iPhone 12 Mini vs iPhone 13 Mini

Apple revealed its latest upgrade to the iPhone at its 14th September reveal event. The new iPhone 13 comes in 4 variants, the iPhone 13 Pro Max, 13 Pro, the 13, and the baby of the family, the iPhone 13 Mini. In this article, I will concentrate on my favourite model, the 13 Mini, which I shall compare to my favourite model from last year, the 12 Mini.

The 12 Mini released in October 2020 was a godsend for those of us who love all the latest iPhone features but don't want it packaged in a pocket-busting size. The Mini is the sweet spot in the range, offering identical internal specs of the full-size iPhone 12, but in a chassis that makes one-handed use a breeze.

I love the 12 Mini but overall it didn't sell nearly as well as its stablemates in the range. It was therefore by no means a given that Apple would continue the model this year.

In welcome news, however, on 14th September the company announced it would make available an iPhone 13 mini. This phone, like the 12 Mini before, will contain all the technology of the full-fat iPhone but in a more hand-friendly package.

Design

The new phones in the 13 range have taken the design queues from the 12. Whilst the 12 was an evolution (or rather a devolution as it harkened back to the styling of the iPhone 4), the 13 range is rather similar. It continues with flat rather than round edges and with slim bezels.

The 12 Mini and the 13 mini both come in at 64.2mm wide x 131.5 high. Where the 12 was 7.4mm deep the 13 mini is 7.65 deep and weighs 40 grams more at 173 grams to the previous phone's 133 grams. More on this later. So apart from the extra depth and slightly greater heft, the iPhone 13 mini is identical and almost indistinguishable (on the outside at least) from its forbear.

Colours

This year the colours have changed. The iPhone 12 Mini comes in Black, White, Green, Purple, Blue and Red. The iPhone 13 Mini comes in a new range consisting of Starlight (Silver with a hint of gold), Midnight (Deep blue/black), Blue (A lighter shade), Pink, and Red.

Storage

The iPhone Mini 13 has increased storage capacities now being available with 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB storage, over the 12 minis 64 GB 128 GB and 256 GB.

Display.

Both phones have 5.4" displays, measured on the diagonal. The notch which houses the front-facing camera and speaker, is slightly smaller in size this year, but not markedly so.

Both also have wonderful Super Retina XDR OLED displays with pin-sharp 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution and 476 pixels per inch. The iPhone 13 mini is however 28% brighter at 800 nits maximum brightness as opposed to the previous phones 625 nits. This means the new phone's screen will be even easier to use outside in bright sunshine.

Processor.

The processor in the new phone is Apple's A15 Bionic Chip with two performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, whilst the 12 mini used the A14 Chip. Now, as a user of the 12 Mini, I didn't find any problems with speed, but this extra power should provide the phone with longevity allowing many future iterations of iOS to be installed. Thus providing a degree of future-proofing.

Camera

The iPhone 12 & 13 mini both have a dual wide and ultra-wide 12mp camera system with 2 x optical zoom and 5 x digital zoom. They also come with a 12mp front camera. The new model has bigger sensors which allow more light in, which should improve the results.

FaceID

The iPhone 12 and 13 series phones, like the 11 before them, come with FaceID to securely unlock your phone without the need to enter a password. Pre-Covid this was great and most people perhaps welcomed this move. Now, in our new reality, we can't, of course, unlock our phones whilst wearing a face mask. This is where the humble iPhone SE 2nd Generation beats the newcomers. It still has its 'Home' button with TouchID.

Battery

One of the few criticisms levelled against the iPhone Mini 12 is the battery life, with some commentators finding it restrictive. I have used this as my main phone every day for six months and personally haven't had any issues. This, of course, may come down to an individual's pattern of usage, type of apps used, etc.

The iPhone 13 mini has a 9.57 watt-hour battery, an increase of 11.6% on the 8.57Wh battery within the iPhone 12 mini.

At the Apple event, it was announced the 13 Mini will have 1.5 hours longer battery life. This is provided by a slightly bigger battery, explaining the new phone's extra depth and weight.

Water Resistance

The 12 series and 13 series phones both meet the stringent IP68 water-resistant standard. This means that they can withstand a dunking underwater at a depth of up to 6 metres for up to 30 minutes.

MagSafe Charging

One of the flashiest features of the iPhone, brought in with the 12 series and continued with the 13, is the ability to charge it with a MagSafe charger. This is a phone charger that connects to the back of the iPhone via a magnet. This has also allowed a slew of iPhone accessories to be released which adhere to the back of the iPhone via its built-in magnet.

5G Capability

The iPhone 12 mini and 13 Mini have 5G capability which will give users access to faster internet on the move. At the moment though, availability of the 5G network is fairly sparse, but it is nice to see this addition to the technology roster.

Final Thoughts

I have no problem recommending the iPhone 13 mini to prospective buyers who are after a fully featured iPhone in a more hand and pocket-friendly size.

It is a beautiful phone with increased battery life, better cameras, increased base storage capacity, and a faster processor than the 12 Mini. All this for the same £679 entry price of last years model.

I would definitely purchase an iPhone 13 Mini in a heartbeat and it is truly worth the upgrade if you are coming from an iPhone SE or older model. 

Would I upgrade from my 12 Mini to the 13 Mini? Probably not. It is an evolution of the previous model with welcome but incremental upgrades.