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iPhone 12 Mini Reviews: The Best Small Smartphone but Battery Life 'Leaves Much to Be Desired'

Stoked on this! Got one for my significant other, who is stepping up from a 7 - so will be a massive improvement. She is on her iPhone way less than I am, and loved the size of the original iPhone so this is an almost perfect iPhone - Touch ID like the iPad w/ Face ID would have made this and all the other 12s so much gooder.
 
"Without making any effort at it, I have consistently drained the iPhone 12 mini’s battery by early evening... So it's not bad, but it's definitely not great. My feeling after a little less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of battery management. Holding yourself back from putting an hour into an Apple Arcade game, knowing where your next opportunity to charge might be, and above all being more willing to turn on the low power mode. "

*scratches head*

What job does today's population have that affords them the ability to put an hour into an Apple Arcade game?

Additionally... I've had a charging pad on my desk since a month (or so) after getting my iPhone XS. I don't have to wonder where my phone is at work, its on its charging pad. I realize not everyone has a desk, but for those of us that do, charging while at work is not a problem.
 
ericg301 said:
no one says it has a bad battery. just lesser than the regular and pro/max.
Click to expand...

I don’t know, when they something like, “My feeling after a little less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of battery management,” it sure sounds like they are saying it has bad battery life.
 
MacBH928 said:
When they say disappointing battery life, like how disappointing? I have iPhone 7 and it seems ok, I would like to last more sure but not too bad.


comments like these make me laugh where they consider iPhone 12 mini...actually mini. The screen is 14% larger than iphone 7 and that was a large phone. As for gaming, this screen is 5.4 larger than Sony's portable PSP at 4.3 and Nintendo 3DS XL at 4.88.

iPhones 4 at 3.5 is mini phone for communicating and navigating, this has a larger screen than Galaxy Note(5.3) from 2011 refered to as a phablet! This is complete brain washing by Apple!
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Ok, then show me where I can buy a 3.5 in iPhone? This is what’s available, it’s comparable in footprint to my present phone.
 
i'm the mac daddy said:
I also returned the 12 Pro. It's a beautiful device, but damn it was too heavy and too large for me. I can't see a lot of people being happy with the weight (and a case). Months from now I expect a lot of people wanting something smaller or lighter.
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I like the 12 Pro, but it is nearly as large as the 8 Plus. I think the 12 mini will be popular.
 
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Maconplasma said:
It's really a lot harder to do such comparisons than you may think. That would require the reviewer to have fully charged phones and run the exact same apps until the battery drops. During this time they have to also make sure the screens are not an automatic brightness, and there are various other factors that affect battery life. It's not worth a reviewers time. Who's getting the benefit of doing that? You, not them.
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Huh? People do battery life comparisons between phone models all the time. And as for "worth their time" -- they do it for clicks and views and money, yeah? Pretty sure reviewers don't just do this stuff out of the goodness of their hearts.
 
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Out of curiosity, has anyone been able to detect a significant change in battery life on the 12 Mini (or other new iPhone) by turning off the bluetooth radio completely from the Settings menu (not Control Center)? I have an iPhone SE2 with an even smaller battery, and simply turning off bluetooth saves about 40% battery per day. The bluetooth battery drain behavior started when I installed iOS14.
 
fleetfoot15 said:
Out of curiosity, has anyone been able to detect a significant change in battery life on the 12 Mini (or other new iPhone) by turning off the bluetooth radio completely from the Settings menu (not Control Center)? I have an iPhone SE2 with an even smaller battery, and simply turning off bluetooth saves about 40% battery per day. The bluetooth battery drain behavior started when I installed iOS14.
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no one has a mini yet. just the reviewers.

i wouldn't think turning off BT would make any difference
 
Eso said:
I don’t know, when they something like, “My feeling after a little less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of battery management,” it sure sounds like they are saying it has bad battery life.
Click to expand...

it all comes down to usage. i don't play games or watch videos on my phone (outside of a few minutes here and there). that's what i have an Ipad for.

i want a phone that allows me to check email, my calendar, scroll through twitter/fb/insta, send a text or two and make a call with one hand. if i can get through a day with that, then i'm golden.
 
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imola.zhp said:
"Without making any effort at it, I have consistently drained the iPhone 12 mini’s battery by early evening... So it's not bad, but it's definitely not great. My feeling after a little less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of battery management. Holding yourself back from putting an hour into an Apple Arcade game, knowing where your next opportunity to charge might be, and above all being more willing to turn on the low power mode. "
*scratches head*

What job does today's population have that affords them the ability to put an hour into an Apple Arcade game?
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LOL I had this same exact thought. "the battery sucks, I can't play iPhone games for hours" like what?... I think it'll be just fine for me.
 
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benjaminww said:
Unpopular opinion: The iPhone 12 mini is not really for iPhone power users. To me, it's for folks who want a portable, one-handed device for casual, daily use that disappears when it's not needed. The selling point is the size. If folks want a phone that can handle more intense tasks for a longer period of time, there are three other phones available.

However, this brings up an interesting question: Should there exist an iPhone mini Pro?
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agree 100%. now there is a range of phones for every type of user.

if you are a power user who uses their phone more like a computer, then go with the Pro or Max. if you're an average user, go with the regular 12.

and if you're a casual user, go with the mini.
 
benjaminww said:
Unpopular opinion: The iPhone 12 mini is not really for iPhone power users. To me, it's for folks who want a portable, one-handed device for casual, daily use that disappears when it's not needed. The selling point is the size. If folks want a phone that can handle more intense tasks for a longer period of time, there are three other phones available.

However, this brings up an interesting question: Should there exist an iPhone mini Pro?
Click to expand...
To my knowledge, the mini is not being marketed to heavy or pro type users. It is being marketed to those seeking a small form factor and a lot of the same spec benefits as the other phones. It is for light phone users who don’t spend all day on the phone playing games and watching bubble gum iPhone review videos.
 
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But there isn't a battery "problem." If you want to play Doodle Jump all day, get one of the many phones Apple offers with a larger battery.
 
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Thinking about the original SE battery life being nuked by iOS 14, what Apple ought to do is develop an iOS Lite, that allows an older phone to function better. They won’t, for obvious reasons, I know.

Anyway, this 12 Mini looks the Dogs Sphericals so I am seriously looking at trading in my 11 Pro so I can regain more space in my pocket for my other “equipment”.
 
JM said:
Corrrrrrrrrect

"Another reason I can't fully get on board with this thing is that it sits in a strange place in Apple's ‌iPhone‌ lineup. At $699, this is the cheapest version of the ‌iPhone 12‌ the company makes, but last year you could get a phone with a bigger screen and much better battery life for the same price."
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yeah but it was a bigger LED screen , that's no where near the oled quality or res / DP you get with the 12 mini
 
imola.zhp said:
"Without making any effort at it, I have consistently drained the iPhone 12 mini’s battery by early evening... So it's not bad, but it's definitely not great. My feeling after a little less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of battery management. Holding yourself back from putting an hour into an Apple Arcade game, knowing where your next opportunity to charge might be, and above all being more willing to turn on the low power mode. "

*scratches head*

What job does today's population have that affords them the ability to put an hour into an Apple Arcade game?

Additionally... I've had a charging pad on my desk since a month (or so) after getting my iPhone XS. I don't have to wonder where my phone is at work, its on its charging pad. I realize not everyone has a desk, but for those of us that do, charging while at work is not a problem.
Click to expand...
Exactly ! - this guys mad. (or spending way too long on the toilet)
 
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ericg301 said:
no one has a mini yet. just the reviewers.

i wouldn't think turning off BT would make any difference
Click to expand...
I didn't expect bluetooth to make that big of a difference either. But I see this behavior on my iPhone SE2 and iPad Mini 5. I've seen similar results on an iPhone X. I have a suspicion that iOS14 is doing something new in the background that's a major battery drain. I'm curious if others see this too, particularly someone with the latest chipset.
 
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