Hello everyone,
I had bought an iPhone 12 mini on launch day and I kept it few weeks before returning it and get my X back.
Like most of 12 mini users, I really loved that phone for its compact size and weight. It had some annoying points that I wasn’t happy with but that I could handle (yellowish screen and narrow keyboard).
However, there was ONE point that I absolutely couldn’t bear: the font and content small size inside applications.
I had increased the font size in the settings, which helped to make emails and iOS menus more comfortable to read.
But changing the font size only works on iOS settings and menus (settings, phone calls history, contacts, notes, emails, etc.). And that was the main issue, as most of 3rd party applications don’t support iOS Dynamic Type (=scaling the text size according your size choice in iOS settings).
So, a change of font size in the iOS settings didn’t impact the displayed information within these 3rd apps. They sticked to the font size that the programmers had coded.
After few days of usage, I really felt Eye Fatigue by reading every day such small texts and content (nothing to do with PWM). Whereas I have absolutely no issue using my corporate iPhone 8, which has a smaller screen. I even still use a SE1 for a personal project and I don't feel any discomfort after reading on this screen for many minutes.
When I compared some 3rd party applications between my iPhone 8 and iPhone 12 Mini, the font on the 12 Mini ALWAYS looked a bit smaller. Yes the difference was slight, but slight enough to make it uncomfortable to read text for long periods.
My theory is that Apple really made a weird screen resolution choice for iPhone 12 Mini.
However, for the iPhone 12 Mini, the screen is 0.7” smaller than iPhone 12 whereas the PPI is at 476…
It doesn’t look like a big gap with 460 PPI, but it actually makes a real difference in daily usage as the screen size is much smaller than the 12's one.
By once again comparing 3rd party applications text size on the 12 mini, my old X and my friend's regular iPhone 12, the difference was pretty clear.
Using such a high native resolution on a small display automatically makes the font look smaller. This is physics.
For instance, working on a 24” monitor with native FHD resolution is much more comfortable for reading content than using a 24” monitor with native QHD resolution.
Images and videos do look gorgeous on a 24” QHD, but using Office applications without any zoom is really annoying since the text size looks smaller on native QHD setup.
That’s why most of QHD monitors start at 27 and 32 inches. Because the resolution has to be relevant to the screen size, as this will impact comfort of use. Once again, this is physics.
So really, for the 12 Mini, what’s the point in putting such a high PPI in such a small 5.4” screen? I just don’t get it.
On contrary to some Android phones that allow you to switch to lower resolutions for battery life and reading purposes, iOS doesn't offer that option and we have to deal with the native screen resolution of the phone. So, for me they just ruined a great device with that resolution choice.
Anyway, does anyone feel the same way regarding iPhone 12 Mini resolution issue ?
Or maybe, has this issue been solved with iOS updates? I only used the 12 Mini in November and December, so many iOS updates have been released in the meantime.
If the issue has been solved, I would gladly give it another shot.
Thank you.
I had bought an iPhone 12 mini on launch day and I kept it few weeks before returning it and get my X back.
Like most of 12 mini users, I really loved that phone for its compact size and weight. It had some annoying points that I wasn’t happy with but that I could handle (yellowish screen and narrow keyboard).
However, there was ONE point that I absolutely couldn’t bear: the font and content small size inside applications.
I had increased the font size in the settings, which helped to make emails and iOS menus more comfortable to read.
But changing the font size only works on iOS settings and menus (settings, phone calls history, contacts, notes, emails, etc.). And that was the main issue, as most of 3rd party applications don’t support iOS Dynamic Type (=scaling the text size according your size choice in iOS settings).
So, a change of font size in the iOS settings didn’t impact the displayed information within these 3rd apps. They sticked to the font size that the programmers had coded.
After few days of usage, I really felt Eye Fatigue by reading every day such small texts and content (nothing to do with PWM). Whereas I have absolutely no issue using my corporate iPhone 8, which has a smaller screen. I even still use a SE1 for a personal project and I don't feel any discomfort after reading on this screen for many minutes.
When I compared some 3rd party applications between my iPhone 8 and iPhone 12 Mini, the font on the 12 Mini ALWAYS looked a bit smaller. Yes the difference was slight, but slight enough to make it uncomfortable to read text for long periods.
My theory is that Apple really made a weird screen resolution choice for iPhone 12 Mini.
- Retina LCD iPhones have a 326 PPI to fit their small screens and it’s fine (even though for XR and 11).
- Retina LCD Plus iPhones have a good 401 PPI but had much bigger screens, which is fine too.
- iPhone X / XS / XS Max / 11 Pro / 11 Pro Max have a 458 PPI, which is well balanced as they all have big OLED screens.
- iPhone 12 / 12 Pro /12 Pro Max have a 460 PPI. Which is almost identical to the previous OLED iPhones.
However, for the iPhone 12 Mini, the screen is 0.7” smaller than iPhone 12 whereas the PPI is at 476…
It doesn’t look like a big gap with 460 PPI, but it actually makes a real difference in daily usage as the screen size is much smaller than the 12's one.
By once again comparing 3rd party applications text size on the 12 mini, my old X and my friend's regular iPhone 12, the difference was pretty clear.
Using such a high native resolution on a small display automatically makes the font look smaller. This is physics.
For instance, working on a 24” monitor with native FHD resolution is much more comfortable for reading content than using a 24” monitor with native QHD resolution.
Images and videos do look gorgeous on a 24” QHD, but using Office applications without any zoom is really annoying since the text size looks smaller on native QHD setup.
That’s why most of QHD monitors start at 27 and 32 inches. Because the resolution has to be relevant to the screen size, as this will impact comfort of use. Once again, this is physics.
So really, for the 12 Mini, what’s the point in putting such a high PPI in such a small 5.4” screen? I just don’t get it.
On contrary to some Android phones that allow you to switch to lower resolutions for battery life and reading purposes, iOS doesn't offer that option and we have to deal with the native screen resolution of the phone. So, for me they just ruined a great device with that resolution choice.
Anyway, does anyone feel the same way regarding iPhone 12 Mini resolution issue ?
Or maybe, has this issue been solved with iOS updates? I only used the 12 Mini in November and December, so many iOS updates have been released in the meantime.
If the issue has been solved, I would gladly give it another shot.
Thank you.
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