iPhone 12 mini So About that Mini.... are you totally satisfied?

[Mikeyt1818]

Here's my breakdown of pros and cons of Mini vs. 2016 SE

Pros:
Much faster
Much better screen
Will support newer IOS
Slightly better camera

Cons:
Still a bit too big. It's still primarily a 2-handed operation for me.
Glass back
Camera lenses that are not flush with the back of the phone, preventing it from lying flat.
Power button on the side. I keep pressing it all the time by accident.
No headphone jack
No physical button to go to home. Not a big fan of swiping.

Those are some good points you bring up. I had been going back and forth between the SE 2020 and Mini. I finally gave up and have been using the SE 2020 because of one reason and that is Touch ID. If/when the iPhone 13 Mini has Touch ID built into the screen I will gladly trade in my SE. It really is a tough call otherwise as both phones have their pros and cons imo.

 

[Phone Junky]

Here's my breakdown of pros and cons of Mini vs. 2016 SE

Pros:
Much faster
Much better screen
Will support newer IOS
Slightly better camera

Cons:
Still a bit too big. It's still primarily a 2-handed operation for me.
Glass back
Camera lenses that are not flush with the back of the phone, preventing it from lying flat.
Power button on the side. I keep pressing it all the time by accident.
No headphone jack
No physical button to go to home. Not a big fan of swiping.

In what world is the Mini's camera only "slightly better" than the 2016 SE?

 

[spartan1967]

Here's my breakdown of pros and cons of Mini vs. 2016 SE

...Power button on the side...

OM flipping G! I thought I was the only one who kept taking screen shots with that side power button? Worse idea ever. I still have the OG SE and the top power button is indispensable.

 

[Menych]

In what world is the Mini's camera only "slightly better" than the 2016 SE?

I still prefer the camera on my Huawei P30 Pro (only use Huawei to test our website on a real Android and to take videos). I hoped the Mini's camera would allow me to get rid of the P30, but it's not quite there.

 

[cub4bearin]

FYI I’m a professional driver and stream music all the time while driving extended routes. Had both mini and max. Mini was dropping signal all the time while streaming or on calls. No such a problem with max. I’ve been wondering if the aluminum is the culprit again here?

 

[jakja83]

FYI I’m a professional driver and stream music all the time while driving extended routes. Had both mini and max. Mini was dropping signal all the time while streaming or on calls. No such a problem with max. I’ve been wondering if the aluminum is the culprit again here?

I actually felt I dropped signal periodically with my 12 mini as well. Often helped to turn off wifi and just use 4G. (Very good coverage around here).

 

[sheetgoose]

Love it. Perfect phone really. Black 128GB Mini + black Apple leather case + Torras diamond hard full screen protector👍🏼

 

[DumbPhone]

FYI I’m a professional driver and stream music all the time while driving extended routes. Had both mini and max. Mini was dropping signal all the time while streaming or on calls. No such a problem with max. I’ve been wondering if the aluminum is the culprit again here?

sometime lose cellular remote area & when return aera have good cellula no have on mini...airplane mode off & on then cellular good...annoy ...kaa

 

[firoze]

I think the Mini is a great phone. The pro's and con's are obvious. I am still getting constant dropped calls, this is my only problem. I really hoped that the last update would fix this problem.

To fix the dropped calls issue, try doing a DFU restore of your phone. This will load the latest baseband on your phone, as well as load a completely fresh iOS on the phone. On the Apple Discussion forum I was told doing a DFU restore cured cell reception problems for a few people.

 

[purdue1014]

Same here

Out of curiosity, what’s your workflow/how do you use two different new iPhones? Honest question.

 

[jay968]

I returned a mini for the 12. Battery life was fine with the mini once I tweaked some things. I didn't find it too small. I would have kept it but found reception was pretty bad. Mini vs 12, like night and day. Between 7 and 12 dBm difference.

 

[seezar]

Out of curiosity, what’s your workflow/how do you use two different new iPhones? Honest question.

I used the mini for a week to try it out. I got it because I had an iPhone 8 sitting in a drawer that was a spare iPhone and my carrier had a promotion where you could trade in an iPhone 8 or newer and they’d give enough trade in credit to cover an iPhone 12 mini.

While I love the portability of the mini, I wanted a pro model for the camera stuff. So the mini is simply a spare phone that replaced an old iPhone 8 that was a spare phone.

I use the 12 pro as my everyday phone.

 

[QCassidy352]

Here's my breakdown of pros and cons of Mini vs. 2016 SE

Pros:
Much faster
Much better screen
Will support newer IOS
Slightly better camera

Cons:
Still a bit too big. It's still primarily a 2-handed operation for me.
Glass back
Camera lenses that are not flush with the back of the phone, preventing it from lying flat.
Power button on the side. I keep pressing it all the time by accident.
No headphone jack
No physical button to go to home. Not a big fan of swiping.

I had a 2016 SE (years ago) and I really liked it, but those are very far from the only differences. Mini has vastly better radios (BT 5, 5G, faster LTE, much faster wifi), much better battery life, two cameras, vastly better front camera, wireless charging, water resistance... also, as mentioned, to say “slightly better camera” on the mini is... really something.

 

[Menych]

I had a 2016 SE (years ago) and I really liked it, but those are very far from the only differences. Mini has vastly better radios (BT 5, 5G, faster LTE, much faster wifi), much better battery life, two cameras, vastly better front camera, wireless charging, water resistance... also, as mentioned, to say “slightly better camera” on the mini is... really something.

I compared what mattered to me.

Better radio? Couldn't care less. I don't use 5G and see no difference in LTE speeds.

Much better battery life? Didn't really have a chance to compare the two.

Wireless charging to me is a downside because it requires the stupid glass back. I don't have a problem using my lightning chargers.

Water resistance? Don't care.

Two cameras, better front camera—compared to the SE? maybe. But my SE camera is good enough for taking daily crap pictures and Mini's camera is not good enough for taking videos I would use in my YouTube channel. So practically, there is very little difference.

 

[purdue1014]

I used the mini for a week to try it out. I got it because I had an iPhone 8 sitting in a drawer that was a spare iPhone and my carrier had a promotion where you could trade in an iPhone 8 or newer and they’d give enough trade in credit to cover an iPhone 12 mini.

While I love the portability of the mini, I wanted a pro model for the camera stuff. So the mini is simply a spare phone that replaced an old iPhone 8 that was a spare phone.

I use the 12 pro as my everyday phone.

Thanks

 

[yticolev]

Wireless charging to me is a downside because it requires the stupid glass back.

No, it doesn't. Plastic (or carbon fiber variant) would be the preferred material, completely transparent to radio signals, practically indestructible, far lighter than all alternatives. Just doesn't fit the "premium" profile Apple is going for and yes, if Apple started using it, they would get waves of criticism.

 

[cub4bearin]

wanted to keep it, but the lack of telephoto zoom lens and ProRAW swayed me to 12 pro max and I am very happy with my decision. Love the battery on max too. One thing I noticed... I drive every day for work... 200 miles, and the 12 mini had definitely worst signal from all 3 phones I used... 11 pro, 12 mini and 12 pro max. Not sure if that has anything to do with its size and aluminum bezel? But, I have never had such a poor signal with the 11 pro nor the 12 pro max.

 

[three]

10/10 - I've had mine for a little over a month now. I love the 12 mini. I'm in love with the size and the fact I can actually use it with one hand. The battery life isn't bad in my experience, I can usually end a day of moderate usage with 20 - 25% left. I haven't felt hindered by the smaller size one bit. My favorite iPhone, ever.

 

[jr866gooner]

How does the mini compare to an 8, battery wise?

 

[taneff]

wanted to keep it, but the lack of telephoto zoom lens and ProRAW swayed me to 12 pro max and I am very happy with my decision. Love the battery on max too. One thing I noticed... I drive every day for work... 200 miles, and the 12 mini had definitely worst signal from all 3 phones I used... 11 pro, 12 mini and 12 pro max. Not sure if that has anything to do with its size and aluminum bezel? But, I have never had such a poor signal with the 11 pro nor the 12 pro max.

That's interesting, I have read this a few times here, I don't from which user., was it you in a different thread? I wonder if the Mini has a different antenna design or less antenna or if it's a HW defect. I definitely notice better reception than on my iPhone 11 6.1 but the 11 Pro had better reception than the normal 11, so no comparison possible here.

 

[JW313]

How does the mini compare to an 8, battery wise?

It will be better. How much? depends on your usage.

 

[ericwn]

So About that Mini.... are you totally satisfied?​

NO!

1...need! have! sim! physical! dual!!!...kaa
2...3mm more wide...kaa
3...model specification pro...kaa

but it ok...kaa

I don’t understand what you are trying to express.

Do you want dual physical SIM card slots?

Are you referring to a wider chassis a wider camera or what exactly?

What is point 3 about?

 

[Robbosan]

I don’t understand what you are trying to express.

Do you want dual physical SIM card slots?

Are you referring to a wider chassis a wider camera or what exactly?

What is point 3 about?

Probably wants pro specs.

So the 12 has better reception than the mini from reports, is the Pro/pro max/ better again?

 

[ZipZap]

Battery performance across the entire 12 line is far worse than the 11. I just dont understand how we take a step backwards. They have had plenty of time to prepare for 5G so that can't be it.