iPhone 13 mini iPhone 13 mini - upgrade from iPhone 12 mini for the long haul?

[4pp13]

I have been looking through the threads of this to see what others think. So far there seems to be consensus of iPhone 12 mini users that many will upgrade to the iPhone 13 mini and hang on for as long as possible to that phone.

Does it seem worth bothering doing this if already on an iPhone 12 mini 256gb? The battery life is appalling but there’s chargers and magsafe battery pack that can be used. Reviews are showing about 40m-1 hour screen on time so not sure the value of that in the end. I was reckoning main benefit would be that better battery life and a bit more future proofing by upping storage size (at 150gb atm and that’s normal storage, no music, films, etc).

However, who knows, maybe something will change that would make a bigger phone appealing again (or a new small phone with Face ID pops up).

Also, if it was worth upgrading - when would be the best time? I notice usually yes, when new phones come out the price of the old one drops and minis will probably be around in September. But trade in price also drops.

What do you all reckon?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I had both and enjoyed the extra battery life on the 13 Mini but it’s your call honestly. As far as trading it in you’ll probably get more money off Craigslist from Mini lovers vs a company since they know the Mini is no longer sold. From Apple’s trade in partner you’re going to get the most value right now so unless you’re waiting for a refurbished model the best time is now.

 

[BigDO]

Pretty pointless upgrade, you're still going to be charging it multiple times a day.

 

[4pp13]

I had both and enjoyed the extra battery life on the 13 Mini but it’s your call honestly. As far as trading it in you’ll probably get more money off Craigslist from Mini lovers vs a company since they know the Mini is no longer sold. From Apple’s trade in partner you’re going to get the most value right now so unless you’re waiting for a refurbished model the best time is now.

Yes, this is what it seems like by rough calculation. I am not too keen to deal with craigslist due to scammers. I have found a deal that will take an old broken phone and give a bonus, allowing me to trade my current to a good price whilst adding an additional percentage off to the iphone 13 mini itself. Feels like a decent deal to get a bit of a refresh.

Pretty pointless upgrade, you're still going to be charging it multiple times a day.

Yeah, I was wondering how successful the extra battery has been for people. Sounds like potentially similar. What’s made the 12 additionally annoying is the battery health drop. Mine is now lower than a family members older phone, same charging methods used (but different charging rates manageable by each phone).

So, jury, as it appears from other threads, seems to be still
out as whether it is the charging method causing this or the phone’s battery quality itself.

 

[Andeddu]

I am going to keep my 12 Mini and pass on any upgrade as it’s so minor and mostly to do with battery life.

I use the Apple MagSafe battery pack which doubles the life of my Mini… I can now use the thing for most of the day as a heavy user and still have 20% by the end. The battery pack has pretty much saved me from upgrading. I only have 84% battery health on my Mini so I plan to replace the battery this year.

 

[Sorinut]

Pretty pointless upgrade, you're still going to be charging it multiple times a day.

I lasted a full day with my 12 mini.

 

[jav6454]

Curious as to why you choose the Mini moving forward. As per upgrade, I wouldn't take it as such. The architecture (or rather revision of the cores) between both chips is essentially the same, just a few tweaks.

The next A-series chip is where we will see a true improvement.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I am going to keep my 12 Mini and pass on any upgrade as it’s so minor and mostly to do with battery life.

I use the Apple MagSafe battery pack which doubles the life of my Mini… I can now use the thing for most of the day as a heavy user and still have 20% by the end. The battery pack has pretty much saved me from upgrading. I only have 84% battery health on my Mini so I plan to replace the battery this year.

I’m doing the same thing. The MagSafe battery pack adds a lot of extra weight and bulk, and I need to use it with a case otherwise it’ll fall off kind of easily, but my 12 mini easily lasts the day. I’d like to get a 13 mini, but I feel like I’m just going to be in the same boat needing the battery pack anyway.

I put the battery pack on first thing in the morning, then right around the time I’m done with work, the battery pack is completely drained. And the 12 mini’s battery can get me through the rest of the day.

 

[Andeddu]

I’m doing the same thing. The MagSafe battery pack adds a lot of extra weight and bulk, and I need to use it with a case otherwise it’ll fall off kind of easily, but my 12 mini easily lasts the day. I’d like to get a 13 mini, but I feel like I’m just going to be in the same boat needing the battery pack anyway.

I put the battery pack on first thing in the morning, then right around the time I’m done with work, the battery pack is completely drained. And the 12 mini’s battery can get me through the rest of the day.

I keep a battery pack with me and I don’t use it until my Mini’s battery hits around 40%… I keep the battery attached until it’s completely drained & then remove it. By then I’ll have 90% battery on my phone which will normally take me through until the night.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I keep a battery pack with me and I don’t use it until my Mini’s battery hits around 40%… I keep the battery attached until it’s completely drained & then remove it. By then I’ll have 90% battery on my phone which will normally take me through until the night.

I was thinking about doing that, just keeping it in my bag until my iPhone is around that percent.

I’m normally around a charger in my car or at work if needed. If anything, it’ll expand the life of the battery pack not using it unless I need to. I’d hope it will work on all future iPhones too.

Do you use yours with a case? I’m trying to figure out a good way to make the battery pack feel more secure on it case-less.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

You all day battery pack folks are an odd bunch. Buy a Mini for the size, slap a battery pack on it which easily doubles the thickness/weight, and costs $100 extra. You might as well just buy the regular 13.

 

[Andeddu]

I was thinking about doing that, just keeping it in my bag until my iPhone is around that percent.

I’m normally around a charger in my car or at work if needed. If anything, it’ll expand the life of the battery pack not using it unless I need to. I’d hope it will work on all future iPhones too.

Do you use yours with a case? I’m trying to figure out a good way to make the battery pack feel more secure on it case-less.

If you use it at around 40% then you’ll have it on for much less time because it’ll charge your battery by 50% straight off the bat.

I use the Apple silicone case and the MagSafe battery is very secure when attached. In around 2 months of use it has come off only once and that includes pulling my phone out my pocket non-stop during the day.

 

[4pp13]

Great examples with the battery pack, cheers. I think I’ll get one of those no matter what, looks very convenient.

You all day battery pack folks are an odd bunch. Buy a Mini for the size, slap a battery pack on it which easily doubles the thickness/weight, and costs $100 extra. You might as well just buy the regular 13.

I think the key is that the iPhone can’t be reduced in size like a magsafe battery + iPhone mini can. So you have the option if you need it or not. The size is critical - a great random example is if you like to carry the phone in your back pocket in a major city. iPhone you’d probably see sticking out and it’s a target, iPhone mini definitely can sit low enough not to be seen. Obviously not so helpful if a thief tries their luck anyways, but definitely a deterrent from what I see of people walking around phone snatching hotspots with mobiles sticking right out of their pockets.

 

[levmc]

I lasted a full day with my 12 mini.

how frequently did you use the phone throughout the day?

 

[levmc]

Pretty pointless upgrade, you're still going to be charging it multiple times a day.

Does iPhone 7 have better battery life?

 

[Alpha Centauri]

The 12 Mini was to be a natural replacement for my current SE2016 but the price wasn't. Unfortunately finances won't even allow the 13 Mini now but off course there's some pressure due to its discontinuation.

Obviously I keep my phones a long time, so my advice would definately be to get the 13 Mini. Keep the 12 as a spare or backup. Given my situation though I'm a bit biased.

 

[Andeddu]

The 12 Mini was to be a natural replacement for my current SE2016 but the price wasn't. Unfortunately finances won't even allow the 13 Mini now but off course there's some pressure due to its discontinuation.

Obviously I keep my phones a long time, so my advice would definately be to get the 13 Mini. Keep the 12 as a spare or backup. Given my situation though I'm a bit biased.

It would be better to sell the 12 Mini as it’s still worth quite a lot in the second hand market.

That was my intention before I decided to keep my 12 Mini. An older iPhone would be best kept as a spare rather than something new(ish) and valuable… I have a 6S, SE and an 8 and none of them are really worth anything today.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

It would be better to sell the 12 Mini as it’s still worth quite a lot in the second hand market.

That was my intention before I decided to keep my 12 Mini. An older iPhone would be best kept as a spare rather than something new(ish) and valuable… I have a 6S, SE and an 8 and none of them are really worth anything today

Yes, you're right! My reply is based on having little financial constraint. It's always easier to spend other people's money

 

[Mark Stone]

I have been looking through the threads of this to see what others think. So far there seems to be consensus of iPhone 12 mini users that many will upgrade to the iPhone 13 mini and hang on for as long as possible to that phone.

Does it seem worth bothering doing this if already on an iPhone 12 mini 256gb? The battery life is appalling but there’s chargers and magsafe battery pack that can be used. Reviews are showing about 40m-1 hour screen on time so not sure the value of that in the end. I was reckoning main benefit would be that better battery life and a bit more future proofing by upping storage size (at 150gb atm and that’s normal storage, no music, films, etc).

However, who knows, maybe something will change that would make a bigger phone appealing again (or a new small phone with Face ID pops up).

Also, if it was worth upgrading - when would be the best time? I notice usually yes, when new phones come out the price of the old one drops and minis will probably be around in September. But trade in price also drops.

What do you all reckon?

In your situation I would just keep the 12. 4 or 5 years from now the difference between the 12 and 13 minis will be indistinguishable, and batteries can be replaced.

 

[azentropy]

Does iPhone 7 have better battery life?

For some reason the 7 had worse battery life than any other "small" iPhone I've had (6, 7, 8 2020 SE, 12 mini). The first one I got from launch day was just horrible as I wouldn't even make it to lunch time each day with minimal use. I finally convinced them that something was wrong when I showed them even with a clean install with no apps, and in airplane mode that it was losing about 10-15% an hour. I did get a replacement and it was better, but not even as good as my 6. I then got a 3rd one when it got some water damage and was still awful.

 

[azentropy]

I want to see what they reduce the 13 mini price to before deciding. I didn't jump at the 13 mini even though it has better battery life because the other stuff didn't seem worth it and quite frankly I don't really like any of the 13 colors! I liked the blue (which I got), green and then purple (which I would have got) of the 12 much better than the new blue, pink and now dark green of the 13 series. I don't even like the 13 starlight vs silver/white or the 13 midnight vs space grey/black of the 12. However my 12 mini battery health is now down to 87% and struggle more some days to make it without a charge at some point.

 

[Sorinut]

You all day battery pack folks are an odd bunch. Buy a Mini for the size, slap a battery pack on it which easily doubles the thickness/weight, and costs $100 extra. You might as well just buy the regular 13.

how frequently did you use the phone throughout the day?

I don't know, like I have used every other iPhone. I unplugged it around 5a and back on the charger at 930-10p

 

[DeepIn2U]

There seems to be some fun being mentioned in thread. One specifically saying it’s useless to upgrade from the 12/9 of 13 mini it’s a very useful if you’ve actually owned the 12 mini for a considerable amount of time.

Next,

I lasted a full day with my 12 mini.

This is too vague. Sure my 12 mini lasted a “full day” even at 83% battery health but that included standby or non OnxScreen time.

I’ve consistently got 5-6hrs onscreen time for a full charge on the 12 mini, but full 8.5hr day if included standby, which is mixed from using the phone. Check the largest 12 mini thread for my posts with attachments of battery life.

My 13 mini I haven’t used from full to close to dead yet but 4hrs+ on screen and battery lasting 12pm to past 9pm in a day (used for about a week now working from home). Next week I’ll have better estimates. The battery life increase IS significant.

 

[1rottenapple]

I bought the 13 mini upgrading from the 12 mini and it’s worth the battery. No regrets and I’m holding on to this awesome phone that apple is discountinig.

 

[Ram65]

The 14mini soon come folks oh yes indeed