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iPhone 13 mini Advice about an upgrade (from 13 mini)

S

san23

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 13, 2017
7
1
I've finally decided my 13 mini needs an upgrade (few niggles here and there and battery health percentage heading down to the low 80s).

As you may guess, weight followed by size are my two top priorities. Is the regular 16 my best bet at this point? I ask because I would wait for the new SE - when it releases - if it is lighter than the 16. Any guesses regarding this? For those who moved from a 13/12 mini to the regular 16, did you finally adjust to the huge-ness of the new phone (dramatic, yes)?

Thank you.
 
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The 13 is still a very capable device and will be so for years (my wife has one).I would also recommend replacing the battery and waiting, how the rumors about a thinner, lighter iPhone may pan out.
 
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san23 said:
I've finally decided my 13 mini needs an upgrade (few niggles here and there and battery health percentage heading down to the low 80s).

As you may guess, weight followed by size are my two top priorities. Is the regular 16 my best bet at this point? I ask because I would wait for the new SE - when it releases - if it is lighter than the 16. Any guesses regarding this? For those who moved from a 13/12 mini to the regular 16, did you finally adjust to the huge-ness of the new phone (dramatic, yes)?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
I have the 16 pro, but no. It still feels large and heavy in my hand almost four months later. My advice would be to replace the battery in the 13 mini.
 
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FYI if you’re going the battery replacement route the 13 mini will get stuck at 80% for about 6-9 months before it drops below that and can get a battery replacement. To speed up the battery degradation fully discharge it to 0% till it dies and recharge to 100% repeatedly, better yet let it sit on the charger all day for good measure with optimization disabled. Just got the battery replaced on mine.
 
just talked to a friend who replaced his 13 mini with a 16 pro and he was a little disappoited. He said, he liked the size and weight of the mini more and his other user experience hasn‘t goten notiecable better. I have a 13 mini as well and will probably replace the battery at some point and wait what the 17 air or a possible future foldable brings to the table.
 
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I went from a 12 mini I’d had since new to a 16 a few months after a LOT of deliberation, and don’t regret it in the slightest. The first month or so it felt a bit weird, but it never felt huge / as dramatic as I’d made it out in my head to be. And for me personally all the little improvements were very much worth the loss of a slightly smaller phone in my hand / pocket
 
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We just made the switch from the iPhone 13 mini to the 16 Pro and absolutely love our new phones! This is our first-ever Pro model. The pro version weight and size has been fine.

I also started wearing structured pants earlier in the year instead of sweats, which has helped keep my phone in place and prevent my pants from being pulled down. LOL
 
Any non pro device you are upgrading from 13 mini is not a substantial upgrade unless you are getting iphone 16 or unless your iphone 13 mini having major issues
 
Unami said:
just talked to a friend who replaced his 13 mini with a 16 pro and he was a little disappoited. He said, he liked the size and weight of the mini more and his other user experience hasn‘t goten notiecable better. I have a 13 mini as well and will probably replace the battery at some point and wait what the 17 air or a possible future foldable brings to the table.
Click to expand...
That is where I’m at. I had the 16 briefly it was fine. But I prefer the 13 mini feel in hand. I wonder if the 17 will be a great update? SE looks like will be hard edge 14 model. The 16 did feel great in the hand.

Camera control was unnecessary and annoying to activate on accident. The se 4 with the 15/16 softer edge would be perfect but looks like that’s not the case per reports coming out. We shall see this week hopefully. And notice I didnt say anything about specs. They’re all fine these days. I wouldn’t notice anything day to day.
 
I really cannot understand how can people be satisfied by an iPhone Mini, but this is highly subjective. If you are, and the battery is the only concern, just replace it. iPhone 13 still is a capable device overall, and will be for a couple years.
 
I went from a 12 mini to a 14 Pro a couple years ago. I regretted it a lot for a while.

While my 14 Pro is a fine device, I'd go back to a mini in a heartbeat if a new one were available for sale. There's been so many times over the last couple years I've been tempted to switch down to a 13 mini. In hindsight, it probably wouldn't have been the best idea for me due to smaller text being harder for me to read and battery life concerns.

With the new SE being rumored to come out this week, I think you might as well wait to see the specs on that. Or, as others mentioned, maybe just get a new battery for your 13 mini unless you absolutely do need to upgrade.
 
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I've had the Pro as a work phone for years, shuttling the old one to my personal phone as I went. That ended at my previous job, so this year I upgraded my personal phone to the 16 (non pro). It's significantly lighter than the Pro for sure. I would NOT recommend getting a Pro simply for the physical size comparison to the Mini. I think you'd be disappointed with the weight.
 
minimo3 said:
FYI if you’re going the battery replacement route the 13 mini will get stuck at 80% for about 6-9 months before it drops below that and can get a battery replacement. To speed up the battery degradation fully discharge it to 0% till it dies and recharge to 100% repeatedly, better yet let it sit on the charger all day for good measure with optimization disabled. Just got the battery replaced on mine.
Click to expand...
You can go this route IF you’re paying for AppleCare plus, but most people are out of warranty. They’re gonna pay for the battery anyway no need to do this..
 
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Paul368 said:
I went from a 12 mini I’d had since new to a 16 a few months after a LOT of deliberation, and don’t regret it in the slightest. The first month or so it felt a bit weird, but it never felt huge / as dramatic as I’d made it out in my head to be. And for me personally all the little improvements were very much worth the loss of a slightly smaller phone in my hand / pocket
Click to expand...
So. Now it’s a few more months on… I am starting to miss the mini size! 😩🙈 The novelty of all the ‘extra’ things has kinda worn off now and I don’t really use the larger screen day to day - so miss the smaller size in pocket. Think I should have just done the battery in my 12m!!
 
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san23 said:
I've finally decided my 13 mini needs an upgrade (few niggles here and there and battery health percentage heading down to the low 80s).

As you may guess, weight followed by size are my two top priorities. Is the regular 16 my best bet at this point? I ask because I would wait for the new SE - when it releases - if it is lighter than the 16. Any guesses regarding this? For those who moved from a 13/12 mini to the regular 16, did you finally adjust to the huge-ness of the new phone (dramatic, yes)?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
My wife faced this decision. She went with my 13pro and I got a 16promax.

Yes, the screen and camera are better, but she really misses the mini.
 
FlyingDutch said:
I really cannot understand how can people be satisfied by an iPhone Mini, but this is highly subjective. If you are, and the battery is the only concern, just replace it. iPhone 13 still is a capable device overall, and will be for a couple years.
Click to expand...
Because way more people can operate it one handed without finger, wrist, or forearm strain.
 
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Just swap the battery for a new one if you are still into upgrading. Mine is 80% now too (11 Pro) but I have 3 powerbanks around so I basically never feel that I am out of juice.

New iPhones won’t make you happier since there are basically not so many new features in regular 16 (which is hideous IMO) or 16e
 
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