardware from day one. Considering the iPhone 12 Mini is the first "flagship" hardware I've bought the year of release since the iPhone 4 I bought in 2010, I can easily see myself getting the same four years out of it, and probably more.

Of course I'd like to pay as little as possible for an iPhone, but when I look at how long I use the phone and historically what I've paid for iPhones in the past, is seems totally fairly priced.

 

[bmac4]

there's no perfect solution for me. I would have been really happy with a $599 mini with an LED.

or a $599 mini with 4g only and no 5g. It would have been great to make the Pro 5g only... especially since there's only a $130 difference between 12 and 12 pro (128gb)

So really you were just hoping the price would go down?

 

[JM]

I look at it this way:

I bought an 128GB iPhone SE in 2017 for $499, if I remember correctly. (And if this Verge article is to be believed.)

That phone lasted me almost four years. I've managed to never break a screen or incur any other damage outside of minor scratches on the screen from daily use. The only real problem is the battery, which barely holds a charge these days. A new battery would cost me $50 from Apple ($25 if I replaced it myself) and I could probably get another year (or more) of use out of it, but I'm just ready for something fresh.

It helps immensely that T-Mobile has a killer trade-in offer, more than I could get selling the phone secondhand myself. They're giving me $215 back on a $749 purchase, which actually almost brings the phone down to the price of the 128GB iPhone SE I paid for in.

And considering the iPhone I purchased in 2017 was a storage/price refresh of a 2016 model which in turn was actually a smaller variant of a 2015 iPhone, I was buying "old" hardware from day one. Considering the iPhone 12 Mini is the first "flagship" hardware I've bought the year of release since the iPhone 4 I bought in 2010, I can easily see myself getting the same four years out of it, and probably more.

Of course I'd like to pay as little as possible for an iPhone, but when I look at how long I use the phone and historically what I've paid for iPhones in the past, is seems totally fairly priced.

Fair point, and I forgot to mention in all this that I have to pay full retail, no deals for me. (Won't go into why. Too long)

 

[JM]

So really you were just hoping the price would go down?

Yep ?

I know I know.

 

[bmac4]

Yep

I know I know.

Haha I wouldn’t have minded some cheaper prices this year, but oh well. I stuck with the 12 pro and am happy. Not loving battery life on iOS 14.2 though. Seems worse.

 

[jm31828]

I have an 11 Pro and my wife has an SE 2020. It’s not a poor man’s iPhone at all. In fact, it reminds me how much of the core experience of the iPhone is in iOS and not the bells and whistles of some of the added hardware features. The most obvious difference is in the screen, and the mini now has an OLED. Personally I think of the SE as a tremendous bargain given the internals.

Do you notice any performance difference between your 11Pro and your wife's SE 2020, given that the SE has only 3GB RAM and the 11 Pro obviously has more? Or is it not noticeable at all with regular everyday use?

I can't lie I love the small size of the SE and the touchID.... but I already have an 11- it is great, just wishing it had touchID and that it was smaller. But I would hate to go backwards, fearing I would have a lesser phone in some ways- one being the lower amount of RAM. (3GB vs 4GB)

 

[bubulol]

I’m curious, what price do you think the 12 Mini should have started at?

Honestly i was hoping for 12 Mini being -100 usd cheaper
Its not cheap, its not overpriced either
Its normal price for the cheapest premium iPhone

 

[turbineseaplane]

Selfishly, I had hoped the price would be lower through perhaps LED, Touch-ID and 4G only.

OLED I’m concerned about PWM on (personal issue, I get that)
Touch-ID I simply prefer in our masked up era
4G only I think would have made sense given power usage/battery life concerns on a smaller phone.

I guess I actually think the “compromises” would have made sense on the smaller offering, while potentially allowing for lower pricing across the board.

As long as the chip and cameras were what they ended up being, those other compromises I would have been 110% ok with.

 

[JM]

Haha I wouldn’t have minded some cheaper prices this year, but oh well. I stuck with the 12 pro and am happy. Not loving battery life on iOS 14.2 though. Seems worse.

Really? Dang.... I guess maybe the wise thing to do is to wait for battery life tests on the mini and THEN decide.

 

[Supermallet]

Do you notice any performance difference between your 11Pro and your wife's SE 2020, given that the SE has only 3GB RAM and the 11 Pro obviously has more? Or is it not noticeable at all with regular everyday use?

I can't lie I love the small size of the SE and the touchID.... but I already have an 11- it is great, just wishing it had touchID and that it was smaller. But I would hate to go backwards, fearing I would have a lesser phone in some ways- one being the lower amount of RAM. (3GB vs 4GB)

I’ve not noticed a major difference but I’ve also never looked for one, never did any comparison tests specifically to see. In casual use it just feels like a modern iPhone.

 

[jm31828]

I’ve not noticed a major difference but I’ve also never looked for one, never did any comparison tests specifically to see. In casual use it just feels like a modern iPhone.

That is great to hear! I figured the difference in RAM would not really be noticeable.

 

[bmac4]

Really? Dang.... I guess maybe the wise thing to do is to wait for battery life tests on the mini and THEN decide.

Well initially I was happy with my pro on iOS 14.1. Maybe it will take a couple of days to settle in on iOS 14.2. We will see. I think the mini will be fine though. I might wait on updating to 14.2 though.

 

[Kendo]

That is great to hear! I figured the difference in RAM would not really be noticeable.

I have to admit, it is a weird feeling having a blazing fast iPhone in the body of an iPhone 6. It's like putting a 2020 car engine in the body of a 1995 car, just feels weird. The A13 screams though, can't believe I have the iPhone 11 CPU in my SE.

 

[Robbosan]

Why are mini buyers giving us their life story’s lol

 

[QCassidy352]

This. It may not be a bad iPhone, subjectively. And the processor may be the same. But it’s a poor man’s iPhone, period. Nobody who can afford a Mini will ever buy an SE now that both are available.

This is just not true. My dad is easily well off enough to buy any iPhone out there, and he'll still be going for the SE soon. He currently uses a 6 year old iPhone 6. His phone needs are simple - calls, texts, FaceTime, google maps, photos app, etc. He gets no additional value out of a mini as compared to an SE, so he's not going to spend the extra money just because he can.

There are a LOT of well off people out there using older iPhones who will be happy to replace them with a familiar design that does everything they want for less money.

And I say this as someone who just bought a 12 mini this morning.

 

[johnnylarue]

Why are mini buyers giving us their life story’s lol

An interesting question. For me, personally, it all started on a business trip I took to Barcelona back in 2002, which was a heck of a year in so many ways that I will touch on in the paragraphs that follow.

But first, Barcelona....

 

[ehdchoe]

Why are mini buyers giving us their life story’s lol

Don't talk bad about the mini!

 

[bubulol]

This is just not true. My dad is easily well off enough to buy any iPhone out there, and he'll still be going for the SE soon. He currently uses a 6 year old iPhone 6. His phone needs are simple - calls, texts, FaceTime, google maps, photos app, etc. He gets no additional value out of a mini as compared to an SE, so he's not going to spend the extra money just because he can.

There are a LOT of well off people out there using older iPhones who will be happy to replace them with a familiar design that does everything they want for less money.

And I say this as someone who just bought a 12 mini this morning.

Why are mini buyers giving us their life story’s lol
?

 

[johnnylarue]

I’m still really curious about the Mini and am looking forward to ingesting some reviews. My 6S has given me PTSD (Post-Traumatic Sh!ttybatterylife Disorder) and the mere mention of a compromised battery life in the Mini has me terrified of being stuck living in Low Power Mode for another 5 years...

(Note that I realize the Mini’s battery life will still probably be twice as good as my 6S, but I’m easily triggered.)

 

[Robbosan]

Don't talk bad about the mini!

Still available for next Friday in all sizes here nearly 8 hours after orders started, it's popular lol.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Still available for next Friday in all sizes here nearly 8 hours after orders started, it's popular lol.

I just think it’s expensive and, combined with a pandemic year, a lot of people might be a little more hesitant than normal to outlay this kind of cash for a Mini (obviously depending on the type of buyer and what they are coming from)

 

[bubulol]

Honestly if they released iPhone 12 Pro Mini instead of 12 Mini and let imagine the worst case scenario, being the most expensive among all iPhone 12 model, i may be willing to buy it anyway
I know its a lot of money but guess what, we are using Apple devices
Its by no means the least affordable smartphones