iPhone 13 mini "Downgrading" from a 15 Pro to a 13 mini– first impressions

[FeliApple]

The OS definitely has an impact on battery life. Mine still says 100% battery health. But I now get one full day out of a charge. When it was new, I often made it nearly three days between charges. (Yes, I use a lot of tricks to keep battery usage low.)

As anyone who’s read my posts knows, I’m the first person to blame major iOS updates when it comes to battery life, but that difference sounds too insane. A third of the battery life you got back then is definitely explained by something else. Even my absolutely garbage 6s on iOS 13 is better than 33% of iOS 9. (It’s about 50-55%. Garbage, but not that garbage. It’s unusable in terms of battery life however, of course).

 

[CharlesShaw]

I'm thinking about buying a lightning 3.5 adapter and then a 3.5 EarPods.. Am I a crazy dude? (at least I can use the 3.5 EarPods in the Mac)

Not crazy if you need the 3.5 mm jack. But if you prefer Apple's $9 adapters, and the EarPods outlive your Lightning iPhone, you'll be spending another $9 on the USB-C adapter someday. If you don't need the 3.5 mm, you could break even by buying new $19 EarPods when you need USB-C for a new phone. Thinking back to the days when our iPhones came with a new headset, it was a treat to replace the old set.

I already owned Apple's $9 adapters for Lightning and for USB-C (for my other wired headphones without microphones) so for me, with a 13 mini, M1 iPad, and a work laptop with 3.5 mm, it made the most sense to buy 3.5 mm EarPods.

 

[P_Watt]

If I am misunderstanding Apple's policy and thinking they will only replace the battery *under AppleCare* if under 80% health, and I can just walk in (or make an appointment) and cough up $80 for a brand new Apple battery, I'll very likely go that route.

If the battery is third party they will seal it back up ( if they get that far) and refuse to work on it. They will likely run a diagnostic first. Applecare is void on any third party refurb involving opening the case. You are stuck with third party repairs now.

 

[Ralfi]

If you turn off background app refresh for apps that don't need it (aka most) and disable 5g completely, the battery life isn't too bad. Try to avoid cellular completely, and it's pretty good.

Sounds more like an iPod than an iPhone at this point.

 

[splitpea]

As anyone who’s read my posts knows, I’m the first person to blame major iOS updates when it comes to battery life, but that difference sounds too insane. A third of the battery life you got back then is definitely explained by something else. Even my absolutely garbage 6s on iOS 13 is better than 33% of iOS 9. (It’s about 50-55%. Garbage, but not that garbage. It’s unusable in terms of battery life however, of course).

It’s possible my usage patterns have also changed slightly, but not hugely. And those are the numbers I’m seeing.

It used to be I could charge to 80% Monday morning and Tuesday eve it’d be around 25%. (Or 100% Monday morning, 10% Weds eve, but I don’t like cutting it that close.)

Now it’s 90% Monday morning, 30% Monday evening, and time to top it off again.

 

[rumourmonger]

When I was moving from iPhone 12 Mini, the 13 Mini was already out of official circulation but readily available. I still chose 14 over 13 Mini - because of battery. I knew I was going to regret either way, for different reasons. I still regret it. But then hating the phone size (and I hate size of 14 - almost 2+ years now) and always being worried about battery % - I had to pick the lesser evil i.e the evil size.

 

[EmanuelF]

When your phone starts feeling “outdated” or “unappealing,” keep in mind:

• After 3-years/80% health, you need a new ORIGINAL battery. Besides lasting twice as long, it feels more reliable as the draining slows down and restore that “new phone” snappines and performance.
• iOS updates aren’t slowing your phone down — it’s usually just the aging battery. Modern iPhones are far more capable of running new software than models from a decade ago.
• A new phone has has an anti-grease coating over the camera lenses, that wears off fairly quick. Give them a quick wipe with your t-shirt before taking photos. This is more noticeable in the low light conditions.

 

[mk313]

EarPods are great. The 3.5 ones are much more versatile than those other lightning or usbc connectors. I know I still use my 3.5 with the phones, my work laptop for calls, and my iPod click wheel.i was thinking buying another one to keep at work.

EarPods are the best. I still use them on my phone when at the house, and for all my work calls. I did switch to the USB-C version for work calls, so I have lightning for phone & USB-C for work, but such great, minimalist earbuds. Much better and more compact than the huge overeat headphones that work provides.

 

[mk313]

I agree with the recommendation to try a new apple-installed battery if the $80 ins't a deal killer. It's hard to tell if what you're experiencing is normal or not. I use my 13 mini (still original battery but now down to 88%) every day and don't have any issues with it dying on me, but I'm probably a lighter user than you are. But a third party battery can be a significant factor in limiting your battery life.

The second things I'd mention is to play around with the 5G setting. It's not always worse than LTE, and in some cases can be better. The main issue was that 5G, when first deployed, was built as an add on (not all carriers, but certainly many), so your voice calls would still route via LTE, but the data would go through 5G. That;'s not always the case any longer, and 5G is a more efficient technology, so your hone MIGHT work better on 5g than on LTE.

I do agree that battery life & performance is worse on ios18 than it was previously.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Sounds more like an iPod than an iPhone at this point.

I don't mean to not use cellular data, just that many people will use wifi at home, but anywhere else they use cell data. Just don't do that, jump on your mechanic's free wifi, ask your friend for their wifi password when you visit, get on your works wifi instead of hanging out on cellular for 8 hours a day.

 

[plek]

I'm thinking about buying a lightning 3.5 adapter and then a 3.5 EarPods.. Am I a crazy dude? (at least I can use the 3.5 EarPods in the Mac)

Not at all! I hastily bought a pair of EarPods a few months ago, when my wireless earbuds died and I'm honestly surprised with how good they sound for the price. Like how lightweight and comfortable they are in the ear too.

 

[vvvvvv]

Sounds more like an iPod than an iPhone at this point.

Also referred to as coping. At a certain point, the extra .7” of screen really becomes not that big of a deal. The stress involved with having to worry about battery life (yes, mine was just replaced a month ago) is just no longer worth it.

 

[phillyman]

After espousing what I thought was correct, I just looked it up.... I didn't see anything about the 80% but I have this vague recollection that you are right [ EDIT 80% only applies to applecare -->

Our warranty doesn’t cover batteries that wear down from normal use. If you have AppleCare and your iPhone battery holds less than 80 percent of it’s original capacity, you are eligible for a battery replacement at no additional cost. ]

https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-replacement

So its estimated at 89 bucks for non applecare and zero with.

 

[Lioness~]

For you who are bothered by the lightning-contact, I hardly ever think about it, as I use wireless chargers. No need to use the lightning-port for any charging.
Maybe, I have to use a lightning cord 1 time/year, or not at all.

In that case I have a lightning-cord (mostly hidden) that charges my trackpad and keyboard to my Mac Studio, and easily accessible.

Love my 13 mini - at 88% battery now.
Think it was on 89% last time I checked 8-10 months ago.

 

[phillyman]

would I prefer usbc? Of course, but I've got so many lighting cables it doesn't matter

 

[Capeto]

After espousing what I thought was correct, I just looked it up.... I didn't see anything about the 80% but I have this vague recollection that you are right [ EDIT 80% only applies to applecare -->



https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-replacement

So its estimated at 89 bucks for non applecare and zero with.

Can't believe Apple would use "it's" when they meant "its". Tim Cook is cooked.

Anyways, I'm leaning towards repurposing my work 16e as my main phone at the end of the month. It's still annoying to have to bring an extra set of cables and battery anxiety is not making the experience any more pleasant. I'll keep the mini around to tinker with, or I might give it to my sister so she can upgrade from the launch-day 12 mini she's still happily rocking (she is definitely a light user and mainly sports a non-smart flip phone).

 

[turbineseaplane]

It was around 81%, the difference when switched to the new original battery was huge. Felt like a new phone.

You've convinced me ... I'm doing that in the next few weeks when convenient.

 

[bzgnyc2]

How low did you go on battery health before doing a replacement?

I'm down to low 80% range and trying to decide when to do it.

The problem with Apple's Battery Health metric is that it is very misleading. 80% is like 'E' on a typical car's gas tank. You can go a little more on it but it's basically empty. When my last phone got down to ~ 80%, it would only last a few hours -- sometimes < 45 minutes SOT and sometimes turning off the phone as soon as I took it off the charger. Replace battery and I was getting ~ up to 40 hours battery life (more typically charging to ~ 80% ~ 1.5 days).

 

[turbineseaplane]

The problem with Apple's Battery Health metric is that it is very misleading. 80% is like 'E' on a typical car's gas tank. You can go a little more on it but it's basically empty. When my last phone got down to ~ 80%, it would only last a few hours -- sometimes < 45 minutes SOT and sometimes turning off the phone as soon as I took it off the charger. Replace battery and I was getting ~ up to 40 hours battery life (more typically charging to ~ 80% ~ 1.5 days).

Just checked mine .. I remembered wrong and I'm still at 86%

When do you think I should do a new battery?

 

[vvvvvv]

Just checked mine .. I remembered wrong and I'm still at 86%

When do you think I should do a new battery?

There was a noticeable albeit minuscule difference (read: it still sucked) when I had mine replaced at 83% just a couple months ago, though I wasn’t keeping track of % prior to reaching 83.

 

[bzgnyc2]

Just checked mine .. I remembered wrong and I'm still at 86%

When do you think I should do a new battery?

I would still go ahead and replace it now if you exhaust an 80-100% charge in less than one day. If we assume 80% ~ 0% then by linear interpolation of 86% ~ 30%. Battery Health is probably not linear -- I am not saying you will get 3x the life after replacing it -- but I bet you would see a worthwhile boost in battery life that perhaps moves you from having to recharge during the day to having to only recharge once per day.

iOS 18 is a battery suck. Or at least the iPhone 13 mini/iOS 18 combo is a battery suck compared with an iPhone SE (2016)/iOS 15 combo (not to mention versus iOS 12). I used to stream Apple Music to a Roku via AirPlay at a family member's home with my iPhone SE and never worried about battery. I left my iPhone 13 Mini connected to someone else's Roku stick yesterday thinking it would stop when I turned off the TV but it actually proceeded to keep playing, draining the battery from 80 to 20% over the next 5 hours. My fault for leaving it playing but 5 hours of playing Apple Music via AirPlay shoudln't use up most of the battery. Never had that issue on the iPhone SE/iOS 15 combo. Not to mention little glitches like Calendar started using 30% of my battery under iOS 18.5. The iPhone 13 Mini should really have 3-5x better battery life than an iPhone SE/etc when doing the same things given the technological improvements but in practice all that gets squandered away by iOS bloat.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I would still go ahead and replace it now if you exhaust an 80-100% charge in less than one day. If we assume 80% ~ 0% then by linear interpolation of 86% ~ 30%. Battery Health is probably not linear -- I am not saying you will get 3x the life after replacing it -- but I bet you would see a worthwhile boost in battery life that perhaps moves you from having to recharge during the day to having to only recharge once per day.

iOS 18 is a battery suck. Or at least the iPhone 13 mini/iOS 18 combo is a battery suck compared with an iPhone SE (2016)/iOS 15 combo (not to mention versus iOS 12). I used to stream Apple Music to a Roku via AirPlay at a family member's home with my iPhone SE and never worried about battery. I left my iPhone 13 Mini connected to someone else's Roku stick yesterday thinking it would stop when I turned off the TV but it actually proceeded to keep playing, draining the battery from 80 to 20% over the next 5 hours. My fault for leaving it playing but 5 hours of playing Apple Music via AirPlay shoudln't use up most of the battery. Never had that issue on the iPhone SE/iOS 15 combo. Not to mention little glitches like Calendar started using 30% of my battery under iOS 18.5. The iPhone 13 Mini should really have 3-5x better battery life than an iPhone SE/etc when doing the same things given the technological improvements but in practice all that gets squandered away by iOS bloat.

I agree with you on going ahead on the replacement.
I'll do that when I'm over in Seattle area next month.

Does one just walk in or should I make an appointment via Apple Support online?

 

[David Taub]

Capeto. Hope that 13 mini works out for you. It isn't for everyone. I really like the 13 mini. Why I now have two.

I don't have too much trouble with mine and battery time. But I use it lightly for use when I go cycling or go to the gym. Also when I travel. I like small. Light. At home it lasts me easily the whole day. Plenty chargers in the house.

Am currently researching a magsafe power bank to take with me while on the planes and using Waze in the car. Currently looking at Anker and Ugreen solutions.

Bought my first iphone 13 mini in November 2022. Red. And I really like it. Now it's mainly backup. Because of aging eyes I decided to buy an iphone 16 for the larger screen. It helps at home and i throw it into my backpack when i head into town. But at home I use my ipad mini and 13 mini mostly.

Yesterday my second iphone 13 mini was delivered. Blue this time. Bought it off amazon. Like new condition. And damn, it is pristine. The battery is 100 percent. There is the very slightest scratch on the aluminum frame, lower left hand corner. Maybe the glass was lifted in that spot to put in a new battery? I don't know. But not a mark or scratch anyplace else. I am still amazed at how 'new' it looks and feels. I was expecting to have to send it back cause I wouldn't be happy. So far i'm a happy camper.

If i wasn't inspecting this closely cause it's a used phone I would probably have assumed this phone is new. I checked its serial number with Apple Coverage Check and it says it was first sold in March 2022. Putting it through it's paces. Using all the buttons. And I mean the sim card tray, lightning port, speaker holes, all like new. Spotless. Like it has never been used. New look and feel like the macbook pro I bought refurbished from Apple.

Bought this second mini to take to the usa when i go to visit family in a few months. Currently living in europe. Wanted a separate pristine phone, new phone number/sim card without all my emails, text messages, photos, etc. in case I'm stopped by at customs. And if they confiscate the phone i'm out 308 euros but that's it. Didn't want to risk losing one of my daily phones. I'll give this blue mini to my wife when she retires in about 6 months.

Oh, and despite my ordering this new/used iphone via amazon here in france with the reseller based in england the phones country/language was America and english...

I hope apple gives us another mini one day. Maybe a 'pro' version. 5.6" screen? ;-)

 

[vvvvvv]

Capeto. Hope that 13 mini works out for you. It isn't for everyone. I really like the 13 mini. Why I now have two.

I don't have too much trouble with mine and battery time. But I use it lightly for use when I go cycling or go to the gym. Also when I travel. I like small. Light. At home it lasts me easily the whole day. Plenty chargers in the house.

Am currently researching a magsafe power bank to take with me while on the planes and using Waze in the car. Currently looking at Anker and Ugreen solutions.

Bought my first iphone 13 mini in November 2022. Red. And I really like it. Now it's mainly backup. Because of aging eyes I decided to buy an iphone 16 for the larger screen. It helps at home and i throw it into my backpack when i head into town. But at home I use my ipad mini and 13 mini mostly.

Yesterday my second iphone 13 mini was delivered. Blue this time. Bought it off amazon. Like new condition. And damn, it is pristine. The battery is 100 percent. There is the very slightest scratch on the aluminum frame, lower left hand corner. Maybe the glass was lifted in that spot to put in a new battery? I don't know. But not a mark or scratch anyplace else. I am still amazed at how 'new' it looks and feels. I was expecting to have to send it back cause I wouldn't be happy. So far i'm a happy camper.

If i wasn't inspecting this closely cause it's a used phone I would probably have assumed this phone is new. I checked its serial number with Apple Coverage Check and it says it was first sold in March 2022. Putting it through it's paces. Using all the buttons. And I mean the sim card tray, lightning port, speaker holes, all like new. Spotless. Like it has never been used. New look and feel like the macbook pro I bought refurbished from Apple.

Bought this second mini to take to the usa when i go to visit family in a few months. Currently living in europe. Wanted a separate pristine phone, new phone number/sim card without all my emails, text messages, photos, etc. in case I'm stopped by at customs. And if they confiscate the phone i'm out 308 euros but that's it. Didn't want to risk losing one of my daily phones. I'll give this blue mini to my wife when she retires in about 6 months.

Oh, and despite my ordering this new/used iphone via amazon here in france with the reseller based in england the phones country/language was America and english...

I hope apple gives us another mini one day. Maybe a 'pro' version. 5.6" screen? ;-)

Same boat with the eyesight, 16e though. Congrats on the Amazon pickup- sounds like you hit the 13 mini lottery with that one!

 

[David Taub]

Same boat with the eyesight, 16e though. Congrats on the Amazon pickup- sounds like you hit the 13 mini lottery with that one!

That was a long winding road. First idea was a 16e cause it looks to me like a really good phone. Drifted to other apples, refurbished, but damn they are 'relatively' expensive. Then thought, what about a Pixel or a Nothing or similar android phone. My first 'smart' phone was an android Motorola G from 2015 that my wife still uses. I liked that small phone a lot too. Way too small for me now. And slow.

Finally tried to find an iphone 13 mini cause i already have one and like it a lot. And it 'should' get updates till around 2028, so I figured the 308 euros was an ok price.

Oh, and I was wrong above about it coming from England. The reseller via amazon was Primest Support GmbH based in Wiesbaden, Germany. It seems each time I go to that amazon page it's a different reseller.

And dang, the condition is really excellent. I've tried just about every feature since it was delivered on Friday. It all works as it should. I keep looking. Can't find fault. I am satisfied. Really.

I have at least 2 weeks to return it so I'm gonna use it a lot until then. Make sure the battery stays healthy. So far so good. I may even have up to 30 days to return it if I'm not happy. I gotta recheck the amazon policy stuff.

Ok. I think that's all I have to say about it. Have a great sunday ya'll.