iPhone 12 mini iPhone 12 mini vs 13 mini heat

[jm31828]

There has been talk of 12 minis getting hot… have people found this to be a serious issue in need of warranty replacement, or is it more just an annoyance?

Mine gets rather warm any time I use it, occasionally getting quite hot even indoors in a rather cold house just browsing Reddit or Facebook.

On the flip side, do people really not experience any of this heat on the 13 mini?

 

[Nozuka]

Never noticed this on my 12 Mini.
Browsing seems like a rather light task too, especially with adblockers.

 

[TorontoSS]

i noticed it on my 12 mini but not all the time. when charging it totally got hot (magsafe) but generally not ALL the time.

 

[RRC]

My 12mini would get warm browsing safari, but my 13 mini does not.

 

[jm31828]

Never noticed this on my 12 Mini.
Browsing seems like a rather light task too, especially with adblockers.

Yeah, and for the first 10 months or so that I had the phone it really didn't even get warm using it. But now, even though I access the same sites/apps for very light use, it always gets noticeably warm to the touch, and there are those infrequent occasions where it gets so hot that it starts dimming the screen- and that is when just browsing Facebook or Reddit in the associated apps, so there are not even ads to be dealing with.

It seems odd to me that this wasn't happening before.... and now that I'm down to the last month or so of my warranty, I am wondering if it would do any good to make a warranty claim, or if the refurb replacement I'd get would have the same problems, if it's just inherent to this model of phone?

 

[BigPotatoLobbyist]

I am curious about this. Does the 13 improve the thermals by way of the new packaging for anyone?

 

[jm31828]

Has anyone contacted support about the heat issues, and actually gotten a replacement that was any better?
I am tempted to simply do that as I love my 12 Mini- but if this is an inherent issue with this model AND the 13 Mini does not have thermal issues, I may just go ahead and upgrade.

 

[JPack]

The max. measured chassis skin temperature of iPhone 13 Pro (48C) is higher than iPhone 12 Pro (40C). I doubt the mini will be any better. The logic board is smaller this year, meaning less area to dissipate heat. The modem is now right under the A15 processor which adds even more heat.

 

[jm31828]

The max. measured chassis skin temperature of iPhone 13 Pro (48C) is higher than iPhone 12 Pro (40C). I doubt the mini will be any better. The logic board is smaller this year, meaning less area to dissipate heat. The modem is now right under the A15 processor which adds even more heat.

View attachment 1857475

Wow, thank you for sharing! That is interesting stuff, good to know before taking a leap and spending money unnecessarily.

Another question then- is the heat we feel from the 12 series phones, mini or otherwise- a bad thing at all, or is the hardware fine as long as it doesn't get so hot that the "overheat" warning comes up on the screen? Just thinking about long term durability, would hate for these occasional thermal issues to shorten the lifespan of the phone if I indeed plan to keep it for another year or two.

 

[JPack]

Wow, thank you for sharing! That is interesting stuff, good to know before taking a leap and spending money unnecessarily.

Another question then- is the heat we feel from the 12 series phones, mini or otherwise- a bad thing at all, or is the hardware fine as long as it doesn't get so hot that the "overheat" warning comes up on the screen? Just thinking about long term durability, would hate for these occasional thermal issues to shorten the lifespan of the phone if I indeed plan to keep it for another year or two.

The iPhone 12 mini throttles itself and lowers performance (more than iPhone 12) during heavy use. So it has built-in protection. I don't think thermal issues are a problem given the relatively useful lifespan of the device (5-7 years).

 

[jm31828]

The iPhone 12 mini throttles itself and lowers performance (more than iPhone 12) during heavy use. So it has built-in protection. I don't think thermal issues are a problem given the relatively useful lifespan of the device (5-7 years).

Ok, thank you for that info! As long as the heat is within a safe threshold with the throttling helping that situation out, I am fine with it.

 

[macintoshmac]

I have taken delivery of a 13 mini today. That device has certainly become hotter during initial setup and afterwards while downloading my apps over Wi-Fi. The 12 mini was a cool customer in that regard, just the way my outgoing 8 was.

 

[RRC]

I have taken delivery of a 13 mini today. That device has certainly become hotter during initial setup and afterwards while downloading my apps over Wi-Fi. The 12 mini was a cool customer in that regard, just the way my outgoing 8 was.

Once everything has finished indexing turn off the phone and restart it. Shouldn’t be hot any longer, at least once it cools it won’t be.

 

[macintoshmac]

Once everything has finished indexing turn off the phone and restart it. Shouldn’t be hot any longer, at least once it cools it won’t be.

Oh yes, it has cooled down, indeed. However, this is the first time I have had a more-than-warm iPhone during set up, so thought to mention.

I look forward to experiencing the battery life on this device.

 

[forestinjersey]

My Mini got crazy hot this last weekend when I was using both an eSIM and regular SIM (I was Travelling) but since I switched off the eSIM its back to normal. I am going to do a re set this weekend without a restore just in case.

 

[DeepIn2U]

The iPhone 12 mini throttles itself and lowers performance (more than iPhone 12) during heavy use. So it has built-in protection. I don't think thermal issues are a problem given the relatively useful lifespan of the device (5-7 years).

Like many others I have the 12 mini & it does at times over heavy use or during MagSafe or Qi charging will overheat. The throttling is just cpu top end performance over a sustained period will drop. Not due to heat

Once everything has finished indexing turn off the phone and restart it. Shouldn’t be hot any longer, at least once it cools it won’t be.

Indexing in MACH the kernel of all of Apple’s OS’ is done on installation and runs consistently each file saved or changed. It doesn’t simply stop like Windows Kernel. Recall universal search / spotlight.

If indexing turns off then there is no point in having it.

 

[Hello...]

Have the mini 12 I’ve really never noticed much heat at all

 

[JM]

Revive.
Cost: 32mp

My 13 mini gets noticeably warmer than all other iPhones ive had without a case in my pocket, or even just holding it when outside away from Wi-Fi.

Any new info on the 13 mini’s heat issues? (Just read how the CPU is stacked on the wireless chip (card?))

Is there any way to keep the phone from overheating like that?

Thank you.

*Critical Hit: anyone know of a case type/material that dissipates heat the best, instead of insulate the phone?

 

[JM]

Oh yes, it has cooled down, indeed. However, this is the first time I have had a more-than-warm iPhone during set up, so thought to mention.

I look forward to experiencing the battery life on this device.

How is it going? I got my mini in about October.

There are times when it’s room temperature, no heat…. And then times when it gets really warm: approaching hot, and worry.

Then it’ll cool down again if I turned it off after a minute or so.

Usually it’s when I’m away from Wi-Fi and using cellular.

(The battery life on cellular is not good, too, but I don’t know if it’s related or not)

 

[one more]

From my 12 mini experience, it tends to get warm when plugged into a charger and simultaneously used for something heavyish, like video calls. Otherwise it stays pretty cool or comfortably warm most of the time.

 

[iphonefreak450]

Surprised that nobody mentioned this.

The mini series phones are made of aluminum instead of stainless steel. So of course those will tend to get warmer.

I’ll bet that the 13 Pro or the 12 Pro phones don’t get warm due to their stainless steel frame.

Just wanted to point this possible theory out.

 

[JM]

Surprised that nobody mentioned this.

The mini series phones are made of aluminum instead of stainless steel. So of course those will tend to get warmer.

I’ll bet that the 13 Pro or the 12 Pro phones don’t get warm due to their stainless steel frame.

Just wanted to point this possible theory out.

Except, the back and front are glass. The aluminum sides aren’t what get hot. It’s the back around the Apple logo.

 

[macintoshmac]

How is it going? I got my mini in about October.

There are times when it’s room temperature, no heat…. And then times when it gets really warm: approaching hot, and worry.

Then it’ll cool down again if I turned it off after a minute or so.

Usually it’s when I’m away from Wi-Fi and using cellular.

(The battery life on cellular is not good, too, but I don’t know if it’s related or not)

I am sorry, I don’t remember which device you’re talking about for yourself. Have stopped frequenting these forums since some months.

So, I’ll speak of my 13 mini that I got in October, too. Have been experiencing the exact same thing you’re talking about with regards to heat, but it started after I upgraded to iOS 16 beta. Battery life hasn’t changed for me.

 

[Hello...]

None on my mini 12

 

[Sil3nt1]

Mine gets warm or it could be it gets over 100F outside lol