Given that 5G isn’t much faster than LTE, if at all, in many places, turning off 5G may have a bigger impact on battery life.
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iPhone 12 Mini Reviews: The Best Small Smartphone but Battery Life 'Leaves Much to Be Desired'
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How dumb are these guys? Why is it so hard to understand: The small size is the value here.
Im excited - even though I know it will do exactly what my phone does now. I don’t use it for gaming or watching media, so think I can stretch out the battery. Plus I have an Apple Watch so I don’t need to check it as much.
You’re doing something wrong if you’re constantly using your phone
Maybe something related to the Covid tracking?
I realise this is completely petty, but really the only thing giving me pause for the mini is the awful colour options this year. Black or white is a bit boring but the red is off from usual, the blue is .. well it's too blue, and I just don't get the green colour. We'll see if I cave and return to iOS in the new year.
Small phones dont have to have poor battery life. Sony nailed battery life on their compact phones years ago. My old z3 compact had one of the best battery lives on the market, even more than its big brother.
I think their trick was to simply let the smaller screen have a lower resolution. It still looked fantastic due to the smaller size, but was also far more efficient.
I think their trick was to simply let the smaller screen have a lower resolution. It still looked fantastic due to the smaller size, but was also far more efficient.
Apple finally delivers an X form factor iPhone with almost all of the same tech as the highest end iPhone in a small form factor, and people are disappointed in the battery life. Sorry Apple couldn’t fudge physics for you guys. 
The real question is how the battery life compares to the previous small phones like the original SE that people such as myself have been hanging onto for lack of any more recent phone to upgrade to. I have done one battery replacement last year on my SE and its battery health is currently at 89%, I get one hour 40 minutes of screen time per day before battery hits 10% almost all of that being simply reading email and news on wifi. I've preordered the mini, if I can get two hours a day of screen on time or more for similar types of activity, I'll be fine with this. For times when battery life is more important than size and weight, I could just carry around an external battery to recharge it with. But I won't, because for me size and weight are paramount and I'll accept whatever other sacrifices come with that. On the other hand, if another vendor makes a nice phone that is small and light and also gets better battery life, then I would switch in a heartbeat. However there doesn't seem to be a single competitor in this space at the moment. If I were an android phone vendor with no product in this part of the market, I'd be flooding social media with negativity about the small size phone that I'm unable to offer.
You and I have the same type usage pattern. I am crossing my tech fingers that Apple releases a Smart Battery case for the mini. It would be good to have just in case.
I really doubt the average consumer cares one lick if it's OLED or LED, nor would they be excited about paying $130 more for a phone size that was $699 last year.
this is like the XR failure with pricing it at $750. I know this because the 11 priced at $699 with TWO cameras sold like crazy last year.
(don't get too uptight.... not that you would necessarily
I know these are generalizations...)I turned the Covid setting off a long time ago, but maybe there's still some data collection happening?
The Mini has a smaller battery, but may get battery life on par with the XS it’s effectively replacing as the “small” iPhone (with no home button).
Must be the extra 2GB of RAM. 🤷🏻♂️
One interesting thing about this review is that it is yet ANOTHER review where the 12 Pro was found to have worse battery than the regular 12, despite being nearly identical.
Must be the extra 2GB of RAM. 🤷🏻♂️
For me small and light go together and of the two, it is the weight that is the most important aspect. The 12 mini is just barely acceptable at 133g (outside the US), remember it's battling against the original iPhone SE that people are still using, at 113g. I'd also be willing to pay a lot extra for a case made of lightweight composites to get the weight down, aluminum and glass are heavy so why use them except where there is no choice (such as the actual display surface)? Adding 10g to the weight would make this phone a non-starter for me, there are competitors in that 'porky smaller than average smartphone space' but none since the SE in the compact space and this one just barely qualifies.
I’m in the 12 mini boat as well. I’m coming from an iPhone 8. the 12 mini has a bigger screen, bigger battery, and smaller form factor. that’s all I’ve ever wanted from an iPhone.
On the last 2 long flights I was on (pre-Covid), the seat backs had USB charger outlets. Lots of kids watching their video with their iPads plugged into those outlets during the long flight.
So, on long flights, remembering to bring a USB-to-Lightning cable is more valuable than a heavier battery.
If you look at processor performance, ML performance, and the camera (except for telephoto), and compare those to last years 11 Pro. the 12 mini is already a Pro model. Unless you actually need and use the telephoto lens.
I looked thru all my past years photos, and only found 2 good shots that used the telephoto. Not enough to keep my from getting a 12 Mini instead of a Pro model this year. The best camera is one that's with you, and the 12 mini fits in more of my pockets, and thus is less likely to left on the desk or inside a bag.
It's a small phone aimed at light users, I don't think battery life will be much of an issue for Target Audience. Personally I am so happy with the iPhone 11 Pro Max. its a game changer where I can use it as much as I want and never worry about running out. I don't want to go back to the old days of having to be careful and curtail my use.
Can you turn off 5G altogether? So it doesn't even try to get a 5G signal and sticks with 4G? That would help battery life a lot.
Can you turn off 5G altogether? So it doesn't even try to get a 5G signal and sticks with 4G? That would help battery life a lot.
That’s a great idea as when covid lifts I’ll be doing a lot more travel again.
And hopefully the space taken up by magsafe magnets and coils will be taken up by battery too.
This was literally my exact reason for wanting a small phone again. I’ve actually stated this in other threads. Glad someone else has the same idea.
Apple has increase size and thickness of their phones basically every year since the iPhone 6. I don’t know why there is still this narrative of them prioritizing thinness over everything.