Even people that aren't tech savvy can notice! I think just about every woman in my life has asked why my iPhone is so small.
...maybe size really does matter? /s
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iPhone 13 mini "Downgrading" from a 15 Pro to a 13 mini– first impressions
- Thread starter Capeto
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Even people that aren't tech savvy can notice! I think just about every woman in my life has asked why my iPhone is so small.
...maybe size really does matter? /s
Still have mine. Sadly just only 16GB (like 8GB left) so its really hard to use in this times we live now.
Am I the only one that thinks that Apple just absolutely destroyed the battery life of the SE 1 with iOS 15.8.4? I remember using the phone with 15.8.3 and it was usable but man, 15.8.4 just killed this phone.
Apple mobile devices run best with the main version it came with. Any point updates or a little more are fine but once you go from a full update of the next version of mobile OS, the way most do, it will hurt the mobile device performance and battery.
No complaints from me running 26 on mine. Well, no complaints besides about the aesthetics. Still feels fast!
Also, I strongly think that this is something that Mini fans should consider. The 13 Mini has no replacement. You cannot upgrade to anything similar. Something similar doesn’t exist. iOS 26 is pushing it. I think iOS 18 is probably fine going by my experience of having updated and tested an iPhone 11 from iOS 14 to iOS 18 (I was a family member’s iPhone and it had to be updated for compatibility reasons, but I had enough time with it to run a full battery test on iOS 14 and on iOS 18), there was no difference at all. They had the same SOT 100-0%.
But iOS 26 is a significant redesign. Battery life tends to be severely affected by large updates like this one. Beta testing is ending and even though it’s still a beta and it has a lot of background tasks, people report large differences still. It may improve on final release or it may not, but users have to know that iOS 26 is a risky one, unlike iOS 18, and downgrading isn’t possible. Upgrading isn’t possible either: the 13 Mini is the last of its kind. Updating would entail a massive risk. You can’t buy a 15 Mini if you’re unhappy with iOS 26 this time.
Frankly… I’d at least wait a while. If people report significantly worse battery life, I’d stay on iOS 18 and upgrade when that one is incompatible enough. I reckon Mini users on iOS 18 have at least four years of good compatibility, judging by my 15-year-old experience of running original iOS versions. Five years is a stretch. Four might be possible. Three is practically certain.
Battery life should be more than adequate on iOS 18, obviously considering its default limitations. Those were present on iOS 15, too!
Also run 26 and it works great, and better than 18 I upgraded from.
I just had to upgrade on my mini as I couldn’t change wallpaper, strange, but 26 is nice, and I got my preferred wallpaper on my mini.
Well, after about a month of this experiment it has finally come to an end– at least for now. Three main reasons for this decision:
I just remembered that Apple now offers self-service repair and they sell genuine 13 mini batteries; I also forgot that you can actually check whether your battery is genuine from within iOS settings so I will take a look once I'm home. If it indeed turns out that my battery is third-party, I'll order a genuine battery from Apple, rent the tools to change it, and make a weekend project out of replacing it to see if that breathes new life into the phone. For now though, I'll keep the 13 mini in a drawer.
- Carrying an extra Lightning cable to charge it is annoying, especially as these become less common and people start becoming less likely to have one themselves.
- RAM/app refresh. While a big reason I decided to try the 13 mini again was so that I could reduce my overall screen time, I am still not necessarily a light user. I'm still checking emails and calendars, adding and organizing items on my to-do lists, communicating via messaging apps, reviewing my finances... I nonetheless managed to reduce my screen time significantly, but it's annoying to have apps refresh when I have to switch from one app to another to check something.
- Battery life. There's no way around it– despite my decreased use, battery life is abysmal. Even with settings tweaked to try to save battery life like turning off background app refresh, turning on low power mode, disabling screen brightness auto-adjust, turning off 5G, etc., I see my battery decrease by a percentage point a minute, and when battery is low it takes a nosedive from 20 to 0 in five minutes.
I just remembered that Apple now offers self-service repair and they sell genuine 13 mini batteries; I also forgot that you can actually check whether your battery is genuine from within iOS settings so I will take a look once I'm home. If it indeed turns out that my battery is third-party, I'll order a genuine battery from Apple, rent the tools to change it, and make a weekend project out of replacing it to see if that breathes new life into the phone. For now though, I'll keep the 13 mini in a drawer.
Thank you for bring the app refresh. I think is more related to iOS 18 but man, it’s terrible.
And battery life is killing me. I need to charge the phone in the work yes or yes because if not, it won’t last me to reach the house.
I have a Pixel 5 and man, it looks really good and you can feel the 90hz screen vs the 60hz screen of the 13 Mini (60hz in the pixel is just garbage).
I don’t know. I like the size but man, I don’t like to be worry about the battery life all the day
Battery anxiety is just too real.
I don’t think I mentioned it but my sister uses a 12 mini that she’s had since launch, but the way she makes it work is that she’s one of those people that uses a non-smart flip phone and just uses her iPhone in those situations where apps are required (e.g., Ticketmaster app to show tickets at the gate), using her flip-phone’s hotspot to connect her iPhone to the internet. Unless you have a similar use case or are close to chargers and external battery packs all day, I don’t see how you could make it work.
I remember battery life being “not good” back when I had my first 13 mini on iOS 15 but I don’t remember it being this bad, so I’m hoping the new OEM battery at least helps. I’d still love to use the mini, maybe on weekdays where I’m more likely to be at work during the day and home at night, and switching to the 16e for weekends and trips.
At least now I know I wouldn’t be happy with a 17 Air, if the rumored battery life compromises are true. My bank account thanks me
So... if my 13 mini does not show a "Parts and Service History" section under Settings > General > About, as per this support article, does that mean that the battery is the one that came with it?
I just find it hard to believe since the phone was clearly used (came with a screen protector and a scuff that indicates it was dropped onto a hard surface with no case on), but I have no "Parts and Service History" section on my 13 mini. Time for some Googling I guess, I really doubt this is an OEM battery still at 100% capacity.
You say Apple today has no interest… does any other company? Looking around recently, they all seem just as big or bigger. If (ok when) my mini becomes obsolete I would consider a phone of similar size, but they don’t seem to be made …like at all..
If you charge wirelessly this is less of an issue. Sure there may be some impact to battery longevity but it sure beats carrying a lightning cable around for an oddball device.
Ditto for getting a wireless carplay adapter if your car is only wired carplay.
I recently went from 13 Mini (battery was on last legs plus i dropped it) to a 16 Pro Max (if i can't have a small one-handed phone i may as well get something with more battery if its a 2 handed device anyway) and to be honest have noticed very little performance difference in general use.
The 13 series chip is still plenty fast enough for today.
Best thing you can do is go through apps that run in the background and limit or block them from doing it.
Things like facebook/messenger and the like burn through a heap of battery.
re: 13 mini v.s. any of the SE phones - outside of battery life (which you can clip on a battery back if you need to charge while out and about) the 13 mini is one of my favorite apple products of all time.
Basically nothing at the high-end but there are a few things downmarket:
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I'd probably be happy with an NanoPhone 4G putting aside what appears to be an old version of Android and limited cellular bands. I'd be onboard with something like that that could run GrapheneOS and use all US bands. Ideally a ~ 4.5" screen (if edge-to-edge and the overall phone was ~ iPhone SE1 size).
I think that we should accept the reality related to small phones.
The last good mini phone is the iPhone Mini and an Azus Zenphone 9? Something like that I don't remember well.
The last good mini phone is the iPhone Mini and an Azus Zenphone 9? Something like that I don't remember well.
Yeah I'm not switching just yet. Not until mine bites the dust.
Since I'm out of warranty without AC+, I'm going to do my own battery replacement in the next few weeks. Might try some other customizations too. Matte back glass? 👀
Since I'm out of warranty without AC+, I'm going to do my own battery replacement in the next few weeks. Might try some other customizations too. Matte back glass? 👀
I have both ther 13 mini and 15 pro. I find myself always using the mini. I'm selling my 15pro and getting the 17pro with all the bells. I can say that something is software related because I get better battery now than I ever did before with the 13 mini. Having said that the one thing I want more than anything is a better camera. The zoom. I don't care about .5x but I love a 3x+ lens and use it all the time. I fly for a living and the pro lets me not carry more camera gear. If they'd out the zoom on a mini it'd be perfect for me. Until then I'll have to go back to the pro.
I will change the battery of my 13 Mini for $108 here in Costa Rica where there are no Apple Stores, just autorized resellers. At least they use original parts so, I think is a fair price when you pay like $80 for a third party battery and a service of a guy you don't even know anything.
I bought this Mini from Amazon but I'm sure the battery is not original (even the system displaying it as original) because the battery life went from 91% to 79% in less than 3 months..
I bought this Mini from Amazon but I'm sure the battery is not original (even the system displaying it as original) because the battery life went from 91% to 79% in less than 3 months..
The mini is not a phone for folks 'always on their phone'.Battery anxiety is just too real.
I don’t think I mentioned it but my sister uses a 12 mini that she’s had since launch, but the way she makes it work is that she’s one of those people that uses a non-smart flip phone and just uses her iPhone in those situations where apps are required (e.g., Ticketmaster app to show tickets at the gate), using her flip-phone’s hotspot to connect her iPhone to the internet. Unless you have a similar use case or are close to chargers and external battery packs all day, I don’t see how you could make it work.
I remember battery life being “not good” back when I had my first 13 mini on iOS 15 but I don’t remember it being this bad, so I’m hoping the new OEM battery at least helps. I’d still love to use the mini, maybe on weekdays where I’m more likely to be at work during the day and home at night, and switching to the 16e for weekends and trips.
At least now I know I wouldn’t be happy with a 17 Air, if the rumored battery life compromises are true. My bank account thanks me
My usage is very much like your sister, where I only use the phone when necessary. The battery can last three or four days before needing a change. Although, I consider taking photos as necessary! 😛 I find screentime for photos and videos seem to drain the battery fastest. My usage is texts, calls, Google and sometimes Apple pay but I mostly use physical cards. I don't read emails on my phone and I have no social media. 95% of the time, my daily screen time is about 60 minutes. To make the battery last longer, I turn off any background processes and auto updates.
The other 5% of the time, like when I'm on vacation, I use my phone a lot - six to eight hours per day! For these occasions, I have a magnetic 5000 mAh power bank. It can charge my phone back to 80% two or three times in a day. I will also bring it with me when I think I may be using the phone most than usual.
My battery is currently at 79% and it doesn't seem to drain more than normal. However maybe it's because I'm use to the diminished capacity over time. I'm going to not replace the battery until it is absolutely necessary - like when I need to carry a power bank on the one hour usage days! I'm on vacation right now and it's still okay with the power bank in tow.
If you are having battery issues, it could be you have a non Apple battery. My other phone is an apple 6s which I have for my other line. The battery was after market. It worked fine at the beginning but when it started to fail, the capacity jumped all over the place like from 80% to 20% in no time! It would also charge from 0 to 100% really quickly so I knew something was up. I just replaced it with another after market battery ($10 from Amazon!) and it is great again. It can last three days before needing a charge.
You are totally right. The Mini is just a not "always on their phone" phone.
I can squish the battery of my 13 Mini from 4:30am when I disconnect it to 6:30pm-7:00pm when I arrive to my home. Of course, this is thanks to a new battery, an official one. It just feel like a new phone with the new battery so I highly recommend to do it but as you said, if you don't have any problem carrying a portable battery so all good.
Solid phone with a solid size.
This description sounds like your battery isn’t genuine. The 13 mini will never rival the newer and bigger phones for battery life, but the only time my mini’s battery drops this quickly is on a 5G FaceTime call. I suspect a genuine replacement would do wonders.