iPhone 12 iPhone Mini First Impressions

[yirin1986]

Hi all.

I am still interested in the 12 mini, but blue and 128 gb sold out in stores near me at launch day. Went to take a look/feel though last friday and love the size, just a tad smaller then my blackberry key1. battery life seems ok when I look things up on youtube and read the reactions here. for the mini For what its worth my bb k1 gives me around 4 - 4,5 hours screen on time. (on wifi most of the time nowadays) So the 7 isch sot is more then enough to get me trough the day.

I was wondering if someone knows if or/and when (smart) batterycases are available for the mini. Waiting on those tbh.

 

[luckerr]

My 13 mth old 11 pro got sold with 100% battery health

May I ask you what charger did you use? Was it 5W one? Thanks in advance !

 

[yticolev]

No clue how he got 7.5 hours out of that thing...

Fun video, thanks. He didn't say so explicitly that I caught (just mentioned wifi), but no doubt it was airplane mode with wifi on. That can make a huge difference at times with divergent or weak cell signals causing constant hunting. And now, depending on how you set your options, trying to decide 4G or 5G.

So I didn't plug in my iPhone last night. During my time owning the 4, 5, 6S, that is a first. I will say that I had it plugged into my car to listen to music for about 40 minutes yesterday. It seems to charge rather rapidly. 80% at bedtime. It dropped significantly overnight and currently is at 60%, perhaps still doing new phone tasks in the background. Might have updated iOS to 14.2 while I was sleeping too. I downloaded it yesterday but never saw a restart or dialog.

Another 40 minutes in my car today and we will see if I can leave it unplugged for another night.

I do have some power hungry apps, but am not a power user generally and the pandemic lowered needs further. I'm hoping Shortcuts automation can schedule charging by charge percentage. Then I can stop charging to 85% extending battery life and still be sure I can also get through the day. If I can get that to work, I'll will plug in nightly again.

 

[iApple_man]

Hi all.

I am still interested in the 12 mini, but blue and 128 gb sold out in stores near me at launch day. Went to take a look/feel though last friday and love the size, just a tad smaller then my blackberry key1. battery life seems ok when I look things up on youtube and read the reactions here. for the mini For what its worth my bb k1 gives me around 4 - 4,5 hours screen on time. (on wifi most of the time nowadays) So the 7 isch sot is more then enough to get me trough the day.

I was wondering if someone knows if or/and when (smart) batterycases are available for the mini. Waiting on those tbh.

The mini just came out so no battery case as of yet but I hope one isn’t because you don’t need it.

People might mention that MagSafe tho. If you need a battery case, too me that defeats the purpose. Never understood why the 11 Pro Max had a battery case.

What’s the initials, ymmv? Well for me the mini is a keeper. It lasts all day for me, meaning I don’t charge till night or when needed and I’m in the house so my SOT will be higher but to me, that is the ultimate test. With the “SE2”, I needed the battery case.

 

[yticolev]

If you need a battery case, too me that defeats the purpose.

Obviously, these forums may not reflect preferences of the majority iPhone owners but many have been decrying Apple's insistence of thin over all else for years on handsets that don't last a day of average use. A couple mm thicker for a much larger battery is what you read on forums daily. As a plus, you can now eliminate the camera hump. No one wants a battery case that adds far more mass - there goes thin.

Seems crazy to us, but presumably Apple does market research since Jobs died on what consumers want.

 

[yticolev]

It is defective. If disabling Auto Brightness increases your brightness, it IS INDEED defective.

This is referring to my very dim Mini at arrival on auto brightness (after restoring). Updated to 14.2 last night, and testing today seems like normal brightness. So potentially good news for anyone getting a new 12. As aakshey notes, the problem is unlikely to be just one model. I'll have to spend another 24 hours with it to see if it behaves but looks like this will avoid an appointment at the Genius Bar or phone call.

 

[aakshey]

This is referring to my very dim Mini at arrival on auto brightness (after restoring). Updated to 14.2 last night, and testing today seems like normal brightness. So potentially good news for anyone getting a new 12. As aakshey notes, the problem is unlikely to be just one model. I'll have to spend another 24 hours with it to see if it behaves but looks like this will avoid an appointment at the Genius Bar or phone call.

Can you please do the test above and confirm if disabling auto brightness no longer increases your brightness?

Also, please do the test indoors, with not too much ambient lighting. Ensure your phone brightness is around 50%.

I don’t think the iOS update would have fixed this same issue for everybody. But if it haS, that’s fantastic news.

 

[aakshey]

This is referring to my very dim Mini at arrival on auto brightness (after restoring). Updated to 14.2 last night, and testing today seems like normal brightness. So potentially good news for anyone getting a new 12. As aakshey notes, the problem is unlikely to be just one model. I'll have to spend another 24 hours with it to see if it behaves but looks like this will avoid an appointment at the Genius Bar or phone call.

Do note, directly after a restore the screen is dim as well. That’s not a defect. I hope you’re taking that into consideration. Until you run the test, we won’t know. And don’t run the test in direct sunlight.

 

[Cryates]

Day 4, battery still plenty good for me, still plenty in love. This is the one.

 

[Supermallet]

Day 4, battery still plenty good for me, still plenty in love. This is the one.

Same! I just wiped and packed up my 11 Pro for trade in. I really hope they do a mini pro next year.

 

[Robbosan]

May I ask you what charger did you use? Was it 5W one? Thanks in advance !

Samsung wireless charger 7.5w mostly.

 

[axboi87]

Too big

It really is! I hate the reachability feature (it's sloppy...very un-apple), and my standards is that while holding the phone in my right hand, my thumb should easily (without strain) be able to reach just above the upper left corner. I didn't return mine...just going to deal with it, but I really just wanted an original SE sized phone that was all screen like this

 

[alphasports]

Just got mine today, gotta say as an Android fan & occasional iphone basher I really do like the size, weight, etc. I have a Pixel 3 and I LOVE that size and this Mini is even slightly smaller (a good thing for me). Also have a Oneplus 7T which is my alternate HUGE phone (or as huge as I can stand). Torn between dumping the OP to help pay for the Mini, or keep all 3 since the Pixel is a couple years old and is starting to show its age, has negligible resale so not worth selling (tho its pics are still fantastic).

Ask me in 2 or 3 days haha! But for now this is the one I've been waiting for.

 

[splifingate]

One thing I'm definitely sure of is that the aluminum models feel better in the hand to hold than the Pro Models. The aluminum sides and glass back of the mini I have has much more grip to it than the sides and back of my 12 Pro Max. I usually don't use a case and there is a definite advantage in grip to the non Pro models.

I went out on a [gotta protect this Gem from all the grit/grime I, daily, face] limb, and purchased a silicone case (while I await my Otterbox Defender Pro), and this Mini slides down my hand like I'd prepped a pan for oatmeal cookies . . .

. . . I'd go Nakid if I could, but the #dirtinmylife would kill it in a Albuquerque Minute

Regards, splifingate

 

[yticolev]

Can you please do the test above and confirm if disabling auto brightness no longer increases your brightness?

Also, please do the test indoors, with not too much ambient lighting. Ensure your phone brightness is around 50%.

Passed. I tried it first under a small lamp that that failed the test. So moved away and toggled several times. No change at 50%

Do note, directly after a restore the screen is dim as well.

So I don't remember exactly how long after the restore I noticed the dim screen and compared it side by side with the 6S. But it had to be several hours later. So I can't really say other than that is a possibly right.

 

[yticolev]

My lightning earpods I bought on eBay finally arrived two weeks later. OEM unused from an iPhone 11 still wrapped in cardboard. So happy to have them, used them for an hour, then an hour after that they wouldn't work. "Accessory not authorized" or similar dialog. I rebooted the phone and they worked again. Some bug I'm guessing in iOS 14.2

 

[MrAperture]

My lightning earpods I bought on eBay finally arrived two weeks later. OEM unused from an iPhone 11 still wrapped in cardboard. So happy to have them, used them for an hour, then an hour after that they wouldn't work. "Accessory not authorized" or similar dialog. I rebooted the phone and they worked again. Some bug I'm guessing in iOS 14.2

sounds like you got a counterfeit set

 

[JSway]

Only slight concern for me so far is the battery on days I’m out, but let’s face it this pandemic has us stuck at home lol. If I know a heavy day is coming where I won’t be near a charger then I’ll run low power mode and dim it a bit. I have no need for 5G right now so that’s off. I’m coming from an 11 Pro Max so it’s a slight adjustment of charging daily versus ever 1.5 - 2 days.

I love everything about this phone. The screen size, weight, and typing isn’t as bad as I anticipated especially when using swipe. One handed operation makes it easy to use and enter your passcode when wearing a mask. So that’s a huge plus right now.

I do hope that in the next version we get a much better battery life to match the other phones or that we get a Pro Mini version.

 

[jetydosa]

Love this phone! Sending back my blue 12 and keeping the Mini. Its just something about thats so......neat.

I love that its not a "watered down" phone - it packs a punch!

Battery life for me has been shockingly good.

If they do a Pro-Mini next year it'll REALLY be something

 

[thettareddast]

There’s a quite egregious and obvious problem for me: when you use the camera at night with any bright point light source , it creates multiple bright pixels/points on the screen.

the bright point move as you move the camera, so it is some sort of exaggeration of internal reflection of the lens design.

which also means it’s common to this camera module, and hence other 12s.

ive only seen it mentioned once by the verge in context of videos, but no other “reviewer” caught something so obvious

 

[MrAperture]

Does anyone else marvel at the Mini every time they pick theirs up? Man, I still can’t get over the fact that Apple made what I loved about so many iPhones but combined them all into a single phone with only a 5.4” full screen. And there aren’t any compromises compared with the regular full-sized 12 (besides battery of course).

 

[Cryates]

Does anyone else marvel at the Mini every time they pick theirs up? Man, I still can’t get over the fact that Apple made what I loved about so many iPhones but combined them all into a single phone with only a 5.4” full screen. And there aren’t any compromises compared with the regular full-sized 12 (besides battery of course).

Agree wholeheartedly. And the thing is, the battery compromise is a manageable one. If this had one less camera lens, or a lower powered chip, or a lesser display, or a cheaper build, I can’t just change those things myself. I can, however, give this thing a little recharge IF I even need to, and that’s a big IF for my use.

It’s 7:20pm and I’m at 61% without it being on the charger once since 7:00am, ha.

 

[thettareddast]

There’s a quite egregious and obvious problem for me: when you use the camera at night with any bright point light source , it creates multiple bright pixels/points on the screen.

the bright point move as you move the camera, so it is some sort of exaggeration of internal reflection of the lens design.

which also means it’s common to this camera module, and hence other 12s.

ive only seen it mentioned once by the verge in context of videos, but no other “reviewer” caught something so obvious

Pic for reference - see the cluster of green spots on top right that reflects the 4 ceiling lights

 

[thettareddast]

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

I’m absolutely blown away. I pulled my 12 Pro out of its box in preparation for my Mini replacement (looong story there) and it’s just so unwieldy after using this thing for a couple of days. As someone else previously mentioned, it’s just a beastly little thing. I’m quite pleased with the camera too.