The Qualcomm modem is the biggest selling point of the iPhone 12 and not really talked about enough. It’s the main reason I won’t get a iPhone 11 Pro refurbished.
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iPhone 12 mini How is everyone liking their iPhone 12 Mini after 3 or 4 months?
- Thread starter omelet1978
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Reaaaally?
So faster Qi charging (15W vs 7.5), or smaller outter case design, or lighter device, or less prone to shattering of the screen, or MagSafe accessories has NO benefit that you see vs the iPhone 11 Pro refurbished? Can you even get the full AppleCare+ on refurbished iPhones?
How's that 5G working for you btw?
Personally I've never purchased a 4G (HSDPA/HSPA), LTE, or 5G phones when they first debuted ... I've always waited a few months cause from experience working both a USA and a Canadian wireless provider I knew bandwidth thresholds needed at least that time to iron things out and the first chips that grant the faster data speeds and compatibility of bands with the providers & phone manufacturers needed that time.
ONLY with GPRS and EDGE did I get a new phone supporting those data rates the first month of release.
YES really!!
Check out this video, where he goes into detail about how Apple changed from using the Intel modem (that's on the iphone 11, 11 pro and all earlier iphones) but the iPhone 12, 12 pro and mini all use the Qualcomm modem and speeds are noticeably faster on 4G. I'm not looking for 5G speeds as that is all still new but if Apple can improve 4G speeds by adding in the X55 Qualcomm modem on the 12 why would I turn in my 6S to get an iPhone 11 that lacks the Qualcomm modem? Not enough people are talking about this benefit on the new iPhone 12.
(jump to 5:05)
Speedwise I don't feel amazingly big difference when not in the city with 5G compared to the 11 which even had worth/less antennas than the 11 Pro models. And I live in a country where 5G is only in big cities and no mmWave etc. Still then I feel a big difference, also in latency. But not at home, nearby a big city. It has good reception with LTE, but latency is solala on the Mini.
What makes big difference is when traveling which I do for work everyday. In my country it has bad low reception quality compared to USA etc. No LTE all the time. And I feel the Qualcomm modem holds reception MUCH longer in low reception areas. I almost never have no signal and I can talk on the phone almost always, almost no call which ended. Only when going from LTE to 3G sometimes, maybe because of VoLTE? I also feel I can do some stuff with Edge reception. In general the chip is amazing compared to iPhones Intel chip in low reception areas. And as a traveller for work everyday that was sooooo important for me. I even would have switched to the 12 from the normal 11, if Mini wouldn't have been available. Just for the chip. I don't use magsafe or fast charging at all. And I like the LCD displays from Apple, even though it has lower resolution. Second important thing would have been weight of the 12, 30g lighter.
But of course Mini is here, I will always be thankful to Apple for that alone.
How much is a 64gb iPhone 12 in your country or a 128gb 12 Pro? That price doesn't mean much to me without something to compare it to.
Sorry about the delay - seems like I'm not getting alerts on this thread.... I find myself having to zoom on more than a few emails. I also use a couple of apps for my business and less real estate means scrolling quite a bit. This has become more of an issue as I have been away from my desktop set up more. My tri - focal contacts likely don't help.
Thanks for the dimensions - the 12 doesn't seem much bigger than the 11 Pro at all. My daughter just got a 12 to replace her broken XR (which seems huge), so I have had some up close time with it. Seems like a good choice for me.
Not sure how to sell my 12 Mini though - I got totally scammed on eBay selling my 11 Pro. First time I have had an issue... so no more selling iPhones etc on eBay - there is no trade in option on Apple.com for the 12 yet. Anyone have suggestions on how to best to this vs. in-person selling which I don't really want to do.
How is it? See you in 2025. I can see myself having it for four or five years. There are no features out there that I desire in a phone that the 12 mini doesn't have. This is as good as it gets in this era. It's got the best of most major things. There's no point to comparing anymore. I don't even know if I want to follow the news of upcoming phones.
For a phone similar in size and feel to an iPhone 6/7/8 but a little smaller again and in a more happening style, it just feels like a workhorse. Settled. I'm moving on to other interests 🤷♂️
For a phone similar in size and feel to an iPhone 6/7/8 but a little smaller again and in a more happening style, it just feels like a workhorse. Settled. I'm moving on to other interests 🤷♂️
Damn sorry to hear about your eBay rip-off experience.
I do suggest using Kijiji for your local city. I use it all the time here in Toronto for years now. Sure you get tire kickers (then the annoying lowballers - which you CAN block).
Typically lowballers will message you like gangbusters the first 2 days - if you're weak on your price, one will use another account and try to come off as nice and then ask for a deal. So Lowballers: do NOT entice nor engage on ANYTHING lower than your asking price.
example listing:
Apple iPhone 12 mini (GB size + colour).
Got this phone which the size doesn't suit my needs.
Apple Warranty (be it 1 yr or AppleCare+ list end date)
Local meet up only
price: 1100 FIRM (example) in Cash or eTransfer [I do suggest setting up autodeposit; this way no delay on arrival pw etc]
Lowballers will be ignored and blocked.
Local meets only, no shipping
Meet location (pick somewhere public not your home address: like Starbucks, Tim Hortons, McDonalds - all have cameras about).
When a day, time is solidified only then share your phone # with text and ask them what they'll be wearing easy to find them upon arrival.
* SET a password on the device unlock it for them to test - ONLY unlock when agreed to purchase and cash/etransfer has been done.
Cheers.
Also you can ask your daughter to ask her friends see if their interested in purchasing.
In this fast-changing world, we will bravely tackle this problem if and when it arises, I guess. Before mini, I used 11 for a year without any detrimental effects on my health. 😉 Besides, few years down the line, mini might just replace SE, after being priced down accordingly. Alternatively, Apple might bring back a 5.8” screen size, who knows. 🤷🏻♂️
Checking in. Still an awesome phone. I am pretty hard on the battery with fast charging during the day. I enjoy using it and the big phones are now too big for me even though pluses and max phones have always been my go-to since the 6 plus. I dented the top corner following a drop from 5 feet high therefore I will use apple care in about 8 months give or take.
At first, I was committed to not using a case but since owning this phone, I prefer having a case it feels better in the hand. I also have an ultra-thin case that I never use it's about 0.04mm thick I think from ali-express.
Magsafe still charging still gets superhot sometimes when I stream youtube. But its great for mounting in the car. Still awaiting apple's magsafe battery pack. That would nail this phones as my favorite with a battery pack to extend the battery life. I just hope we can recharge the magsafe battery pack wirelessly!
At first, I was committed to not using a case but since owning this phone, I prefer having a case it feels better in the hand. I also have an ultra-thin case that I never use it's about 0.04mm thick I think from ali-express.
Magsafe still charging still gets superhot sometimes when I stream youtube. But its great for mounting in the car. Still awaiting apple's magsafe battery pack. That would nail this phones as my favorite with a battery pack to extend the battery life. I just hope we can recharge the magsafe battery pack wirelessly!
Started with the 12. Moved to the mini. Don’t regret it at all. Size is great! Battery life has been just fine for me. YouTube gets a ton of use, playing music, internet, email and more. Great phone! Hoping they keep a smaller size.
Absolutely love my Iphone 12 mini, however i had my first serious issue with it this morning. Basically i charged my phone last night to 90% at 21.00 hrs, then hardly used it until i went to sleep at midnight, with it at about 85% battery. I woke up this morning at 7.00 for work, then realised the battery had dropped to about 20%!!! I restarted the phone, but no difference, it still showed 20%. It basically lost 65% battery in idle mode in 10 hours. I normally get about 36 in between charges so this was a big shock to me. Im recharging the phone now, so will monitor the situation. I hope it was a one off.
I see your point but having used both a lot I'm not sure which I like better, Touch ID or Face ID. They both have their pros and cons. I guess I'm lucky to live in a low-risk country for COVID like Australia with no masks. Face ID is fine.
This is usually a badly behaving app in my experience. An app you recently used that is still in the app switcher that uses something big like location or wants to be active all the time. It has happened to me twice in four months with the 12 mini.
Amazingly my Battery Health is still at 100% after seeing it go down and down with my old iPhone XS over two years ending up at 85%. I suspect because I now only charge it with the 5W charger at home which is just fine and I have 10W and 12W chargers at work that I sometimes use and also a lighter translucent case. Also I think because now I work full-time so use it less....
With the XS I had a 12-24W charger at home and a thick black Otterbox Symmetry case and I worked part-time. The very warm climate here doesn't help.
I like my iphone 12 mini. I got it for free from T-Mobile/Sprint, if they had the 12 free back then I would have jumped on that but I dont have regrets, I like it.
Thanks Marty, i think it was a car website that i had left open on Safari which had loads of macros etc which caused it. The issue has gone as since closing that site and charging to 100% on friday at 10am, i now still have 36% left at 23.00 hrs on Saturday UK time
Bought mine shortly before Christmas.
Size is great, not falling out of pockets like regular sized or oversized phones do.
One handed operation is less or more smooth, no problems there, I have rather large hands and only thing that is slight issue is typing for me, I was fan of Swiftkey due to better dictionary and numbers and "," being readily accessible, but keys there are slightly too cramped so I switched back to original Apple keyboard which is bit better spaced for me. But I tend to switch back and forth sometimes between keyboards.
Battery life is OK for me not being power user, it was, however less stellar now that I have been without iPad for almost past two months due to me using it more frequently for browsing daily, so here's my list of improvements that Id like to see in next Mini, if it ever gets updated any further than 13:
-larger battery/longer battery life
-zoom lens, there are times I wished there was 3rd lens with preferably 5x optical zoom
-larger, 12 Pro Max sensors for even better photography
-notchless design would be good, not an issue for me tho, but still, its long overdue for an update
-stainless steel buttons would be cool to have on Mini
-I would love for it to have stainless steel frame and matter back, perhaps even plastic back if that adds to durability
-due to masked life that world is going through, finger print reader is a must, its tiresome to enter PIN every time and there are times when I need it often and don't want to keep the screen unlocked and on the entire time
Overall verdict from me - its a good phone for the size, I wanted small phone and Mini currently is the smallest one, aside from Z Flip, so my eyes are on the future of foldable phones.
Would I buy it today, knowing what kind of beast it is? Probably, because summer season is upon us and small phone in shorts pockets is real tech blessing, hated my Galaxy S8 sticking out or being on the brink of falling out constantly, let alone trying to sit or squat with it in pockets, felt like it might slide right into my nuts and crush them lol.
If there was the same size Android phone with lengthy OS updates and patches for at least 3-4 years(like Samsung has now btw) and better battery life and just as good or even better camera, then it would be harder choice for me.
Size is great, not falling out of pockets like regular sized or oversized phones do.
One handed operation is less or more smooth, no problems there, I have rather large hands and only thing that is slight issue is typing for me, I was fan of Swiftkey due to better dictionary and numbers and "," being readily accessible, but keys there are slightly too cramped so I switched back to original Apple keyboard which is bit better spaced for me. But I tend to switch back and forth sometimes between keyboards.
Battery life is OK for me not being power user, it was, however less stellar now that I have been without iPad for almost past two months due to me using it more frequently for browsing daily, so here's my list of improvements that Id like to see in next Mini, if it ever gets updated any further than 13:
-larger battery/longer battery life
-zoom lens, there are times I wished there was 3rd lens with preferably 5x optical zoom
-larger, 12 Pro Max sensors for even better photography
-notchless design would be good, not an issue for me tho, but still, its long overdue for an update
-stainless steel buttons would be cool to have on Mini
-I would love for it to have stainless steel frame and matter back, perhaps even plastic back if that adds to durability
-due to masked life that world is going through, finger print reader is a must, its tiresome to enter PIN every time and there are times when I need it often and don't want to keep the screen unlocked and on the entire time
Overall verdict from me - its a good phone for the size, I wanted small phone and Mini currently is the smallest one, aside from Z Flip, so my eyes are on the future of foldable phones.
Would I buy it today, knowing what kind of beast it is? Probably, because summer season is upon us and small phone in shorts pockets is real tech blessing, hated my Galaxy S8 sticking out or being on the brink of falling out constantly, let alone trying to sit or squat with it in pockets, felt like it might slide right into my nuts and crush them lol.
If there was the same size Android phone with lengthy OS updates and patches for at least 3-4 years(like Samsung has now btw) and better battery life and just as good or even better camera, then it would be harder choice for me.
Personally, I would hate that. I tried the 12 Pro in a store and although it looks and feels nice (too heavy, though), those sides are fingerprint magnets to the point that it would drive me nuts. The back of the Mini is a fingerprint magnet as well, but at least the sides are not. After all, we see the sides of the phone much more frequently than we see the back, at least those of us who go case-less.
Same here. Although, I still have the 12. I swap back and forth, but never really use the 12 for more than a week before I start missing how easy the mini is to handle and pocket. It’s a great little phone.
I recommend people using the 12 Mini naked and bothered by fingerprints something like a matte protector.
I love this one, but I don't think it is available in many countries besides Europe.
https://www.smart-engineered.com/matte-schutzfolie-rueckseite-apple-iphone-12-mini/
Can't find this site in English tough, only Spanish, French etc. They have amazing TPU screen protectors, also for the back. This protectors really heals itself. Had a damage in the protector, my Macbook slided on the front of the Mini. 1 day later the mark was gone. And the matte finish one almost makes it look like a 12 Pro
I wouldnt mind putting one of those back tempered glass panels that are available online, but they dont protect upper corner just like these stickers.I recommend people using the 12 Mini naked and bothered by fingerprints something like a matte protector.
I love this one, but I don't think it is available in many countries besides Europe.
https://www.smart-engineered.com/matte-schutzfolie-rueckseite-apple-iphone-12-mini/
Can't find this site in English tough, only Spanish, French etc. They have amazing TPU screen protectors, also for the back. This protectors really heals itself. Had a damage in the protector, my Macbook slided on the front of the Mini. 1 day later the mark was gone. And the matte finish one almost makes it look like a 12 Pro
Also, there used to be times when one could buy bumper frames for phones, not anymore, neither for tablets. Which sucks if I want to have minimal look and feel while also having some real protection.
Still, my current case is ok, aside from accumulating dust from pockets because its non-slippery one. Not planning on replacing it that soon if ever, spent good money on it and dont want to add to the land fill waste either.
EDIT: It looks like some sellers actually do have back tempered glass protectors that cover the whole back completely, together with camera bump and it appears that camera lenses are not covered by this glass, which is good so it doesnt introduce another source of flares and doesnt reduce amount of light that passes through to the sensors.
Yeah, just re-googled after few months and it appears that theres that and also few Chinese made options.
Good to know, next time I'll just wait couple of months before buying latest phone model just to be on the safe side regarding variety of accessories available by that time.
Its real struggle to get decent cases in my local market as soon as new devices are released, its too small overall and it takes time for some stuff to get here. For example there was this with my iPhone Mini and now I'm waiting for my M1 12.9 iPP order to be fulfilled from local seller as well as cases for it from China to ship, cause locally theres nothing worthy and neither Amazon had anything good for me.
Good to know, next time I'll just wait couple of months before buying latest phone model just to be on the safe side regarding variety of accessories available by that time.
Its real struggle to get decent cases in my local market as soon as new devices are released, its too small overall and it takes time for some stuff to get here. For example there was this with my iPhone Mini and now I'm waiting for my M1 12.9 iPP order to be fulfilled from local seller as well as cases for it from China to ship, cause locally theres nothing worthy and neither Amazon had anything good for me.