iPhone 13 mini Went from 12 Mini to 13 Pro to 13 Mini

[bobjonesco]

I jumped on the promotion bandwagon and got the 13 Pro when it came out, but after a few days I started to miss the mini form factor and just swapped it over at the Apple store for the 13 Mini (Starlight).

Promotion is nice to look at, but with double the storage, better cameras and better battery - I'm happy to miss out on promotion and have a much easier to handle phone again.

No regrets.

 

[dms_91]

Wait, what?

 

[RRC]

Mini ftw! I too cancelled my 13 Pro and got a 13 mini instead, for me and my usage it’s the better device.

 

[akash.nu]

I jumped on the promotion bandwagon and got the 13 Pro when it came out, but after a few days I started to miss the mini form factor and just swapped it over at the Apple store for the 13 Mini (Starlight).

Promotion is nice to look at, but with double the storage, better cameras and better battery - I'm happy to miss out on promotion and have a much easier to handle phone again.

No regrets.

Hang on, better cameras and better storage?!

 

[TorontoSS]

I jumped on the promotion bandwagon and got the 13 Pro when it came out, but after a few days I started to miss the mini form factor and just swapped it over at the Apple store for the 13 Mini (Starlight).

Promotion is nice to look at, but with double the storage, better cameras and better battery - I'm happy to miss out on promotion and have a much easier to handle phone again.

No regrets.

that's interesting. thanks for posting. I have a 12 mini. I briefly considered the 13 pro but it just seems SOOOOOO heavy. the 11 pro gave me a few problems so i'm assuming the 13 pro would give me even bigger issues. I ended up going for a 13 mini as well.

did you really notice the weight of the pro a lot? in everyday life and in pockets, etc?

 

[tis]

I have always been the guy that thought the iPhone 5 was a great size. I still have a huge love for that design. However, I’ve dealt with the phones getting continually bigger up until the XS, which I’ve used for three years. I bought the 12 last year, and returned it. I bought it again this year at a discount, and returned it. Large phones just aren’t my thing. It’s not even the pocket-ability factor. I just think once you hit a certain size, a screen right in front of your face is big enough, and the trade offs just aren’t worth it. I just ordered the 13 mini, and I can say that I haven’t been this excited to get a new phone since the iPhone 5. Truly.

I’ve never seen this mentioned on this forum, but so many YouTube reviewers rave about how much they love the mini, but don’t use it as a full time device because they want the camera differences the Pro models offer. When you read between the lines, they also mention that they use the mini often as a secondary device. It just goes to show that I think the mini is loved by more people than we think. Increasingly larger screens aren’t always worth the trade offs, even to those that make a living off of tech.

 

[PBz]

I jumped on the promotion bandwagon and got the 13 Pro when it came out, but after a few days I started to miss the mini form factor and just swapped it over at the Apple store for the 13 Mini (Starlight).

Promotion is nice to look at, but with double the storage, better cameras and better battery - I'm happy to miss out on promotion and have a much easier to handle phone again.

No regrets.

Could you confirm that there isn’t a Raw option (camera) with the Mini?

 

[PBz]

I am also considering the Mini. I have a 13PM ready for pickup today. I have the 12PM now. I don’t need 10 hours of on screen time. I wanted the Pro but thought WTH.. I’ll stick with the PM.. but I think I’m going Mini today and later picking up an iPad Mini for home/travel consumption. I’m over the bulk/weight.

 

[lkalliance]

I’ve never seen this mentioned on this forum, but so many YouTube reviewers rave about how much they love the mini, but don’t use it as a full time device because they want the camera differences the Pro models offer. When you read between the lines, they also mention that they use the mini often as a secondary device. It just goes to show that I think the mini is loved by more people than we think. Increasingly larger screens aren’t always worth the trade offs, even to those that make a living off of tech.

This about the cameras. I love everything about the mini (in theory, that is, my current phone is an SE 2020). There is absolutely nothing about the Pro that would make me get it instead of the mini...

...except the telephoto lens. I've been taking more and more daily photos with my phone, and fewer and fewer with my DSLR. I am ready, for the first time, to invest in a new iPhone strictly going for the a very high-quality camera. Which the 13 mini has! It's awesome! Except... except... I use my zoom lens on my DSLR ALL THE TIME. I digital zoom with my current phone ALL THE TIME. That telephoto would be really really nice.

I've been carrying my SE with a heavy coin taped to the back to simulate the weight of the Pro, and after a day or two of WTF, that's going OK. But the real test would be its size and its handling. Heading to the Apple Store this weekend to do my best to evaluate that.

 

[kp98077]

I am also considering the Mini. I have a 13PM ready for pickup today. I have the 12PM now. I don’t need 10 hours of on screen time. I wanted the Pro but thought WTH.. I’ll stick with the PM.. but I think I’m going Mini today and later picking up an iPad Mini for home/travel consumption. I’m over the bulk/weight.

SO youll have both a PM and mini or just mini? quiet the jump!!

 

[vseera]

This about the cameras. I love everything about the mini (in theory, that is, my current phone is an SE 2020). There is absolutely nothing about the Pro that would make me get it instead of the mini...

...except the telephoto lens. I've been taking more and more daily photos with my phone, and fewer and fewer with my DSLR. I am ready, for the first time, to invest in a new iPhone strictly going for the a very high-quality camera. Which the 13 mini has! It's awesome! Except... except... I use my zoom lens on my DSLR ALL THE TIME. I digital zoom with my current phone ALL THE TIME. That telephoto would be really really nice.

I've been carrying my SE with a heavy coin taped to the back to simulate the weight of the Pro, and after a day or two of WTF, that's going OK. But the real test would be its size and its handling. Heading to the Apple Store this weekend to do my best to evaluate that.

I've done this a few times, sold my cameras and tried to use the iPhone solely. It never worked out and I never got results good enough from the phone. I realise everyone is different and you may be happy with just pictures from your phone, but I bought a Fuji X100V a few months ago and it blows away anything I can shoot from my phone 90% of the time.
Where the phone excels is in HDR photos in the right conditions, so instead of trying to replace my camera with my phone, or my phone with my camera (for photography), I have finally realised that I will still need to use both.

Also, I went from the 12 Pro to the 13 Mini and have no regrets. Half the time, the 2x on the 12 Pro was a cropped shot from the main camera as the telephoto lens was just not fast enough. The telephoto lens this year is even slower, so take that for what you will.

 

[lkalliance]

I've done this a few times, sold my cameras and tried to use the iPhone solely. It never worked out and I never got results good enough from the phone. I realise everyone is different and you may be happy with just pictures from your phone, but I bought a Fuji X100V a few months ago and it blows away anything I can shoot from my phone 90% of the time.
Where the phone excels is in HDR photos in the right conditions, so instead of trying to replace my camera with my phone, or my phone with my camera (for photography), I have finally realised that I will still need to use both.

Also, I went from the 12 Pro to the 13 Mini and have no regrets. Half the time, the 2x on the 12 Pro was a cropped shot from the main camera as the telephoto lens was just not fast enough. The telephoto lens this year is even slower, so take that for what you will.

Interesting series of points, thanks!

I don't need my phone to completely replace my DSLR. I conceive of three buckets. In the first is just snapshots, low expected quality. This has always been my phone. In the third bucket is the stuff I want truly high quality. This has always been my DSLR and will continue to be.

But that middle bucket, that's the kind of things like family gatherings, or I'm at the ballpark, or on a bike ride to a pretty place, or any moment that presents itself as a good opportunity for a nice shot, but while I'm just out and about (the other night, out at dinner, there was a shot of paddleboarders coming across the lake, that my current phone just couldn't handle).

Currently, I'm under-served in that middle bucket. If I bring my DSLR to a location or an event, then I'm committing to that being my activity: photography. Nothing wrong with that, I've enjoyed that over the years, but as I've gotten older (and older... and older... ugh) I've wanted more to be involved in the activity instead of photographing it. I've learned that I can't do both and enjoy both. I'd be too conscious of photo ops missed, or of my equipment being insecure and unprotected. Gotta do one or the other.

Your point about the point-and-shoot is a good one. You're not the first one to advise that, and it's good advice. But that is still something additional I'm carrying around (and could lose, get stolen, break, etc., all the stuff I stress about). So I'm hoping a high-end camera phone will fill that spot. There's a third option, too: just get the mini, and purchase an external 58mm telephoto lens, like from Moment. That's something on the table as well, though I still need to be prepared if I'm going to use it.

 

[playtech1]

Switched to 13 Mini from an Xs and am finding it really weird - it's like I've gone back in time and am using a 5 again.

One-handed use is now easy and it's sufficiently light and small I need to check my pockets to figure out which one it is in.

However, I am noticing the smaller screen and suspect I will miss the 2x telephoto lens on the Xs.

I also notice the increased height of the FaceID cut-out. It's narrower but it definitely eats into a little more of the screen height. I think I preferred the old ratio as the extra space from the 'ears' isn't being used.

Probably only a one-year experiment for me as I plan to get the 14 if it's the substantial upgrade I expect it to be.

 

[macintoshmac]

I jumped on the promotion bandwagon and got the 13 Pro when it came out, but after a few days I started to miss the mini form factor and just swapped it over at the Apple store for the 13 Mini (Starlight).

Promotion is nice to look at, but with double the storage, better cameras and better battery - I'm happy to miss out on promotion and have a much easier to handle phone again.

No regrets.

I wish I had better autocorrect faculties in my head. Only when I read ProMotion in conjunction with "is nice to look at" did I realise what you meant.

 

[Alex Cai]

How about iPhone 13 Pro mini.
Have all pro features but still feels perfect in your hands.

 

[vseera]

Interesting series of points, thanks!

I don't need my phone to completely replace my DSLR. I conceive of three buckets. In the first is just snapshots, low expected quality. This has always been my phone. In the third bucket is the stuff I want truly high quality. This has always been my DSLR and will continue to be.

But that middle bucket, that's the kind of things like family gatherings, or I'm at the ballpark, or on a bike ride to a pretty place, or any moment that presents itself as a good opportunity for a nice shot, but while I'm just out and about (the other night, out at dinner, there was a shot of paddleboarders coming across the lake, that my current phone just couldn't handle).

Currently, I'm under-served in that middle bucket. If I bring my DSLR to a location or an event, then I'm committing to that being my activity: photography. Nothing wrong with that, I've enjoyed that over the years, but as I've gotten older (and older... and older... ugh) I've wanted more to be involved in the activity instead of photographing it. I've learned that I can't do both and enjoy both. I'd be too conscious of photo ops missed, or of my equipment being insecure and unprotected. Gotta do one or the other.

Your point about the point-and-shoot is a good one. You're not the first one to advise that, and it's good advice. But that is still something additional I'm carrying around (and could lose, get stolen, break, etc., all the stuff I stress about). So I'm hoping a high-end camera phone will fill that spot. There's a third option, too: just get the mini, and purchase an external 58mm telephoto lens, like from Moment. That's something on the table as well, though I still need to be prepared if I'm going to use it.

I think we both think alike, tbh

I find the phone to be an excellent memory making tool. If that's all you want it for (and increasingly, that's all I do want), then it is an excellent way forward and is also very convenient, with one less thing to charge and carry around. I also travel a lot and usually out of one bag, so I find the iPhone's water resistance to be greatly beneficial as I don't need to baby expensive camera gear.

However, if I am out for photography or it's a family gathering, I do prefer to use the camera as it just gives much better results, specially for people pictures - the skin tones are more natural, the larger sensor brings forth a greater sort of "3D" effect to the pictures, etc.

My ideal camera is the new Ricoh GR IIIx (with 40mm lens). Unfortunately, I had already bought the X100V so I am unwilling to do the whole trade in and buy again thing anytime soon, specially as the X100V is a fantastic camera with a much faster lens. But the Ricoh is truly pocketable and something you may want to consider as well.

I am not a professional photographer so in the end, a nice photo that evokes a memory is good enough for me. However, at the last family gathering when I used my X100V, I got at least 7 different comments of appreciation on the photos I shared. People can definitely notice the difference and I find the iPhone 13 still tends to take flatter pictures in general, although the photographic styles are very helpful in making pictures more contrasty!

My camera journey was from an OMD EM-5 (micro 4/3) to Fuji X100F (APS-C) to Sony A7 III (full frame) to Sony RX100 VI (1 inch compact) to Fuji X100V (APS-C).
IMO, if you're using a camera with anything less than an APS-C sensor, you may as well use your phone as the difference is almost negligible, specially with a bit of editing.

 

[Apple_Robert]

How about iPhone 13 Pro mini.
Have all pro features but still feels perfect in your hands.

Unfortunately, I don't think that will happen as too many people love their luggage phones.