iPhone 13 mini Would you consider an iPhone 13 mini or an iPhone 13 valid alternatives upgrading from iPhone XR today?

[DianaofThemiscyra]

I have an iPhone XR RED 128gb still working very well (battery 95%), but I know soon it will stop to receive iOS updates (I've heard iOS 18 is the last version that will be compatible with this model). I was planning to wait at leat a year more to upgrade (probably to an iPhone 15 refurb) but I have an opportunity to buy either an iPhone 13 mini or an iPhone 13 (both refurbished, in black, 128gb, with new battery and 1 year warranty) from a local Apple Premium Partner I know and trust (my iPhone XR was serviced there last year and they work and are great). The prices they are asking for the phones are, respectively, €399 and €499.

What I want to ask is: Would any of you consider doing this upgrade or those iPhones are too old? Also does any of you ever had experience with both of these phones (iPhone XR and iPhone 13 / iPhone 13 mini) and could tell what would I find better / different between them? I've already know the specs of all the models, what I want to know is if between those models there is an effective improvement of anything (camera, performance, etc)?

PS. Both prices are good in my opinion. My maximum budget is €500 (but I confess that 399 Euros would be the perfect amount to spend for a refurb iPhone) and no there are NO refurbed iPhones 15 at this price point (€399-€500) right now where I live in Europe.

Thanks in advance to everyone that answers me.

Edit: Typo

 

[pdxrevolution]

Sadly, the price seems reasonable. Apple USA is selling refurbished iPhone 13s for $449. I don’t know if Apple has an online refurbished store where you live, but if so, you might check the prices there, since you’d get a standard warranty with an official Apple refurb purchase. As someone who owned a 13 mini, I would not recommend it at this point if only because the battery dies very quickly. I think the regular 13’s battery will last much longer, both in day-to-day use and over the long term.

 

[DianaofThemiscyra]

Sadly, the price seems reasonable. Apple USA is selling refurbished iPhone 13s for $449. I don’t know if Apple has an online refurbished store where you live, but if so, you might check the prices there, since you’d get a standard warranty with an official Apple refurb purchase. As someone who owned a 13 mini, I would not recommend it at this point if only because the battery dies very quickly. I think the regular 13’s battery will last much longer, both in day-to-day use and over the long term.

Thanks for your answer. Does the iPhone 13 (not mini) have problems with the battery too?
I have looked at the Apple's website from the country I live, unfortunately they have only refurb iPhones 15 (different models and configurations) starting from €719 Euros. A little bit too much for my budget and I think too expensive as overall price, since NEW iPhones 15 (same model and config) can be found for a bit more (around €750) in local stores.

Edit: typo

 

[pdxrevolution]

It’s not that the iPhone mini 13 battery has “problems.” It’s just that the battery is small because the phone is small, and I found, even when the battery health was at 100%, it simply wouldn’t last as long as the larger phones. And when the battery health got down to 98-99%, the battery life was noticeably reduced. I have the impression you want to keep the phone for a long time, which is why I mention this. I LOVED the 13 mini (substantially better than the 12 mini), but it eventually hurt my eyes, so I got a bigger phone. I don’t want to discourage you, if you like small devices. I just don’t see that battery lasting you three years. But I’m just one person with one experience.

 

[FeliApple]

I wouldn’t recommend the 13 Mini either. Although the 13 Mini had a significantly better battery life than the appalling 12 Mini, it paled in comparison to the current iPhone standard, which is much higher.

It paled on iOS 15. It will be significantly worse on iOS 18, and it will keep getting worse as major iOS versions go by. Buy the newest iPhone you can, and it that category, I’d recommend the one with the largest possible battery. If that’s the 13, then I’d recommend that one.

 

[maerz001]

The iOS release is another half a year. And as I understand security updates will still come for the XR.

By then the 15 should drop €100 when the 17 is released.

Apple doesn’t sell non USBC iPhones anymore due to regulations

I would also recommend the mini only if u really like the size and don’t use it more than 4 hours a day. Otherwise u have to recharge during the day.

I had it for 3 years by myself.

 

[DianaofThemiscyra]

Thank you all for your answers and for sharing your experiences. I am not a heavy iPhone user (I prefer using my iPad Air for most things) but since many of your experiences with the iPhone 13 mini weren't satisfactory due to the battery high usage and my wish to spend at least the next 3-4 years with the phone (hence the battery should last at least this amount of time), I think at this point I should look for an iPhone 13 or later model.

Thanks again to all those who have answered me.

 

[DianaofThemiscyra]

It's been a while since I last posted to this topic. I just wanted to update those who have answered me. I ended up buying an used iPhone 14 128GB (original battery at 90%) for €312 euros. I met personally with the seller to check and test the phone before buying it and despite a few light scratches to screen and back, the phone was in great condition. So far I have been using it for around 1 week (iOS 18.4) and it's working great. Thanks again to those who answered me and helped me on my decision. Happy Easter to those who celebrate it and best wishes from Europe.

Edit: Typo

 

[captainmanzana]

It's been a while since I last posted to this topic. I just wanted to update those who have answered me. I ended up buying an used iPhone 14 128GB (original battery at 90%) for €312 euros. I meet personally with the seller to check and test the phone before buying it and despite a few light scratches to screen and back, the phone was in great condition. So far I have been using it for around 1 week (iOS 18.4) and it's working great. Thanks again to those who answered me and helped me on my decision. Happy Easter to those who celebrate it and best wishes from Europe.

Edit: Typo

Glad you were able to strike a deal! I personally would have vouched for the 13 mini. Had one, one of my favorite iPhones, wish Apple would offer this form factor again.

14 is a decent upgrade from the 13 series. Pretty much a 13s (12s s?). Enjoy your iPhone!

 

[1rottenapple]

Ok 3 yrs of 13 mini user here.


Upgraded recently to 16.

Despite resets and reinstall I really feel Apple gimp the software on the 13 mini. For example Siri doesn’t work 50% of the time on my mini but my 16 it works fine.

On the Lock Screen reminders don’t dismiss majority of the time.

It’s so annoying because majority of the time I’m trying to set up a reminder or run a timer but on the 13 mini its a problem.

Other performance stuff is ok but above software issues are things I’ve tried to fix by clean software install but frankly the behavior goes back. I’m not sure if the regular 13 has these problems but the mini certainly does.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I saw you got a regular 14, but I figured I'd throw my 13 mini experience in anyway. As much as I adore the 13 mini, it's harder to recommend it. I’ve had mine for about a month now, and I’m considering selling it and going back to my 14 Pro.

There's nothing specifically wrong with my 13 mini. My favorite things about it are the size and weight, but everything else compared to my 14 Pro is lack luster.

Under heavier usage, you really notice it warm up and slow down. This is expected, but with Summer coming up and me using my phone heavily in the car (with CarPlay, GPS, etc), I’d start to worry about performance or even that dreaded "Your iPhone needs to cool down before using it" message. The battery drains fast when it's warm I’ve noticed too.

I was hoping to use my DSLR more after switching to my 13 mini, but it's just easier for me to grab my 14 Pro and take photos with that. The 13's camera is okay, but I have 3 better cameras I can use. The 14 Pro's being simpler as I don’t have to mess with my DSLR SD card, hooking it up to a computer, pulling the battery out to recharge, etc. Not to mention my house is kind of dark and the 14 Pro is good for that compared to everything else.

I bought my 14 Pro on launch day expecting to use it for at least five years. The 13 mini I recently bought kind of threw a hurdle in that idea.

Anyway, other than what I just wrote. I’m perfectly happy with my 13 mini, but at the same time I really didn't need it and regret purchasing it. It was more of a FOMO buy because it's rarely available from Apple Refurbished Store.

 

[1rottenapple]

I saw you got a regular 14, but I figured I'd throw my 13 mini experience in anyway. As much as I adore the 13 mini, it's harder to recommend it. I’ve had mine for about a month now, and I’m considering selling it and going back to my 14 Pro.

There's nothing specifically wrong with my 13 mini. My favorite things about it are the size and weight, but everything else compared to my 14 Pro is lack luster.

Under heavier usage, you really notice it warm up and slow down. This is expected, but with Summer coming up and me using my phone heavily in the car (with CarPlay, GPS, etc), I’d start to worry about performance or even that dreaded "Your iPhone needs to cool down before using it" message. The battery drains fast when it's warm I’ve noticed too.

I was hoping to use my DSLR more after switching to my 13 mini, but it's just easier for me to grab my 14 Pro and take photos with that. The 13's camera is okay, but I have 3 better cameras I can use. The 14 Pro's being simpler as I don’t have to mess with my DSLR SD card, hooking it up to a computer, pulling the battery out to recharge, etc. Not to mention my house is kind of dark and the 14 Pro is good for that compared to everything else.

I bought my 14 Pro on launch day expecting to use it for at least five years. The 13 mini I recently bought kind of threw a hurdle in that idea.

Anyway, other than what I just wrote. I’m perfectly happy with my 13 mini, but at the same time I really didn't need it and regret purchasing it. It was more of a FOMO buy because it's rarely available from Apple Refurbished Store.

Yes good feedback. I kept my mini as my gym and travel phone but 16 is day to day. It’s hard to recommend it to those who have older phones because they’ll likely keep the 13 models long term and to me, I’ve experience noticeable issues. It might not be deal breakers right now but hard to say it won’t be a deal breaker later on. Unless the 13 is a tremendous deal.

And for anyone wondering I bought my 512 16 refurbished online for 775 and it’s an amazing deal. Buy the current models used if you want a great deal for something you’ll keep for 5-6 yrs.