iPhone 13 mini iPhone Mini starting to lose its attraction to me sadly.

[Malcy16]

Hello all,

I'm a big fan of the iPhone Mini particularly for its size and ease of use.
I don't tend to post much on here but I've added a couple of comments on articles which discuss the iPhone Mini saying 'Long Live the iPhone Mini' or something similar and its usually met with a large amount of likes. So I'm definitely aware there are many iPhone Mini fans out there.

I've had my Mini since May last year and been happy with it since.
But now a few things have started to bug me which I think may be solved with a change to a Pro or Pro Max model.

• Battery Life
  • My battery health is 94% and I will have to use a charger at least once a day. Previous phones have allowed me to charge at night and will survive the day without charge no problem.
• Phone getting warm
  • I tend to use my iPhone in the car to play music/podcasts whilst using Google Maps/Apple Maps for navigation. The phone will get really warm and has sometimes told me its too warm. (Can't remember the exact wording for the too warm message)
• Camera
  • Whilst the camera is great for most photos I tend to struggle for close up shots and lower light photos. Taken pictures of the dog or my son in the evening time in our home tends to be a little less clear than other photos. Also I collect football shirts (soccer jerseys for US folks) and I take photos of the shirts when discussing with the football shirt community on twitter. My phone really struggles to capture the team crest or close up details.

I'm not going to do anything drastic at the moment in regards to changing my phone. At the moment I'm tempted to wait until the 15 models release and see how I feel then. This could also just be a little phase of discontent with my iPhone I'm going through. Sometimes I think I can be quite fickle when it comes to products I own and tend to change them regularly if it doesn't cost me too much money.

Anyone else got anything they find annoying or disappointing with there Mini?

 

[ignatius345]

For what it's worth, the battery life on my 13 Mini took a serious hit when I updated to iOS 16. Some of that is probably wear, but it was a pretty sharp dropoff when I did that update.

No complaints about the camera. My wife has a 13 Pro and we will often take pictures of the kid at the same time and frankly I don't see a huge difference except for the zoom lens hers has. The iPhone 14 has a big upgrade to the camera but the difference in 13 models is not huge at all.

As far as overheating in the car, I use my 13 Mini for hours on end running Maps and playing music -- all while charging with a magnetic qi-based charger. No overheating ever. Do you happen to be using a vent mount? If so, is your heat on around this time of year? That will do it. When I turn on the heat I set it to come out of the floor vents only during the winter. In the summer the AC cools the phone quite effectively

 

[Populus]

For what it's worth, the battery life on my 13 Mini took a serious hit when I updated to iOS 14. Some of that is probably wear, but it was a pretty sharp dropoff when I did that update.

I don’t want to be too picky (or whatever the word in English is) BUT, the iPhone 13 lineup was released with iOS 15. It is impossible to install iOS 14 or previous releases on that model.

Maybe you noticed that drop with iOS 16, which makes sense because, unlike what happened with iOS 14 and 15, iOS 16 impacted on the battery life of several devices, especially the oldest ones.

 

[ignatius345]

Maybe you noticed that drop with iOS 16, which makes sense because, unlike what happened with iOS 14 and 15, iOS 16 impacted on the battery life of several devices, especially the oldest ones.

Oops, yes -- I was typing fast and before coffee. It also doesn't help matters that the current iteration of iOS is close but not the same as the current iteration of the iPhone (sure would be easier if these numbers were synced!)

Anyway, yes, I meant iOS 16, which has been kind of atrocious for my battery.

 

[KhunJay]

Anyway, yes, I meant iOS 16, which has been kind of atrocious for my battery.

You could try a DFU Reset after making a backup. It alleviated some of my problems.

 

[macsound1]

If you are using Maps - yes it'll absolutely make your phone hot and drain your battery quickly. I've always noticed this.

There was even a thing where people realized their in-car USB chargers were only 5w because on long road trips, the battery would still drain while using Maps even when plugged in because they're chewing so hard with GPS.

 

[Carlsberg69]

Oops, yes -- I was typing fast and before coffee.

And a small screen maybe on the mini, can be hard to see… 🥸😉

 

[ignatius345]

You could try a DFU Reset after making a backup. It alleviated some of my problems.

Yeah, good call. I may well do that. I might even set the phone up from scratch again, which always helps weed out all the crap I've been carrying forward from phone to phone.

 

[Helmsley]

Get an iPhone 13. I've just upgraded from an iPhone 11 and it is superb!

 

[culo77]

Ain't nothing wrong with falling out of love with an object when it doesn't fit your current use case. Great thing about the times we live in you have many choices if you want to change even to a different brand. Your mini has a strong resale value too.

Personally I fall more in love with my 13 mini each month. Now my iPad mini as been loosing its attraction for me lately because my use for it has changed since I bought it last year.

 

[Acronyc]

My wife loves her 12 mini and I have a brand new 13 mini that’s unopened and ready for her should her 12 mini ever completely die. I used to have a regular 12 and there were no differences in our two phones besides the screen size and the 12 had a bit better battery. I think the minis are great and would love to use one but I’ve gotten used to the larger screen.

That said, I upgraded to the 14 pro mainly for the camera. I never realized how useful the extra zoom lens is and that alone has been worth it for me.

 

[JamesMcFlyJR]

My wife loves her 12 mini and I have a brand new 13 mini that’s unopened and ready for her should her 12 mini ever completely die. I used to have a regular 12 and there were no differences in our two phones besides the screen size and the 12 had a bit better battery. I think the minis are great and would love to use one but I’ve gotten used to the larger screen.

That said, I upgraded to the 14 pro mainly for the camera. I never realized how useful the extra zoom lens is and that alone has been worth it for me.

Im just curious what is the thought process behind having a brand new 13 mini unopened laying around as a backup?

Because from my perspective, it would be smarter to buy a 13 Mini later rather than have it just lay around being unopen.

For example: Apple never discontinues iPhones randomly. They only discontinue iPhones when a new model launches which has been september since 2011. So the smart thing to do would be to buy a 13 Mini a day or so before the upcoming September 2023 iPhone event and see if the 13 mini gets canceled. If it does, score for you. If it doesnt, and instead gets another price drop (to $499), you can just return it and repeat the process next year (or until you actually need a 13 Mini).

Additionally, instead of spending the $599 or more on an iPhone Mini today you can use that money to invest into something where later you can purchase a 13 Mini.

Instead you have a 13 Mini thats laying around unopened. Which might not be good for the battery.

 

[ukms]

Im just curious what is the thought process behind having a brand new 13 mini unopened laying around as a backup?

Because from my perspective, it would be smarter to buy a 13 Mini later rather than have it just lay around being unopen.

For example: Apple never discontinues iPhones randomly. They only discontinue iPhones when a new model launches which has been september since 2011. So the smart thing to do would be to buy a 13 Mini a day or so before the upcoming September 2023 iPhone event and see if the 13 mini gets canceled. If it does, score for you. If it doesnt, and instead gets another price drop (to $499), you can just return it and repeat the process next year (or until you actually need a 13 Mini).

Additionally, instead of spending the $599 or more on an iPhone Mini today you can use that money to invest into something where later you can purchase a 13 Mini.

Instead you have a 13 Mini thats laying around unopened. Which might not be good for the battery.

All in your opinion of course 😉…. I actually think it’s a smart thing to do as long as it’s not left too long. Phones sit around for months or even years in some countries (where do you think all the old stock goes ?) ….. I have a mini as a travel phone which I use with a cloned SIM when I don’t need to carry my 14PM. I did think of picking up another mini to keep for the future when they eventually disappear but would probably unbox it and keep it pristine.

 

[one more]

If you are using Maps - yes it'll absolutely make your phone hot and drain your battery quickly. I've always noticed this.

There was even a thing where people realized their in-car USB chargers were only 5w because on long road trips, the battery would still drain while using Maps even when plugged in because they're chewing so hard with GPS.

Not in my experience with my iPhone 12 mini. I regularly use it with plugged CarPlay on about 90 minutes drives, Apple Maps are doing the nav and I always listen to something - Spotify, Apple Music or Books (audio), iPhone can get a bit warm, but not hot to the point of displaying a complaining message. This only happened when it was mounted on a windshield on warm sunny pre-CarPlay days.

 

[one more]

I am still using a 12 mini, so just a few points about the issues you mention:

Battery life - if you cannot comfortably make it through your day and it’s difficult for you to top it up with a fast charger, then you would probably need to consider a regular 13, 14 or 15. Mini is great as “on the go” iPhone, but is not really meant to be a “do-it-all” phone, so I complement it with my iPad Air. My original battery is at 84% (Apple) and 89% (Coconut) and I can sometimes make it through the day without a top-up, but it is tricky, as I often use it for streaming via Bluetooth (speaker or AirPods), etc.

Mini getting hot - you may need to check your car charger or iPhone’s position in your car, as it might not be optimal. My 12 mini handles car journeys just fine (used with a wired CarPlay).

Camera - cannot change much there unless you go with an iPhone Pro. As others have mentioned, however, unless you pay particular attention to detail of your pictures, the difference may not be as noticeable.

 

[macsound1]

Not in my experience with my iPhone 12 mini. I regularly use it with plugged CarPlay on about 90 minutes drives, Apple Maps are doing the nav and I always listen to something - Spotify, Apple Music or Books (audio), iPhone can get a bit warm, but not hot to the point of displaying a complaining message. This only happened when it was mounted on a windshield on warm sunny pre-CarPlay days.

Sorry, I didn't differentiate between hot and warm.
I'd say using maps makes your phone warm and can drain your battery quickly.


I'd also say as an iPhone 12 Mini user, and my girlfriend using a 12 Pro, the 12 Pro's battery life while using Maps isn't remarkably better.
Maps, for me anyway, has always drained my phone at record time. My experience is for iPhone 6, 6S, 7,8, and 12 mini.
So anecdotally, using Maps on a "regular" iPhone, won't give you a reasonably better battery life.
In other use sure, but maps, I think it's always going to kill the battery faster than you could expect with any other normal iPhone usage.

 

[JPack]

Im just curious what is the thought process behind having a brand new 13 mini unopened laying around as a backup?

Because from my perspective, it would be smarter to buy a 13 Mini later rather than have it just lay around being unopen.

For example: Apple never discontinues iPhones randomly. They only discontinue iPhones when a new model launches which has been september since 2011. So the smart thing to do would be to buy a 13 Mini a day or so before the upcoming September 2023 iPhone event and see if the 13 mini gets canceled. If it does, score for you. If it doesnt, and instead gets another price drop (to $499), you can just return it and repeat the process next year (or until you actually need a 13 Mini).

Additionally, instead of spending the $599 or more on an iPhone Mini today you can use that money to invest into something where later you can purchase a 13 Mini.

Instead you have a 13 Mini thats laying around unopened. Which might not be good for the battery.

Agreed. There is no sense in buying one and keeping it unused.

Even on iPhone 15 launch day, the mini will still be available from Apple Stores with a $100 discount. It's not like they suddenly disappear from shelves.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Battery life is something that once you experience it is REALLY hard to go back. Two times now I've tried to go Pro from having used Pro Max since the 6+ and ... while initially I'm super happy with the weight, size... the battery life and the fact that they get a LOT hotter really quick .... and I start missing that screen space hits me.

I usually stand it for about a month before going back, lol. I've done this now with the 12 Pro and the 14 Pro recently.

I just use my phone too much these days... If it was 5 years ago, a smaller phone would do. But I don't travel as much as I used to and I use my phone a LOT more than I used to.

Agreed. There is no sense in buying one and keeping it unused.

Even on iPhone 15 launch day, the mini will still be available from Apple Stores with a $100 discount. It's not like they suddenly disappear from shelves.

Agreed, batteries wear even when just sitting there so I'd just wait to buy it when I want to later. I imagine the mini will be selling for awhile.

 

[ukms]

Agreed. There is no sense in buying one and keeping it unused.

Even on iPhone 15 launch day, the mini will still be available from Apple Stores with a $100 discount. It's not like they suddenly disappear from shelves.

That’s assuming the colour/capacity you want is available, even now they go in and out of stock so the phone of choice may well disappear ……. A new iPhone battery will not deteriorate in a few months.

It may not make sense to you but that doesn’t make it a bad idea.

 

[Acronyc]

Im just curious what is the thought process behind having a brand new 13 mini unopened laying around as a backup?

Because from my perspective, it would be smarter to buy a 13 Mini later rather than have it just lay around being unopen.

For example: Apple never discontinues iPhones randomly. They only discontinue iPhones when a new model launches which has been september since 2011. So the smart thing to do would be to buy a 13 Mini a day or so before the upcoming September 2023 iPhone event and see if the 13 mini gets canceled. If it does, score for you. If it doesnt, and instead gets another price drop (to $499), you can just return it and repeat the process next year (or until you actually need a 13 Mini).

Additionally, instead of spending the $599 or more on an iPhone Mini today you can use that money to invest into something where later you can purchase a 13 Mini.

Instead you have a 13 Mini thats laying around unopened. Which might not be good for the battery.

I don’t need to explain my purchases to anyone, but I’m in a good mood today.

When I was on a business trip in December my wife dropped her phone and broke her screen. Her AppleCare+ was expired and she didn’t want to spend the money to replace the screen on a phone that was already two years old. But she also didn’t want to spend the money get a new phone when her 12 mini was still working, albeit with a cracked screen.

Her birthday was coming up so I thought this would be a perfect time to get her a new phone. She also constantly struggled with the 64GB of storage. I was traveling in a country where iPhones are cheaper than where I live. So I bought a 256Gb 13 mini for her.

When I got back and saw her phone I realized that the she didn’t crack the screen. It was only the glass screen protector that was cracked. I took it off and her screen was fine. She was super happy because she had the battery replaced before her AppleCare expired and and her screen was fine. She’s the type of person to use a phone for three or four years - unless it breaks - before getting a new one and also hates the whole process of setting up a new phone.

So, I decided to get her something else for her birthday and keep the 13 mini as a backup for a rainy day or for her birthday in a year or two. I didn’t resell it because it’s annoying to do, I might not get back what I paid for, and there’s no guarantee I will be able to buy a brand new unlocked 13 mini that can still get AppleCare+ in a year or two. Sure, a new 13 mini might be cheaper later this year. But selling it and buying it again to potentially save a little money isn’t worth the hassle to me since I already have it.

I didn’t want to go through this long explanation in my first post, but there you go. Normally I don’t just have brand new iPhones sitting around as backups, but in this case it’s nice to have.

 

[JamesMcFlyJR]

I don’t need to explain my purchases to anyone, but I’m in a good mood today.

When I was on a business trip in December my wife dropped her phone and broke her screen. Her AppleCare+ was expired and she didn’t want to spend the money to replace the screen on a phone that was already two years old. But she also didn’t want to spend the money get a new phone when her 12 mini was still working, albeit with a cracked screen.

Her birthday was coming up so I thought this would be a perfect time to get her a new phone. She also constantly struggled with the 64GB of storage. I was traveling in a country where iPhones are cheaper than where I live. So I bought a 256Gb 13 mini for her.

When I got back and saw her phone I realized that the she didn’t crack the screen. It was only the glass screen protector that was cracked. I took it off and her screen was fine. She was super happy because she had the battery replaced before her AppleCare expired and and her screen was fine. She’s the type of person to use a phone for three or four years - unless it breaks - before getting a new one and also hates the whole process of setting up a new phone.

So, I decided to get her something else for her birthday and keep the 13 mini as a backup for a rainy day or for her birthday in a year or two. I didn’t resell it because it’s annoying to do, I might not get back what I paid for, and there’s no guarantee I will be able to buy a brand new unlocked 13 mini that can still get AppleCare+ in a year or two. Sure, a new 13 mini might be cheaper later this year. But selling it and buying it again to potentially save a little money isn’t worth the hassle to me since I already have it.

I didn’t want to go through this long explanation in my first post, but there you go. Normally I don’t just have brand new iPhones sitting around as backups, but in this case it’s nice to have.

Didnt mean anything hostile. I was genuinely curious.

Thanks for the write up

 

[1rottenapple]

well I took the plunge and got out of the life after 2 years. I love it though. But I needed a bigger screen for pdf viewing and the regular pro is the sweet spot. I’m used to the large size now but I do miss the mini though.

 

[Shanghaichica]

As a long time fan of larger phones, I was never going to like the iPhone mini. However I think it's unfair to criticise the battery life. By virtue of it's size it can't have a larger battery like the larger phones. Small phone, small battery life.

 

[Malcy16]

As a long time fan of larger phones, I was never going to like the iPad mini. However I think it's unfair to criticise the battery life. By virtue of it's size it can't have a larger battery like the larger phones. Small phone, small battery life.

Think the battery life has gotten worse in the 11 months I’ve had it. It’s not terrible though but sometimes I wish it was a little bit better

 

[Malcy16]

well I took the plunge and got out of the life after 2 years. I love it though. But I needed a bigger screen for pdf viewing and the regular pro is the sweet spot. I’m used to the large size now but I do miss the mini though.

At this moment I’m tempted to move to a Pro Max model. Thinking I should wait for the 15 Pro Max. Sometimes I just want to say ’screw it’ and get the 14 Pro Max