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iPhone 12 iPhone 12 Mini vs iPhone XS Battery Life?

O

omelet1978

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 22, 2012
272
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Hi,

I'm very interested in the iPhone 12 Mini for the smaller size which means one handed usage. However, a lot of reviewers are saying the battery life is not the best?

I'm posting a screenshot of the battery comparisons b/w the iPhone 12 Mini and the iPhone XS that I currently have and they seem very comparable and to have about the same battery life. Am I missing something? I'm more of a light user and usually get through the day with like 40% or 50% battery remaining on my XS. Thanks for any inputs!
 

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Also interested in this, unfortunately no one compared it to iPhone XS yet. Going off other comparisons though, I think they should be somewhat in the same ballpark. iPhone 12 mini could last a little longer even. If you have 50% left with the XS, you should definitely be fine with the 12 mini though.
 
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I’ve done a brief test. Short answer is: battery life between the 2 will be about the same.

12 mini has a 2227mAh battery, the XS has a 2658mAh battery. But the XS has a larger OLED panel to drive, and is also running the older A12 chip which is probably less power efficient.

I’ve run the same 90 minute YouTube video on both device. 12mini ran down to about 87%, the XS ran down to 77%. (Precautions taken to make sure minimal differences in operating environment).

Despite the numbers, I wouldn’t say the 12mini last longer: keep in mind that my XS battery is 2 years old. Ultimately I would probably say that you’ll find the Xs and the 12mini will last about same period of time.
 
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you can't compare a battery to a XS (2 year old phone) to a brand new mini right now (brand new battery)
 
this is likely the only comparison you are going to get, unless someone just happened to replace the battery before switching...
 
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Borzy said:
I’ve done a brief test. Short answer is: battery life between the 2 will be about the same.

12 mini has a 2227mAh battery, the XS has a 2658mAh battery. But the XS has a larger OLED panel to drive, and is also running the older A12 chip which is probably less power efficient.

I’ve run the same 90 minute YouTube video on both device. 12mini ran down to about 87%, the XS ran down to 77%. (Precautions taken to make sure minimal differences in operating environment).

Despite the numbers, I wouldn’t say the 12mini last longer: keep in mind that my XS battery is 2 years old. Ultimately I would probably say that you’ll find the Xs and the 12mini will last about same period of time.
Click to expand...
Thank you for doing that. What is the battery health on your iPhone XS?
 
Nozuka said:
this is likely the only comparison you are going to get, unless someone just happened to replace the battery before switching...
Click to expand...
Exactly. Plus most comparisons would be done for buying choice purposes, and the XS is not available for sale (officially) so there’s probably no interest in the comparison.
 
I had an XS which I bought exactly a year ago and now have the mini. Battery health on XS was 95%. At the beginning it was lasting about 2.5 days but I noticed now I was running it flat in a day, but my behaviour changed recently (being at home more due to COVID) as I was using it for everything (watching YouTube videos, surfing the net, WhatsApp etc). I’ve had the mini for 2 days and it’s only lasted 1 day each time. The first day doesn’t count as I had to do installs etc and it came with 73% charge, but yesterday I charged it to 96% took it out for photos, used the web, a FaceTime call, editing photos and by the evening it was at 18%. I don’t know if it will always be like this or if it’s learning my habits and will take time and get better but I am already worried about battery life, but I otherwise I love the size and the weight. I also have been wasting a lot of battery testing the lock screen issue too which hasn’t helped. Also I’ve turned off 5G, background refresh and was using 4G and mostly WiFi.
 
Aside from the obviously bigger screen, the two main strikes against the iPhone XS are:
- The OLED screen is a battery life hog. Anandtech's iPhone 11 Pro review showed 15% gain in display power efficiency compared to the iPhone X/XS, which both use the same screen.
- Inferior Intel modem.

I wouldn't be surprised if a new iPhone XS and iPhone 12 Mini have identical battery life performance in typical mixed usage. Although certain scenarios simply favor the phone with the bigger battery such as phone talk time or playing audio with the screen off. This is basically what Apple is trying to tell you with the official battery life specs.
 
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So now that everyone has had time to test out their 12 mini’s extensively, I’m curious to see the consensus. Is the 12 mini still on par with the XS or does it exceed in battery life? I’m currently debating upgrading from my XS and would love to hear what folks who’ve upgraded from a X or XS to a 12 mini have noticed with performance, battery life, and size! Thanks in advance!
 
I used the 12 mini alongside my XS and battery life was the same between the two. Just average. Though at this point you’re better off waiting for the 13 mini, which is rumored to have a larger battery. Could see a small bump in battery life that can put it over the edge of the XS.
 
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theapplehead said:
So now that everyone has had time to test out their 12 mini’s extensively, I’m curious to see the consensus. Is the 12 mini still on par with the XS or does it exceed in battery life? I’m currently debating upgrading from my XS and would love to hear what folks who’ve upgraded from a X or XS to a 12 mini have noticed with performance, battery life, and size! Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Hi, I did a little comparison here. Hopefully you’ll find it useful 🙂 I’d say that the Mini’s battery life is on par with the X/XS, but it’s not better.
 
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MarioPhone96 said:
I used the 12 mini alongside my XS and battery life was the same between the two. Just average. Though at this point you’re better off waiting for the 13 mini, which is rumored to have a larger battery. Could see a small bump in battery life that can put it over the edge of the XS.
Click to expand...

Agree with you about waiting for the 13 Mini. Not only is it rumored to have a slightly larger battery which regardless of how small a bump will still offer more screen on time, but it'll also be using the new A15 chip which in itself is more efficient. The new iPhone 12s/13 Mini, or whatever they call it, will have better battery life over both 12 Mini and Xs.
 
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My iPhone Mini has had sufficient battery life (on LTE only, not searching for 5g all the time). I might go with a 13 Pro Just to get a larger screen in September. But, I have enjoyed the weight deduction & smaller one handed use!
 
My last phone was the XS, 12 mini offers maybe similar or a little better battery life. I might get the 13 mini too if they decide it would be their last mini. I just love this design style and the form factor.
 
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