The only issue for me, is that the back glass is so hard to replace. I am the iPhone repairman for my friends/family, and the 12/13 is the worst… multi hour job! The 15 and beyond, it’s so easy to replace it takes 10 mins. May not be important to you, but for me it’s a big deal and swayed me away from the 13 mini to the normal 15.
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iPhone 13 mini Talk me out of a 13 Mini!
- Thread starter rwh63
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Go hold an iPhone 17 in your hands and see how you feel about it? I find it small myself, and ended up with an Air for a good balance between screen size (mostly for easier typing) and pocketability
I know you like the smaller form factor, but seriously I would strongly recommend against buying a 13 Mini in 2026. It will probably drop off support in a couple years at best, and the hardware is far behind newer options. You wouldn’t get support for a lot of newer features like Apple Intelligence. And battery life is probably going to be pretty poor. With its age, the battery is likely going to be quite depleted. I just wouldn’t do it.
I have the 13 mini and don't plan on replacing it for as long as it works. Not great for typing but maybe someday Siri will actually be able to take dictation without having to correct its constant mistakes.
I looked up battery life and the iPhone 16e has about double the capacity (in use) than the 13 Mini.
Do you also own a VHS player we should talk you out of keeping?
It’s not that serious, they are $250. If in 2-3 years support is dropped, NBD. And since you own it outright, there is no lock in, when something else you like becomes available, you can just get that. Then you can use the mini as a backup/webcam/clock/wifi device.
Indeed. They'll get security updates for a year or two post-main iOS support, as well.
So it’s their decision, I’m not saying they can’t do it, but I just think that money could be better spent elsewhere. The title says “talk me out of”, so I’m merely suggesting there’s better options on the market that would be a better use of that money in my opinion. My iPhone 12 I just recently replaced was at a point where the battery had degraded so that I had to charge it twice during the day in order to get through a day. And that was a full-sized 12, the mini has a smaller battery, and battery life was a commonly discussed downside of the Mini even when it was brand new, let alone 5 years later after it has some mileage on it.
Again, not saying they can’t do it, it’s obviously their decision. Just don’t want them to regret their purchase because nobody warned them about some of the potential major downsides. 🙂👍🏻
Did ya you miss that the OP currently daily carries the OG SE?
Another person missing the driving factor for why someone would even consider a 13 mini in 2026.
It’s all about size.
Not HW performance, not Liquid Glass, not AI, and not 2 day battery life. They want it because it’s small. If they want to stay in the Apple ecosystem there is no other practical option.
This thread is really someone wishing they could keep using their OG SE.
I have the Air and 17 Pro yet I keep going back to my 13 mini to use. I primarily use my 13 mini to access my home security cameras and address any alerts. My Air is my primary iPhone and I use my 13 mini for a backup. It is still an amazing iPhone that can be daily driven if you really wanted to. I can now see why there are people who have used and owned this iPhone love it so much. It is a solidly built flagship level iPhone that today can still do a great job and still take good pictures.
I have 12 Mini and I'll use it till 2030 unless it breaks down. I don't need the fastest chip nor anybody else in the world except those who shoot entire movies on an iPhone and make the post-production on it too.
I get why they’re considering a 13 Mini in 2026, the small form factor. But sadly, the market has moved on. Is it the worst buy you could make? Probably not. But in my opinion, which is what the OP asked for, I think it would probably be a bad bang for buck. I think even an iPhone SE 3rd gen would be a better buy, as it at least will have longer software support, has a better battery (and because it’s newer, that battery is probably not near as worn down), is about the same price, and is only slightly larger… 🤷🏼♂️
The OP literally said “talk me out of doing x”, so I am providing reasons why I believe it would be a fairly poor value in 2026. That’s my opinion, YMMV, I just don’t think it’s a great option at this point… 🤷🏼♂️
They could stay in the Apple ecosystem with a slightly larger and better iPhone. I get that some like smaller phones, but unfortunately, the market has moved on from that. It’s not like you’re going to find many such small phones from competitors either. Larger phones are more popular, so unfortunately most of the market has moved on. The only phones in that size are likely going to either be older or no-name brands with who knows what kind of quality…
All I’m doing is providing my opinion (which the OP asked for), and advising against purchasing a 5 year old phone that would quite possibly need a new battery soon, and will get less support and such (which they also asked for)… 🤷🏼♂️
Me and my kids are still in the 13 lineup (one 13 pro and two base 13s respectively), and we are still pretty happy. Tempted to upgrade but no real reason to do so, the phones are still rockin'. And I couldn't care less about apple intelligence or AI in general.
If you are happy with the 13 mini's battery, and given that there are no more mini phones out there, then I'd say just keep it, and replace the battery every 2-3 years as needed.
But... eventually apple will cut iOS support for the 13s though, at that point then it is going to become increasingly difficult to stay with the old.
If you are happy with the 13 mini's battery, and given that there are no more mini phones out there, then I'd say just keep it, and replace the battery every 2-3 years as needed.
But... eventually apple will cut iOS support for the 13s though, at that point then it is going to become increasingly difficult to stay with the old.
I will add to the others: the 13 mini is a lovely device, and I find it hard to argue against. I have been and am still enjoying it, and have experienced zero issues aside from too much lint in the charging port, and that is a problem of pants, not of phone. I will say that I also have the magnetic charger and have experienced no issues with that either (overheating, etc.). It's a nicely portable phone that feels fairly future-proof as well.
To OP, I have an iPhone 13 Mini and I like it not love it. I wish I could have stuck with OGSE but it was becoming about as practical as a steam locomotive. As such when my OGSE threw itself on the sidewalk as I was getting out of a cab, I made the switch to the iPhone 13 Mini as the best practical option. No regrets and would buy again.
I purchased on Amazon as a renewed and found one with 128GB that was Premium condition for ~ $250 + tax, etc. Exterior was mint condition until I dropped it the day it arrived...battery was 90% and has been working well enough for me for now. I did a DFU reinstall after I first got it.
Battery life: I optimized my settings and in theory could get 3-4 days 100%->0% if I wanted to despite 90% battery health. I mainly use my phone as a communicator and otherwise I'm a light user. Phone calls actually seem to use most battery for reasons I don't understand -- like it somehow uses more energy than the OGSE to make a phone call. Settings I use:
On the positive side, the finish feels wonderful in the hand. Like a fine lacquered box or something. Obviously it's faster especially browsing modern websites. Camera of course is much better and TrueDepth allows Portrait mode and memojis or whatever.
Why don't I love it: carry and size. I think if the bezels were like 1.5mm narrower it would fit my hands just a little better. Also, it feels top heavy such that if I hold it resting on top of my pinky finger, it feels like it will flip over out of my hand. Which with its beautiful smooth glass finish feels like it would shatter like fine stemware (yes I carry without a case...if encased of course the finish doesn't matter and it's almost the same size as the 13).
I also wish it was about ~ 1" maybe 2cmm shorter. Putting it closer to the OGSE of course but specifically I find it harder to reach the top of the screen one-handed. Which isn't ideal as the upper right hand corner is where you access functions that were previously an upswipe on Home-button iPhones (as now the upswipe is how you get functions that the Home button does). Which when I reach for it one-handed, makes it feel like it will flip over due to the top heaviness as above. I don't even put Apps in the top two rows of the home screen so really unneeded bulk for me.
I dislike that Apple got rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack after OGSE especially when they hadn't yet moved to USB-C. But that's life in the Apple ecosystem. I bought a JSAUX Headphone Adapter for iPhone Lightning to 3.5mm Adapter for $15 and moved on. Similarly dislike the camera bumps but moved on.
Yes all those are first-world problems but size and one-handed operation are practical problems. I notice them on a daily basis. The OGSE was just so perfect for me I didn't notice the design details until I lost them. I suspect anyone who held on his or her OGSE until this year will notice the same issues. However, the iPhone 13 Mini should be a solid phone until 2030 and I believe the best compromise among available options for such people in the meantime.
I purchased on Amazon as a renewed and found one with 128GB that was Premium condition for ~ $250 + tax, etc. Exterior was mint condition until I dropped it the day it arrived...battery was 90% and has been working well enough for me for now. I did a DFU reinstall after I first got it.
Battery life: I optimized my settings and in theory could get 3-4 days 100%->0% if I wanted to despite 90% battery health. I mainly use my phone as a communicator and otherwise I'm a light user. Phone calls actually seem to use most battery for reasons I don't understand -- like it somehow uses more energy than the OGSE to make a phone call. Settings I use:
- Screen (typically single biggest energy draw): brightness @ 25-30% works well for me indoors and whitepoint reduced to 30% (which I also prefer at night); mostly black background on home page (it's OLED so more white pixels means more energy usage)
- Background apps: all off (originally for privacy as I can't imagine any apps that need this are up to anything good)
- Cellular data: almost all off (also for privacy as most apps don't need this -- exceptions for Messages, Mail, Calendar, Safari, Maps, etc)
- Bluetooth off (obviously doesn't work if have a bluetooth headset, etc) and AirDrop off
- Search, Siri, etc off for most apps as I don't need any of that...
On the positive side, the finish feels wonderful in the hand. Like a fine lacquered box or something. Obviously it's faster especially browsing modern websites. Camera of course is much better and TrueDepth allows Portrait mode and memojis or whatever.
Why don't I love it: carry and size. I think if the bezels were like 1.5mm narrower it would fit my hands just a little better. Also, it feels top heavy such that if I hold it resting on top of my pinky finger, it feels like it will flip over out of my hand. Which with its beautiful smooth glass finish feels like it would shatter like fine stemware (yes I carry without a case...if encased of course the finish doesn't matter and it's almost the same size as the 13).
I also wish it was about ~ 1" maybe 2cmm shorter. Putting it closer to the OGSE of course but specifically I find it harder to reach the top of the screen one-handed. Which isn't ideal as the upper right hand corner is where you access functions that were previously an upswipe on Home-button iPhones (as now the upswipe is how you get functions that the Home button does). Which when I reach for it one-handed, makes it feel like it will flip over due to the top heaviness as above. I don't even put Apps in the top two rows of the home screen so really unneeded bulk for me.
I dislike that Apple got rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack after OGSE especially when they hadn't yet moved to USB-C. But that's life in the Apple ecosystem. I bought a JSAUX Headphone Adapter for iPhone Lightning to 3.5mm Adapter for $15 and moved on. Similarly dislike the camera bumps but moved on.
Yes all those are first-world problems but size and one-handed operation are practical problems. I notice them on a daily basis. The OGSE was just so perfect for me I didn't notice the design details until I lost them. I suspect anyone who held on his or her OGSE until this year will notice the same issues. However, the iPhone 13 Mini should be a solid phone until 2030 and I believe the best compromise among available options for such people in the meantime.
Maybe build your own?
That's probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but given low supply and relative ease of getting individual parts from China, it's an option if you're up for the challenge as a project to take on. You would end up with a phone that is essentially brand new if you source good quality parts. You could also do rare configurations like product red.
That's probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but given low supply and relative ease of getting individual parts from China, it's an option if you're up for the challenge as a project to take on. You would end up with a phone that is essentially brand new if you source good quality parts. You could also do rare configurations like product red.
thx for all of the useful replies. i'm mulling it over. i have handled the 17 at the Apple store. i do not, nor anticipate, doing heavy computing work on an iphone. typical wide range of activity, like texting, email, cloud access, music (will miss the built in headphone jack, don't like wireless too much), pics and video, calling. i started out with a 4s, then went with the SE. Actually purchased a "new" SE space grey 128 several months ago. perfect condition, 100% battery. I am a little rough with my phones, and even with a screen saver and had case managed to crack the screen (probably had it in my back pocket with keys or something and sat on it).
i really don't want to spend $500-$800 on a phone. esp. a new one. i tend to buy used cars with enough wear/tear that i'm not troubled by more wear and tear. i felt a mini would keep costs down, and if damaged wouldn't bother me tremendously. i see some used mini's have been upgraded to iOS26, some are on 18. A battery costs $90 at Apple. I'd like to find an excellent 256 gb with box for $200 and have Apple store change the battery. with care, i would probably be good for 2-3 more years. maybe by then Apple will come to it's senses and put out a beautiful small phone.
i really don't want to spend $500-$800 on a phone. esp. a new one. i tend to buy used cars with enough wear/tear that i'm not troubled by more wear and tear. i felt a mini would keep costs down, and if damaged wouldn't bother me tremendously. i see some used mini's have been upgraded to iOS26, some are on 18. A battery costs $90 at Apple. I'd like to find an excellent 256 gb with box for $200 and have Apple store change the battery. with care, i would probably be good for 2-3 more years. maybe by then Apple will come to it's senses and put out a beautiful small phone.
Those screens are not that difficult to replace. If that is the reason you’re needing to switch phones, repairing is a good option.
I really see this as a negative. Once I switched from a mini to a 17 I started using my phone way more. That means I’m more distracted. I also don’t use my iPad or Mac as much, but my overall screen time is up. I’d rather have a smaller phone that doesn’t suck me in as much.
There is a movement to less screen time, more real world engagement and productivity.