Since I was going to go bigger, I decided to go all the way bigger and get all the features, too. When it's stationary, that screen is gorgeous.
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iPhone 13 mini Replaced my 14 Pro Max with a 13 Mini...
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13 mini here.
If you don’t install social media apps (use the website) the battery life isn’t too bad if you don’t live on your phone. I do carry the battery back around with me in my backpack just in case but i think i’ve needed it maybe once in the past year or so in order to run mobile hotspot for my ipad/laptop all day in a conference and even then i had battery left over at the end of the day.
Also, either the battery back or the wallet are the same width as the mini and provide a stable surface for when it is sitting on a desk. Rather than rocking on the camera bump
I really do love my mini (have had basically every other iphone starting with the 3g) and unless apple have a new small phone to replace it with i’ll pop a new battery in this one when i have to.
I went the opposite: 13 Mini to 14 Pro Max
The 13 Mini is, and was, a fantastic phone. Fantastic size, and websites looked great. Believe it or not, the on-screen text size is comparable to the 6.1" phone models, so eventually I jumped to the Max size. If I'm switching due to text size, it needs to be an obvious difference!!
Battery life is NOT an issue like it was on the 12 Mini (my wife has the 12 Mini). It's obviously not as good as the Max phones, but will easily last 1 day with regular use at work.
The only reason I switched is because my eyesight was bad (astigmatism, myopia, a 4mm scar on my eyeball, and now age-related far-sightedness), so I actually need to use larger text sizes. The use of larger text sizes is where the Mini (and 6.1" models) fail.
I do miss the 13 Mini, but am also happy with my 14 Pro Max. I don't think one is better than the other. 🤷🏻♂️
The 13 Mini is, and was, a fantastic phone. Fantastic size, and websites looked great. Believe it or not, the on-screen text size is comparable to the 6.1" phone models, so eventually I jumped to the Max size. If I'm switching due to text size, it needs to be an obvious difference!!
Battery life is NOT an issue like it was on the 12 Mini (my wife has the 12 Mini). It's obviously not as good as the Max phones, but will easily last 1 day with regular use at work.
The only reason I switched is because my eyesight was bad (astigmatism, myopia, a 4mm scar on my eyeball, and now age-related far-sightedness), so I actually need to use larger text sizes. The use of larger text sizes is where the Mini (and 6.1" models) fail.
I do miss the 13 Mini, but am also happy with my 14 Pro Max. I don't think one is better than the other. 🤷🏻♂️
For those who don’t realise - the 13 mini is smaller than the SE and has a bigger screen, better camera, bigger battery and better battery life.
And magsafe… for even more battery / wallet.
Not that I'm aware of sadly. We might need to wait the new series before we get conclusive data, but the 14 plus seems to be a hit and I red somwhere that 36% of the chip allocation was geared towards 15 pro maxes.
Either going to be a great quarter, or a bloodbath. Hoping for the former rather than the latter.
I honestly feel that the best thing for apple to do would keep the 13 mini as the budget iPhone for a while. They'll just can the SE, drop price on the mini.
The SE is looking pretty damn old right now; the step between 13 series and 14 series unless you went to a plus or a pro was pretty small.
Maybe refresh the 13 mini with iPhone 15 internals in 2024-2025
The SE is looking pretty damn old right now; the step between 13 series and 14 series unless you went to a plus or a pro was pretty small.
Maybe refresh the 13 mini with iPhone 15 internals in 2024-2025
Yes, exactly this! I'm really hoping that's what they do down the road. Get rid of the SE, add the 3nm chip to the 13 Mini for better battery life, and call it the new SE. I've always disliked the round edges of the SE anyway.
Hey, personal user experience is highly subjective and is also the only thing that really matters. Glad you're enjoying the change!
Me? You can take my Plus/Utra/MegaMonster sized phone when you can pry it out of my ... no, not even then. My undead self will fight you off with great vigor if you try to take my giant phone!
Me? You can take my Plus/Utra/MegaMonster sized phone when you can pry it out of my ... no, not even then. My undead self will fight you off with great vigor if you try to take my giant phone!
So they didn't release the mini, or anything close in size to the original SE for years.
Then they announced the second generation iPhone SE. Anyone wanting a small phone, assumed this was the best they were going to get, and given how old the original SE was, jumped ship.
6 months later, Apple announced the 12 mini. Most of the pent up demand had been sated with the second gen SE.
When Apple announced the 13 mini the following year, it was.... the exact same phone as the 12 mini. It went from an A14 to an A15, and that was it. And did I mention that the second generation SE had come out 18 months before? So anyone who did get a second gen SE, and then upgraded after one year, had just upgraded to a 12 mini 6 months earlier.
If you're on a 3 year upgrade cycle, Apple wouldn't have seen the uptick in demand until midway into the iPhone 14 sales. Maybe March of this year they sold a bunch of iPhone 13 Mini's, but now Apple has to figure out if that demand came from SE users upgrading because they want the size, or if it's because it's the cheapest non-SE iPhone being sold.
Marketing doesn't matter (although the name is pretty crap, they could have kept the SE branding with the iPhone 12 SE for Small Edition, or even iPhone 12 Air. Psycologically, "mini" is a bad name.) when they destroyed demand for it before it was ever released.
Pretty much this. I bought an SE because I wanted a small phone just before the 12 mini was released. It was a mistake.
The SE was much worse in basically all respects and the cost difference was not that significant. I went from a 2020 SE to the 13 mini and its a much, much nicer phone.
Even as a casual with regards to using my phone for photos, the mini cameras are so much better, more screen real estate, etc.
The SE was much worse in basically all respects and the cost difference was not that significant. I went from a 2020 SE to the 13 mini and its a much, much nicer phone.
Even as a casual with regards to using my phone for photos, the mini cameras are so much better, more screen real estate, etc.
Except that the SE 1st gen had a 4-inch screen, so the 13 Mini is actually BIGGER than the phone he referred to.For those who don’t realise - the 13 mini is smaller than the SE and has a bigger screen, better camera, bigger battery and better battery life.
And magsafe… for even more battery / wallet.
I owned the SE 1st gen and moved on to the Mini.
Totally agree with the majority of the comments in the thread: the mini is mighty nice when it comes to the small more manageable size and weight. But that’s it, that’s what it has to offer in comparison, on everything else it’s on par or lacking features. I’m kind of stating the obvious, I know, but felt the need to underline it again.
Don’t get me wrong, I had the 12 and 13 mini for a while, where the 13 mini was a clear improvement, and I love the size. If your user case and needs can compromise with the downsides of the mini, and I really wish I could, it’s brilliant.
But the fact is the mini sold bad. “Few” people investing in an iPhone seam not willing to compromise and buy the mini. Other things than small size and lower weight is more important and worth it for them in my conclusion. The numbers speaks for them selfs.
That’s why I’m hoping for a mini pro! A mini with as good battery life and cameras etc etc as a pro. Then I’m pretty sure a lot more customers would actually think it’s worth their money! I know I would!! Maybe some day, one can hope.
As a side note, I have a funny take on the max… So I went from the mini, to reg 13, to 14 max. Now when I have the max, I just think it’s not that big that I thought it would be. Go figure. I hold it in my hand and I’m still surprised it’s not bigger. People made it sound like it was gigantic. What’s killing me and hard to get use to is the weight though. But anyway, for a considerable future I do need its screen real estate and battery life.
Don’t get me wrong, I had the 12 and 13 mini for a while, where the 13 mini was a clear improvement, and I love the size. If your user case and needs can compromise with the downsides of the mini, and I really wish I could, it’s brilliant.
But the fact is the mini sold bad. “Few” people investing in an iPhone seam not willing to compromise and buy the mini. Other things than small size and lower weight is more important and worth it for them in my conclusion. The numbers speaks for them selfs.
That’s why I’m hoping for a mini pro! A mini with as good battery life and cameras etc etc as a pro. Then I’m pretty sure a lot more customers would actually think it’s worth their money! I know I would!! Maybe some day, one can hope.
As a side note, I have a funny take on the max… So I went from the mini, to reg 13, to 14 max. Now when I have the max, I just think it’s not that big that I thought it would be. Go figure. I hold it in my hand and I’m still surprised it’s not bigger. People made it sound like it was gigantic. What’s killing me and hard to get use to is the weight though. But anyway, for a considerable future I do need its screen real estate and battery life.
Are you planning on keeping the 14 Pro Max for awhile no matter what the 15 has?
I've got a 6 month old 14 Pro Max in my hands and I'm thinking I just need to stick with it - grass is always greener on the other side, lol. It is a nice device.
The human mind has quite the ability to normalize for change
Have had mine for only 5 month and yes will be hanging on to it for at least until next year I think. The 15 is as I see it according to rumours not worth upgrading to. But maybe the 16 or 17… To be honest I kind of wish I bought a 13 max, but there you are, now I’m stuck with the 14 max.Are you planning on keeping the 14 Pro Max for awhile no matter what the 15 has?
I've got a 6 month old 14 Pro Max in my hands and I'm thinking I just need to stick with it - grass is always greener on the other side, lol. It is a nice device.
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The current SE, yes, but not the the 2016 SE1.
The first gen iPhone SE was smaller than the Mini 13, and smaller than any iPhone that was released since the SE1 launched.
The Mini 13 is taller and wider than the SE1. 6% taller, and 10% wider than the SE1. Same thickness though.
The SE1 is so much lighter too. The Mini 13 wieghs almost 25% more than the SE1. It is very noticeable, sounds silly, but for me, picking up the SE1 after holding my Mini for a while, the SE1 feels like a feather.
The SE 1 was a great phone. Light, easy to put in front pocket and very sturdy. I dropped it caseless much more than once with no ill effects.
I absolutely loved the 12 mini. But last fall I upgraded to the 14 plus. I had no interest in the pro models, and I found it odd that the plus was the second lightest of the 4 models released last year (weight matters to me). I’ve never really run low on battery. But when I used the mini I always topped off charges in the car anyways. The other day I picked up the 12 mini again and I’m tempted to switch back. I loved that I could literally lose it in my pocket.
I personally “downgraded” from iPhone 11 to 12 mini in December 2020 and could not be happier. SE did not come into picture for me as I knew that I wanted as many iPhone hardware features as possible in a small and light package. So 12 mini outperformed my 11’s specs at the time, whereas iPhone SE would be a clear regression.
This is exactly why I do not feel that getting a 13 mini now, just before 15 come out, is a good idea, as there is not enough difference between 12 and 13 mini, IMO, with 13 mini being a fine-tuned (S-style) version of the same. iPhone 15 will bring more changes, justifying the upgrade.
So my 12 mini upgrade path should become much clearer on 12 September.
Yes, you are correct about the current SE vis-à-vis the 13 mini.For those who don’t realise - the 13 mini is smaller than the SE and has a bigger screen, better camera, bigger battery and better battery life.
And magsafe… for even more battery / wallet.
You are quite right, but I do believe throAU is referring to the current SE model.
Nice!
I'm hoping to upgrade from a Xs to a 13 Mini later this year assuming there are some good sales. While I'd love to have a "Pro" iPhone I find it hard to justify the expense and I really prefer the size of the mini.
I'm hoping to upgrade from a Xs to a 13 Mini later this year assuming there are some good sales. While I'd love to have a "Pro" iPhone I find it hard to justify the expense and I really prefer the size of the mini.
Price is an extremely attractive point. $700 vs $1200. Yeah, I think I could easily live without the telephoto lens (I rarely use it) and pro motion for that price difference. Then add in all the benefits, feels great in hand, doesn't pull pants down, etc. .
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Although I continue to go back and forth on the decision, it seems likely I will keep the iPhone 13 mini til apple produces another mini… but that is no sure thing… it seems they may enter the foldable market at some point so the 13 mini might be the last of a breed
Price is an extremely attractive point. $700 vs $1200. Yeah, I think I could easily live without the telephoto lens (I rarely use it) and pro motion for that price difference. Then add in all the benefits, feels great in hand, doesn't pull pants down, etc.
Just to get the current prices right 🖐️
13 mini = 599$
14 = 799$
14 Pro = 999$