iPhone 12 mini 12 mini heavy user’s battery life

[Barbareren]

Hi gang,

This thread is meant for heavy/power iPhone 12 mini users only (if there are any, lol) to compare battery life experiences.

Personally, I’m only an occasional heavy/power user, and today was one of those days. During 8 hours of almost constant use (calls, many long texts, hours of podcast streaming, web browsing, online banking, using various apps, some social media etc.) I lost 50% battery life. And charging the phone 50% with a 20W charger only takes 30 minutes...

Of course we all want the best battery life possible, but considering the amount of high end features packed into such a small package, I sure as hell find the battery life really impressive, all things considered 🙂 What’s your experience?

Cheers

 

[1rottenapple]

Yes me too. I’ve been impressed all things considering the small size of the phone. I can usually do 10hr of moderate to heavy end the day with 20% battery life. But recharge is quick. With the Apple battery pack that’s rumored, that will really make this phone great. Small for most of my use case but added battery life when needed.

 

[LFC2020]

Personally, I’m only an occasional heavy/power user, and today was one of those days. During 8 hours of almost constant use (calls, many long texts, hours of podcast streaming, web browsing, online banking, using various apps, some social media etc.) I lost 50% battery life. And charging the phone 50% with a 20W charger only takes 30 minutes...

That’s impressive for such a small beast with a tiny battery. 😮

Some of these S21 ultra with their 5000 mAh battery are struggling to get 4 hours usage. 😂

When it comes to small batteries and efficiency, nobody does it better than apple.

 

[maerz001]

That’s impressive for such a small beast with a tiny battery. 😮

Some of these S21 ultra with their 5000 mAh battery are struggling to get 4 hours usage. 😂

When it comes to small batteries and efficiency, nobody does it better than apple.

Well be a bit realistic. If its the exact same usage the larger battery will win.

of course if you play heavy games on the Samsung 4 hours will be hard to achieve. Running the same game will also eat up the minis battery.
There are plenty of YouTube vids showing less than 3 hours SOT for the mini with not optimized games.

 

[Tsepz]

Well be a bit realistic. If its the exact same usage the larger battery will win.

of course if you play heavy games on the Samsung 4 hours will be hard to achieve. Running the same game will also eat up the minis battery.
There are plenty of YouTube vids showing less than 3 hours SOT for the mini with not optimized games.

It’s hilarious, depending on what forum I am on I will either see an Android user claim that a iPhone can barely last 5 hours or an iPhone user claiming an Android can barely last 5 hours

Sitting here with my 11 Pro Max and P40 Pro 5G, and both of them do a phenomenal job with my personal usage, no matter which one I use when I get to bed I still have more than enough juice to make it part of way for the next day if need be, but I usually plug in when I go to bed regardless.

The S21 Ultra seems to also do a great job, but I guess it’s all down to an individual’s usage.

 

[LFC2020]

Well be a bit realistic. If its the exact same usage the larger battery will win.

of course if you play heavy games on the Samsung 4 hours will be hard to achieve. Running the same game will also eat up the minis battery.
There are plenty of YouTube vids showing less than 3 hours SOT for the mini with not optimized games.

Hearing some mixed results here in Australia, some exynos 2100 users are reporting very average usage without doing very intensive task.

Maybe the exynos 2100 is trash 🤷‍♂️

 

[supertiffany]

Hearing some mixed results here in Australia, some exynos 2100 users are reporting very average usage without doing very intensive task.

Maybe the exynos 2100 is trash 🤷‍♂️

exynos has always been worse in battery than snapdragon

 

[macdogpro]

I consistently get 4-5 hours SOT with my moderate usage of Social medias, forum browsing, texting and a little bit of emailing, with on average 12-18 hours of usage time between 80-25% battery life range.

On a heavier day, I got 3,5-4 hours SOT with 8-12 hours usage time with same battery range, before plugging into 5W charger that took 90 minutes to reach 80% from 25%.

When I need to go outside for a day long, I charge my mini to 95% and it lasted 6 hours SOT when the battery reach down to 25%.

There is no problem on mini’s battery life, except for people who used to larger iPhones that lasts 2 days of usage time.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

My usage patterns are typically pretty light and for that, the Mini did just fine. When I was on vacation and shooting video/using navigation it was woefully inadequate.

 

[snipr125]

Hearing some mixed results here in Australia, some exynos 2100 users are reporting very average usage without doing very intensive task.

Maybe the exynos 2100 is trash 🤷‍♂️

We get the inferior exynos chips in the UK on galaxy phones like you aussies. In my opinion legal action should be brought against Samsung for advertising their Galaxy/Note phones internationally as a single product, when the Snapdragon and Exynos versions are essentially 2 different phones. The snapdragon variant is more efficient, has better battery life and higher performance benchmarks vs the Exynos version. Its funny how they use the snapdragon version in their own home market in S.Korea, which says it all really!

 

[stanza.richi]

My typical day contains 2 hours in car: during this time I recharge the mini while using it as navigation system. No problems at all with battery life during working day in this way. Had to test it better in free days in the future, after covid breakdown that I hope will happen early or later.

 

[DevinNj]

I can't understand those who knock the battery life of the Mini, or any smartphone for that matter. In today's world, if you're able to own a smartphone, meaning you don't live on a secluded island, in a cave, off the coast of Antarctica, how do you not have access to a charger if needed? Will it last as long as a Max version, no, of course not, but you know that going into it. For what it is, I think the Mini is a stellar phone.

@stanza.richi, I think you also hit on something, we've changed up our daily routine due to COVID, at least I have, so I don't think I can accurately compare what my battery life would be now versus a non COVID world. Personally, my iPhone usage was a lot more when my son had various sports practices 3-5 days a week, I was going out to the gym more often, just being out and about without restrictions.

 

[stanza.richi]

I can't understand those who knock the battery life of the Mini, or any smartphone for that matter. In today's world, if you're able to own a smartphone, meaning you don't live on a secluded island, in a cave, off the coast of Antarctica, how do you not have access to a charger if needed? Will it last as long as a Max version, no, of course not, but you know that going into it. For what it is, I think the Mini is a stellar phone.

@stanza.richi, I think you also hit on something, we've changed up our daily routine due to COVID, at least I have, so I don't think I can accurately compare what my battery life would be now versus a non COVID world. Personally, my iPhone usage was a lot more when my son had various sports practices 3-5 days a week, I was going out to the gym more often, just being out and about without restrictions.

Well, in my case I’m still doing my 120 km trip to go and come back from work with quite full days of work (I’m a neurosurgeon, 6-8 hours instead of 8-10-12-more 😂).

 

[DexBell]

My Mini has been off the charger for just about 12 hours now. Says 2hrs 52 min of screen on time, which is clearly wrong. Ive used it maybe 20-30 minutes. Battery at 76%. Battery life is decent at best on the Mini, but I'll take it.

 

[fatlardo]

I’m a super heavy user. Game a lot, surf a lot, listen to music steaming, some YouTube. I have to charge at least once during the day/evening. I love this phone and size. Can’t wait for the next iteration. I so wish it has longer battery life. It just fits so well in the hand.

 

[Voodoofreak]

I play CPU/GPU heavy games for over an hour a day. Other uses include YouTube and other video streaming services. I do end up recharging about at least once a day (sometimes twice) halfway through the day.

Average daily screen time is 4 hours.

 

[Barbareren]

Hey guys,

Did another battery test today. Very heavy use with almost constant podcast and media streaming through the AirPods Pro, while also using the Apple Watch. I only charge my phone for 50% at the time, and during 8 hours of heavy, almost constant, use it lost almost exactly 50% of battery life. I honestly don’t see who would have a problem with the battery life of the Mini unless you don’t have any access to a power outlet during 8-12 hours...

 

[DeepIn2U]

Yup, it's all about what you're into I guess. I'm not at all into video gaming, bought a Sega Saturn when they came out and that was my first/last gaming system. Now one of my best friends will line up in stores for hours each year when the new gaming consoles come out, but cannot understand why I get a new iPhone each year. That's in addition to his several custom built gaming pc's. Another friend has over $40K USD into his new Corvette (on top of what he paid for it), but getting a new iPhone each year is "stupid" to him. "Waste of money" to him. Funny how that works.

Quick edit: I do have a handheld blackjack game that my mother had gotten for me before she passed, I do break that out every now and again, stick a fresh battery in and play it for a few days. Then put it away for another year or so. So yeah, guess that makes me a gamer! Lol

I'd LOVE to see a pic of your late mom got for you. I love nostalgia and older games.

Did another battery test today. Very heavy use with almost constant podcast and media streaming through the AirPods Pro, while also using the Apple Watch. I only charge my phone for 50% at the time, and during 8 hours of heavy, almost constant, use it lost almost exactly 50% of battery life. I honestly don’t see who would have a problem with the battery life of the Mini unless you don’t have any access to a power outlet during 8-12 hours...

With more and more real world anecdots of the 12 mini in use, I think the idea of poor battery life is overplayed & played out (I blame 1wk youtube reviewers or 'content creators' for that).

Sadly I think we are in for a 3 year cycle with the current iPhones, so the larger screens are here to stay. I might buy the iPhone 12 Mini S though if it comes out in September bc that might be last small phone for a while.

If the 12 mini S debuts with even 20% better battery life, and a matte back non-polished sides of the 12 Pro/Pro max models I'll be happy. Matte Black ... BOOM!

I personally LOVE the 12 mini in blue right now.
I loved the 4/4S models, the 5S and OG SE but the 12 mini ... absolutely my most favourite smartphone ever.

 

[macdogpro]

Was finally working full day outside the house for 5 days straight for a field project. And this is what I got from the Mini.

I usually charged it to 80-85% and use it until 30-25% when working from home. But for working outside I charged it to 95-100%.

I woke up at 6 AM and when I end the day, I got 25% left by 9 PM.

Usage was combination of phone calls, texts, few camera shots, reading some documents on Office app, and ordering food from food delivery app. Definitely not heavy usage but a typical normal ones.

So no charging during the day is absolutely adequate for me.