iPhone 12 mini How's your iPhone 12 mini hanging in?

[satchmo]

On my one year anniversary with an iPhone 12 mini and it's been great.

Battery isn't as bad as many make it out to be. I usually have 30-40% left at the end of the day. Granted I'm not a heavy user which is partly why I can use a small sized phone with smaller battery.

Battery health is at 97%.

Are there are times when I wish the display was bigger? Yes. But that's only when I'm using for media consumption which is not very often.

Given there's no iPhone 14 mini, I'm not sure anything announced month will be of interest to me.

Curious how other 12 mini owners are feeling. Some probably have had theirs for 2 years now. Are you upgrading or keeping your mini?

 

[Andeddu]

I used mine from Dec ‘20 to April ‘22 before downgrading to a new SE’16. I still have my 12 Mini and plan on going back to it in mid-October this year. I found the battery to be poor compared to other iPhones including the SE. I was charging it once per day and still got it down to a battery health of 84% in a mere 1.5 years. I overcame the issue by using a MagSafe battery pack which gave me 2x battery charge.

The phone itself is perfect otherwise. Great screen, good speakers, decent size and a very capable machine all round.

I mainly use my phones as computing devices. Lots of web-browsing, video streaming on apps such as Netflix, YouTube & Disney+, Podcasts, music, Skype & FaceTime along with IM with WhatsApp. I also use my GPS map a lot and Apple Wallet as I no longer carry around bank cards. Smart phones are essentially computers so I use them as such which is why I tend to go through at least a full charge each day.

 

[mikext]

I used mine from Dec ‘20 to April ‘22 before downgrading to a new SE’16. I still have my 12 Mini and plan on going back to it in mid-October this year. I found the battery to be poor compared to other iPhones including the SE. I was charging it once per day and still got it down to a battery health of 84% in a mere 1.5 years. I overcame the issue by using a MagSafe battery pack which gave me 2x battery charge.

The phone itself is perfect otherwise. Great screen, good speakers, decent size and a very capable machine all round.

Loved my 12 mini aside from the battery. Had it a year before swapping it for the 13 mini for a better battery. I miss the smaller camera lenses compared to the 13 mini.

I believe my 12 mini battery went down to 91% capacity within a year using a 12w charger.

 

[satchmo]

I believe my 12 mini battery went down to 91% capacity within a year using a 12w charger.

I've used a 5w charger for most of the time. I wonder if that's why my 12 mini battery is still at 97%

 

[Barbareren]

Curious how other 12 mini owners are feeling. Some probably have had theirs for 2 years now. Are you upgrading or keeping your mini?

Yeah, been almost 2 years now… Still very happy with mine, not upgrading for the foreseeable future.

 

[mikext]

I've used a 5w charger for most of the time. I wonder if that's why my 12 mini battery is still at 97%

all signs point to 5w chargers being the best for phone batteries, so it could be.

 

[doodads]

I had a 12 mini and traded it in at AT&T for a 13 mini. I had my 12 mini for about a year, and the battery was at 82%. My battery would last about half a day at the most.

 

[snipr125]

My release day 12 mini has probably been the best iPhone I have had, just been a joy to use. It’s down to 88% battery capacity now though, so have to charge each day where as before would last me a solid 36 hours in between charge. I have been eyeing up 13 mini‘s for the last couple of months especially in midnight, but will wait until next month when the 14’s are released then get one on discount hopefully.

 

[Barbareren]

all signs point to 5w chargers being the best for phone batteries, so it could be.

Which signs? I've only used the 20W Apple charger (wired, not MagSafe) for almost two years (often twice a day since I'm a heavy user). And after almost 2 years now my battery health is at 90%, which I think is an acceptable decrease, especially considering my use case. IMO using a 5W charger these days of fast charging is pointless self-torture, unless you only charge during the night...

 

[Bash310]

I had my 12 Mini since release date. I love the size but the battery life is not good, I have to plug in at least once a day sometimes but the good thing is that it charges back up really quickly. I use a 5W charger every night and the battery health is at 98%. I would love a thicker iPhone Pro mini.

 

[colodane]

I love the 12 Mini - by far my favorite iPhone ever.

Plan to keep using it for at least another year or two. Battery is fine - recharge about every other day with Anker wireless charger.

 

[mikext]

Which signs? I've only used the 20W Apple charger (wired, not MagSafe) for almost two years (often twice a day since I'm a heavy user). And after almost 2 years now my battery health is at 90%, which I think is an acceptable decrease, especially considering my use case. IMO using a 5W charger these days of fast charging is pointless self-torture, unless you only charge during the night...

I should clarify, by "signs" I meant anecdotes from this forum lol. Apologies for that. It seems like all the pristine 100% battery capacity obsessives all talk about using a smaller watt charger. There are obviously many other factors that contribute to battery health. I use a 12W charger myself and my battery capacity is at 89% after 11 months.

 

[one more]

Have been using a 12 mini as my main phone since Dec 2020 and it has been great. The battery is at 84% by now, so it might need some micro top-ups throughout the day, otherwise a great compact iPhone! If a 5.7” SE does come in spring 2023, I might get that, but for now it is still going strong.

 

[ndouglas]

Happy to read about OP and others’ good experiences w/ this phone. My sister has one and I suspect I‘d like it a bit more than my current SE 2020. … Seems like battery on both is not great. Fortunately I‘m not a heavy user. But I noticed lately how streaming radio on Safari takes a large chunk of battery quite rapidly. Hoping my SE lasts another 1-2 years but seems likely I’ll replace it with whatever Mini model # is available next.

 

[Barbareren]

I should clarify, by "signs" I meant anecdotes from this forum lol. Apologies for that. It seems like all the pristine 100% battery capacity obsessives all talk about using a smaller watt charger. There are obviously many other factors that contribute to battery health. I use a 12W charger myself and my battery capacity is at 89% after 11 months.

Hehe, yeah I get it. Personally I think it has more to do with not draining the battery completely (preferably don’t go below 20%) and not letting it charge all the way to 100%… At least that’s when I’ve noticed the battery health going down, but then again, that’s just another anecdote 🙂 As always, YMMV. Also, I try to avoid letting my phone run hot…

 

[TinyMito]

I think mine is at 88%, got it since release date (heavy user) and I stopped micromanaging device batteries... lol I don't have the time and energy for that.

 

[snipr125]

For those of us who love the Mini form factor, or smaller phones in general, check out this review of the Asus Zenphone 9, incredible phone and is what a potential iPhone Mini Pro phone would be like.

Its got a 120 Mhz screen with 4300 Mh battery, and a very innovative multi use power button. Love the design of it also, very iPhone Mini like with its flat edges.

 

[mikext]

I think mine is at 88%, got it since release date (heavy user) and I stopped micromanaging device batteries... lol I don't have the time and energy for that.

amen to this lol. I have Apple Care too, so if the battery is ever a problem it can be easily swapped out for a nominal amount.

 

[v0lume4]

For those of us who love the Mini form factor, or smaller phones in general, check out this review of the Asus Zenphone 9, incredible phone and is what a potential iPhone Mini Pro phone would be like.

Its got a 120 Mhz screen with 4300 Mh battery, and a very innovative multi use power button. Love the design of it also, very iPhone Mini like with its flat edges.

I saw that review too, and that phone looks really great. I was so disappointed to find out that “compact” meant the same size as the regular iPhone 13, if this website is to be believed. 😩

Apple iPhone 13 vs Asus Zenfone 9 - Visual phone size compare

Compare Apple iPhone 13 vs Asus Zenfone 9 sizes against each other in real-time with our phone size comparison tool.

www.phonearena.com

 

[v0lume4]

All of you talking about getting a new phone because of low battery health, I just wanted to throw it out there that I think it’s only $69 for a battery replacement by Apple. That’s the non-Apple Care price too. Not bad.

iPhone Battery Service - Apple Support

Need more power? An Apple Store or Authorized Service Provider near you can replace your iPhone battery. See the associated cost by coverage type.

support.apple.com

 

[TinyMito]

All of you talking about getting a new phone because of low battery health, I just wanted to throw it out there that I think it’s only $69 for a battery replacement by Apple. That’s the non-Apple Care price too. Not bad.

iPhone Battery Service - Apple Support

Need more power? An Apple Store or Authorized Service Provider near you can replace your iPhone battery. See the associated cost by coverage type.

support.apple.com

Strange chosen number by Apple... 69

 

[Funny Apple Man]

I'm keeping my 12 mini for a while. It's a crime for Apple to not be making new mini iPhones anymore, this phone is literally the perfect size for small hands.

 

[snipr125]

I saw that review too, and that phone looks really great. I was so disappointed to find out that “compact” meant the same size as the regular iPhone 13, if this website is to be believed. 😩

Apple iPhone 13 vs Asus Zenfone 9 - Visual phone size compare

Compare Apple iPhone 13 vs Asus Zenfone 9 sizes against each other in real-time with our phone size comparison tool.

www.phonearena.com

The Zenphone 9 is probably more closer in size to the iphone X as it has a 5.9" screen, but Asus do market it as being a one handed device. I also didn't realise it has the Snapdragon 8 PLUS Gen 1 CPU, so full fat performance.

 

[Barbareren]

I'm keeping my 12 mini for a while. It's a crime for Apple to not be making new mini iPhones anymore, this phone is literally the perfect size for small hands.

Works well for peeps with big hands (long fingers) as well, but I’m very used to, and comfortable with, ‘small’ phones

 

[v0lume4]

The Zenphone 9 is probably more closer in size to the iphone X as it has a 5.9" screen, but Asus do market it as being a one handed device. I also didn't realise it has the Snapdragon 8 PLUS Gen 1 CPU, so full fat performance.

I’ll tell you, the iPhone X was the perfect size in the sense of, if you’re gonna have a “big” phone, that’s the biggest you can go and still use it one handed. It was brilliant in that regard.

Why Apple went and made it a smidge bigger starting with the 12 (?) is beyond me. It’s just barely too large to use one handed.

Having said all that, the mini is where it’s at amirite.