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iPhone 13 mini IPhone 13 vs 13 Mini

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ronniejoe

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Feb 23, 2020
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Been using an old first generation iphone SE for many years and looking to switch to a new iphone.


I was going to order the 13 mini based on what I read online as I'm used to a small phone. And I see new phones throughout the years where they are just big... which I did not like.


I went to apple store earlier to take a look at the iphones and to my shock, the iphone 13 isn't that big as I thought it would be. I could hold it and use it with one hand but it was a bit uncomfortable. However, I didn't play around it that much to see if its that comfortable. I then took a look at the iphone 13 mini and to my shock, it was a lot smaller than I thought it was. I had thought it was the size of like an iphone 7... so I thought probably best for the mini. But it seem smaller than the 7? I had seen how a 7 looked and felt so I thought okay if its same size, I would just go with that mini. Now, I know there is no home button in the new iphones.
 
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But this iphone 13 mini, it isn't that much bigger than my first generation iphone SE. But not only that, is it even smaller compared to the second generation SE? I took a look at that at apple store and they look very close in size. It felt like the second generation SE was more wider? It surely felt much more easier holding the iphone 13 mini in one hand compared to the second generation SE. Anyone can confirm this?


Now which one of these phones would you say is best for me? Im looking for long battery as the main thing. I'm getting the minimum storage space as I don't need much storage. It will be unlocked and I will be buying it online at apple. Also the screen of the iphone 13 looks really nice and big though. However, it seemed like the iphone 13 mini screen size seem really small? Again, I could not believe that the mini looked and felt so small. It was barely bigger than my old SE. When I first saw the second generation SE and felt it... its definitely a bit bigger than my old SE. Then when I saw the iphone 13 mini... I thought... wow that is much smaller.


I do know that the iphone 13 mini will cost around 100 dollars less which was another reason I was going with that. Then again if you are paying 800 dollars for a phone... well 900 dollars is pretty close to it.
 
ronniejoe said:
But this iphone 13 mini, it isn't that much bigger than my first generation iphone SE. But not only that, is it even smaller compared to the second generation SE? I took a look at that at apple store and they look very close in size. It felt like the second generation SE was more wider? It surely felt much more easier holding the iphone 13 mini in one hand compared to the second generation SE. Anyone can confirm this?


Now which one of these phones would you say is best for me? Im looking for long battery as the main thing. I'm getting the minimum storage space as I don't need much storage. It will be unlocked and I will be buying it online at apple. Also the screen of the iphone 13 looks really nice and big though. However, it seemed like the iphone 13 mini screen size seem really small? Again, I could not believe that the mini looked and felt so small. It was barely bigger than my old SE. When I first saw the second generation SE and felt it... its definitely a bit bigger than my old SE. Then when I saw the iphone 13 mini... I thought... wow that is much smaller.


I do know that the iphone 13 mini will cost around 100 dollars less which was another reason I was going with that. Then again if you are paying 800 dollars for a phone... well 900 dollars is pretty close to it.
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You'll get about an hour more SOT per day.

13 mini is physically smaller than the SE 2nd gen but the screen size is nearly the size of the 6/7/8 Plus phones. That plus the one handed use and just a little bigger than the original SE is what convinced me to buy. I can live with 6.5 hrs sot per day.
 
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I can't remember a time when the difference between two differently sized phones came down to the screen size and battery (due to physics). Usually there are other sacrifices like camera or other components.

Pick the size you want and don't look back. My wife wanted the mini and she loves her phone. I like it, very smooth and nice device for the size. It is too small of me but I'm a freak with a 13 pro max that could kill someone if you hit them with it. I like big deices so I couldn't deal with the mini. That said, the mini is a really nice device if you want that size.
 
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yitwail said:
If you're going for long battery life, get regular iPhone 13. It's just physics: the smaller the phone, the smaller the battery.
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Physics yes but there is more to it than that.

To the OP
Right down your must haves based on what you use the OG SE for.

Then decide from there what will work best for you. Both the iPhone 13 & 13 mini have the exact same features and performance except a marginal battery life from full to depleted range.

That said learn more about iOS 15’s Focus feature as you can use that in great use to reduce battery consumption on any iPhone and the 13 mini would benefit from this. Physics is 1 thing but it doesn’t alway govern your experience based on how you USE the iPhone.

Cheers.
 
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If you were managing with an original 4” SE until now, anything you get will be a big upgrade - the speed, OLED screens, longer battery life, much better cameras, etc. I use a 12 mini and absolutely enjoy it, alongside my iPad Air 4.

As others have mentioned, you need to figure out what is important for you in a phone and then make your decision. If you use your phone a lot - watch a lot of stuff, edit things, etc., more screen estate is obviously better. If you move a lot and need a phone to be light and portable - a mini is very hard to beat.

As for the prices, you could also consider getting an iPhone 12 (or mini), as IMHO the difference between 12 and 13 features is not as big.
 
yitwail said:
It's not just physics; here's a YT video where iP13 lasts 1hr 19m longer than mini on a test designed to drain battery fast -- lots of gaming for instance:

You can also compare Apple's specs for iP13 & mini here, where iP13 lasts 2 hours longer on video playback: https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone13mini,iphone13
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From my experience, mini’s otherwise excellent 5.4” OLED screen provides a very mediocre video watching experience. The screen is just too small. Mirroring it to a bigger screen or Apple TV is another matter, but then you might as well plug it in?
 
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Well, a bigger screen also requires more battery power to power it, rather ironically.
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True dat, but with OLED screens, the larger battery clearly outweighs the additional power draw of the screen, because multiple tests demonstrate mini iphone 12 & 13 having shorter batttery life.
 
Is the 13 mini screen size bigger than the new SE? When i was at apple store recently, i took a look at the 13 mini, 13 and the new SE.


My thoughts were the new SE felt a bit weird to hold and use. The 13 mini was a lot smaller than I thought it was. It didn't feel that much bigger than my current old SE. The 13 also did not feel that big as I thought it would be. It felt okay. But do most people find using the 13 uncomfortable using it with one hand? It didn't felt that weird.
 
Spike77777 said:
You'll get about an hour more SOT per day.

13 mini is physically smaller than the SE 2nd gen but the screen size is nearly the size of the 6/7/8 Plus phones. That plus the one handed use and just a little bigger than the original SE is what convinced me to buy. I can live with 6.5 hrs sot per day.
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Stop quoting this video. It’s fake. Paid advertising. In reality, my brand new 11 absolutely smokes the 13 mini
 
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xrayv said:
Stop quoting this video. It’s fake. Paid advertising. In reality, my brand new 11 absolutely smokes the 13 mini
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Everyone has the right to defend what they own. You can always ignore it. How about posting one that shows it smoking the 13 mini? Wait... here's another one.

 
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Spike77777 said:
Everyone has the right to defend what they own. You can always ignore it. How about posting one that shows it smoking the 13 mini? Wait... here's another one.

Click to expand...
I did in other treads, showing 11 hours of screen time
 
xrayv said:
I did in other treads, showing 11 hours of screen time
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That's great, I'm not saying the 13 mini is superior or better to your choice of the 11.
Mini does fine for what I need it at 6 - 6 1/2 hrs sot, I have my laptop and iPads if needed.
I hope you're happy with your 11 if you need 11 hours of use every day.
 
What in the world does apple do with your iphone 13 Mini if you keep it until then and return it for the 13? Sell it as refurbished? I do not want to do that but surprised that is possible.
 
Okay so would I need to buy a new charger for it? I still have my own SE charger but its less volts than the current one apple is selling? I know it does come with a charging cable and no earbuds.


Now i have a pair of wired apple earbuds that im still using with my old iphone but also have a pair of wireless earbuds but its from a cheap company that i bought cheap a while back. I have no plans to buy those airpods as i find it ridiculous so spend that much on it. Now there is no issue using my cheap 30 dollar nonbrand name wireless earphones with it right? But I read I cannot use my wired earbuds from my iphone SE with this iphone? I read you buy a cable if you want to do this? But how come I see on apple site you could buy wired apple earbuds that connect with this iphone for 20 dollars? So that is what I need to buy if i want to use wired earbuds?
 
ronniejoe said:
Okay so would I need to buy a new charger for it? I still have my own SE charger but its less volts than the current one apple is selling? I know it does come with a charging cable and no earbuds.


Now i have a pair of wired apple earbuds that im still using with my old iphone but also have a pair of wireless earbuds but its from a cheap company that i bought cheap a while back. I have no plans to buy those airpods as i find it ridiculous so spend that much on it. Now there is no issue using my cheap 30 dollar nonbrand name wireless earphones with it right? But I read I cannot use my wired earbuds from my iphone SE with this iphone? I read you buy a cable if you want to do this? But how come I see on apple site you could buy wired apple earbuds that connect with this iphone for 20 dollars? So that is what I need to buy if i want to use wired earbuds?
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Not necessarily, you can still use the charger you used with your SE. It's only a 5v 1amp or 5 watt charger so it wont be fast but I use it and it works fine. I also use the 10 watt that came with my iPad for faster charging.
If you have a decent pair of wired earbuds you can buy this adapter for $8. I've never tried them, I use a cheap pair of BT earbuds and can control it with my apple watch. Your pair should still work fine.

www.amazon.com

Apple Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter

Works with all devices that have a Lightning connector and support iOS 10 or later, including iPod touch, iPad, and iPhone
www.amazon.com
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
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Spike77777 said:
That's great, I'm not saying the 13 mini is superior or better to your choice of the 11.
Mini does fine for what I need it at 6 - 6 1/2 hrs sot, I have my laptop and iPads if needed.
I hope you're happy with your 11 if you need 11 hours of use every day.
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I absolutely agree with you. My point is there are YouTube benchmark tests videos that are doctored to promote the latest products.
Do your homework. Don’t trust YouTube
 
xrayv said:
I absolutely agree with you. My point is there are YouTube benchmark tests videos that are doctored to promote the latest products.
Do your homework. Don’t trust YouTube
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I don't believe everything on YT, but since I don't want to buy all these different iPhones to test out myself I do my homework and figure out who to believe and who's full of it. When results are similar to what I happen to see it's not just coincidence. I doubt they're out to push people to buy that latest.
 
yitwail said:
It's not just physics; here's a YT video where iP13 lasts 1hr 19m longer than mini on a test designed to drain battery fast -- lots of gaming for instance:

You can also compare Apple's specs for iP13 & mini here, where iP13 lasts 2 hours longer on video playback: https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone13mini,iphone13
Click to expand...
Yeah I seen that video a while back.

Btw I hate that you posted the auto play that is playing just cause I’m quoting argh.

But what’s the gain of the 13 over the 13 va the 13 mini over the 12 mini?!

Posting the video just re-iterates physics. Increased battery gains longer battery life when using the device.

I’m stating gains or reduced battery consumption not by an increased battery but by software on the same device generation is achieved by using something like a fine tuned Focus in iOS 15 ;)
 
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Just curious. Another thing I want to mention is when i use my old iphone SE, i mainly use one hand to type and other things many times. This would be a huge issue with the iphone 13 right?


Can people use the iphone 13 with no problem just one hand? I assume only ppl with big hands? Thus if im walking, i always hold phone in one hand to type and click on things etc. Or is almost everyone using two hands to do this if using the iphone 13?
 
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