reviews of iphone 12 mini

iPhone 12 mini review

The iphone 12 mini is a dainty (yet powerful) delight.

TechRadar Verdict

The iPhone 12 mini is built for those who have been dreaming of a small phone but don’t want to compromise on quality, and Apple has done an exceedingly good job at making that a reality. It isn’t perfect, with middling battery life and a high price for just 64GB of storage, but if you can put those negatives aside you’ll love what the iPhone 12 mini can do in its miniature package. The camera is versatile, the screen is fantastic, it comes with reams of power and the added benefits of 5G and MagSafe mean this is a phone that will last you for years to come.

Smaller design looks great

Fantastic display

Futureproofed with 5G

64GB isn’t enough for some

Wireless charging is slower

Middling battery life

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Two-minute review

Apple ’s iPhone 12 mini is a triumph, with top-end tech and a premium design combining to produce a phone that can compete with some of the very best handsets on the market, and all in a smaller body than you’d expect for a flagship device.

It's also a symbol of a different time, back when Apple made small phones. After the iPhone 13 mini , the company did away with these compact mobiles, and the iPhone 14 family doesn't have such a device.

You won't find this iPhone 12 mini review to be wildly different from our coverage of the iPhone 12 , but it has a smaller form factor that will suit those looking for a more compact phone than top-end manufacturers – including Apple – have been able to offer for the past few years.

Release date and price Design Display Camera Specs and performance Battery life Should I buy it? Also consider

This is the smallest iPhone since the iPhone 5S , and you’ll notice it as soon as you pick it up. Even comparing this phone to the iPhone SE 2020 makes it feel small, but it doesn’t lose any of that premium edge we found with the iPhone 12.

You will get a slightly improved experience with the iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 12 Pro Max thanks to their more powerful engines, bigger batteries and a variety of other tweaks, but if you’re after a small iPhone you no longer have to worry about missing out on the best features.

The 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display is pin-sharp, and it’s markedly better than the LCD display on the iPhone 11 . You’ll particularly see the improvements when watching video that supports HDR.

The iPhone 12 mini also has a premium design, with a protected glass design called Ceramic Shield and angular aluminum edges that will pull your mind back to the days of the iPhone 4 as soon as you first handle it. It comes in a choice of five colors (black, white, red, green or blue).

It may feel like an iPhone for the nostalgists, but it’s anything but when it comes to spec. The A14 Bionic chipset that powers this device might not be the fastest chipset for iPhones any more but we found it to work nearly flawlessly, whatever we threw at the phone. Plus, you've got a top-end camera array with two 12MP rear shooters that perform just as well as those on the iPhone 12.

Then there’s the addition of next-gen 5G connectivity technology, allowing you to experience faster speeds and easier connection when using mobile data. This is great futureproofing technology to have on board, but at launch 5G isn’t widely available in many areas, meaning it won’t be a transformative experience for most people right away.

There’s also MagSafe , Apple’s new magnetic docking tech, which enables you to connect a wireless charger and other accessories (just a couple at launch) by simply snapping them to the rear of the phone.

The iPhone 12 mini isn’t without its frustrations, as the battery life isn’t as powerful as some may hope for, and 64GB of storage doesn’t feel like enough for a phone in 2021. That said, these are minor issues that many who like the choices Apple has made elsewhere will be able to live with.

The iPhone 12 mini is built for those who have been longing for a smaller iPhone that is easy to use in one hand, and if you want Apple’s full-on smartphone experience in a more compact package, this is the iPhone for you. In short, it's one of the best iPhones .

Even if you're committed to Apple phones, the iPhone 12 mini has little competition if you're after a small yet high-end handset. The closest Android gets is the likes of the 5.9-inch Asus Zenfone 8 , with most flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 and OnePlus 9 ranges being above 6 inches.

• Meet the family: iPhone 12 | iPhone 12 Pro | iPhone 12 Pro Max

iPhone 12 mini release date and price

• The iPhone 12 mini is on sale now around the world
• Now starts at $599 / £579 / AU$999, prices increase for more storage
• Doesn't include headphones or a charging block in box

The iPhone 12 mini's launch price was $699 / £699 / AU$1,199, but now that the iPhone 13 range has been released, the older phones have been discounted, and you can pick up a 12 mini starting at $599 / £579 / AU$999. That's for 64GB of storage, and the price goes up for more storage – check out the chart below for full pricing, but note that even these prices have dropped since launch.

For context, the iPhone 12 starts at $699 / £679 / AU$1,199, the iPhone 12 Pro starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849.

iPhone 12 mini is on sale now around the world after being delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The iPhone 12 mini was announced in October 2020, and then it was released on November 13 that same year.

You can sometimes find it for a little less than the RRP in third-party stores, but being an iPhone this has held its value quite well.

The iPhone 12 mini comes without a charging block or earbuds in the box, with Apple looking to cut down on e-waste. If you don’t own the right charger or a pair of headphones, this is set to add to the cost of your device as you’ll need to buy these separately.

If you want some new headphones, you might want to check out Apple's AirPods Pro or our selection of the best headphones .

iPhone 12 mini design

• An iPhone 4 reminiscent design with angled edges
• The smallest iPhone for a number of generations
• Easy to hold and use in one hand

The iPhone 12 mini’s design is its unique selling point, and it’s a welcome alternative for those who want a smaller iPhone, and who’ve looked on in dismay as Apple has released ever-larger handsets (but also don't want the dated-looking design of the iPhone SE, Apple’s other mini-sized phone).

It essentially mirrors the iPhone 12 design, but in a smaller body that’s easier to wrap you hand around; and despite the smaller size the phone still manages to pack a large 5.4-inch screen – more on that below

With dimensions of 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4mm it’s the smallest iPhone in a long time, and that’s including the iPhone SE that was released earlier in 2020. It’s also light, without feeling too light – at 135 grams it’s easy to slip into a pocket, but doesn’t feel cheap.

It may seem obvious, but if you’re looking for a small iPhone and you’re not too worried about the cost, then the iPhone 12 mini is an instant, don’t-even-think-about-anything-else choice. 

Away from the phone’s sheer size (or lack thereof), the iPhone 12 mini comes with flatter edges than we’ve seen on recent iPhone generations. It’s always nice to see design evolution in an iPhone, but this move, which nods to the look of older iPhones, won’t be to everyone’s taste.

We found the phone easy to hold, and it feels as premium as the other members of the iPhone 12 family. The mini’s design certainly isn’t a case of Apple using cheaper materials in order to hit a lower price point, and you're getting the same design elements and build quality as in the rest of the iPhone 12 range, including the aluminum frame.

The rear of the phone is glass, and it doesn’t feel slippery, as glass on some smartphones can. You’ll quickly start to notice fingerprints appearing on the rear of the phone though.

The power button is on the right side of the phone, while on the left are the volume buttons and silence switch.. On the bottom edge are the Lightning port for charging, and the stereo speaker, with a grille either side of the connector.

Your color choices are blue, white, red, green, or black, and that final one you can see pictured throughout this review. It seems like a good mix of ‘standard’ colors and options for those who want something a little brighter for their phone.

One of the big changes design-wise is one you can’t see: MagSafe, a series of magnets inside the rear of the phone, which allow you to connect a variety of accessories such as cases, wireless chargers or a car mount.

This is something Apple already offers accessories for, and we’re sure to see more, both Apple and third-party in the future. It’s a worthwhile update, even if you don’t need to use the available accessories from day one.

iPhone 12 mini display

• New Super Retina XDR OLED technology is impressive
• A high 476 pixels per inch
• Still a 60Hz display despite rumors of 120Hz

The iPhone 12 mini has a phenomenal screen, and it’s one of the best we’ve ever seen on an iPhone. For the first time, the company has brought its Super Retina XDR OLED technology to all its new iPhones, and the difference between this and LCD is remarkable.

The screen here is 5.4 inches, and you’re comfortably able to reach all corners when using the phone one-handed.

The resolution is higher than on the iPhone 11 at 1080 x 2340, and the difference is noticeable. That resolution works out to 476 pixels per inch, and it’s the sharpest display we’d seen on an iPhone at launch, so while the screen is smaller than the iPhone 12 Pro or Pro Max, it’s arguably better. The picture is crisp and clear, and the brightness is impressive too.

The display is also HDR10-ready, meaning you’ll notice more detail in dark and light areas when watching content encoded with the technology. The difference is most notable when you’re watching video from sources like Netflix or iTunes, but it also means photos and other images look better.

A lot of Android manufacturers are now including high-refresh-rate screens on phones, which makes for smoother images when you’re gaming, watching video or scrolling your Twitter feed, but Apple hasn’t included this on the iPhone 12 mini.

The 12 mini is still using a 60Hz display, so the scrolling experience isn’t as impressive as on some other phones that cost a similar amount – and if you’re swapping from a phone that does have a higher refresh rate, you’ll likely miss it here. It’s unlikely you’ll notice otherwise, but it’s a feature we’ve enjoyed seeing come to phones, and we’d like to see Apple implement it soon.

iPhone 12 mini camera

• Rear camera uses two 12MP shooters
• 12MP selfie camera works remarkably well too

On paper, the iPhone 12 mini’s camera setup seems very similar to the iPhone 11’s, but there are enough tweaks to justify the next-gen billing – and note that this is exactly the same camera array as on the iPhone 12 though, so you won’t miss out on anything by opting for the smaller phone.

There’s a 12MP ‘standard’ wide-angle camera with a f/1.6 aperture, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field of view and an f/2.4 aperture. There’s no telephoto sensor here, as on the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, and that means your zoomed shots won’t look as impressive, as there’s no dedicated camera to do the heavy lifting.

Apple’s cameras are among the most capable automatic shooters on the market, and the snappers on the iPhone 12 mini performed very well in our testing.

Low-light performance is the main improvement over the last-gen device, according to Apple, largely down to the main camera’s aperture going from f/1.8 on the iPhone 11 to f/1.6 here, and sure enough we found that the camera performed very well in dark settings – you can see an example of this below.

Apple’s Night Mode works with both the rear cameras this year (and on the selfie camera), and it works in a similar way to other manufacturer’s technology where the iPhone will notice the lack of light and asks you to hold the phone still, for a variable amount of time (depending on how much light is around )to ensure it can shoot.

You’ll often be asked to keep the phone still for anything up to 15 seconds, and if you’re able to do that we found that Night Mode produced good-looking shots – although this also depends on your subjects not moving, so it’s not a great option for photos of your pets or other subjects that aren’t good at following orders.

If you’re shooting in near-complete darkness then even Night Mode is going to struggle, but you’ll be impressed by how much the camera is able to brighten the exposure to make a photo taken in darkness feel like it was shot in daylight.

Portrait shots - where the phone can alter your background to focus on your face either by blurring it or filling it with a color - return here, and we found them to work well on the rear camera without much fiddling around.

The cameras can feel a touch slow at times, but that’s likely owing to the Apple’s Smart HDR 3 technology, which works automatically on some shots. This uses artificial intelligence to identify elements of what you’re shooting, and optimize the exposure to highlight certain features or areas. 

Video recording on the iPhone 12 mini is impressive – you’re able to record in 4K at 24, 30 or 60 frames per second, and Full HD recording is available alongside features like slow-motion.

The biggest change here is the introduction of Dolby Vision HDR, and in our testing we found the quality to be markedly better than that of non-HDR clips we shot, with footage looking more colorful and detailed. It’s a solid upgrade for those who want better video quality, even if on its own it’s not a reason to buy the iPhone 12 mini.

The front-facing camera is another 12MP sensor, and this will be more than suitable for selfies and video calling. The quality is impressive, and Portrait mode works fantastically well thanks to the 3D depth sensor doing the heavy lifting (it’s also this sensor that powers Face ID).

This isn’t a huge upgrade over previous iPhones, but that isn’t an issue, as the selfie camera has been consistently strong over the last few generations of iPhone. Low-light performance could be better, but it still works well enough – and, as mentioned, Night Mode is available here too, so your night-time selfies should look just as good as your daytime ones.

Camera samples

Iphone 12 mini specs and performance.

• Features 4GB of RAM and the Apple A14 chipset
• The choice of 64GB / 128GB / 256GB of storage
• 5G connectivity for those all around the world

The iPhone 12 mini may be small, but it certainly doesn’t lack power. Apple's chipset, the A14 Bionic, is the same processor that you’ll find in the rest of the iPhone 12 family. While it's not the latest chipset any more, it's still suitably powerful. 

Weight : 135g Dimensions : 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4mm Display size : 5.4-inch Resolution : 2340 x 1080 Refresh rate : 60Hz Pixel density : 476ppi Chipset : Apple A14 RAM : 4GB Storage : 64GB / 128GB / 256GB Rear cameras : 12MP + 12MP Front camera : 12MP Battery : 2227mAh

We’ve previously seen this in the iPad Air, as well as the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, and it performs just as well here. We put the chipset through its paces with a variety of multi-tasking activities, and the A14 Bionic always managed to keep pace with everything we wanted it to do, including running graphically demanding games.

There’s 4GB of RAM on tap, and while that may not match a lot of other manufacturers on paper, we found that the iPhone 12 mini never lacked for grunt. If you need a little more power for high-end video processing or similar, then the 12 Pro series packs 6GB of RAM, but for most people 4GB is fine.

One issue we do have is the onboard storage: you’ve got the choice of 64GB, 128GB or 256GB for the iPhone 12 mini. If you need more, you’ll have to opt for an iPhone 12 Pro if you’re a power user, which starts at 128GB and goes all the way up to 512GB

The fact is 64GB isn’t much space on a phone these days, and most people won't take long to fill it up with apps, photos, music and other media. 

We found that after just a week of loading our phone with apps and media we were nearing the limit, so it’s likely you’ll need more space if you don’t want to be greeted by the 'storage full' notification at some point.

The iPhone 12 mini comes running iOS 14.2 out of the box, so you've got all the benefits of the latest version of Apple's mobile OS, such as the App Library and home screen widgets.

Since launch it's received a few small updates, bringing it up to iOS 15 at the time of writing. These have added things like App Tracking Transparency, new emojis, Apple Fitness Plus, ProRaw mode for the camera, SharePlay, Focus and much more. 

You should expect this phone to get updates for at least the next few years too, as Apple is consistent with its software upgrades.

iPhone 12 mini battery life

• A battery life that should last for a full day of normal use
• You may find the battery struggles for any longer

Apple has yet to confirm the exact battery size on the iPhone 12 mini, but filings from a mobile agency in Brazil suggest it's a 2227mAh cell. As with most recent iPhone models, the battery life has improved over older devices, but it still isn’t going to give you the best life.

We found that the iPhone 12 mini would last us for a full day from a single charge, but on the odd occasion it would die off toward 10pm after a high day of usage. This was a particularly intensive day, though, and on other busy days we also found the phone would make it through to bedtime.

In a mid-to-high intensity use day, we found the iPhone 12 mini got to the end of the day with 22% left in the tank. That was with four hours and 20 minutes of screen-on time, and a variety of tasks running in the background such as music playback and notifications.

We had other days where we managed over six hours of usage, but that was often when we didn’t connect to a mobile unit and we didn’t take the phone out of the house as much.

If you’re switching between 5G and 4G connectivity while on the go, you’re likely to see the battery life drop down from that as well. We found on the days where we were away from Wi-Fi – few and far between owing to lockdown restrictions – the battery life would drop faster.

Again, this will offer a solid day of battery life for a middling amount of usage, but if you’re using your phone consistently throughout the day on mobile networks, you’ll find this phone will need a recharge mid-way through the day.

Apple says the iPhone 12 mini will last for up to 15 hours of video playback, while the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 both are capable of 11 hours, and those claims are accurate based on our testing, and it’s reflective of how the battery life differs between the the iPhone 12 mini and the larger iPhone 12.

Apple has improved its fast-charging technology here over the iPhone 11 a touch, meaning you now get 20W fast-charging. What does that really mean? We found the iPhone 12 mini was able to charge from zero to 60% in just 30 minutes.

It’s also important to note that this was using a specific charging block provided by Apple. If you want to make the most of these speeds, you’ll need to buy this charging block (if you don’t already own it) for $19 / £19 / AU$29.

This is part of Apple’s mission to cutdown on ewaste, so you only have a charging cable in the box. The problem is, the cable is USB-C to Lightning, which is a connector that many who previously own an iPhone don’t have, so it’s likely you’ll have to buy a charger to make the most of wired charging.

Qi wireless charging makes a return here for the iPhone 12 mini, and this generally worked well in our testing. Using the MagSafe fast-charger (the official Apple one is 12W) we found the phone was able to charge 12% in half an hour.

This is slower than all the other members of the iPhone 12 family. Exactly why that is is unclear, and it means you’ll get a slightly slower charging phone here from Apple if you truly do want that top-end spec.

You’re likely to find the battery life on the iPhone 12 mini is better than any older iPhone such as an iPhone 8, especially if you’ve been using an older phone for a few years, but this isn’t going to be the best battery life you can get from a smartphone. 

We regularly found the battery would die before the end of a full day (although it did often make it close to the full stretch, and just needed a quick recharge right before the end of the day) so that may prove frustrating for some power users.

•  These are the best iPhone 12 mini cases right now 

Should I buy the iPhone 12 mini?

Buy it if…

You want a small iPhone

This may seem obvious, but this phone’s biggest selling point is its unique size. If you’re going to opt for an iPhone and you want a smaller device without buying up the latest iPhone 13 mini, this is the perfect option for you – and it’s one of the smallest 5G phones on the market too.

You’re excited about 5G

If you’re eager to take advantage 5G connectivity, the iPhone 12 mini is a great opportunity to do so. At the time of writing, 5G is still a nascent technology, but if you’re ready for the future of mobile data speeds you should buy the 12 mini so that you're future-proofed.

You want the cheapest way to get an iPhone 12

The iPhone 12 mini is the cheapest member of the iPhone 12 family, but it doesn’t feel like a ‘cheap’ iPhone. The spec and experience is far better than the iPhone SE (2020) so if you’re after a cheaper member of the iPhone 12, go for this model.

Don’t buy it if...

You need the very best from Apple

The iPhone 12 Pro Max is the definitive champion of this family of phones, and if you want the very best specs with top-end cameras and some fantastic performance you’ll want to look there. The price may be higher, and it’s a physically much bigger phone, but it, or the 12 Pro, will suit some much better than the mini does. Alternatively, there's the superior iPhone 13 family too, of course.

You need top-end wireless charging

Wireless charging on the iPhone 12 mini is slower than the rest of the company’s series of devices, so if you don’t want to use a cable to charge your handset up at speed you may want to opt for another member of the family instead.

You’re looking for a cheap phone

The iPhone 12 mini is the cheapest member of the iPhone 12 family, but we’d recommend opting for an older iPhone or an Android manufacturer if you’re after a truly cheap device. Handsets like the iPhone 11, iPhone SE and iPhone XR are now cheaper than ever, and may suit some people better than this phone.

Also consider

If you've read this iPhone 12 review and still aren't sure on your next phone, here are a few other devices to consider.

iPhone 13 mini The iPhone 12 mini's successor has a more powerful processor and improved battery life, though being newer, it'll cost you a little more Check out our iPhone 13 mini review

iPhone 12 Is 'mini' really right for you? The standard iPhone 12 has a bigger screen and slightly higher price, giving you more screen real estate for apps, games and movies. Check out our iPhone 12 review

Google Pixel 5 If you want an Android phone, the Google Pixel 5 is fairly small, though not as much as the iPhone. It's not the snappiest device ever, but it's cheaper than the 12 mini too. Check out our Google Pixel 5 review

First reviewed: November 2020

James is the Editor-in-Chief at Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.

Here are three excellent Windows features we really want to see in macOS

Microsoft launches generative AI model designed exclusively for US intelligence services — air-gapped system for spies aims to avoid potential security leaks

This app put the universe in my hands and now I can't put it down

Most Popular

Apple iPhone 12 mini review: fit to size

It’s not the best iphone for most people, but it’s going to be a favorite for many.

By Dieter Bohn

Photography by Vjeran Pavic

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

If you asked me which of the four different models of the new iPhone 12 you should buy without providing any further context on your needs or desires, I would tell you to buy the regular iPhone 12 without question. It has the best balance of screen size, storage, cameras, battery life, and value. It is, in my opinion, the best iPhone 12 for most people. 

But the iPhone 12 mini is my favorite.

For the first time in many years, Apple is making an intentionally small phone. The key, though, is that unlike other small phones, Apple isn’t putting worse parts in it. The iPhone 12 mini has all the same features as the larger iPhone 12. It has the same cameras, same processor, same everything save for two things: screen size and battery life. 

The iPhone 12 mini starts at $729 for a 64GB model in the US, but $50 more gets the 128GB model and that’s a much better option. It’s a small phone, but it’s not a cheap phone. 

Read more: iPhone 12 Pro Max review .

iPhone 12 mini hardware

It’s traditional to refer to phones by their screen size and for the iPhone 12 mini, that number is 5.4 inches diagonally. But that number doesn’t tell the story at all. The phone is smaller than the traditional 4.7-inch-home-button iPhone design we saw from the iPhone 6 on through the 6S, 7, 8, and 2020 SE models, even though the screen itself is larger.

That’s because the 12 mini, just like the rest of the iPhone 12 line, has switched over to Apple’s more modern OLED screens and Face ID notch for unlocking. Those two features allow Apple to design the phone with minimal bezels and maximal screen. 

Despite the smaller screen size, you don’t miss out on as much as you might expect. Compared to the regular iPhone 12 with a 6.1-inch screen, there are maybe one or two lines of text that are cut off. What you actually miss out on is that sense of immersion you can get from a bigger screen when you’re playing a game or watching a movie. Those were the only times this screen felt cramped. 

If there is a knock on the screen, it’s that it doesn’t offer a high refresh rate like many Android phones — including the Pixel 5, which isn’t too far off from the iPhone 12 mini’s size. I’m more annoyed that the Pro iPhones don’t have it, though — here on the mini, I think battery life is more important.

To me, the iPhone 12 mini is most reminiscent of the iPhone 5. Yes, it is bigger and has a glass rear panel instead of aluminum, but it shares the squared-off aluminum sides and general feeling of being an object that was designed to be proportional to your hand. This is a phone that you can get a grip on, literally.

The phone feels well built, with tight tolerances and subtle touches like carefully beveled edges. The rear glass is glossy and the rails are matte — on our black review unit the rails have a kind of slate finish instead of being true black. The camera bump on the back and the Face ID notch on the front are proportionally big compared to the smaller size of the phone, but not annoyingly so. 

Because it’s a bit narrower, it’s easier to reach the opposite side of the screen with your thumb. Because it’s a bit shorter, a lot of people will be able to reach the top for the swipe-down gestures without contorting their hands into awkward claws or risking dropping the phone.

It has a much, much better chance of fitting into small pockets — the kind that are all too common on pants designed for women. 

As a man with big pockets and big hands, I do not have the strongest feelings about why it’s been so frustrating not to have a small iPhone option. But I sympathize with those who do and agree with the sentiment 100 percent — I’m glad Apple recognized it and I hope other phone companies do what they often do and follow Apple’s lead.

iPhone 12 mini battery and performance

Apple chose to make the iPhone 12 mini hew closely to the features and specs of the regular iPhone 12. It’s a laudable goal, but as I used it I found myself second-guessing that decision a little bit. 

It’s corny to say I’m impressed by how much Apple packed into such a small space — but I am. The iPhone 12 mini has the fastest processor on any phone, it has the same dual-camera system as the iPhone 12, and most remarkably it has all the components and antennas necessary for both sub-6 and (in the US) mmWave 5G. It is fast, multitasks well, and doesn’t feel like a compromise when you use it. It really is an amazing feat of technology. 

It’s amazing until the battery dies, anyway.

Battery life is a noticeable step down; you’ll need to pay attention to it

I don’t want to sugarcoat it nor be overly dire about it, but the battery life on the iPhone 12 mini is noticeably worse than on the iPhone 12, which itself was a step down from the battery-champ iPhone 11. For me, it’s good enough, but it does mean I’m already using it differently than I use bigger phones.

Without making any effort at it, I have consistently drained the iPhone 12 mini’s battery by early evening. I’d say it’s fair to expect the 12 mini to clock up something near four hours of screentime with stuff like web browsing, Facebook, and taking photos. Intense games give you a chance to watch the battery percent tick down minute by minute. 

So it’s not bad , but it’s definitely not great. My feeling after a little less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of battery management. Holding yourself back from putting an hour into an Apple Arcade game, knowing where your next opportunity to charge might be, and above all being more willing to turn on the low power mode. 

Of course it works with Apple’s new magnet-based MagSafe system for cases and wireless charging. Using MagSafe, the iPhone 12 mini maxes out at 12W wireless charging instead of the 15W you get on the larger iPhones, but since the battery is smaller, the overall charge time ends up being about the same.

Exactly how small is small? Apple never provides exact battery size specs — and I get the reasoning even though I disagree with it. Lots of factors affect battery life, and the iPhone 12 mini has the benefit of a smaller OLED screen. But it also has 5G.

The reality of 5G in the US continues to be very different from the hype. It’s radically dependent on which network you’re on and what part of the country or city you’re in. Often the speeds are equivalent to LTE. If you stand out on the right street corner and get mmWave, you can indeed get speeds that are astonishing — until you walk down the street and they drop back to the same LTE we’ve used for years.

I often have to remind people that phone design isn’t inevitable. Apple chose to keep this iPhone 12 mini the same thickness as the iPhone 12 and it chose to keep the extra parts necessary for mmWave 5G. I would rather lose both of those things in exchange for a bigger battery. 

• The Verge’s favorite gadgets of 2020

iPhone 12 mini cameras

The iPhone 12 mini has the exact same camera setup as the regular iPhone 12. There’s the 12-megapixel main wide-angle camera with a f/1.6 aperture for letting in more light paired with a somewhat worse 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. Unlike the Pro models, there’s no telephoto lens nor a LIDAR sensor.

I am happy to report that the results are just like the specs: the same. The iPhone 12 mini reverts to Night mode less often than even the iPhone 11 Pro and the Pixel 5. Apple has made some improvements in image processing this year with its A14 Bionic processor that results in more detail in more lighting conditions (aka the Deep Fusion “Sweater Mode”).

It’s a very good camera system, and that’s not usually something I get to say when I’m talking about a smaller phone. Usually smaller means cut corners and the camera is often the place where those corners get cut. Not so here: video is excellent at handling different lighting conditions, portrait mode is usually more than good enough for Instagram, and you can trust the camera to take the photos you expect when you tap the shutter. And you can expect them to get saved quickly.

Next year, though, I hope Apple pays a little more attention to the secondary camera sensors. The selfie camera is fine, but it’s increasingly disappointing compared to the advances on the main camera.

I can take some dramatic shots with the ultrawide — the tree you see above is objectively boring but looks dope with this lens. Still, if you zoom in even a little, you can see that on a technical level the ultrawide is also far behind the main sensor. 

As I said above, I don’t have ergonomic reasons to need a smaller phone. My advice for most people is to get the regular iPhone 12 for its better battery and bigger screen. 

And yet, I love the iPhone 12 mini. It is my favorite of the new iPhone 12 models. Despite real concerns with the battery, it’s the one I have decided to get for myself. 

The first iPhone in a long time to be designed around ergonomics instead of screen size

For me, the reason to prefer the iPhone 12 mini is hard to state in words, but I’ll give it a shot. With every phone, you can tell what it was designed around . There’s some key feature that everything else has to contend with, that sets the hardware narrative. For many years now, that feature was the screen. Making it big, bright, beautiful, and bezel-less was the big thing driving phone design, and all other considerations were secondary.

The iPhone 12 mini feels like the first iPhone in a long time with a different goal. It was designed around the human hand and real pockets. It is an object that doesn’t aim to be judged against other smartphones (which are mostly big now), but to be judged simply as an object you need to hold. You judge a spatula or can opener or whatever by whether it’s easy to grip, by whether it fits in your hand. It’s about time we got back to judging smartphones that way, too.

That design decision means that other things — like battery life — are secondary. But it’s nevertheless a strange kind of relief to hold it. You know the feeling when a buzzing noise you’d grown accustomed to suddenly stops and you realize you’ve been annoyed all day but couldn’t say why? It’s like that. 

Whether we admit it or not (and whether we hate it or not), we’ve subtly been adapting ourselves to ever-growing phone sizes. The iPhone 12 mini is adapted to us .

• Apple iPhone 12 review: raising the bar
• Apple iPhone 12 Pro review: ahead of its time
• Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max review: the best smartphone camera you can get

Agree to Continue: iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we’re going to start counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.

To use any of the iPhone 12 models, you have to agree to:

• The Apple terms of service agreement, which you can have sent to you by email
• Apple’s warranty agreement, which you can have sent to you by email

These agreements are nonnegotiable, and you cannot use the phone at all if you don’t agree to them.

The iPhone also prompts you to set up Apple Cash and Apple Pay at setup, which further means you have to agree to:

• The Apple Cash agreement, which specifies that services are actually provided by Green Dot Bank and Apple Payments, Inc. and further consists of the following agreements:
• The Apple Cash terms and conditions
• The electronic communications agreement
• The Green Dot bank privacy policy
• Direct payments terms and conditions
• Direct payments privacy notice
• Apple Payments, Inc. license

If you add a credit card to Apple Pay, you have to agree to:

• The terms from your credit card provider, which do not have an option to be emailed

Final tally: two mandatory agreements, six optional agreements for Apple Cash, one optional agreement for Apple Pay

Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile’s ‘unlimited’ plans just got a $10M slap on the wrist

The dji pocket 3 is almost everything i wanted my iphone camera to be, the new ipad pro looks like a winner, onlyfans management firm accused of having employees talk to fans as influencers, the gamma app brings ps1 emulation to the iphone.

More from Reviews

The OnePlus 12R is a $500 phone with flagship tendencies

Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds are its boldest, most unique earbuds yet

JBL Authentics 300 smart speaker review: two assistants at once

This iPod-like button could be a great smart home controller

• Apple 10th-gen iPad deal
• How to watch the Google I/O keynote
• The best Nintendo Switch games
• iPad Pro M4 hands-on

Apple iPhone 12 mini review: For small phone fans only

I love this phone, but i can't trust its battery..

The tech industry is obsessed with size, and it's easy to see why. "Bigger" is often used as shorthand for "better," and if you need proof just look at phones. They haven't just become faster and more capable; they've also become enormous. That's not to say good small phones are impossible to find — Google’s standard-issue Pixels are pretty great, and Sony made a beautifully tiny Xperia a few years ago — but they're not nearly as common as they once were. Now, with the iPhone 12 mini , Apple is mounting a small-smartphone comeback.

Between its refreshed design, A14 Bionic chipset, 5G support and camera setup, the mini is mostly the same as the iPhone 12 , except it’s more compact and costs $100 less. At a time where we’re spending more time at home surrounded by big screens, and people are more sensitive to price, a small but powerful iPhone could be just the ticket. After living with one for a week, though, I'm torn. Though I love the iPhone 12 mini, I would never buy one for myself, and wouldn't recommend it to most people.

Configurations

The iPhone 12 mini is Apple's smallest flagship phone in years, and if you're thinking of buying one, you have some decisions to make. Apart from the many color options, the biggest choice is how much storage you need:

64GB: $699/$729

128GB: $749/$779

256GB: $849/$879

Why the different prices, you say? It all boils down to where you buy your phone. If you get a carrier-locked iPhone 12 mini straight from Apple, you'll spend $30 less than if you bought the equivalent unlocked model. The phones also cost less when you buy them directly from AT&T or Verizon, but not T-Mobile/Sprint. (Note: Apple has never offered a satisfying answer about these price differences.)

The same, but smaller

I just reviewed the iPhone 12 a couple weeks ago, so forgive me if I repeat myself a little. As I said earlier, the 12 and 12 mini are mostly the same phone — and that’s mostly great.

For one, Apple's smallest new iPhone is just as fast as its big brother thanks to that A14 Bionic chipset. I could rehash out how Apple's shift to 5nm chips gave it the transistor budget needed to significantly boost its processors' performance, but it’s not really necessary. Long story short, the iPhone 12 mini is lightning-fast, whether you're playing resource-intensive games or bouncing between multiple apps.

The fact that the 12 mini is just as powerful as the iPhone 12 might not seem remarkable, but it's fascinating when you consider it in a larger context. When companies design small smartphones, they generally don't use the very best chipset available; the most recent exception was Sony's Xperia XZ2 Compact, which squeezed that year's flagship Snapdragon 845 into a 5-inch device. More recently, we've seen powerful (but still slightly downmarket) chipsets like the Snapdragon 765 used in devices like the Pixel 5. While they're more than fast enough for daily use, they lack the sheer performance you’ll get with more premium silicon.

That's not the case here. The iPhone 12 mini is, by far, the most powerful small phone I've tested in years.  I should note, though, that like the standard iPhone 12, the mini packs 4GB of RAM; for comparison, the 12 Pro comes with 6GB. I haven't noticed a significant difference in day-to-day performance, but that extra memory should give the Pros an edge when you’re jumping between multiple apps. Personally, I wouldn't sweat it much: The mini offers sufficient power for just about everything, with enough overhead to stave off obsolescence.

This is also one of Apple's first 5G phones, with full support for the sub-6 and mmWave networks that are sprouting up around you. 5G is a lot more common now than it was this time last year, but for the most part, you won't notice a dramatic difference in network performance.

That won't be true for everyone, though: If you live in a place where T-Mobile has lit up its mid-band 5G, you should notice some improvements, and you could see some insane speeds if you stop on a street corner where Verizon's mmWave 5G is available. At this point, I have to note that Verizon owns Engadget but has no editorial control over us, so I can say mmWave — while technically very cool — is meaningless to a lot of people right now.

Apple iPhone 12 mini review photos

The 12 mini also plays nice with Apple's various MagSafe accessories, including a new one we haven't tried yet: a sleek leather pouch with a cutout allowing you to easily check the time. That might not sound super interesting, but there's more to it than you think. When the phone can tell it's been slipped into the case, its screen changes color to match the case when you tap it to check the time.

It's a brilliant little touch, but I think Apple missed an opportunity here. See, when you check the time through the cutout, the entire screen lights up. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but since Apple's Super Retina XDR display is technically an OLED, the better move for battery life would have been to only light up the part of the screen visible through the hole. Who knows, maybe they'll fix that in a software update.

On Apple's website, the company notes that the iPhone 12 mini is limited to 12W wireless charging, compared to 15W charging for the rest of the iPhone 12 line. Yes, that's still faster than standard Qi wireless charging, but it's potentially a bummer for anyone thinking of going all-in on MagSafe. Apple wouldn't specifically comment on the limitation but honestly, you should really just plug your phone in anyway.

Camera performance

As for the cameras, this is the same setup as the iPhone 12: There’s a 12-megapixel wide camera with an f/1.6 aperture, optical image stabilization and a new, 7-element lens, plus a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera that can capture a 120-degree field of view. It's important to note that optically, these sensors and lens setups aren't that different from last year’s. The main camera still produces the best images, and it's slightly better in low light thanks to a wider aperture, though again, you won’t necessarily see a huge change, especially since Night Mode is so quick to activate.

And the ultrawide? Well, it's still a bit of a niche tool, and its images remain notably softer than what you'd get from the main camera. That's just how it goes, though: Ultra-wide cameras have always been more about capturing space than detail, and this sensor's 120-degree field of view makes for some fantastic landscapes.

Apple iPhone 12 mini camera sample photos

But camera hardware is only part of the story. Apple also changed the way it processes images. Photos you take with the main camera are more detailed than last year's iPhones, and improvements to Apple's Smart HDR mean the 12 mini is better at identifying what's going on in a scene and tweaking the resulting image accordingly. For the most part, that means photos look warmer and punchier than before — apart from skies, which take on a brighter blue tone. Those improvements also carry over to the ultra-wide camera, which is also now better at ironing out image distortion. It's definitely still there, though: Try taking an ultra-wide landscape with people on the edges, and you'll see what I mean.

As always, it's hard to proclaim which smartphone takes the best pictures; it's all subjective, especially when you consider the different vibes smartphone makers strive for when tuning their camera software. If you're a fan of moody, higher-contrast photos, the Pixel 5 might be more your speed. If hyper-aggressive colors appeal, there are devices like the Galaxy S20 FE. Overall, the iPhone 12 mini takes lovely photos that split the difference between those two extremes.

The mini difference

Everything we've just gone through makes this the most capable small smartphone I've tested in years, but does that mean you should buy one? Ultimately, I think whether the 12 mini makes sense for you boils down to two things: the smaller design and battery life.

As far as the 12 mini's size is concerned, Apple did a great job here. I was already a fan of the flatter, more angular iPad Pro-inspired aesthetic the company brought to this year’s iPhones, and it works just as well now that Apple shrank it down. The fit and finish are also first-rate, and I can't think of another small phone that feels as well-built as this. I know some people aren't fans of how light the iPhone 12 series is, and I get that, but if you were thinking of buying a small phone, weight was likely already a concern.

I know I've been calling the iPhone 12 mini a small phone, and that's objectively true — it's even a bit smaller than the iPhone SE I reviewed earlier this year, but a few trusted people to whom I've shown the phone didn't think it was that small. That's largely thanks to the 12 mini's 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR display. It's just as bright as the standard iPhone 12 and packs the same support for wide-color gamuts and HDR, but because it's smaller, it's more pixel-dense. While bigger phones are almost always better for immersiveness, this screen never felt too small.

And I’ll be honest: “too little” was a big concern for me going into this review. When I tried the iPhone SE earlier this year, I found its 4.7-inch screen tough to adjust to after years of reviewing huge smartphones. Typing, in particular, was a pain at first, since I had to relearn how to type on such a small screen. Thankfully, none of that was true with the 12 mini. There’s a learning curve, sure, but nothing outrageous.

As a small-phone convert, I can't overstate how much I like the iPhone 12 mini — it strikes a good balance between size and performance. But I can’t pretend it doesn’t have its issues, the biggest of which you probably saw coming. In short, the iPhone 12 mini’s battery life is adequate at best, and that’s being pretty generous. It is absolutely the kind of phone you’ll have to charge every night, if not sooner.

I said earlier that I’m spending nearly all my time at home, but not everyone can do that. Maybe you’re an essential worker who still has to go to work every day. Maybe you live somewhere where you feel safe spending lots of time outside your home. Or maybe sometimes you have to travel somewhere.

That was me recently, and I spent most of that travel day wondering whether the phone would last til the evening. Sure enough, on my first day of using the 12 mini as my daily driver, I pulled it off the charger at 8AM and it was on its last legs by 4PM. Mind you, iOS reported about seven hours of screen-on time, but I wasn’t doing anything crazy like watching videos or playing games; it was all doom-scrolling in Safari and on Twitter, with some Spotify music and podcasts to keep me sane.

During more typical days at home, where my attention was split between my computer and my phone, the 12 mini did a little better. On average, I was looking at 12 to 13 hours of on-and-off use. That’s about on par with what I saw from the iPhone SE earlier this year, but that wasn’t particularly impressive either. The only thing that made it somewhat acceptable was the fact that the SE costs $400. Right now, I could make the mini's battery work for me, but when the world re-opens and I spend more of my time out of the house? I could make it a point to carry around a power bank; lots of people already do just that. Maybe I'm just spoiled by big devices with big batteries, but once you stop worrying about how long your phone will last, you never want to go back.

Another reason I can’t fully get on board with this thing is that it sits in a strange place in Apple’s iPhone lineup. At $699, this is the cheapest version of the iPhone 12 the company makes, but last year you could get a phone with a bigger screen and much better battery life for the same price.

Framed as a budgeting decision, this is the most accessible of Apple’s newest iPhones, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to make sense for most people. And despite the 12 mini's improved performance and better screen, I'd still probably recommend that shoppers who don't want to drop $800-plus on a phone consider last year's iPhone 11 instead. You could nab one of those with 128GB of storage for about $650 right now, which is $50 to $80 less than the base level iPhone 12 mini with 64GB of storage depending on where you buy it.

The iPhone 12 mini has a lot going for it, and people who want a smaller phone will be hard-pressed to find a device that’s as powerful and as well-built as this one. As for me, I'm of two minds. I have sincerely enjoyed using a small phone again, especially one this capable. There were even a few moments when I considered going all-in on the iPhone 12 mini as my daily driver — until I started seeing how quickly the battery drains. As I said earlier, there are ways to manage that issue, but that can be a big — and unwelcome — ask for some people.

Latest Stories

A free ps1 emulator for iphone is burning up the app store charts.

A free PS1 emulator for iPhone is burning up the App Store charts, currently resting at number six. The app is called Gamma and offers on-screen virtual controls, but allows integration with Bluetooth controllers and keyboards.

The best midrange smartphones for 2024

Here's a list of the best midrange smartphones you can buy, as chosen by Engadget editors.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is delayed because Hades II is a juggernaut

The Rogue Prince of Persia was supposed to debut in early access on May 14, but Evil Empire and Ubisoft have delayed it to get out of the way of Hades II.

The M2 iPad Air is $30 off if you preorder at Amazon

The new M2 iPad Air arrives this week and you can already snap it up for a modest discount if you preorder on Amazon.

Pick up this Anker 10,000mAh magnetic power bank for only $32

This Anker 10,000mAh magnetic power bank is on sale via Amazon for $32. That’s a discount of more than 20 percent.

Apple's 10th-gen iPad hits a new low of $334

Amazon has marked down Apple's 10th-generation iPad to an all-time low price.

Google Pixel 8a review: The best midrange Android phone gets flagship AI features

The Pixel 8a delivers handy AI features alongside a beautiful 120Hz OLED screen, excellent cameras and way above-average battery life for just $499.

The best grills and grill accessories in 2024

Here’s a list of the best grilling gear you can buy -- including Traeger and Weber grills -- as chosen by Engadget editors.

The Morning After: Those geomagnetic storms are messing with farming tech’s GPS systems

The biggest news stories this morning: Waymo’s robotaxis are making 50,000 paid trips every week, Most Apple App Store developers aren’t trying outside payments, Alienware m16 R2 review.

Apple Store workers in Maryland have voted to authorize a strike

Apple's first unionized Store in Towson, Maryland has now authorized the first strike against the retail giant.

The 21 best Nintendo Switch games in 2024

Here's a list of the best games for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite, from A to Z trigger, as chosen by Engadget editors.

Most App Store developers aren’t taking Apple up on its new outside payments option

In a hearing on Friday as part of the ongoing legal battle with Epic, Apple said only 38 developers have applied to add links to external payment options — out of roughly 65,000 that could, according to Bloomberg.

The geomagnetic storm is a nightmare for farmers relying on precision agriculture tech

According to a report by 404 Media, the intense solar activity over the last few days has disrupted critical GPS systems that guide modern tractors. Modern John Deere tractors as well as those from other brands rely on this technology for precision.

Pre-orders for Ghost of Tsushima on PC are being canceled in countries without PSN access

People who pre-ordered the PC port of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut in countries that don’t have access to PlayStation Network (PSN) were reportedly notified that their purchases have been canceled and auto-refunded.

'Extreme' geomagnetic storm may bless us with more aurora displays tonight and tomorrow

Tonight may offer another chance to catch the aurora if you have clear skies, according to the NOAA, and Sunday could bring yet more displays reaching as far as Alabama. The agency says the 'extreme' geomagnetic storm will continue through tomorrow.

28 Years Later is coming to theaters next summer

Fans have been waiting a long, long time for another installment in the 28 Days Later franchise, and we now know when the next followup is coming out: June 20, 2025. 28 Years Later will be directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland.

What we’re listening to: Trail of Flowers, Hyperdrama, Science Fiction and more

In this installment of What We're Listening To, the Engadget team discusses some of the recent releases we've had on repeat, including new music from Sierra Ferrell, Justice, Utada Hikaru and Caroline Polachek.

Waymo says its robotaxis are now making 50,000 paid trips every week

Waymo has revealed, as well, that it's had over one million rider-only trips across four cities.

Doctor Who: The Devil’s Chord review: Is this madness?

'The Devil's Chord' is a mess, but it's probably an intentional mess.

Doctor Who Space Babies review: Bet you didn’t expect that

'Space Babies' is crazy, chaotic and political. Just as Doctor Who should be.

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

• Backchannel
• Newsletters
• WIRED Insider
• WIRED Consulting

Jeremy White

iPhone 12 mini review: Apple’s small wonder

Small size a joy to carry around; same spec and performance as the iPhone 12

Battery life less than other 12s; 5G drains battery; typing better for smaller fingers

Small phones are usually the runts of the litter. The lesser spec'd models for the people who, as they are deranged enough to not want a larger screen, clearly don't deserve a good phone. Sony memorably broke this particular rule with its Xperia Z1 Compact back in 2014. The same specs as the larger version, but a smaller screen and no penalty for wanting the dinky model.

Apple is mirroring this praiseworthy tactic with the iPhone 12 mini – the exact same innards as the vanilla iPhone 12 are here, but with a 5.4-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display as opposed to the larger 6.1in one. The model came as something of a surprise when announced last month, but despite being the baby iPhone 12, this is clearly no also-ran. It's a full-fat iPhone that's been shrunk down. Let's put it under the microscope.

Who’s it for

Interestingly, if you actually ask Apple this question there isn't a definitive answer from Cupertino. Not one they are willing to share on record, anyway. I think it is for people who want a proper iPhone but are sick of getting cramp trying to stretch digits across increasingly large screens.

It's also for those who rejoiced at the update of the iPhone SE , but were grumpy that in order to secure a pocketable phone they had to deal with the home button and chunky bezels at the top and bottom of the screen. No such nonsense with the mini (from £699), which despite being a smaller handset has a screen that is 0.7in larger than that of the SE.

It is also for that particular niche of people with small fingers who would not consider themselves to be power users. More on that later.

This is a handsome phone. I would go as far as to say it is my favourite looking iPhone 12. The new iPhone redesign already evoked the lines of the old iPhone 4 and to a lesser extent the 5, but with the mini being much closer to the 4's size the comparisons are even more apparent. And this is a very good thing.

The smaller form factor somehow helps show off the flat edges in a better light. Perhaps it's because the mini is so much easier to hold? You get the same Ceramic Shield glass, that cannot be called glass, that's on the other 12s, which is supposedly four times better in drop performance (though Apple won't prove this assertion), which is a bonus as smaller phones can be easier to drop.

The smaller 5.4in screen does highlight more so than its siblings the case for getting rid of the notch at the top of the display, though. It doesn't get in the way, but it is more noticeable than on the normal 12 or the Pros.

Brenda Stolyar

Adrienne So

It will be interesting to see how Apple's and various third party MagSafe accessories deal with the smaller size of the mini, too. Apple's own MagSafe charger takes up much of the rear on the mini. Whether this will be a good or bad thing, or of no consequence at all, remains to be seen. But if we are dealing with magnets, maybe a lighter weight – at 133 grams this is the lightest iPhone available – will have some advantages somehow?

Living with it

It has been a joy carrying around the iPhone 12 mini mainly because you are unaware you are carrying it around. Switch to the Pro or Pro Max and you certainly know you have your phone on you. One of the reasons we liked the standard 12 over the Pros was the fact it is noticeably lighter, and the mini scores even higher in this regard, naturally.

What you notice very quickly, too, is the power of the phone. The mini packs in the same camera system with wide and ultra-wide lenses and Dolby Vision HDR video recording, the same water resistance (six metres for up to 30 minutes), the same Face ID tech, the same 5G capability and, perhaps most importantly, the same new A14 Bionic chip, which is lightning quick and superb, as the bigger iPhone 12. And consequently it performs just the same, too. Unfortunately you also get the same sub-standard 60hz screen refresh rate on the mini, sadly, so scrolling isn't as slick.

The smaller size does bring some differences, though. The iPhone mini uses 2,436 by 1,125 pixel resolution, which is scaled down to 2,340 by 1,080. Why has Apple scaled this down? We asked and they aren't saying. But what this means, in theory, is that there might be scaling artefacts (blurring in other words). But considering the screen size and the 476ppi resolution (the highest in an iPhone) I challenge you to actually spot this occurring.

As for 5G usage, keep Apple's clever "Auto" feature turned on which flips the device to 5G only when it thinks there will be a distinct advantage for doing so, because, like with the other iPhones, 5G drains the battery fast. More on this below.

Typing on a smaller screen was always going to be tricker, too. And with my fat fingers my text spelling has got even worse (something many thought impossible). Interestingly, though, it has made me use dictation much more on the mini, and I like doing so. It's a habit I'm going to continue even when not using this phone, especially as with every update the speech-to-text accuracy gets noticeably better.

Killer feature

You may well say, "the small size, obviously". And you'd be right. But for me, the killer feature of the mini is the fact that very little compromises have been made on this mini to give users this size option compared to the other 12s.

This baby iPhone performs and behaves like a flagship device, because it is a flagship device. Those of you who wanted a smaller iPhone have not been short changed in any way. Yes it costs £300 more than an SE, but that's because it's way, way better than an SE.

Why oh why...

The bad bit? The battery life. You know I said very few compromises have been made on the mini? Well this is most certainly one of them. You get a noticeably smaller battery life on the mini. You can't blame Apple for this, there is only a certain amount of physical space in there considering the smaller dimensions, and battery tech hasn't taken a giant leap forward recently. The result is that, unless you are a light user, then you will need to charge up the phone during the day in normal use.

Also, it is a big issue with one of the phone's major selling points: 5G. I switched the mini off 'Auto 5G' to permanently on. In 90 minutes the battery ran flat as it frantically looked for and (very) occasionally found 5G signal. You will also see a drain in battery power if you sit under a 5G antenna and download stuff at blistering speeds. This, of course, is no real issue now as there is such poor 5G coverage in the UK, but it will be an issue when coverage is better, no doubt.

So, should I buy it?

Yes. I've loved carrying the small iPhone around and it's been a pleasure to use. As long as you are aware you'll need to top up during the day at some point, and don't care for now about 5G so much, this is the ideal small phone for those who want all the power of a flagship but without the overbearing presence of one.

The iPhone 12 Mini is available from £699 on 13 November. Pre-order via Amazon , Apple , John Lewis , EE and Carphone Warehouse .

This article was originally published by WIRED UK

Benj Edwards, Ars Technica

Julian Chokkattu

Alistair Charlton

Scott Gilbertson

Parker Hall

WIRED COUPONS

Save up to $58 Off TurboTax Online

20% Off All H&R Block 2024 Tax Software | H&R Block Coupon

Up to $20 off at Instacart in 2024

Up to 35% Off Your Order with DoorDash Promo Code

Finish Line Coupon - $15 off $150 on sneakers & more

Email Deal: 20% off Groupon Promo Code with Sign-up | Join Today!

• a. Send us an email
• b. Anonymous form
• Buyer's Guide
• Upcoming Products
• Tips / Contact Us
• Podcast Instagram Facebook Twitter Mastodon YouTube Notifications RSS Newsletter

iPhone 12 Mini Reviews: The Best Small Smartphone but Battery Life 'Leaves Much to Be Desired'

First impressions of the iPhone 12 mini have now been shared by select media outlets and YouTubers, providing a closer look at Apple's small form factor smartphone. Reviewers praised the ‌ iPhone ‌ 12 mini's size and full feature set, but were disappointed about the device's battery life.

The Verge 's Dieter Bohn believes that surprisingly little is lost on the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌'s smaller display:

Despite the smaller screen size, you don't miss out on as much as you might expect. Compared to the regular iPhone 12 with a 6.1-inch screen, there are maybe one or two lines of text that are cut off. What you actually miss out on is that sense of immersion you can get from a bigger screen when you’re playing a game or watching a movie. Those were the only times this screen felt cramped.

TechCrunch 's Matthew Panzarino similarly noticed that the display size felt surprisingly similar to that of the ‌iPhone‌ 11:

If you look at this and an iPhone 11, because of the way that the screen is rendered, you’re going to see pretty much the same amount of content.

He also experienced an improved typing experience on the smaller device compared to a number of older models:

I am happy to report that the typing experience on the iPhone 12 mini is far superior to the 4.0-inch first generation SE. It even gets a leg up on the 4.7-inch iPhone SE introduced earlier this year because the screen is the same width but taller... This additional size, especially for the spacebar, improves the typing experience measurably. The key spacing is a bit less generous than the iPhone 12, but this is a workable situation for typing.

Bohn noted the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌'s smaller size leads to significantly better ergonomics:

Because it's a bit narrower, it's easier to reach the opposite side of the screen with your thumb. Because it's a bit shorter, a lot of people will be able to reach the top for the swipe-down gestures without contorting their hands into awkward claws or risking dropping the phone.

Performance

In benchmarks, Panzarino found that the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌'s A14 Bionic processor underperformed slightly compared to other ‌iPhone‌ 12 models, but it was close enough to not be noticeable:

While it appears that either heat management, scaling or power management in general has made Apple tweak the processor ever so slightly, the benchmarks are close enough to make it a wash. There is zero chance you ever see any real-world difference between the iPhone 12 mini and any other iPhone 12.

Battery Life

Engadget 's Chris Velazco was highly critical of the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌'s battery life:

While the mini offers the same great performance as the larger model, its battery life leaves much to be desired... Sure enough, on my first day of using the 12 mini as my daily driver, I pulled it off the charger at 8AM and it was on its last legs by 4PM.

By contrast, Panzarino had a surprisingly positive experience of the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌'s battery life compared to the larger ‌iPhone‌ 12:

Apple says that the iPhone 12 mini’s battery life is better than the 4.7” iPhone SE and that bore out in my testing. I got through a day easily, with maybe a few percentage points difference between the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12.

Bohn found battery life to be a key limitation of the device, but remarked that it was a variable experience that could be improved by a more diligent approach:

The battery life on the iPhone 12 mini is noticeably worse than on the iPhone 12, which itself was a step down from the battery-champ iPhone 11. For me, it's good enough, but it does mean I'm already using it differently than I use bigger phones. Without making any effort at it, I have consistently drained the iPhone 12 mini’s battery by early evening... So it's not bad, but it's definitely not great. My feeling after a little less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of battery management. Holding yourself back from putting an hour into an Apple Arcade game, knowing where your next opportunity to charge might be, and above all being more willing to turn on the low power mode.

Value for Money

Velazco expressed some concern over the price of the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌ when compared to the iPhones of previous years:

Another reason I can't fully get on board with this thing is that it sits in a strange place in Apple's iPhone lineup. At $699, this is the cheapest version of the iPhone 12 the company makes, but last year you could get a phone with a bigger screen and much better battery life for the same price. Framed as a budgeting decision, this is the most accessible of Apple's newest iPhones, but that doesn't mean it's going to make sense for most people. And despite the 12 mini's improved performance and better screen, I'd still probably recommend that shoppers who don't want to drop $800-plus on a phone consider last year's iPhone 11 instead.

On the other hand, Panzarino believes that the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌ offers excellent value for money:

The iPhone mini is by far the best value per dollar in Apple's 2020 lineup. With this you get all of the power and advances of the iPhone 12, everything but the telephoto camera (and 60fps/4k video) of the iPhone 12 Pro and everything but the new sensor in the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Those additions will cost you anywhere from $300-$400 more over the life of your device if you choose to step up.

More Reviews

• The Wall Street Journal 's Joanna Stern
• CNBC 's Todd Haselton
• Wired 's Lauren Goode
• Pocket-lint 's Britta O'Boyle

For early unboxings and first impressions, check out our summary , which compiles over a dozen of the latest videos reviews.

‌The ‌‌iPhone‌‌ 12 mini is now available to pre-order in the United States and numerous other countries, with deliveries to customers and in-store availability beginning Friday, November 13.

Get weekly top MacRumors stories in your inbox.

Top Rated Comments

[HEADING=2]Battery Life 'Leaves Much to Be Desired'[/HEADING]

It can't be the best small smartphone if it has a bad battery.

Popular Stories

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Apple Apologizes for 'Crush' iPad Pro Ad, Won't Put It on TV

Every Model of Apple's M1 iPad Air Drops to Record Low Prices on Amazon

iPad Pro's M4 Chip Outperforms M3 by Up to 25%

Sonos Said Rolling Out Widely Criticized App Redesign Took 'Courage'

Next article.

Our comprehensive guide highlighting every major new addition in iOS 17, plus how-tos that walk you through using the new features.

App Store changes for the EU, new emoji, Podcasts transcripts, and more.

Get the most out your iPhone 15 with our complete guide to all the new features.

A deep dive into new features in macOS Sonoma, big and small.

Revamped models with OLED displays, M4 chip, and redesigned Magic Keyboard accessory.

Updated 10.9-inch model and new 12.9-inch model, M2 chip.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off with a keynote on June 10.

Expected to see new AI-focused features and more. Preview coming at WWDC in June with public release in September.

Other Stories

4 hours ago by Tim Hardwick

5 days ago by Tim Hardwick

6 days ago by Tim Hardwick

1 week ago by Tim Hardwick

• Best Phones
• Best Android Phones
• Best iPhone
• Best Phones for Kids
• Best Tablets
• Best Android Tablets
• Best Smartwatch
• Best Fitness Trackers
• Best Cell Phone Plans
• Best Prepaid Phone Plans
• Best USB-C Cables
• Best Smart Notebooks
• Best Smart Rings
• Best Garmin Watch

Apple iPhone 12 Mini review: Tiny yet mighty

“The iPhone 12 Mini is exactly what fans of small phones been waiting for: A full-featured iPhone in a tiny size.”

• Incredible compact size
• Great camera quality
• Top-notch performance
• Every iPhone 12 feature
• Weak battery life
• Screen can actually feel cramped

The iPhone hasn’t been “small” since the iPhone 8 . Even though Apple has kept its mainline models compact relative to the huge Android competition, your only choices for a truly small phone from Apple have been to buy an iPhone SE , or keep using an older model. In either case, you had to choose between having the latest features and capabilities, and having a phone that was the size you preferred.

The basics: Hardware, specs, and features

A delightfully small phone, battery life.

That isn’t the case anymore. Now, we have the iPhone 12 Mini.

• Apple apologizes for its controversial iPad Pro ad
• Best Apple deals: Save on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, MacBook
• A big iPhone update is right around the corner

I’m delighted that Apple decided to make the $700 iPhone 12 Mini, because there’s no reason why people who want a small phone need to be treated like second-class citizens. You should be able to get a fully capable modern iPhone in a size that doesn’t challenge your hand. And with a couple expected caveats, that’s precisely what we have.

Apple’s consistency between iPhone models isn’t necessarily exciting , but if you think about it, it’s exactly what you want to see. When you consider the prospect of the iPhone 12 Mini being smaller and less expensive than the base iPhone 12, there was ample opportunity for Apple to cut corners — just look at the iPhone SE. But it didn’t. Outside of making the battery and screen smaller, which are both obvious changes, the iPhone 12 Mini is identical to the iPhone 12.

That starts with the design, which translates very well when scaled down to this size. The lack of curves and focus on sharp edges suits a small phone that’s trying to be as efficient as possible with space, and Apple’s hardware execution is once again exquisite. The lineup’s bright color options are well-matched to the playful size, too — though I’ve loved the completely incognito look of my black phone, spiced up with a red leather case.

Apple had ample opportunity to cut corners in the 12 Mini, and it didn’t.

It isn’t typical that a phone of this size (and price) will have the rest of the top-end specs the iPhone 12 Mini has. The A14 Bionic chip in control is equally powerful in relation to the rest of the iPhone 12 models, and the 12 Mini’s performance is superb as a result. You get good speakers, the latest “Ceramic Shield” screen glass, IP68 water resistance, top-notch haptics, Face ID, and on down the list. Apple will also remind you that this is the smallest phone yet to have a complete 5G implementation, with both Sub-6 and mmWave, as well as global network band support.

I’ve run through all of the specifics of this platform’s capabilities in my full iPhone 12 review , and I suggest you read it to get the complete picture of what the iPhone 12 series has to offer. After that, you can see what makes the iPhone 12 Mini in particular special right here.

Unlike modern Mini cars , the iPhone 12 Mini is  actually small. And it isn’t just “small” because it’s smaller than the iPhone 12, which has grown now to a 6.1-inch screen — it’s well and truly small. It’s shorter, narrower, and lighter than the iPhone 8 (and latest iPhone SE), and one of the smallest modern, full-featured smartphones.

You can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia when you come to the iPhone 12 Mini from any other phone. Thinking back to a time when you could have a phone that was compact, yet still considered to be state of the art. But after a day using the 12 Mini, I no longer thought about its size as some novel thing — I just used it, and enjoyed the hell out of it.

The iPhone 12 Mini expects nothing of you. It’s so light, and your hand easily wraps around the sides for a secure grasp. It’s actually reasonable to reach across, or to the top of, the screen with your thumb. And my goodness, not only does it  fit in a pocket, it doesn’t even stretch the fabric. On several occasions, I would keep the iPhone 12 Mini in my coat pocket and forget it was there, initiating a moment of panic a half-hour later when i feared I had left it behind somewhere.

The iPhone 12 Mini expects nothing of you. Yet it’s an incredibly powerful phone.

There’s something very freeing about having a small phone that doesn’t feel like a burden to carry and use, yet is more than capable of doing everything you need in the day.

With a 5.4-inch display, the 12 Mini provides just enough screen space to not feel cramped. And iOS 14 is identical on this smaller screen to how it is on a larger one — you get the same icon grid and same buttons, but things are just a little smaller. Every app works perfectly, and I never felt the need to go into the settings and raise the font size or screen zoom. Basically, you just miss out on an extra email when viewing your inbox, or a couple extra lines when reading an article in the browser. Everything is just as lightning-quick as it is on the iPhone 12, as I was able to run apps and multitask with nary a hiccup. To my surprise I didn’t have any thumb collisions with two-handed typing, though because it’s so narrow I really enjoyed swipe typing.

Size comparison: iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 Mini vs. iPhone 12 Pro Max

I concede that the 12 Mini doesn’t exactly provide an immersive viewing experience for video, nor does the screen give you an expansive viewfinder for taking photos. But it’s absolutely functional on both accounts, and if you’re expecting to use your phone for copious amounts of media viewing, you likely won’t be considering the 12 Mini in the first place.

I know that the screen is quoted as being the same as the iPhone 12, but I swear it doesn’t get quite as bright as the larger phone’s screen. There were a few situations using the 12 Mini outside in the sun where I pulled down Control Center to increase the screen brightness only to see it was already pegged at 100%. Aside from those instances, the screen is fantastic: Great colors, good viewing angles, low reflectivity, and crisp text.

When the rubber meets the road, the only place the iPhone 12 Mini comes up short is in its fuel range. On a weekend trip to beautiful Mystic, Connecticut, I spent a copious amount of time outdoors with the screen brightness at 100%, taking tons of photos and leaning on Google Maps while keeping up with my usual messaging and social media apps. And the results … weren’t great.

Battery life is the only upsetting part of using a phone this small.

On Saturday, I took the phone off the charger at 8 a.m., and was down to 10% battery at 9 p.m. as we enjoyed a nightcap under a patio heat lamp. That’s with four hours of “screen on” time, which is respectable, but having very little battery to spare doesn’t instill confidence. Sunday brought more of the same, with the phone coming off the charger at 8 a.m. After more than three hours of “screen on” time, it was at a worrisome 40% battery by 1 p.m. when I plugged in to use CarPlay for the drive home.

Apple’s quoted estimates for video playback paint a rosier picture than the reality. It’s clear that when I use the iPhone 12 Mini the same as I do the 12 or 12 Pro, I’m pushing the limits of making the battery last to the end of the day. On lighter days, with time inside and on Wi-Fi, I made it through the day with 20% to 30% to spare — but that still doesn’t bode well for late evenings or days when I need a hot spot or spend lots of time navigating in Google Maps.

If you’re going to be glued to your phone constantly, this just isn’t the phone for you. But I don’t think this will be an issue for that many people, as the philosophy of many who want a small phone will also align with the expectation that having a phone in their hand constantly isn’t a requirement. Know what you’re getting into, and be ready to give it a little charging bump in some situations, and you’ll be fine.

If you’re going to live glued to your phone, this just isn’t the phone for you.

The one upside to a tiny battery is that it recharges very quickly. Using a 20W charger, it’ll rush from 0% to 50% in 30 minutes. And because the capacity is so minuscule, it even recharges  somewhat quickly from a computer, lesser wall charger, or with the MagSafe charger. Even my car’s low-power USB port easily kicked out enough power to add considerable charge while running CarPlay.

Perhaps the best part about the iPhone 12 Mini is that Apple didn’t skimp on its cameras in this small body, which is something you had to take into account if you were considering an iPhone SE as a small phone option. The 12-megapixel main camera, and 12MP ultrawide camera make for a great pair — that’s the case on the $999 iPhone 12 Pro, and even more so at this price.

Few people expect a camera on a $700 phone to be this good, but it delivers.

In daylight, you get bright and colorful photos with just enough pop and extra warmth to make them feel a bit more alive. Sharpness and detail are excellent, even in photos with mixed lighting that require extra processing. In low light, the photos are just as great as long as you can keep your hand steady. The camera leans on long Night Mode exposures, but the results are excellent. And if you keep the lights on, the selfie camera is good as well.

I’m so familiar with this camera setup now that I tend to forget how impressive it is related to the competition; anyone picking up this phone will be ecstatic with the photos that come out of it. The same goes for video, where you can get crisp 4K 60 fps shots with great colors and stabilization. Chances are you’ll opt not to shoot in Dolby Vision HDR , considering its limited playback compatibility — and you may want to skip it just to save on storage. My friend Michael Fisher maxed out his 128GB Mini the first afternoon he got it after installing apps, shooting video, and having iCloud Photos sync to the phone. You should spend at least an extra $50 on the 128GB model, because the base 64GB will feel very cramped.

You really won’t miss the camera features the iPhone 12 Pro offers for $300 more.

On rare occasions, I’d miss not having the 2X zoom camera from the 12 Pro, but otherwise, this is a camera setup that’s perfectly comparable to that phone. Anyone buying the 12 Mini won’t miss the marginal improvements from that third camera and a promise of shooting RAW photos with a future software update.

The $700 iPhone 12 Mini plays in a category all its own: A truly small phone with an otherwise top-end experience. It’s small enough to be manageable in anyone’s hands and pockets, yet has full-blown iPhone 12 capabilities, from its excellent hardware, to processing speed, to camera quality and software experience.

If you’ve been constantly put off by the vexing decision of choosing between getting a phone that has high-end features or one that fits in your hand, the iPhone 12 Mini should be your next purchase. But not everyone feels so strongly about size, and in that case should be wary of its weaker battery life and a screen size that could feel limiting after spending years getting used to 6-inch displays.

I absolutely adore the size of the iPhone 12 Mini, but I don’t think I can make it my primary phone. I need more confidence in battery life, and that means moving back up to the iPhone 12. And for as much as I love the size of the 12 Mini, I can handle the standard 12 without feeling burdened by its size — that makes it an easy choice to get the midsized phone.

Are there better alternatives?

In this size and price range, you really don’t have another choice. For literally half the price, you can get a Google Pixel 4a that’s the same size, but isn’t a competitor in any way outside of the camera.

Then there are phones that are  bigger , but still manageable and comparable in price and capabilities. For a $100 premium you can buy the iPhone 12, which is a logical choice if you can handle more screen and want longer battery life. The Google Pixel 5 is still relatively compact and costs the same as the 12 Mini — it also has an excellent camera and streamlined software experience that’ll be familiar to iPhone owners.

How long will it last?

Being built on the same platform as the mainline iPhone 12, the 12 Mini should have great longevity. It will get several future iOS updates, and the A14 Bionic chip is plenty powerful to run them. It also has a strong water-resistance rating, should it take a splash or a dunk. The iPhone 12 Mini can easily last you two years, or up to four if you’re keeping budgets tight.

Should you buy it?

Yes, if you feel disenfranchised by the ever-growing size of smartphones and have been longing for a compact model that also doesn’t skimp on capabilities.

Editors' Recommendations

• Which iPads does the Apple Pencil Pro work with? Here’s the full list
• This is the iPhone concept of my dreams
• Apple made an outrageous change to its new iPads
• Best phone deals: Save on the iPhone, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and more
• Best iPhone 15 deals: How to get Apple’s latest iPhone for free
• Apple iPhone
• iPhone and iPad Reviews
• Phone Reviews
• Product Reviews

The iPad lineup has received a price bump after Apple quietly killed its cheapest iPad model. Apple’s 9th-generation iPad used to cost $329, but has been discontinued. At the same time, the company has reduced the 10th-gen iPad’s starting price by $100, which means it’s now priced at $349. As a result, getting the cheapest iPad means you'll now spend $20 more than before.

The 9th-gen Apple iPad was launched in 2021 with the A13 chipset and Apple's Center Stage featur,e but retained the same old design with the already-old Lightning port and home button. With Apple moving to a USB-C port on all devices to comply with EU laws, it was inevitable that Apple would discontinue the 9th-gen iPad this year. The iPhone SE remains the only Apple product with a home button and a Lightning port that's still available in the company's lineup.

Apple pulled off a surprise today with a pair of new iPad Pros that leverage the new M4 silicon. To go with it, the company has also revealed updated versions of the Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro apps that introduce a healthy bunch of new features to take advantage of all the firepower the M4 offers.

Starting with Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad, the app gains new tricks such as Live Multicam, external drive support, Live Drawing, and more. Apple claims that thanks to the M4 silicon, the updated app boosts rendering speeds by 2x and opens the doors for 4x higher streams for editing ProRES RAW content.

Apple unveiled two new iPad Air models -- an 11-inch version and a 13-inch version -- at its May 7 "Let Loose" event. This is the first time that two iPad Air models have been launched simultaneously, and they're both packed with big upgrades.

The new iPad Air models still feature a Liquid Retina display. However, the 12MP front-facing ultrawide camera with Center Stage has been relocated to the landscape edge, making it perfect for video calls. The camera provides high-resolution photos and detailed 4K video, with support for 240 frames-per-second (fps) in slow-motion.

iPhone 12 mini review: It's all I've ever wanted in a tiny iPhone

Just a few weeks ago, Apple released the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro , which are Apple's flagship devices. Supplier and shipping issues have plagued 2020, and so Apple released two additional phones a few weeks later, the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, both of which are the polar opposites of each other in terms of size. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is the biggest iPhone Apple has ever made with a massive 6.7-inch screen. The iPhone 12 mini, which this review is about, is not the smallest iPhone Apple has ever made, but it's the smallest we've seen in years and is more closely comparable to the four-inch iPhone than any iPhone since the original iPhone SE .

I've long been an outspoken supporter of the smaller iPhone. By the time the 2020 iPhone SE came out, I'd all but given up hope that Apple would ever go back to a really small iPhone. And then the iPhone 12 mini was introduced.

It's larger than the original iPhone SE/iPhone 5, but smaller than the brand new iPhone SE/iPhone 6 (and up). It's thin. It's light. It has all of the same features as the iPhone 12, Apple's flagship iPhone. Is it everything I've always wanted in a smaller iPhone? Pretty much, yes. But let's talk about why .

Bottom line: This isn't the phone for everyone, but if you're a fan of small phones, it's nearly perfect.

For people who want:

• The smallest iPhone you can get
• All the features of the iPhone 12 but smaller
• Pocketability!

Not for people who want:

• A big screen
• Pro model extras
• The longest battery life

In terms of the differences and similarities between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, the only difference is in battery life and some slightly different specs on the Super Retina XDR display (the smaller phone has a smaller resolution but more pixels per inch, but that's how screen sizes work).

That's it. Everything else is the same. Same Face ID with TrueDepth camera. Same edge-to-edge(ish) screen. Same beautiful new design and colors. Same processor. Same cameras.

It's, frankly, unheard of.

Not even when the original iPhone SE launched in 2016 was it outfitted with the same level of features as the iPhone 7, which launched the same year.

The iPhone 12 mini is not the entry-level iPhone. It's not the cheapest iPhone. That's what the 2020 iPhone SE is for. It's not last year's model. That's the iPhone 11. This is the newest and best iPhone Apple has ever made (except the Pro models) packed into a smaller body.

iPhone 12 mini review: Pocket friendly

So just how small is this small phone? Even though lots of reviewers are talking about it being small, what is their basis for comparison? It's only until you are holding it in your hand that you get an idea of just how small it is.

When I first unboxed the iPhone 12 mini, I let out a squeak of excitement. It really is small. I was actually expecting to be disappointed because it's not as small as the original iPhone SE (the four-inch iPhone). I figured I'd be pleased with its size, but not flat out love it.

I flat out love it.

Having been using larger phones for the past few years, from the iPhone X to the iPhone 12, and even the 2020 iPhone SE, I'm just used to iPhones being bigger now. It was sheer joy to open the box and see its diminutive size.

The first thing I wanted to know was how easy is it to wrap my hand around it? Very easy. My thumb and fingers overlap when I hold the iPhone 12 mini in one hand. By comparison, I can't quite fit my hand around the iPhone 12 — there is about a quart-inch (maybe closer to half-inch) gap.

It means one-handed usability with the iPhone 12 mini is much easier than with its larger counterpart. It's truly a pleasant experience reaching for the opposite side of the screen. I can actually reach across to the other side of the screen without having to contort my hand.

It means it fits so much better into the small spaces that I normally put my phone. It practically fits all the way into my back pocket. And, yeah, I wear those skinny jeans with small pockets. It fits snug in my fanny pack, which I use in place of a purse because I hate carrying around a large bag. This is one of my biggest joys. My fanny pack is stuffed with everything I need to take with me out of the house, so much so that even a pair of sunglasses barely fits. For the past three years, the iPhones I carry with me made my pack feel overly full. It has been a constant source of irritation for me. But not anymore.

It means I can use a case with it without it feeling like it adds too much bulk and weight. It's so small that there is room for a little added protection.

For anyone wondering about the size of the iPhone 12 mini, hoping it is comparable to the original iPhone SE or iPhone 5 of the past. It is, indeed. It's not as small, but it definitely evokes that same feeling of smallness.

With all of this small talk, it's quite extraordinary that it can fit all of the advanced features of the iPhone 12. Face ID, edge-to-edge display, A14 processor, long battery life (though not quite as long as the iPhone 12).

Something I should point out about the smaller size; I have two standing charging pads that don't work with the iPhone 12 mini. It's too short. The charging coils inside the iPhone don't line up with the charging coils inside the charging pad. I don't know whether this is a universal problem, but it's a problem for two of my wireless chargers.

I also want to note, in this section about pocketability that, though it fits nicely into my skinny jeans pockets, it is also susceptible to slipping out and falling on the ground. That did happen to me. It still sticks out of my back pockets just a little, and that's a recipe for popping out like a slippery fish.

iPhone 12 mini review: Light as a feather

Small is good, and small does usually mean lighter, and that's exactly what the iPhone 12 mini is. It's so light that I no longer feel cramping in my hand when I use my iPhone one-handed for long periods of time.

A small iPhone is a good thing, but a light iPhone matters just as much. If you're still carrying around something that weighs nearly six ounces, you aren't going to have as pleasant of an experience. One of the problems I have with the larger iPhone is that it's heavy enough to cause a bit of cramping in the finger I rest the phone on (usually my pinky finger).

With the iPhone 12 mini in hand (one hand), I can scroll through the News app for an hour, reply to all of my morning emails, and check out my Twitter feed without ever feeling the strain of holding a device for a long time.

Something I did notice is that the iPhone 12 mini feels a little top-heavy. If I balance the phone on one finger, it seems to be weighted with a perfect balance, but my brain thinks the top of the iPhone is just a little heavier than the bottom.

iPhone 12 mini review: Smaller screen is small

Yes, the iPhone 12 mini is small. That means the iPhone 12 mini screen is also ... you guessed it, small. It's notably smaller than the iPhone X - 12 screen size. If you are used to the larger display of any of the Face ID iPhones, it's going to take some getting used to.

The keyboard is the most noticeably smaller feature. Those keys are really packed into a small space. It's not quite the mash-your-fingers-all-over-the-keys sort of experience you had with the original iPhone SE, but those keys are cramped. Thank goodness for autocorrect (I never thought I'd say that) because I've done a lot of misspelling simply because my finger tapped the S key when I was trying to tap the D key.

It is not the 4-inch iPhone of our past, but it really does evoke those nostalgic feelings and makes this fan of the original iPhone SE very happy.

It is, however, very close to the same size as the iPhone 6 through the 2020 iPhone SE, even though it's packed into a significantly smaller frame. For anyone upgrading from an iPhone with a Home button (not the Plus models) will consider this screen to be very familiar. It's more narrow than the iPhone 6 display, but longer and fills the device better.

Because there is no "chin" or "forehead" on the iPhone 12 mini (in other words, it's nearly edge-to-edge), reaching for buttons in the bottom corner is actually a little uncomfortable. You have to angle your thumb awkwardly lower than your thumb is meant to go. By comparison on the iPhone 12, however, it's much better.

Reaching for buttons in the top corner is also a little uncomfortable, but it's really because I expect to be able to reach up to the top as I would on the original iPhone SE, but the top is higher, so I end up frustrated (it's just barely out of reach). Luckily, the iPhone 12 mini does support Reachability, which I find myself using more than I ever did with any other iPhone with Face ID simply because I want to keep that one-handed activity going.

Even though this is the largest screen ever on a phone this small, it is small. Everything on the screen is shrunk down to fit, so if you have trouble seeing smaller text, you will probably want to increase the font size.

iPhone 12 mini review: How it compares to the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro

I've been lucky enough to test out the iPhone 12 mini alongside the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, and it's pretty close to the same, feature-wise, which is incredible considering the iPhone 12 mini is so much smaller than the iPhone 12 but packs in everything I love about the iPhone 12.

Let's talk about the camera. The camera performs exactly the same on the iPhone 12 mini as it does on the iPhone 12. That's because it's the exact same system — same 12MP camera with wide and ultra-wide, same ƒ/1.6 for the wide lens and 2x optical zoom out, same Night Mode and Deep Fusion support. Video recording and the TrueDepth Camera are also exactly the same, too. You can take advantage of the front-facing camera to get detailed beautiful Portrait mode selfies and can get goofy in your FaceTime calls with Animoji and Memoji. The iPhone 12 mini, like its larger sibling, supports Dolby Vision HDR recording up to 30 fps, as well as, 4K recording at 24, 30, or 60 fps. Basically, this tiny phone can make a full-length movie. Editing on that small screen is a different story, though. There was nothing about the camera on the iPhone 12 mini that was of lower quality than the iPhone 12.

Compared to the iPhone 12 Pro, there are some differences, mostly with the telephoto lens and the LiDAR scanner, which makes taking night time shots much better. The iPhone 12 mini does not have a telephoto lens, so you won't be able to optically zoom in, only digitally. Digital zoom causes noise, which is something no one wants, but Apple has significantly improved digital zooming over the years and because you can crop photos, it's even easier to get a better shot with a wide lens and then crop to zoom instead of using a telephoto lens. I realize that this isn't ideal for everyone and an optical telephoto lens is far superior to a cropped zoom, but I rarely found myself using the telephoto lens on the iPhone 12 Pro (or iPhone 11 Pro, for that matter), so don't miss it on the iPhone 12 mini. The compromise is worth it to me.

The LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12 Pro future-proofs it for AR improvements in the years to come. Right now, the one thing it does, and it does it really well, is to take better low-light pictures. The LiDAR scanner is able to determine an object and its distance from the phone in a split second and then tells the camera where to lock on to get accurate auto-focus. It works really well, and I do miss not having it on the iPhone 12 mini. I prefer a smaller phone to exquisite nighttime photos, but it's the one thing I truly envy about the iPhone 12 Pro.

The iPhone 12 mini has a slightly smaller battery than the iPhone 12 at an estimated 15 hours of video playback vs an estimated 17 hours of video playback. These specs, while nice to have, don't interest me as much as, will my iPhone last all day? With the iPhone 12, I would usually reach anywhere between 25% and 35% before going to bed. With the iPhone 12 mini, it stretches closer to 20% before bedtime hits, and that's with a workout every day, playing music for a bit, doom scrolling on Twitter, taking lots of pictures and a few videos, reading the news in the evening and playing video games for a bit. This is a fairly normal day of use for me. There are going to be scenarios under which I'll be wishing for longer battery life, but for the most part, it does what I need it to, which is last all day.

It's also small enough that I could add a battery case to it and it wouldn't feel like I was carrying around a brick, which is a nice bonus considering if I were ever somewhere that I worried at all about running low on battery power, I'd have to bring along a heavy battery backup, no matter what size phone I had.

iPhone 12 mini review: How it really compares to the original iPhone SE

If you've read this far, you're probably like me; hated the iPhone 6 when it first came out because it was too big, kept your iPhone 5s all the way until Apple released the iPhone SE, but was also disappointed in the SE for not having the same advanced features as the iPhone 7 and spent every subsequent year yelling into the void about how Apple should bring back the smaller iPhone. Sound about right?

So, of course, you want to know just how much like the original iPhone SE the iPhone 12 mini is like. The short answer is; a lot. At first glance, you almost think it's the same model of phone. With a second glance, you can tell that it's not the same phone, but you can't put your finger on why. Is it the glass back? Is it the buttons? Oh, wait, I see. It's bigger. But ... is it narrower than the SE? No, I guess it's not, but it sure does look like it is (actual conversation I had with a friend).

What it doesn't have is Touch ID. If you've refused to upgrade your iPhone for a couple of years because you are just not having Face ID, you may want to consider the new-and-improved 2020 iPhone SE.

iPhone 12 mini review: Small but not inexpensive; Is it better than the 2020 iPhone SE?

When you have the conversation about a small phone, you're not having the conversation about a cheap phone. Those are totally different categories. Those of us that love small phones love them because they fit so well in our hands. They fit so well in our pockets. We will spend nearly as much (maybe even fully as much) as we would on a larger iPhone if it means we can have all of the same advanced features. It's not about the price.

If you're looking for an inexpensive phone that does the most advanced things your budget can buy, you want the iPhone SE. It has an A13 processor (same as in the iPhone 11 Pro), is very thin and very light, and is the least expensive iPhone you can get at just $399. I was using the 2020 iPhone SE right up until just before Apple announced the iPhone 12 mini, and I downgraded from the iPhone 11 Pro. It's a great phone and worth twice as much as it costs. Plus, if you don't like Face ID, it's the only phone left on Apple's current lineup with Touch ID.

There really isn't a comparison between the 2020 iPhone SE and the iPhone 12 mini, but because it's "mini" some people might think of it as cheaper and want to know how it compares to the cheapest iPhone.

On the one hand, it blows it out of the water. The iPhone 12 mini has a faster processor, better display, longer battery life, and is smaller and lighter.

On the other hand, the 2020 iPhone SE is still an incredibly powerful machine for its price. I stand by my 2020 iPhone SE review that it is not a compromise for what you get. If $399 is your budget, you're still going to walk away very happy.

iPhone 12 mini review: Bottomline

If you need your phone to be a phone, the iPhone 12 mini is the first phone in years to meet that standard of portability. It fits easily in one hand and is incredibly lightweight. It's small but still usable. Though the screen is definitely smaller than an iPhone 12, it's still a lot to fit into a small package. It easily fits in your pockets and won't feel like a burden when you need to pull it out of your pocket to use it.

If you need your phone to be more than a phone, if it's more of a computing device for you than a tablet or a full computer, you should consider something larger, like the iPhone 12 or the iPhone 12 Pro (or Pro Max), not because these larger phones work better, but because they have a more comfortable display size.

Even though Apple sent me an iPhone 12 mini for review so I could bring you this review as early as possible, I bought the iPhone 12 mini for myself. I even stepped up my storage option, which I've never done before because I plan to own this specific phone for many years to come. The iPhone 12 mini will be my forever phone (unless Apple makes an iPhone 12 mini Pro ) and I'm head-over-heels for every aspect of it. The only thing missing from this phone is a telephoto lens and LiDAR scanner and the compromise is hands-down worth it for me.

Bottom line: If you like small phones more than telephoto lenses, this should be your forever phone, too.

Master your iPhone in minutes

iMore offers spot-on advice and guidance from our team of experts, with decades of Apple device experience to lean on. Learn more with iMore!

Lory is a renaissance woman, writing news, reviews, and how-to guides for iMore. She also fancies herself a bit of a rock star in her town and spends too much time reading comic books.  If she's not typing away at her keyboard, you can probably find her at Disneyland or watching Star Wars (or both).

19 years ago, Bill Gates successfully predicted the decline of the iPod but failed to account for Apple’s next revolutionary device

Apple TV Plus reached for the stars with Constellation, but the sci-fi series has been canned after a single season

Rumored iOS 18 Web Eraser AI feature puts Apple on a collision course with a media whose ads it could delete

• 2 Apple TV Plus reached for the stars with Constellation, but the sci-fi series has been canned after a single season
• 3 Rumored iOS 18 Web Eraser AI feature puts Apple on a collision course with a media whose ads it could delete
• 4 As Apple's iOS 18 AI plans look set for a ChatGPT boost, an imminent OpenAI event could hint at what's to come
• 5 The impossibly thin M4 iPad Pro has bendgate protections built in thanks to this design change, breaking YouTuber hearts everywhere

Pocket-lint

Apple iphone 12 mini review: appreciate the little things in life.

It might be mini by name, but the Apple iPhone 12 mini is mighty by nature. It will make you appreciate the little things in life. Here's our review.

When it launched, the iPhone 12 series represented a big shift in design language from the previous models; with all models making a nostalgic return to the iPhone 4's squarer design. The series comprised of the iPhone 12 , the 12 Pro , the Pro Max , and this, the iPhone 12 mini.  All offering a similar hardware loadout, but with the physical size being the main differentiating factor between the four variants . 

• From mini to Max: Which iPhone 12 should you buy?

The iPhone 12 mini is the smallest and the first compact Apple device to feature an all-screen front ( unlike the also small iPhone SE ). It's since been followed by the iPhone 13 mini. And now that it's a little older, the 12 mini is a lot more affordable than it was at launch. 

It might be mini by name, but the iPhone 12 mini is mighty by nature. It's the device that will make you appreciate the little things in life.

Apple iPhone 12 mini - 64GB (Black)

Amazon Best Buy Best Buy

Our quick take

The Apple iPhone 12 mini might be the smallest of the iPhone 12 models, but it is a fantastic little device that shouldn't be underestimated. It has a lovely lightweight compact design, absolutely stunning display, great cameras, and delivers a smooth and fluid performance. Even more than a year since launch. 

Its battery life isn't amazing and the lack of telephoto lens does mean you can't zoom in when taking photos without losing quality, but they are really the only things we can complain about.

For those considering upgrading from the iPhone 6, 6S, 7 or 8, the iPhone 12 mini is the perfect choice if you want to keep a small handset. It will also reignite a love for compact devices if you've gone bigger in the past though.

The iPhone 12 mini might be small, but it's certainly mighty. Sometimes the little things in life are the best.

Apple iPhone 12 mini - 5.0 / 5

• Finishes: Black, White, Blue, Green, (Product)Red
• Dimensions: 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4mm / Weight: 135g
• IP68 water- and dust-resistant

The Apple iPhone 12 mini has an identical design to the larger iPhone 12 - just in a smaller and more compact format. It's cute - very cute in fact - and exceptionally light too, making it a genuine delight to use day-to-day, especially one-handed. Having used bigger phones for a long time before, we didn't realise how much we missed a smaller devices until the 12 mini came along.

The flat edges of the aluminium frame offer a refreshing change to the rounded edges we have seen from Apple since the iPhone 6 and they are more comfortable and secure in the hand too. They say fashion always comes back around, and in the iPhone 12 mini's case, it's the iPhone 5's design that made a comeback - but with some great changes and far more exciting colour options.

Like the larger iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 mini has a glass back that sits flush with the frame (as does the front) and absolutely loves a fingerprint smudge, like most phones do these days. There's a dual rear camera in the top left corner - again like the iPhone 12 and 2019's iPhone 11 - and those prominent lenses sit within a square camera housing that has a matte finish compared to the glossy finish of the rest of the rear.

Beneath the glossy surface - and invisible to the eye - are the MagSafe magnets . These are present on all the iPhone 12 and 13 models, and there are some great accessories that make use of them. We've tried out the Leather Wallet and MagSafe charger, both of which reassuringly snap securely onto the back of the iPhone 12 mini. You have to pull the charger off so it's a different experience to simply lifting your device off a Qi wireless charging mats or dock, but we like it.

The 12 mini's front is all display and this is where its lovely compact design really comes into its own - and why you'll fall in love with it. The large notch at the top that incorporates Face ID is more obvious on the 12 mini compared to the iPhone 12 because of its size, but place the 12 mini next to the iPhone SE (2022) or an older model like the iPhone 7 and it will instantly win you over.

• 5.4-inch, Super Retina XDR, 1200nits, 60Hz
• 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution (476ppi)
• HDR, True Tone, Haptic Touch

Despite the Apple iPhone 12 mini being smaller in footprint than the likes of the iPhone SE (2022) and iPhone 7 and 8, it offers a larger display - and that's the real beauty of this device. You don't have to sacrifice display real-estate for a phone that fits (easily) into your pocket.

Apple's Touch ID devices have a 4.7-inch screen, while the iPhone 12 mini's display is 5.4-inches, giving you extra within a smaller device. It really works.

Don't get us wrong. In the world of smartphones, a big screen on a compact body is by no means revolutionary. There are plenty of compact devices with all-display fronts out there. But for Apple fans who haven't parted with their iPhone 7 or 8 yet because the previous Face ID models have been too big to consider, the iPhone 12 mini is perfect.

It's not just about size though. The iPhone 12 mini has a Super Retina XDR display - or in more traditional display language, an OLED panel with HDR support - and it's stunning. Though Apple's LCD panels have been impressive in the past - the iPhone 11 has a great display - OLED displays traditionally have more punch and colour vibrancy - as the likes of Samsung has shown for years - and the iPhone 12 mini is no exception.

It's a great display, despite not offering some of the latest features found on rival devices, such as 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rates , or Quad HD+ and 4K resolutions. Though you do get HDR support, True Tone technology , and Haptic Touch , the last of which is useful if you train yourself to use it. It's also protected by something Apple calls Ceramic Shield - said to be tougher than smartphone glass.

Overall, everything looks great on the iPhone 12 mini's screen - especially photos. Viewing angles are good, detail is lovely and crisp, colours really pop, and there is more than ample brightness - even when the sun is at its brightest.

Camera performance

• Main: 12-megapixel sensor, f/1.6 aperture
• Ultra-Wide (120-degree): 12MP, f/2.4
• Front: 12MP TrueDepth, f/2.2

The dual camera on the rear of the iPhone 12 mini is the same as what you'll find on the iPhone 12, comprised of a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens.

It's the same two wide and ultra-wide lenses you'll find on the iPhone 12 Pro, but the iPhone 12 Pro adds a third telephoto zoom lens, allowing for 2x optical zoom, rather than just the 5x digital zoom on the iPhone 12 mini.

Overall, the iPhone 12 mini delivers really great results from its dual camera, even if we do miss the optical zoom.

While many rivals like Samsung and OnePlus offer more lenses on their flagships - some with double that of the iPhone 12 mini - it's worth noting that more doesn't always mean better. Sometimes keeping things simple can be just as effective. The Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G are other good examples of this, both offering great camera results from two lenses.

One of the best attributes the iPhone has offered for a long time is its processing abilities - which have only gotten better over time - allowing users to just point and shoot and still get decent results. You don't have to be a professional photographer to get a lovely photo of your kids, friends, pets, or a pretty landscape, and there's a lot to be said for that.

In good conditions, the iPhone 12 takes some amazing photos with great detail, contrast and lovely colours that are true to life. There's a Lens Correction feature that kicks in when using the ultra-wide lens, to give a more natural result with less edge blur. It's great for making photos look less fish-eye in their nature.

The iPhone 12 mini performs well in low-light conditions as well, with Night Mode automatically kicking in when necessary, allowing you to take some decent shots without the flash having to be on - as long as you keep still, as there's not the optical image stabilisation here that you can find in the iPhone 12 Pro Max and other competitors.

There's also Night Mode on the TrueDepth front camera too, as well as Deep Fusion , so taking selfies at night and in low-light conditions is far more natural than they are with the flash. In good conditions you can get some great shots from the front camera too.

Portrait mode sees improvements too. Edges are now more distinguished in good lighting conditions, while blurring is more refined than when the mode first arrived. Portrait shots aren't completely perfect in every instance if you look closely, especially in low-light conditions where the edges become a little more questionable, and hair strands still get lost in the background most of the time, but significant improvements are present.

The iPhone 12 mini also offer 10-bit HDR Dolby Vision video recording up to 30fps from the front and rear cameras. This happens automatically and it's also possible to edit encoded Dolby Vision videos, meaning you can capture, watch, edit and share from the device itself.

Hardware and specs

• A14 Bionic processor, Neural Engine
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
• 5G connectivity

The Apple iPhone 12 mini runs on the A14 Bionic chip and next-generation Neural Engine, which is the same as all the iPhone 12 models. For those into the geekier side of the specs, the chip is built on a 5nm process technology and it's made up of two performance cores and four custom efficiency cores that all work together. The Neural Engine, meanwhile, is made up of 16 cores. 

What do all those numbers actually mean in reality though? Well, basically, a very smooth and fluid experience whatever you're doing - whether that's gaming, watching a movie, taking photos, or managing your WhatsApp chats . We didn't experience any lag, with the 12 mini switching seamlessly between day-to-day tasks, whilst also managing gaming and more heavy duty tasks effortlessly.

It's a mini powerhouse. Apple has done with the 12 mini what Sony Mobile did several years ago when it offered Compact models of its flagship devices with the same hardware but in a smaller format. You don't compromise on performance just because you've picked a smaller model here.

All the iPhone 12 models, including the iPhone 12 mini, are 5G-enabled too. It's a slightly different approach to some other manufacturers who offer 4G and 5G models of the same device, but it's not a bad approach - it means you're future-proofed even if 5G doesn't interest you now (or if you don't live in or around a 5G area at present). 

Apple also has something called Smart Data mode that automatically switches to LTE when you don't need 5G speeds in order to save battery life. We've watched our iPhone 12 mini review unit do this throughout the day at home when we have Wi-Fi turned off. It's clever.

We would have 4G until we opened up Netflix for example, then our 12 mini would immediately change to 5G as soon as the app launched. You can turn the Smart Data mode feature off so you have 5G all the time, but we aren't sure why you would want to - especially if it saves battery life. Which is one area where the iPhone 12 mini isn't that amazing.

Battery performance

• Up to 15 hours video playback, 10 hours streamed
• 20W fast-charging (50 percent in 30 mins)
• MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W
• Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W

The Apple iPhone 12 mini doesn't have the best battery life on the block. Typically small phones do well on battery life - smaller screens to power being one of the main reasons - but in this case, it's an area where the iPhone 12 mini could improve.

Naturally, of course, it depends on what you use your device for. Taking a lot of pictures, shooting and editing Dolby Vision HDR video, watching movies, playing a lot of games - all of these will take their toll on the iPhone 12 mini's battery and you will probably just about make it to bedtime if you do any of these a lot throughout the day.

General tasks, such as replying to emails and messages, taking phone calls and taking the occasional photo, however, are all things the iPhone 12 mini can handle without a problem. However, while you may not need to charge it that night, you won't get through much of the next day before it requires a top-up.

It's worth noting here, that like the other iPhone 12 models, the iPhone 12 mini only comes with a Lightning-to-USB cable in the box. There is no wall plug in the box and there are no headphones either. The MagSafe charger we mentioned earlier in this review is sold separately - allowing 15W wireless charging - and the iPhone 12 mini is compatible with any Qi wireless charger too.

It also has fast-charging on board - with a 20W adapter (yes, sold separately) - offering up to 50 per cent charge in 30 minutes. This isn't as fast as some rivals, with manufacturers like like Xiaomi and Oppo now offering 80W or even 120W for example, but it will give you enough juice to see you through the day without having to wait too long.

• Launched on iOS 14
• Upgradeable to iOS 15

The Apple iPhone 12 mini launched on iOS 14, like the rest of the iPhone 12 range. And with iPhones being iPhones, and it now being a good while since it first launched, you can now update the software to the latest version of iOS 15. 

Of course, the software is available on all iPhones from the iPhone 7 so most features aren't exclusive to the iPhone 12 series. 

That makes it familiar for those upgrading (but with the beauty of the bigger display if upgrading from Touch ID models), and relatively simple - although a more closed system - for those moving from Android .

You can read more about iOS 15 and all its features in our separate feature . 

The smallest of the iPhone 12 range, but the mini is a fantastic little device that shouldn't be underestimated. Its lightweight and compact design, stunning display, great cameras, and smooth performance are all big plusses. Its battery life isn't amazing and the lack of telephoto lens does mean you can't zoom in when taking photos without losing quality, but they are really the only things we can complain about.

• Cell Phone Reviews
• You are here

Apple iPhone 12 mini review: min-maxing it the Apple way

• iPhone 12 review
• iPhone 12 Pro review
• iPhone 12 Pro Max review
• iPhone 12 release date, price, features and news

iPhone 12: which phone to buy?

iPhone 12 mini alternatives:

• Samsung Galaxy S20 : $1,000
• Google Pixel 5 : $700
• iPhone SE: $400
• Sony Xperia 5 II : $950

5.18 x 2.53 x 0.29 inches

131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4 mm

4.76 oz (135 g)

5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches

138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm

5.22 oz (148 g)

5.7 x 2.77 x 0.31 inches

144.7 x 70.4 x 8 mm

5.33 oz (151 g)

6.22 x 2.68 x 0.31 inches

158 x 68 x 8 mm

5.75 oz (163 g)

iPhone 12 mini design: same, but small

• Screen measurements
• Color charts
• Color gamut
• Color accuracy
• Grayscale accuracy
• Apple iPhone 12 mini
• Apple iPhone SE(2020)
• Google Pixel 5
• Samsung Galaxy S20
• Sony Xperia 5 II

• Apple iPhone SE (2020)

iPhone 12 mini camera

• How to take Night Mode selfies on iPhone 12/Pro
• How to measure a person's height with iPhone 12 Pro
• How to record Dolby Vision HDR video on iPhone 12/Pro
• How to shoot Night mode Portrait with the iPhone 12 Pro/Max

iPhone 12 mini speaker quality

Iphone 12 mini software.

iPhone 12 mini 5G

iPhone 12 mini performance

• GFXBench Car Chase on-screen
• GFXBench Manhattan 3.1 on-screen
• Geekbench 5 Single
• Geekbench 5 Multi
• Jetstream 2

iPhone 12 mini battery life

• Browsing test 60Hz
• Video Streaming
• 3D Gaming 60Hz
• Full Charge
• Endurance Rating
• in 15 minutes -- 15% charge
• in 30 minutes -- 43%
• in 45 minutes -- 64%
• in 1 hour -- 77%
• 100% FULL CHARGE in 1 hour and 50 minutes

More iPhone 12 comparisons

• Apple iPhone 12 Pro/Max vs iPhone 11 Pro/Max
• Apple iPhone 12 mini vs iPhone SE (2020)
• Apple iPhone 12 vs Pixel 5
• Apple iPhone 12 vs Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
• iPhone 12 vs iPhone 12 Pro
• Apple iPhone 12 Pro/Max vs iPhone XS/Max
• Tiny, cute, pocketable, comfortable
• Same great display as all iPhone 12 series
• Same great camera as iPhone 12
• MagSafe is cool and has potential
• Fast performance, lots of headroom
• The camera module looks a bit goofy on a mini phone
• No charger, no headphones in the box
• Battery can drain fast
• 64 GB starting storage is OK, but feels a bit stingy
• 60 Hz refresh rate

PhoneArena Rating:

User rating:.

Recommended Stories

Enjoy the hottest mobile tech storylines, delivered straight to your inbox.

Things that are NOT allowed:

• Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
• Trolling - see a description
• Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
• Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
• Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
• Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned

Popular stories

Latest News

Related Content

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

iPhone 12 mini review: the king of small phones

Mini phone crams most of iPhone 12 into small body but screen may be too small for many

Apple’s latest smartphone range has a surprise entry in the form of the iPhone 12 mini, which is a genuinely smaller phone with very few compromises.

The phone costs from £699 and is the cheapest of Apple’s new smartphone line sitting below the £799 iPhone 12 , the £999 12 Pro and the £1,099 12 Pro Max.

The iPhone 12 mini looks exactly the same as the iPhone 12, only hit with a shrink ray. It looks just as fresh and sharp as its larger sibling, with aluminium sides, a glass back and a new “ceramic shield” covering for the screen that Apple says is four times more drop-resistant.

The modern OLED screen measures 5.4in on the diagonal, which makes it significantly smaller than the 6.1in display on the regular 12 but no less crisp, colourful and brilliant. The screen is the same width as the older 4.7in LCD display on the iPhone SE but is 1.6mm taller to the Face ID notch.

There are many benefits to having a small phone, including being a lot easier to use it one-handed and fit in pockets, but there are also some downsides. It was too small to fit in my car windscreen mount, for instance, and the narrow screen meant my thumbs clashed frequently when typing at speed with two hands.

But the biggest problem is simply the amount of screen area to see things. Trying to review some documents on the 12 mini was a painful mess of zooming, scrolling and eventually giving up to go a bigger device. Watching video was also a bit tedious, meaning I would start but not actually watch an episode all the way through – not something I have experienced with modern 6in-plus smartphones.

I ended up doing less on the iPhone 12 mini because of its small size, which could be a good thing if you spend too much time on a phone, but it just meant I needed other devices to get whatever it was done.

Specifications

Screen: 5.4in Super Retina XDR (OLED) (476ppi)

Processor: Apple A14 Bionic

Storage: 64, 128 or 256GB

Operating system: iOS 14.2

Camera: dual 12MP rear cameras with OIS, 12MP front-facing camera

Connectivity: LTE, wifi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5, Lightning, ultra wideband and location

Water resistance: IP68 (6 metres for 30 mins)

Dimensions: 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4mm

Weight: 133g

Top performance, slightly shorter battery life

The iPhone 12 mini has the same A14 Bionic processor and 4GB of RAM as the iPhone 12 and iPad Air , and so has the same class-leading performance, as well as 5G – you are not sacrificing speed or power for the small size.

One of the compromises of the small size is battery life. The phone lasts a solid 37 hours between charges but with the screen on for only four hours in that time, compared with the 40 hours between charges with well over six hours of screen-on time for the normal-sized iPhone 12 .

That still means the iPhone 12 mini will make it from the morning of day one until the evening of day two, spending two hours on 5G in that time, watching an hour of video, shooting 10 photos and playing five hours of Spotify via Bluetooth headphones. Shooting video or playing a graphically intensive game will significantly reduce that time.

It takes 25 minutes to charge the battery to 50% but about 100 minutes for a full charge using a £19 Apple 20W USB-C charger – no power adapter is included in the box, only a USB-C to Lightning cable. Fully charging using Apple’s new MagSafe wireless charger takes more than three hours connected to the same 20W USB-C charger.

Sustainability

Apple does not provide an expected lifespan for the iPhone 12 mini’s battery but it can be replaced for £69 , while iOS also has a battery optimisation feature that prolongs its lifespan by stopping the battery sitting at 100% charge for a prolonged period. The smartphone is generally repairable with an out-of-warranty service costing £376.44 , which includes the screen. It was awarded six out of 10 for repairability by the specialist iFixit.

The iPhone 12 mini uses 100% recycled tin in the solder of its main board, 99% recycled tungsten, 98% recycled rare earth elements and at least 35% recycled plastic in multiple other components. Apple is also using renewable energy for the final assembly of the machine and breaks down the phone’s environmental impact in its report.

Apple also offers trade-in and free recycling schemes, including for non-Apple products. The iPhone 12 mini does not ship with headphones or a power adaptor, only a USB-C to Lightning cable, reducing its carbon footprint.

The iPhone 12 mini ships with iOS 14.2, which runs on all Apple’s smartphones from the iPhone 6S from 2015 and newer . It operates exactly the same as the iPhone 12 including widgets on the home screen, the App Library, new privacy tools and the Apple Translate app.

For more please see the iOS 14 overview and iPhone 12 review .

The iPhone 12 mini has the same dual 12-megapixel camera on the rear and a 12-megapixel selfie camera on the front similar as the iPhone 12 and it performs exactly the same.

Briefly, the main wide camera captures some excellent photos with improved detail and low-light performance over last year’s models. The ultrawide camera is also good and fun to use but the lack of a telephoto camera for optical zoom is disappointing. Night mode can also be used on all the cameras.

Video capture is top-notch, including the addition of Dolby Vision HDR recording in 4K, if you fancy shooting something more than home movies.

For more, please see the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro reviews.

Observations

The iPhone 12 mini is restricted to 12W wireless charging, not the 15W that the other iPhone 12 models are capable of with the MagSafe charger.

The cheapest model comes with only 64GB of storage (compared with 128GB for most competitors), which won’t be enough if you shoot lots of photos or videos, play lots of games or download lots of movies or music.

The iPhone 12 mini costs £699 for 64GB, £749 for 128GB or £849 for 256GB of storage.

For comparison, the iPhone 12 costs £799 , the iPhone 12 Pro costs £999 , the iPhone 12 Pro Max costs from £1,099 and the iPhone SE costs £399 . The Samsung Galaxy S20 costs £899 , the Google Pixel 5 costs £599 and the OnePlus 8T costs £549 .

The iPhone 12 mini stands alone as not only one of very few small phones but the very best of small phones.

Apple has managed to cram all of what was fantastic about the iPhone 12 into a genuinely small frame. That includes flagship performance, an excellent camera, 5G and fresh design, but slightly weaker battery life.

While the 5.4in screen is excellent, it is small and cramped by modern standards; if you are looking to upgrade from an iPhone 6-style phone it is very similar in size. The iPhone SE is a similar size, therefore, but its design, technology and features are far behind the 12 mini.

I strongly urge anyone considering the iPhone 12 mini to think about whether it really has all the screen they need for everything they do on a phone in 2020. But if it does, then the iPhone 12 mini is wholly unrivalled as the king of small phones.

Pros: small and easy to hold, improved camera, night mode, water-resistant, wireless charging, MagSafe, Face ID, solid battery life, great performance, great screen, more durable, 5G, long software support. Cons: no USB-C, need your own charger, no telephoto camera, base model only 64GB storage, screen may be too small for many.

Other reviews

iPhone 12 review: Apple’s best since the iPhone X

iPhone 12 Pro review: not quite worth the extra cost

iPhone SE review: Apple’s cut-price smartphone king

Pixel 5 review: Google gets back to basics

OnePlus 8T review: slick phone fully charges in just 37 minutes

Fairphone 3+ review: ethical smartphone gets camera upgrades

• Mobile phones
• Smartphones

Most viewed

Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

iPhone 12 mini Review

A mini marvel

If you’re looking for a slightly older iPhone and think picking up the 12 mini will save you extra cash, you’re looking at it wrong. You shouldn’t buy this iPhone because it’s cheaper, you should buy it if you’ve been hankering for a smaller phone and are happy with the sacrifices that come with it. For most people, I still think the regular iPhone is the best buy, regardless of whether it’s a 12, 13 or 14.

• Great to see phones this size make a return
• No feature sacrifices for the smaller display
• Great camera with excellent video
• Lovely new design
• Battery life is notably worse than other iPhone 12 models
• Notch seems more irritating on the smaller screen
• You’ll want to buy a charger separately

Availability

• UK RRP: £699
• USA RRP: $699
• Europe RRP: €778
• Canada RRP: CA$979

Key Features

• Great performance The A14 Bionic can still keep up with the Android competition over two years later
• Portable dimensions The iPhone 12 mini is one of the most pocket-friendly smartphones on the market
• Excellent camera performance The iPhone 12 mini produces some great snaps in most conditions

If you’re tired of big phones and big price tags but don’t want to sacrifice camera quality and high-end performance, the iPhone 12 mini remains an instant recommendation two years after launch.

Unlike Apple’s other smaller, cheaper phone the iPhone SE , the iPhone 12 mini doesn’t really sacrifice much to achieve its miniature footprint. It has the same camera setup, same A14 Bionic chipset and same support for 5G as the full-fat iPhone 12.

It also has the same overall design as most recent iPhones, featuring iPhone 5-like edges and a nice selection of muted colours.

There is also the slightly newer iPhone 13 mini if you want a boost in performance, but Apple has since moved away from the compact form factor in favour of the iPhone 14 Plus , so your options are limited.

• Impressively small dimensions
• Easy to use one-handed
• MagSafe charging system

The iPhone 12 mini is really that – a miniature iPhone 12. It’s far smaller than I was expecting and it’s dwarfed by even small Android competitors like the Asus ZenFone 9 , which is among the smallest new Android phones around. I can wrap my whole hand around its aluminium body and comfortably reach the top with my thumb, something that’s not even possible on the still comparably small iPhone 12 .

It’s really quite something, especially when you consider Apple has managed to bring across all the major features – both hardware and software – from the larger models. This is rare, with smaller devices usually sacrificing most of what makes their larger siblings special.

In terms of overall design, the mini is the same as the 6.1-inch iPhone 12. It has shiny glass on the back that picks up lots of fingerprints, especially in this dark blue colour, and matte aluminium rails around the sides. It’s a very flat device and will feel familiar to anyone who used the iPhone 4 or 5, or even recent models of iPad , iPad mini , iPad Air and iPad Pro . The flat edges help it sit comfortably in your palm and it’s so incredibly light at 135g that’s it refreshing.

I can easily wrap my hand around the iPhone 12 mini

Related: Best iPhone

I delve into the new Ceramic Shield front in our iPhone 12 review , but basically, this is an upgraded glass covering over the display that has been developed to better withstand drops. It won’t necessarily help avoid scratches and it won’t replace a screen protector, but it should give your phone more chance of surviving a drop.

Being smaller, I actually found the iPhone 12 mini far more durable feeling that the larger phones, especially the Pro Max. Whereas the Pro Max felt like it can (and likely would) slip out of my hand at any time, the smaller dimensions do the opposite. There’s an IP68 water resistance rating here too, adding that extra peace of mind.

All the iPhone 12 sizes

Multiple colours are available and they’re all slightly more muted than the iPhone 11. I’ve been using the blue, which is nice around the rails but a little less so on the lighter back. My pick is green, which is a lovely pastel shade that pops and does a good job of reducing fingerprints. There’s also black, white and a vivid red.

A notable new addition for the iPhone 12 range is MagSafe , a new accessory ecosystem that works with a number of magnets built into the back of the phone. There are official MagSafe cases (which honestly seem to make zero use of the magnets), a clever wireless charger and a card sleeve, though there are plenty of third-party accessories that also make use of the magnetic tech.

The back is super glossy and reflective

• 5.4-inch OLED display
• Dolby Vision and HLG HDR support
• Capped at 60Hz

In terms of tech and overall screen quality, the iPhone 12 mini packs the same goodies as the larger models. The panel is OLED for perfect blacks and high levels of contrast, it has a much sharper resolution when compared to the iPhone 11 and supports both Dolby Vision and HLG HDR formats. 

Outside of this, it misses out on a faster 90 or 120Hz refresh rate – a common feature of even budget Android phones – and a noticeable notch remains. I actually found the notch far more distracting here than on the other iPhone 12 models so beware of this if you’re not a huge fan of the cutout.

A faster refresh rate would, of course, have been nice. The benefit it gives to smoother scrolling and more responsive gaming is hard to pass up on Android, but on iOS the animations are smooth enough for it not to be a huge issue.

Apple does offer a 120Hz refresh on certain Pro models of iPhone, including the newer iPhone 13 Pro and 14 Pro, but it’s not something that has trickled down to the standard models. 

You’re probably most interested in the size of the display, and at 5.4-inches it (along with the 13 mini) is the smallest in Apple’s lineup. And unlike the iPhone SE, the screen stretches right out to the edges so there’s very little wasted space.

iPhone 4s (L) and iPhone 12 mini (R)

While it’s small in comparison to other iPhones and just about every Android phone on the market, it’s only marginally smaller than the screen on one of the older ‘Plus’ sized iPhones that all had 5.5-inch panels. And they were massive.

Still, having a smaller panel does change how you use a phone. I use the mini far less for watching videos and reading, switching to an iPad for that instead. This phone is more focussed on the phone basics – messaging, emails and the odd social media scroll. It’s a similar story for games: basic ones are fine, but the more intensive ones feel a little cramped here. That’s not so much a dig at the phone, but small screens in general.

Phone habits have changed as screens have grown and if your phone is the hub to all manner of entertainment services then you might feel restricted here. If you just want a great phone that’ll fit in most pockets and small bags then it works great.

Performance

• Same performance as the iPhone 12 Pro Max
• 5G connectivity
• 64GB of storage at entry-level

You have to hand it to Apple for its commitment to bringing the same performance to the entire iPhone 12 line.

Even though it originally shipped at half the price of some iPhone 12 Pro Max models, it comes with the same highly efficient A14 Bionic chipset that comfortably handles any task you throw at it with ease. While it’s a lot more technically advanced, you’re likely not going to notice any huge ‘wow’ moment if you’re coming from an iPhone from the past few years. These phones have been fast for a while and this is no different.

I ran a few synthetic benchmarks on the iPhone 12 mini and it falls in line with the other models in the iPhone 12 range. In Geekbench it scored 1592 in single-core and 4118 in the multi-core variant.

It has been usurped by the newer iPhone 13 mini and its A15 Bionic chipset, but the gains aren’t noticeable in everyday use. 

5G made its debut on an iPhone with the iPhone 12 range. As with the chipset improvements, 5G feels more like a ‘nice to have’ rather than something that’ll change the way you use the phone – especially as it’s still very much in its infancy.

If you’re in a 5G area, on a 5G supported network and have the right plan then you can get far quicker downloads.

One thing I did notice after moving from the regular iPhone 12 to the mini is the speaker is notably weaker here, probably not too much of a surprise given the difference in size. It still sounds fine, but it is certainly lacking some of the oomph I noticed on the bigger phones.

Related: Best phone

iOS 14 came preinstalled, but that has since been upgraded to iOS 15 and, more recently, iOS 16. Expect plenty more updates too, as Apple tends to support devices for years and years.

The base model comes with 64GB storage which does feel a bit light. I would recommend paying extra and bumping that to 128GB.

• Identical camera setup to iPhone 12
• Capable in most conditions
• Gains in low-light photography

As quickly became the theme with the 12 mini, the camera is identical to that on the 6.1-inch iPhone 12. No sacrifices were made to meet the smaller size and during my time shooting with it, I didn’t pick up on any differences. That’s great news, as this is easily the best camera in a phone of this size.

The main 12-megapixel sensor has a faster (when compared to the iPhone 11) f/1.6 7 element lens and it’s paired with a 12MP ultrawide camera. If you want telephoto, along with the perks of the LiDAR sensor, there’s the iPhone 12 Pro or the Max (as well as newer Pro models of iPhone). Though I would assume if you’re taking the mini seriously you would have little interest in Apple’s biggest phone.

As I said in the camera portion of our iPhone 12 review, there’s not a huge jump in quality here over the iPhone 11. I doubt too many people are upgrading from that, unless the small phone is simply a must, and if you’re coming from something like the iPhone 6, 7 or 8 then you’ll notice huge strides. I’d also say the difference is obvious when compared to iPhone X and XS, both of which I felt lacked the lovely colour range achieved here.

Apple has really nailed making a phone that reliably takes excellent phones, regardless of environment, and without much effort. Even more so than a Pixel, I find pretty much every shot from the iPhone 12 mini is usable, with Apple’s large amount of computational tech working some magic in the background.

The combination of Smart HDR 3 and Deep Fusion inside the camera app do a fantastic job at levelling out colours and dynamic range. This all happens live too, so what you’re seeing in the viewfinder is what you’ll get at the end. The iPhone 12 mini also uses Night Mode and Deep Fusion across both sensors, so you have more versatility at night to boot.

This, along with the slightly faster f/1.6 lens, aids low-light photography. This is the area you’ll notice most of the improvements. More detail is retained and you get a brighter image, even if you’re not using the multi-exposure Night Mode.

The ultrawide camera is nice to have and it adds a bit more scope to get creative. The snaps aren’t quite at the same quality as the main camera, especially in worse conditions, but I do appreciate having it.

On the front, the camera is the same as before. It’s a 12MP sensor, with an f/2.2 aperture and it’s used mainly for the Face ID unlocking system. Selfies are fine, but they can look a little washed out when compared to the overtly contrasty look you’ll get from many Android alternatives, as well as more recent models of iPhone.

Completing the camera package is the video capabilities. The iPhone has long been king when it comes to smartphone videography and that’s once again the case here. The big feature is HDR recording in a form of Dolby Vision. When viewing on your iPhone display it looks ace, with far better dynamic range and a real pop of cinematic colour. While compatibility problems with third-party apps were initially an issue, most have since been updated to support and display HDR content. 

Related: Best camera phone

Battery life

• Middling battery life
• Can just about make it through a day
• No charger in the box

The one real issue I have with the iPhone 12 mini is that the battery life falls comfortably below what I got on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. That’s probably to be expected with a smaller device with a smaller battery, but it still hampers the experience.

The battery life isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just nowhere near as good as what I know iPhones are capable of. For instance, I found the iPhone 12 mini had roughly 15-20% less battery at the end of the day when compared to an iPhone 12, and more recent models of iPhone extend that battery life even further.

You can still make it through the day, especially if you’re not pushing the media and gaming capabilities quite so much, but you might be checking that battery indicator far more than you’d want to if it’s a heavy day.

There’s no charger in the box with the iPhone 12 mini and even if you have an old wall plug from an iPhone 7 or 8 you’ll probably want to invest in something faster, like Apple’s £19/$19 20w plug. Combine this with the included USB-C to Lightning and you’ll get a 50% in roughly 30 minutes.

There’s also the wireless option. You can use any old Qi charger here or pick up Apple’s MagSafe charger for faster speeds. While the other iPhone 12 models can charge at 15w with MagSafe, with the mini, it maxes out at 12w. You won’t notice much difference though as the battery here is smaller, and it takes about double the length of time to reach 50% when compared to wired charging.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for an older iPhone and think picking up the mini version just to save extra cash then I think you’re looking at it wrong. You shouldn’t buy this iPhone because it’s cheap, you should buy it if you’ve been hankering for a smaller phone and are happy with the sacrifices that come with it. For most people, I still think the regular 6.1-inch iPhone is the best buy.

For the right person though, the iPhone 12 mini will be the phone they’ve been waiting for. Aside from battery life and screen size, you don’t lose anything here. It has the same chipset, same 5G and takes the same pictures as the bigger iPhone 12.

That means it comes with the same issues too: no charger in the box, no faster refresh rate display and the same notch that’s been intruding itself since the iPhone X.

With all that being said, the iPhone 12 mini is a strong device that will meet the specific needs of people who have felt left out by the rising size of iPhones. It’s just a shame that Apple stepped back from producing mini iPhones after the iPhone 13 mini. 

You might like…

iPhone 12 Review

iPhone 12 Pro Review

iPhone 12 Pro Max Review

Specifications.

Max is the Editor of Trusted Reviews, and has been a mobile phone and technology specialist for over nine years. Max started his career at T3 straight after graduating from Kingston University. Max ha…

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

Editorial independence

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

Professional conduct

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the best of Trusted Reviews delivered right to your inbox.

Apple iPhone 12 Mini review

Small and powerful, the apple iphone 12 mini is a top-tier compact flagship.

Digital Camera World Verdict

The iPhone 12 mini is one of the only options for anyone looking for a compact flagship-grade smartphone. It delivers arguably the best camera at $729 / £699, and sports an excellent screen, rich design and plenty of power. Where it drops the ball is battery life. For light to moderate users, it will get you through a day, but if you’re hooked on your handset, you’ll struggle to hit a full day.

Excellent camera quality

Premium, fun design

Powerful internals

Poor battery life

No telephoto camera

No RAW photography

Why you can trust Digital Camera World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out how we test.

The iPhone 12 Mini is a novel smartphone. Apple ’s become well known for launching hefty, high-end, high-quality devices at high-cost prices in recent years, but 2020 saw the Cupertino tech giant buck the trend with the compact, affordable iPhone SE (2020) . Compact and affordable, it also came with compromise, especially in the camera department. Now it’s 2021 and Apple’s finally released a true compact flagship in the 12 Mini that costs under $750 / £800 – arguably making it a contender for the best budget camera phone .

With its 5.4-inch display, the mini’s name is justified. In the Android world, the Google Pixel 5 and Sony Xperia 5 II are two of the closest size matching flagships, and even they clock in at 6 inches and 6.5 inches respectively.  

Thanks to cameras lifted straight from the iPhone 12 including a wide and ultrawide camera, the mini’s compact set-up is versatile enough, even without a telephoto module. Meanwhile, internals include an Apple A14 Bionic hexa-core chipset powering everything along, fancy, fun design, and a killer screen. 

With a paltry 2227mAh battery, while we can’t argue with most of its specs, its power capacity is more questionable than any other flagship powered device on the market. With a seed of doubt in place, can the iPhone 12 Mini go all the way, or should you stump up for the iPhone 12 and its healthier battery capacity? 

iPhone 12 Mini: Design and screen

Combining a 5.4-inch screen size and 1080x2340 resolution, complete with flagship-grade Super Retina XDR OLED technology, the iPhone Mini is a perfect example of screen tech done right. There’s a hefty cutout at the top for all the selfie camera smarts, enabling Face ID, and its size won’t suit those in need of the most immersive big-screen experience. If small is your goal though, rest assured, the quality is here. 

Measuring 7.4mm thin, the entire iPhone 12 line is slender. Its stylized, machined design makes it feel chunkier than its specs suggest though. There are no smooth tapers or curved backs, it’s flat glass, flat sides, with the only softness coming from the rounded corners. 

Available in Black, Blue, Green, White and special edition (Product) Red, the iPhone 12 Mini's slightly muted colors look fun, and ultimately, its styling gets a big thumbs up from us. Design highlights include scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass on the front and back, an aluminum frame, IP68 dust, and water resistance, and a classically Apple, easy on the eye uniform bezel around the sides and bottom of the screen. 

• See also Best iPhone microphones

iPhone 12 Mini: cameras

The iPhone 12 Mini's main camera module features a 12 MP sensor with 1.4µm pixels, combined with an f/1.6, 26mm lens, dual pixel PDAF and OIS. Its secondary camera is also 12 MP, featuring an f/2.4, 13mm ultra-wide lens. With a front camera also sporting 12 MP resolution, matched with f/2.2, 23mm (wide) optics, like Google, Apple’s been consistent with its pixel-count for generations, untempted to climb to the sky-high resolutions offered by, say, the 108MP   Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra .

With video capture across the front and rear cameras at up to 4K resolution, the iPhone 12 Mini can also capture Dolby Vision HDR footage from the rear camera which is impressive. 

While the hardware’s clearly capable, it’s a shame Apple’s done a Canon and curtailed things software-side. Unlike the Pro line, the iPhone 12 Mini can’t capture RAW photos. Additionally, you won’t be able to shoot in manual mode out of the box, a staple on most Android phones. Instead, enthusiast photographers will need to install a third-party app. Still, you do get the iPhone’s high-quality portrait mode, time-lapse, slow-mo and pano, for panoramic photos. 

iPhone 12 Mini: camera performance

With the same primary camera as an iPhone 12 Pro, picture quality from the 12 mini impresses. Expect vibrant colors with excellent detail optimized beautifully for the Super Retina XDR OLED display. It’s quick to focus, delivers a natural look with a healthy amount of zing added for good measure, and dynamic range is amongst the most impressive of any smartphone line. 

With no optical zoom, the wide camera will give you respectable digital crops to about three times if sharing to social media, but if you’re planning on printing your photos, we’d keep things at the native focal length. 

Night Mode fires up automatically and continues to impress - with the addition of it to Portrait Mode being well received. The best results come from the standard lens (and its larger sensor). If you hold off switching to the ultra-wide in low light, therefore, you shouldn’t be anything but impressed.

With many Android phones, such as the Huawei Mate 40 Pro including ultra-wide cameras with autofocus and macro capabilities, the iPhone 12 Mini’s more basic ultra-wide is getting a bit long in the tooth. But with a 13mm field of view, it does get more in frame than most of the competition. 

Video recording has long-been impressive from the iPhone series for generations, and Apple’s inclusion of HDR Dolby Video gives already steady, rich video a boost. This is supported at up to 30fps, though the mini shoots at up to 4K, 60fps with the feature turned off, and in bright scenes, footage can look breathtaking. In dim environments, the iPhone fares better than most, but that’s when you’ll be reminded you’re shooting on a smartphone, not a pro camera. 

iPhone 12 Mini: additional specs

Powered by an Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm) Hexa-core chipset paired with 4GB RAM, the iPhone 12 mini flies through 3D games, daily tasks, Lightroom edits, and anything else you throw at it. With the latest version of iOS, 14.4, Apple adds some elements we’ve seen before with new ones, including an auto-sorted selection of apps to help you stay organized. App support is naturally excellent, and if you’re coming from an iPhone, the learning curve will be non-existent. 

With 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB storage, we’re delighted to see Apple’s ditched 32GB options. That said, with no microSD card expansion, in true Apple style, anyone who plans on shooting a lot of content should stump up for the 128GB option at least.

As expected, the iPhone 12 Pro’s small 2227mAh battery did challenge us. With intensive use, it made it to the late afternoon, so if you anticipate 5G fired up, WhatsApp alerts pinging away, a bit of gaming, hot-spotting, and Disney+ watching on a busy, email-heavy, Spotify listening day, expect to struggle to make it past 6 PM with battery left in the tank. Moderate to light users, however, shouldn’t have any issues. 

There’s no charger in the box, so that’s also a point to consider, and the iPhone 12 Pro charges at up to 20W wired, delivering 50 percent in 30 minutes, and 12W wireless.

iPhone 12 Mini: verdict

Despite questionable battery life, at its price, the iPhone 12 Mini is a great option for anyone after a nifty, small, point-and-shoot camera phone with best-in-class image quality. Everything from its design, screen, and power scream flagship, and the fact it can be had in some fun, zingy colors is a boon. While the lack of RAW shooting and telephoto camera may put off some (who can happily opt for an iPhone 12 Pro if they can justify the price hike), if you’re looking for the mightiest, tiniest smartphone on the scene, and one of the best camera phones of 2021 , then the iPhone 12 Mini is it. 

Read more Best iPhone for photography  in 2021 Best camera phone  in 2021 Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max review Apple iPhone 12 Pro review The best TikTok lights Best camera for TikTok

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Basil Kronfli is a freelance technology journalist, consultant, and content creator. He trained in graphic design and started his career at Canon Europe before moving into journalism. Basil is also experienced in video production, independently running the YouTube channel TechEdit, and during his time at Future, he worked alongside the Digital Camera World team as a senior video producer. 

Article updated on September 24, 2021 at 2:15 AM PDT

iPhone 12 review: In 2021, it's still an excellent buy

5G support, a new striking design, improved cameras and four models all add up to make the iPhone 12 an absolute unit.

Our Experts

• Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.

CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.

• New square-sided design
• 5G support for both sub-6 and mmWave
• Low-light photos and videos
• MagSafe everything
• $829 off-carrier price is high for the 12
• Baseline 12 only has 64GB of storage

iPhone 12 Pro

• Premium fit and finish
• Fantastic autofocus for photos and videos
• Solid build quality
• Fastest phone we've ever tested
• iPhone 12 offers most of the same features, design and build for less money

Update, Sept. 24, 2021 : Apple announced the iPhone 13 series  earlier this month. The new phones follow in the footsteps of the iPhone 12 series with four models: the iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max . Last year's iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max have been discontinued, but the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini hang around at a lower price. That means you can get an iPhone 12 Mini with 64GB of memory for $629, which is $100 less than its original price and the cost of the new iPhone 13 Mini with 128GB of storage. The iPhone 12 with 64GB starts at $729, which is $100 less than the 128GB iPhone 13. Those prices don't include carrier discounts.  My review of the iPhone 12 from Oct. 20, 2020, follows.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro mark the beginning of a new generation of iPhone. Support for 5G , a new hardware design and camera improvements are a significant step away from the iPhone X generation of devices. This is nothing new. Apple did something similar in 2010 with the iPhone 4 and in 2014 when it released the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus . 

There is one big difference with the iPhone 12 generation , though. It's the first time there are four new iPhones at once : the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini , iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max . If you want to go small and reap the benefits of a lower price there's the Mini. If you want the biggest iPhone with the newest in iPhone cameras, get the Pro Max. But that leaves the 12 and 12 Pro which are similar (like basically-the-same-phone similar). That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Read more:  iPhone 12 drop test results are in: Ceramic shield is as tough as it sounds

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are the same size. They both have the same design, the same display, the same insanely fast A14 Bionic chip, the same 5G support , the same selfie, wide and ultrawide cameras. Heck, they both come in blue. (Technically, the 12 Pro is Pacific blue.) This is a departure from the base and pro models from the previous year. The $699 iPhone 11 and $999 iPhone 11 Pro were similar but had enough differences to distinguish themselves from each other.

Read more:  The best phone to buy for 2021

The $829 iPhone 12 (or $799 if you activate it on a carrier when you buy it) is $130 more than the iPhone 11 when it was released. An iPhone 12 with 128GB of storage (the same as the baseline 12 Pro) costs $879 (sans carrier discount) which is only $120 less than the $999 iPhone 12 Pro. It's best to think of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro as "better" and "best" versions of the same phone. Here's how to buy each iPhone 12 model .

Prices start in the UK at £799 for the iPhone 12 and £999 for the 12 Pro. In Australia they start at AU$1,349 for the 12 and AU$1,699 for the 12 Pro. See the chart at the bottom for a full pricing breakdown.

iPhone 12 vs. 12 Pro vs. iPhone 11

Now there are many people who will just get the iPhone 12 because it doesn't cost a thousand dollars and it's a great phone. Which it is. And there are many people who will get the iPhone 12 Pro because it is more premium. Which it is. Either way, you're getting an amazing phone with the best overall camera system you can find.

During my time with both phones, I found myself picking the 12 Pro more. Not because it had a telephoto camera or lidar, which the 12 lacks: I preferred the matte textured back, the shiny stainless steel band around the sides and the fact that the 12 Pro, despite weighing nearly an ounce (25 grams) more, felt solid and premium in my hand.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have the same 5G support

It's brilliant that both the 12 and 12 Pro can connect to sub-6 and mmWave 5G here in the US . One phone doesn't have better 5G support than the other. They are both the same.

I tested these phones in Greenville, South Carolina on both T-Mobile's 5G network and Verizon's Nationwide 5G (the non-mmWave version without the bonkers speeds). I was impressed with the coverage both carriers offered, but not always with the consistency of 5G speeds. Using the app SpeedTest, the iPhone 12 on T-Mobile recorded download speeds between 10.4 and 14.9 megabits per second, while the iPhone 12 Pro on Verizon clocked in between 97.9 and 104Mbps for downloads.

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 both offer the same support for 5G.

Speed tests aside, there isn't a killer app that can show off how 5G is pushing things forward . Right now, you'll see a lot of reviews showing you SpeedTest scores and how fast you can download season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon. That said, most iPhone owners tend to keep their phones for years. Even if you don't experience fast 5G speeds now, at least your phone will be able to handle them when they arrive down the line.

Connecting to 5G can tax your phone's battery life. Apple implemented a clever software feature called Smart Data mode, which balances data needs, speed and power. Smart Data looks at a number of factors to determine whether you need to use 5G. If you don't, your iPhone will switch to a 4G connection. Smart Data can even switch between different bands of 5G. You can override Smart Data and select to have 5G connectivity all the time. 

One cool thing about 5G on the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro was that it let me make HD FaceTime calls over cellular. More 5G things like that, please. 

Apple iPhone 12 Pro has a bold, striking no-frills look

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have an iPhone 5 design

One of the first things I noticed about the iPhone 12 is its "slabular" beauty. Apple's idea of premium differs from the flash and spectacle we see in flagship Android phones. Body colors don't appear to morph from one to another depending on the light. The screen doesn't wrap around the edges. In fact, the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro don't have curved edges at all.

Instead, a straight-edged polished stainless steel band defines the iPhone 12 Pro (it's matte aluminum on the 12), much in the way it did on the iPhone 5, 5S and SE, just without the chamfered edges. The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have a bold, striking look without any frills. The build and finish on the 12 Pro are extraordinary.

The squared-off edges of the iPhone 5 are back.

The iPhone 12 is also defined by a stunning OLED panel, which Apples calls a Super XDR display. Gone is the LCD found on the iPhone XR and 11. Besides the contrast and resolution, the squared-off sides seem to push the display up and forward. When the phone is on its back, it's as if the rest of the phone is holding up the display while trying not to be seen.

Both phone screens are covered with a ceramic shield, a new material that starts off as glass and is infused with nano-ceramic crystals. (After the infusion, it's no longer considered glass.) Apple claims it offers four times the protection when dropped. I'm not sure exactly how that number was calculated by Apple, but I look forward to my colleagues putting the 12 and 12 Pro through a series of drop tests. The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are both rated IP68 for water- and dust-resistance and can withstand being submerged in water to a depth of 6 meters for 30 minutes. In the time I had the phones, both handled spills, light rain and minimal submerging in water just fine.

iPhone 12 and 12 Pro capture excellent photos and videos

The cameras received hardware, software and processing upgrades. While other phones might have a standout camera feature (like the Galaxy S21 and  S20 Ultra's 100x Space Zoom ) that these iPhones lack, the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro can capture excellent photos and video and deliver consistently fantastic images. Here's a sample taken in a range of different environments and lighting.

Read more:  S21 Ultra vs. iPhone 12 Pro Max vs. Pixel 5: Which phone has the best night mode?

The iPhone 12 Pro nails the texture of the clouds and the highlights on the left side of the steeple.

This scene is a computational photography obstacle course. There's moving water, a cloudy sky, brick patterns in the background and red and pink flowers. And the iPhone 12 handles it all like a champ.

The amount of detail that the iPhone 12 Pro was able to capture in this photo is impressive.

The iPhone 12 was able to capture the texture of the light colored bricks and the shine of the black sign.

This scene really shows off the dynamic range of the iPhone 12.

The iPhone 12 has the exact same cameras as the iPhone 12 Pro, except for the telephoto camera and lidar. But these phones aren't just dependent on hardware to take good photos and videos. Apple's new A14 Bionic chip, along with software and machine learning, adds improvements to everything.

For example, the 12 and 12 Pro have the same hardware for their ultrawide-angle camera as 2019's 11 and 11 Pro. But the 12 and 12 Pro have software to correct the lens distortion. Take a look below at these ultrawide-angle photos of a brick wall. in the iPhone 11 photo, notice how the corners of the brick wall look like they're bending.

Timed selfie taken with the rear ultrawide-angle camera on the iPhone 12. Getting my Beastie Boys pose on.

Apple added software to reduce the distortion on the ultrawide-angle camera. Lucky the dramatic perspective remains unchanged in this photo taken with the iPhone 12.

The ultrawide-angle camera on the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro now has Night Mode support.

The main wide-angle camera on both phones has a faster lens that lets in more light. The new lens, combined with Smart HDR 3, yields truly amazing photos with accurate colors and solid dynamic range. Night Mode is now on the ultrawide and selfie cameras. I'm shocked at how good some Night Mode photos came out, even the selfie portraits I took! The telephoto camera on the 12 Pro is a huge step up in zoom compared to the iPhone 12. But there are a number of phones that offer much longer zooms with better results.

Without a lot of light, the iPhone 12 Pro was able to render this scene beautifully.

Despite being downtown with lots of light, the iPhone 12 Pro was even able to find some stars in the sky.

In terms of video, especially on the iPhone 12 Pro, the focus is fantastic and was able to track me even when I was shooting at night. And that's because of the lidar sensor . In fact, some of the clips in my review video were shot on the iPhone 12 Pro.

iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are the fastest phones

The cameras aren't the only thing that the A14 Bionic chip improves. It's fast, but it's hard to see the increased speed over the A13 chip, which is still peppy. The A14 chip is as much about power now as it is about future-proofing your phone so it can handle iOS 17 in a few years.

In performance benchmark tests, the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro recorded the highest scores of any phones we've ever tested. See the results below.

3DMark Slingshot Unlimited

Geekbench v.5.0 single-core, geekbench v.5.0 multicore.

In terms of battery life, I typically got through a day and the next morning OK. I was able to run a single battery test with looped video playing at half brightness in airplane mode. The iPhone 12 Pro lasted 15 hours, 56 minutes and the iPhone 12 lasted 17 hours, 14 minutes. I want more time to evaluate the battery life on the 12 and 12 Pro once I'm done reviewing the phones and we have more battery tests to run, so check back to this article for updates.

The phone comes with a USB-C to Lightning cable, which can offer super fast speeds. Apple no longer includes a pair of wired earbuds in the box or a power adapter , the idea being to minimize hazardous electronic waste. It's likely this won't be a problem for you as most people will already have a pair of earbuds and a wall charger to use.

Read more:   iPhone 12 takes us a step closer to Apple's portless future

iPhone 12 has perfectly flat sides and it's wonderful

But here's where that doesn't necessarily add up: Since 2012, all iPhones have come with a 5-watt charger USB-A power adapter, which isn't compatible with the included USB-C cable. Yes, if you already have an old Lightning cable you could use that, or you could buy a USB-C power adapter. Or you could try out Apple's new MagSafe wireless charging system , but the MagSafe charger (without a wall charger) is $39.

MagSafe uses magnets inside the phone and charger to nestle them into a position that is the most efficient for charging. I really enjoyed using MagSafe. The sound the phone and charger make when they connect is beyond satisfying. There's even an animation that pops up on screen showing that everything is properly connected. I tried out some MagSafe cases, which work well and allow for wireless charging through the case without losing power.

From left to right: MagSafe charger, MagSafe clear case on an iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and MagSafe detachable wallet.

The magnets can also connect to noncharging accessories like a detachable wallet, which you can use with or without a MagSafe phone case. This little business card-sized wallet won me over. I'm excited to see what Apple and third-party companies use MagSafe for.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are amazing phones, but we only have half the picture right now. There's also the iPhone 12 Mini (which I'm particularly excited about, given its size and price) and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which maxes out the size of the phone's display and offers camera improvements that none of the other iPhones 12 have. But that's just what we know based on the specs. We'll have to wait until November to see how they work out in reality.

iPhone 12 vs. 12 Pro vs. Mini vs. 12 Pro Max

First published Oct. 20.

Mobile Guides

• Best iPhone
• Best Galaxy S24 Deals
• Best iPhone Deals
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Review
• Best Android Phones
• Best Samsung Galaxy Phone
• Pixel 8 Pro Review
• iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max Review
• Best iPhone 15 Deals
• Best Foldable Phones
• Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review
• OnePlus Open Review
• Best Galaxy Z Flip Deals
• Best Wireless Earbuds
• Best Noise Canceling Headphones
• Best Headphones
• Best Over Ear Headphones
• Best Wireless Earbuds and Headphones for Making Calls
• Best Headphones for Work at Home
• Best Noise Canceling Wireless Earbuds
• Best Sounding Wireless Earbuds
• Best Cheap Wireless Earbuds
• Best Wireless Headphones
• Best iPhone 15 Cases
• Best iPhone 14 Cases
• Best Power Bank for iPhone
• Best Airpods Pro Accessories
• Best Magsafe iPhone Accessories
• Best Speakerphone
• Best Wireless Car Charger and Mount
• Best iPhone Fast Charger
• Best Portable Chargers and Power Banks for Android
• Apple Watch Series 8 vs Series 7
• Best Apple Watch Bands
• Best Android Smartwatch
• Apple Watch Ultra Review
• Best Smartwatch
• Best Prepaid Phone Plans
• Best Cheap Phone Plans
• Best Unlimited Data Plans
• Best Phone Plans
• Best Phone Plan Deals
• Best Senior Phone Plans
• Best Family Phone Plans
• Best Travel Phone Plans
• Best Verizon Plans

iPhone 12 mini long-term review: Living with Apple's smaller phone

Smaller is better

For years, smartphone makers have pushed for more — more power, more screen, and more cameras. To accommodate all that, our phones evolved into mammoths. Apple’s most affordable flagship, the iPhone 12 mini , defies that trend. 

There’s no way around it: the iPhone 12 mini is tiny. Not as tiny as the non-Pro iPhone 12 but just a hair taller than the 8-year-old iPhone 5 and almost half the weight of the latest iPhone 12 Pro Max . It’s truly a small phone, even by yesteryear’s standards. 

Yet, believe it or not, there are no major “buts.” The iPhone 12 mini shrinks the modern smartphone into a size that fits flagship hardware in the palm of your hand and even the smallest of pockets.  

The iPhone 12 mini is the first smartphone in ages that feels like it’s made to ergonomically adapt to you, instead of the other way around — expertise in finger acrobatics not required. It may end up being Apple’s worst-selling smartphone , but for people like me, who have been hanging onto their (sort of) compact phones for dear life, the iPhone 12 mini is probably the decade’s greatest smartphone. 

The iPhone 12 mini’s appeal is not simply its compact dimensions; it’s that it can do everything the regular iPhone 12 does in such a handy size. The rest of these phones’ specifications — except for the battery — are identical, which means your decision to buy the mini variant hinges solely on how strongly you detest large phones. 

Of course, bite-sized phones are rare, and since you’re still paying a premium for the iPhone 12 mini, there are a slate of genuine concerns: Do I have to live in battery life hell, are apps still optimized for small screens, or am I missing out on the latest and whizziest hardware? 

After spending more than a month with my personal iPhone 12 mini, I can finally answer these questions. Here’s what it’s like to live with the Apple iPhone 12 mini. 

Stay in the know with Laptop Mag

Get our in-depth reviews, helpful tips, great deals, and the biggest news stories delivered to your inbox.

What you should know before buying the iPhone 12 mini 

While I, along with many other people, have always felt more at home with small phones (like the Pixel 3, in my case), that might not be true about you. Giant devices succeeded for several reasons and they do offer a superior experience in some ways. 

Larger screens are better for watching movies, playing games, editing spreadsheets and more. Although the iPhone 12 mini comes equipped with a respectable 5.4-inch OLED display, it can’t match its bigger peers for any of these use cases. What does that translate to in real-life? I often found myself zooming in and out of documents and other text to find a comfortable view for reading. 

Plus, since the notch’s size remains the same, it seems a bit chunkier on the mini and the cramped keyboard can also take a while to get used to. 

There’s another important thing you should know. The few people I handed the iPhone 12 mini to nearly dropped it. There is a chance you may not like the iPhone 12 mini’s ergonomics if your fingers are naturally accustomed to a larger phone. 

iPhone 12 mini long-term battery review

Arguably, the most significant downside of stuffing high-end internals into a miniature body is that there’s not enough space left for the battery. The iPhone 12 mini’s 2227mAh battery is puny by today’s standards, especially compared to the iPhone 12’s 2815mAh or the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s 3687mAh cells, which still have battery life issues of their own . Real-life runtimes tell the same story. 

The iPhone 12 mini is no endurance champ, as expected. However, even on heavy use, it lasted a full day for me with a consistent screen-on time of over 4 hours. If I were careful about my consumption, its battery life can very well extend to a second day. 

For someone who games and streams videos, the iPhone 12 mini’s battery will not prove adequate, but for people who aren’t as active on their device, it won’t be a dealbreaker. On top of that, the iPhone 12 mini supports quick charging, you’ll need to buy an iPhone 12 charger separately of course, but with my 18W adapter I can top it up to 100% from 0% in about 75 minutes. 

One other perk the iPhone 12 mini loses due to its restricted size is 15W fast wireless charging. Instead, it maxes out at 12W, which might be sufficient for such a small battery, but it can’t match wired top-up speeds. 

A no-compromise app experience

Apps run fine on the iPhone 12 mini’s 5.4-inch screen. Given that models like the iPhone 7 are still some of the most popular iPhones, I’m not concerned about long-term developer support either. Apple is also said to be working on a successor, which should further allay the mini’s compatibility concerns. 

I knew about the iPhone 12 mini’s trade-offs and what I was signing up for when I bought it. It’s not the kind of phone that’s built for cinematic and immersive movie sessions, or for competitive Call of Duty: Mobile gameplay. It’s strictly for people who value a handy form factor above all else. 

How does the iPhone 12 mini fare as a regular flagship phone? 

Even if you’re not that person and are just tired of constantly stretching your fingers to reach the opposite side of your phone’s screen, the iPhone 12 mini does not disappoint. And it offers the premium experience you’d expect from a phone of its caliber and cost. 

The iPhone 12 mini’s most striking element is its sleek, iPhone 5-like design, which swaps curved edges for squared-off aluminum ones. The flat sides add to the mini’s already excellent grip by offering you more room to rest your fingers. While the rails are matte, the glass back has a glossy finish and is, therefore, a fingerprint magnet. You can opt for the lighter colour variants where the smudges aren’t as apparent as they are on the darker models. 

iPhone 12 mini long-term performance review

The iPhone 12 mini comes equipped with the usual trappings we’ve come to expect from an Apple flagship phone: a high-res screen that automatically tunes its colours based on the room’s light temperature, snappy performance, long-lasting software support, facial authentication, top-drawer haptics and 5G connectivity. 

For over a month, the iPhone 12 mini delivered handsomely in each of those areas. Despite its compact footprint, it handled everything from recording 4K HDR videos to producing music in the GarageBand app without getting too warm. The battery life, however, does take a dramatic hit if you click hundreds of pictures in one go or do any other resource-intensive task. Even the speakers are loud and clear enough to not constantly remind me of how small the phone is. 

The iPhone 12 mini has the same dual-camera system as the iPhone 12: a pair of 12-megapixel sensors on the back, one of which is an ultrawide shooter. Both of these cameras are capable of taking vibrant and detailed pictures in daylight as well as low-light situations. 

Apple’s HDR technology, which automatically balances the highlights and shadows in a high-contrast setting, has come a long way and can now go toe-to-toe with Google’s industry-leading Pixel series. My only pet peeve with this camera is its tendency to overexpose scenes, but that’s something Apple has chosen to do on all iPhones, and you can easily fix it in the edit. 

On top of that, the iPhone 12 mini offers excellent video-recording capabilities, and despite its cramped size, it effortlessly captured lengthy 4K videos without breaking a sweat. 

For a more in-depth look into the iPhone 12 Mini’s hardware, cameras, and performance, make sure to check out our iPhone 12 mini review . 

Should you buy the iPhone 12 mini over the iPhone 12? 

With the iPhone 12 mini, Apple has pulled off the seemingly impossible. It has made a truly compact flagship smartphone that doesn’t cut any major corners. Apart from the relatively subpar battery life, Apple does everything you’d expect a $729 phone to do . I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have reservations about the iPhone 12 mini’s performance, but after a month, the phone has successfully put them to rest. 

Whether you should buy the iPhone 12 mini over the regular iPhone 12 depends on your preferences and how comfortable you are with the evident downsides of owning a small phone. All I can say as an iPhone 12 mini user is that I’m looking forward to not performing finger gymnastics every time I want to read my notifications — at least for a few more years. 

Shubham Agarwal is a freelance technology journalist from Ahmedabad, India. His work has previously appeared in Business Insider, Fast Company, HuffPost, and more. You can reach out to him on  Twitter . 

iPhone's popular Pro model may be replaced by a new Slim version in 2025

Don't get hacked! Critical update for iPhone users before upgrading to iOS 17.5 (zero-day threats!)

3 new Android 15 features I can't wait to try

Most Popular

• 2 Testing the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED: A Father-Daughter Journey
• 3 I gave up on using the iPad Pro as a laptop and the Pro M4 won't win me back
• 4 Dumbphones in 2024: Social media trend or something more?
• 5 Google I/O 2024: How to watch and what to expect

iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini: What should you buy?

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini have a lot in common, but there are a few key differences

Stack the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini side by side, and you'll get quite a contrast to any iPhone 12 Pro vs. iPhone 12 Pro Max comparison. While there are a number of differences between Apple's now-discontinued iPhone 12 Pro models, an iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini face-off will lead you to conclude that the two phones are pretty much identical.

Oh, there are some obvious differences — the iPhone 12 is the bigger of the two, as the iPhone 12 mini's name would suggest. The iPhone 12 mini debuted at the lowest price of any iPhone 12 model in 2020. But in terms of the things that determine how a phone performs in everyday use, these two iPhone 12 models share a lot of the same parts, from the processor to the camera setup.

• iPhone 12 mini vs. iPhone SE : Which small phone is best?
• Here are the best iPhones
• Plus: iPhone 13 review : The best iPhone for most people

While the focus is shifting to the iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 mini, as those two phones replace the iPhone 12 models, our iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini face-off details the similarities and differences between the iPhone 13 's predecessors.

iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini specs

Iphone 12 vs. iphone 12 mini: what's the same.

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini have some differences, as we'll get to. But on balance, these two phones have a lot in common, from the way they look to how they perform. Here's a look at the iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini similarities.

Processor: The A14 Bionic powers each and every member of the iPhone 12 family, from the mini all the way up to the iPhone 12 Pro Max. So the two phones perform similarly, especially since Apple includes equal amounts of RAM in each device. (Or at least, that's what teardowns reveal, since Apple doesn't issue official numbers on the amount of memory in its phones.)

We've run iPhone 12 benchmark tests on both phones. On the Geekbench 5 general performance, the iPhone 12 posted single- and multicore scores of 1,593 and 3,859, respectively. 

The iPhone 12 mini posted a higher multicore score at 4,123 points, but the phones turned in essentially equal times when we had them transcode a 4K video using Adobe Premiere Rush. (The iPhone 12 did it in 26 seconds, the iPhone 12 mini took 27 seconds.)

Sign up to get the BEST of Tom’s Guide direct to your inbox.

Upgrade your life with a daily dose of the biggest tech news, lifestyle hacks and our curated analysis. Be the first to know about cutting-edge gadgets and the hottest deals.

Put another way, if you perform the same tasks on an iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, you won't spot any difference in how these phones run your favorite apps. Even you get the less expensive iPhone 12 mini, you can expect performance that matches any iPhone 12 model.

5G connectivity: Just as all the iPhone 12 models run on the A14 Bionic, they also all connect to 5G . That means every kind of 5G, as Apple included support for a wide variety of bands. 

So both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini can connect to any kind of 5G network, whether it's built on the far-reaching sub-6GHz spectrum or uses faster mmWave technology.

Cameras: Apple made subtle changes to the different lenses used by the iPhone 12 Pro models, which produces some differences on shots that use the telephoto lenses. But there's no such distinction with the iPhone 12 and iPhone mini.

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini each feature two rear cameras — a 12MP wide angle lens with a larger f/1.6 aperture and a 12MP ultrawide angle lens. Along with the f/1.6 aperture on the main camera, Apple now uses a 7-element lens, and those changes should improve low-light performance by 27%.

Software changes are the same across both phones as well. Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini support the enhancements Apple's made to Deep Fusion and Smart HDR for more detailed images than previous iPhones could capture.

Displays: Ignore the size difference for a moment, and focus on the fact that Apple now uses OLED panels across its entire iPhone lineup. That's a change from past years when phones like the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR still made do with an LCD screen. 

Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini offer a 60Hz refresh rate — a similarity you probably wish they didn't have in a world where a growing number of phones offer faster refresh rates for smoother scrolling. (Our Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12 face-off reveals what a difference a faster refresh rate makes.) 

Both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini miss out on faster refreshing, but the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max did get 120Hz refresh rates. (For more, read our guide to the 120Hz display on the iPhone 13 Pro .)

Getting back to the iPhone 12, lab results from display testing revealed two essentially identical devices. The iPhone 12 captured 114.5% of the sRGB color spectrum to 117.8% for the iPhone 12 mini. 

About the biggest difference is brightness, with the iPhone 12 just a bit brighter when we measured it using a light meter. We tallied 569 nits on the iPhone 12, versus 505 nits for the iPhone 12 mini. 

Design: Apple didn't skimp on the design flourishes for the less expensive iPhone 12 mini. It's made out of the same materials as the iPhone 12, including the Ceramic Shield display which Apple claims is four times more likely to survive a drop than previous phones. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini both have Apple's improved IP68 water resistance rating, allowing them to survive in up to 6 meters of water for 30 minutes.  

Software: Both phones run the same software — the latest version of iOS 14 — so you'll get the same software features whether you own an iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 mini. That continues to be the case now that iOS 15 is available, as both phones support the update (as you'd imagine new iPhones would). We've been running the iOS 15 beta on the iPhone 12 without an issue — check our our iOS 15 beta review .

iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini: What's different

As much as the two phones have in common, there are some noteworthy differences between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini.

Price: The larger screen and bigger battery translate to a $100 price difference for the iPhone 12, which is currently available for $699 (or $729 if you buy the phone unlocked). The iPhone 12 mini matches the iPhone 11 's old starting price of $599 ($629 for an unlocked iPhone 12 mini).

Both phones are available from Apple, where you can buy them unlocked or through a carrier. While the either the standard iPhone 12 or the mini version are among the best unlocked iPhones , you will pay an extra $30 for either unlocked model over the price of a carrier-tied phone.

We're tracking the best iPhone 12 deals , which include savings on both the 5.4- and 6.1-inch phones. Buy your phone from Apple and you can get a rebate when you trade-in your current handset — between $70 to $540 off when you trade in an iPhone 7 or newer.

Screen Size: As we've noted, the iPhone 12 features a 6.1-inch display, and the iPhone 12 mini goes small with a 5.4-inch display that will surely appeal to compact phone fans. In fact, Apple pulled off a neat trick with the iPhone 12 mini: even though it's got a bigger display than the iPhone SE Apple released a year ago, the mini is both shorter and not as wide as that latter phone.

As you might imagine, the different screens require different-sized phones to accommodate them. The 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.29-inch iPhone 12 is noticeably taller and wider than the 5.2 x 2.5 x 0.29-inch iPhone 12 mini. The iPhone 12 also outweighs the mini by more than 1 ounce.

Battery size: Here's one difference that's not visible to the naked eye — the iPhone 12 mini has a smaller battery than the iPhone 12. That's not official, as Apple doesn't announce battery sizes. But again teardowns have come to our rescue, confirming that the mini uses a 2,227 mAh power pack to the iPhone 12's 2815 mAh battery.

As you'd imagine, that doesn't translate to much battery life for the iPhone 12 mini. In our tests, it lasted a meager 7 hours and 28 minutes. Not only was that 2.5 hours less than the average smartphone, it also trailed the iPhone 12's time of 8 hours and 25 minutes. 

We should note that battery life improves when you turn off 5G connectivity. Retesting the iPhone 12 with 5G disabled , the phone turned in a better-than-average time of nearly 10.5 hours. Of course, 5G is a major addition to all the iPhone 12 models, so we can't imagine too many people going so far as to turn off 5G connectivity for better battery life, unless they live somewhere without much 5G coverage. 

MagSafe charging speed: One iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini difference outline in an Apple support document, is that the  phones charge at different speeds when using the new MagSafe accessories. While MagSafe has a top speed of 15 watts, the iPhone 12 mini tops out at 12 watts .

There's no official reason given for the difference, but we suspect it has something to do with preventing the smaller phone from overheating when charging.

iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini: Which one should you get?

Our iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini face-off finds two phones so evenly matched that the device you buy will ultimately come down to your personal preference — if you even want an iPhone 12 at all at this point. After all, the iPhone 13 is arriving shortly.

But many of the same comparisons apply here. If you like phones with small screens or you want to pay the least amount possible and still walk away with all the key upgrades, the iPhone 12 mini model is for you. But fans of larger screens will find the 6.1-inch display on the iPhone 12 more to their liking.

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro tipped to get this major display upgrade

Apple is reportedly planning iPhone 17 Slim — but I want this instead

Tottenham vs Man Utd live stream: How to watch Women's FA Cup final online

Most Popular

• 2 Apple iPhone 16 Pro tipped to get this major display upgrade
• 3 Apple could unveil revamped Siri with generative AI at WWDC — here’s the key upgrades
• 4 Plush queen mattress vs firm queen mattress: Which is best for your budget and sleep?
• 5 How to watch Google I/O 2024: Android 15, Gemini and more

• Editor's Choice: Tech Gifts for Mom
• Amazon Prime Tech Deals!

Apple iPhone 12 mini Review

You’ll lose little by picking up the tiniest iPhone

• Lewis University

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more .

Apple iPhone 12 mini

Compact, attractive design

Immensely powerful

Crisp, bright display

Speedy 5G support

Great cameras

Slightly weaker battery life

Just 60Hz screen

Limited 64GB base storage

No power brick

The iPhone 12 mini is a near-perfect option for anyone who wants a seriously great phone meant for smaller hands and/or easy single-handed usage.

• Setup Process
• Display Quality
• Performance
• Connectivity
• Sound Quality
• Camera and Video Quality

Apple iPhone 12 mini vs. Google Pixel 5

• Final Verdict

Our expert reviewer purchased the iPhone 12 mini to evaluate its features and capabilities. Read on to see our results.

The wide-ranging iPhone 12 line includes Apple’s largest smartphone to date, but also the company’s smallest phone in years. The latter is the iPhone 12 mini, a push back against the ever-growing trend of large phones and one that is sure to be appreciated by those with smaller hands—or even just those who want to easily use a phone with a single hand.

Despite the smaller form factor, the iPhone 12 mini keeps nearly everything that’s great about the larger iPhone 12 intact, including the most powerful processor in any phone, an excellent screen, speedy 5G connectivity, and sharp cameras. The smaller battery is a little less resilient to heavy media and games usage, but not enough to sink this excellent, tiny iPhone.

Design: A tiny iPhone 12

I tested the iPhone 12 mini immediately after testing the extra-large iPhone 12 Pro Max for a week, so the difference was quite shocking. With a super-tall 5.4-inch screen—compared to 6.1 inches on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro —the iPhone 12 mini is just under 5.2 inches tall and 2.53 inches wide, with the same slim 0.29-inch thickness as all the other models and a mere 4.76 ounces of weight. The glass and aluminum build still feels premium, but it’s so small and light it feels insubstantial next to most modern phones. I had it tumble out of my pocket onto the rug one time and barely noticed it was missing.

Handling the iPhone 12 mini is a strange sensation in that respect, but also refreshing: the trend in the smartphone world has been towards larger and larger phones in the last few years, to the point where they’re all too large for comfortable use. But the market of people with smaller hands or those who want something super-compact and easy to wield have been underserved.

The iPhone 12 mini is for them. It’s a full-bodied, robust, top-end phone in a very small package. And while it’s not the phone that I personally would carry, given my own predilection for monster phones with spacious displays, it is nice to be able to easily command the full screen of a phone without sliding the handset within my grip or using my other hand. It’s been a while.

This year’s iPhones see a return to the old iPhone 5 style of a flattened frame, which gives them a distinctive look compared to the current Android pack . Both the iPhone 12 and 12 mini are available in white (shown), black, blue, green, and (Product)RED, with a matching aluminum frame. The backing glass also has a new MagSafe magnetic anchor point beneath, which lets you snap on Apple’s new MagSafe Charger and wallet case attachment, along with some other upcoming accessories.

All the other key hardware details are likewise on par with the iPhone 12. The mini is IP68 rated for water and dust resistance and can survive a dunk as deep as 6 meters for up to 30 minutes, but it doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone port or include a 3.5mm-to-USB-C adapter for traditional headphones. It also doesn’t have USB-C headphones in the box. And for the first time, none of the new iPhones come with a power brick, so hopefully you have a USB-C brick around or else it’s $20 extra for Apple’s own charger.

The 64GB starting storage of the base model is confining, unfortunately, and there’s no option to pop in a microSD card or anything similar to expand on that tally. You can bump up to 128GB for an extra $50, or hit 256GB for $150 extra.

Setup Process: It’s straightforward

Apple keeps iOS device setup pretty hassle-free, so just press in the power button on the right side of the phone and follow the on-screen prompts. You can even use a previous iPhone or an iPad running iOS 11 or newer to speed up the process. Otherwise, the guided process includes signing in with an Apple ID, reading and accepting the terms and conditions, and deciding whether to restore from a backup or copy data from another device. You’ll also set up Face ID security, which simply requires rotating your head a couple times in front of the selfie camera.

They’re perfect point-and-shoot cameras that can turn out great results with nearly any solid source of lighting, and even automatically switch to night mode in lower light, capturing very good results despite the lack of illumination.

Display Quality: Sharp, but 60Hz

While you do get a smaller screen on the iPhone 12 mini, you luckily don’t get a lower-quality one. This 5.4-inch OLED panel is roughly as crisp as all the other iPhone 12 models, with the 2340x1080 resolution working out to 476 pixels per inch. It’s very sharp and nicely bright, and since it’s an OLED panel, it is also boldly colored with excellent black levels. Apple’s days of saddling its lower-priced iPhones with sub-standard screens are thankfully over.

The only real knock against all the iPhone 12 screens is that Apple did not include a speedier refresh rate like those seen on many flagship Android phones this year. The smoother 90Hz or 120Hz settings of some other phones, including the Google Pixel 5 , Samsung Galaxy S20, and OnePlus 8T , make phones feel extra-responsive and deliver really swift animations and transitions. The standard 60Hz rate here is fine , as it always has been, but I wish Apple had embraced that added perk.

Performance: It pac ks a punch

Don’t let the size of the iPhone 12 mini fool you: it is an incredibly powerful phone, packing the same A14 Bionic processor as its larger siblings. This is the fastest chip available in any smartphone today by clear margins, expanding the lead that Apple has gradually grown with each new edition of its mobile system-on-a-chip in recent years.

Using the Geekbench 5 mobile benchmarking app, the iPhone 12 mini reported a single-core performance score of 1,583 and a multi-core score of 3,998, both very close to those of the iPhone 12. Compare it to a couple of the most powerful Android phones out there, however, and there’s a clear advantage.

Samsung’s $1,299 Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G posted a single-core score of 975 and a multi-core score

 Lifewire / Andrew Hayward

of 3,186 with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ chip. The $749 OnePlus 8T , with its standard Snapdragon 865 processor, put up scores of 891 and 3,133, respectively. And the $699 Google Pixel 5, which uses a mid-range Snapdragon 765G chip, landed much lower with scores of 591 in single-core and 1,591 in multi-core testing. The iPhone 12 Pro mini posted 62 percent higher single-core and 25 percent higher multi-core scores than even the nearly twice as expensive Note20 Ultra.

This is the fastest chip available in any smartphone today by clear margins, expanding the lead that Apple has gradually grown with each new edition of its mobile system-on-a-chip in recent years.

The iPhone 12 mini feels very responsive and fast in action, but so do the Note20 Ultra and OnePlus 8T—and even the less powerful Pixel 5 is no slouch. But when it comes to raw power, Apple is well ahead of the entire pack, which may provide smoother performance with highly demanding apps and games, not to mention a handset that can stay fast and responsive even as future iOS upgrades land in the years to come.

Graphical performance is similarly ahead of the Android pack, meaning even this tiny phone can deliver the best mobile gaming visuals around. Using the GFXBench benchmarking app, I recorded 58 frames per second on the Car Chase demo and 60 frames per second on the less-demanding T-Rex demo. The latter is typical for any recent flagship phone, while the Car Chase put up more frames than any recent Android I’ve tested. In my own testing, flashy games like Call of Duty Mobile and Genshin Impact also ran very smoothly on the iPhone 12 mini.

This is the smallest phone I’ve handled in several years, and it’s even smaller in form than Apple’s 2nd-gen iPhone SE (a refreshed iPhone 8), although larger than 2016’s original iPhone SE (an updated iPhone 5s).

Connectivity: Speed demon

The iPhone 12 line is Apple’s first to incorporate support for faster 5G networks , and the benefits can be dramatic—depending on carrier and if you can find the right kind of coverage. The iPhone 12 mini supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G technology and I tested the phone using Verizon’s 5G network, which includes both.

Connected to Verizon’s Nationwide 5G (sub-6GHz) network, I saw speeds as high as 120Mbps and more typically in the 50-80Mbps range, which overall is about 2-3x what I would usually experience on Verizon’s 4G LTE in my testing area just north of Chicago. But with Verizon’s mmWave-powered 5G Ultra Wideband network, I saw vastly faster speeds, as high as 2.28Gbps. That’s 23 times faster than the Nationwide speed peak that I recorded.

Unfortunately, Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband connectivity is currently limited primarily to big cities, and even then it’s only outdoors in high-traffic areas. The city in which I tested it, right outside Chicago city limits, has about a six-block stretch of Ultra Wideband coverage… and that’s it. Verizon’s approach seems to be to drop these speedy chunks of support in busier areas of cities and then have the Nationwide 5G coverage in most other places, but it’s still early days. At least the iPhone 12 mini can handle all of it and more coverage comes online.

Sound Quality: Bigger than expected

The iPhone 12 mini has fewer speaker holes at the bottom than the other models, but still does a fine job of pumping out crisp, clear-sounding music and audio, using the earpiece atop the screen as the other speaker for stereo sound. Whether you’re using the speakerphone or need a bit of music in a pinch without the hassle of pairing to an external speaker, it works great.

Camera and Video Quality: Enables stellar snapping

Considering the compact size of the phone, you get a pretty amazing and easy-to-carry camera setup with the iPhone 12 mini. It has the same main dual-camera array as the iPhone 12, with a 12-megapixel wide-angle sensor and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor alongside for zoomed-out shots—perfect for landscapes.

What still impresses me about iPhone cameras is how adaptable they are with absolutely no effort on your end.

They’re perfect point-and-shoot cameras that can turn out great results with nearly any solid source of lighting, and even automatically switch to night mode in lower light, capturing very good results despite the lack of illumination. While I’d rather have a telephoto zoom camera on the back instead of ultra-wide, you can still do a lot with these little cameras. The same is true with video, whether it’s crisp 4K footage at up to 60 frames per second, or bold Dolby Vision HDR video at up to 30 frames per second.

On the front, the 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera delivers stellar selfies, and more importantly, serves as the heart of the Face ID security system. It’s not the most ideal security option for this particular moment in time, given that it can’t read your face with a mask on, but it is otherwise very reliable and seemingly secure.

Battery: A little less resilient

The 2,227mAh battery in the iPhone 12 mini is pretty small, particularly when batteries for many phones on the market hover around the 4,000mAh range. Still, Apple always seems to do more with less thanks to the efficiencies afforded by making both the hardware and software of its phones, and the iPhone 12 mini is primed to last a solid day.

On an average day, I’d finish with about 20-30 percent of a charge left at bedtime, which is a little bit less than the iPhone 12, but not significantly so. The iPhone 12 mini did seem to tick down faster than the standard iPhone 12 when playing games or streaming video, and no doubt, it’s not a phone that’s meant to be pushed hard with long stretches of screen time. While perhaps overwhelmingly large for some, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is much better suited for those needs. But as an everyday phone for texts, calls, emails, web browsing, and a bit of streaming media, it’ll do the trick.

It can charge wirelessly via any standard Qi charging pad at up to 7.5W, or hit 20W via wired fast charging. The new MagSafe Charger provides a middle option, snapping onto the back of the iPhone 12 mini to deliver charging at up to 12W. That’s lower than the 15W mark of the larger iPhone 12 models, but it still finished faster thanks to the small battery capacity: it reached 39 percent in 30 minutes and 68 percent after an hour, but then took a slower road to completion at 2 hours,12 minutes in total. At $39 for the MagSafe Charger, however, it’s a bit pricey relative to third-party options. 

Software: Widgets, finally

Apple’s latest iOS 14 operating system revision ships on the iPhone 12 mini and it runs very smoothly here, as expected. The most obvious, functional change in iOS 14 is the long-overdue addition of customizable home screen widgets, which are useful and help shake up the well-established look of the app grid. That said, Android has had them for ages, and it’s a bit odd that Apple took so long to finally let them in. Otherwise, iOS is nicely refined and very easy to use, while the App Store has the largest mobile selection of apps and games out there.

Price: Well suited for the size

At $699 for the model locked to a carrier and $729 for a fully unlocked edition, the iPhone 12 mini is the most affordable handset in the bunch. It also compares favorably to other phones in the $700 range based on features, design, and build quality. The standard iPhone 12 feels like a good value for $100 more, and for the most part, this just a smaller version.

That said, I wouldn’t recommend picking the mini over a larger iPhone 12 model just to save a little bit of cash. The size difference is very significant, and if you are used to and prefer larger phones, then this little handset might not cut it. Ultimately, you will probably be happier spending the extra $100 for a larger model if you aren’t expressly seeking a very small phone.

Lifewire / Andrew Hayward 

Google’s new Pixel 5 is also a pretty compact phone compared to much of the competition, and yet the iPhone 12 mini is still smaller, slimmer, and lighter. When it comes to features and functionality, however, they both have 1080p displays, both support sub-5Ghz and mmWave 5G, and both have wireless charging onboard.

The Pixel 5 has a much longer-lasting 4,000mAh battery, however, and benefits from a smoother 90Hz refresh rate. On the other hand, the iPhone 12 mini is a much more attractive phone and has more than twice the processing power, according to benchmark testing. Apple’s phone is the more alluring and capable handset of the two, in my view, but Android fans who don’t mind a generic design may appreciate the Pixel 5.

Still need some more time before making a decision? See our guide to the best smartphones .

Tiny and terrific The mini is the same excellent iPhone 12, but smaller. Aside from a slightly less resilient battery pack, you’re not really losing anything with the hand-friendy iPhone 12 mini. Kudos to Apple for packing such a big, premium smartphone experience into a tiny frame, providing a capable alternative to the mostly-sizable competitors out there.

Similar Products We've Reviewed:

• Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
• Apple iPhone 12
• Product Name iPhone 12 mini
• Product Brand Apple
• UPC 194252012307
• Price $699.00
• Release Date November 2020
• Product Dimensions 5.18 x 2.53 x 0.29 in.
• Color Multiple
• Warranty 1 year
• Platform iOS14
• Processor A14 Bionic
• Storage 64GB/128GB/256GB
• Camera Dual 12MP Rear, 12MP Selfie
• Battery Capacity 2,227mAh
• Ports Lightning
• Waterproof IP68

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

• Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max Review
• iPhone 12 Price, Release Date, Specs, and News
• Apple iPhone 12 Review
• How to Choose a Wireless Charger
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G Review
• iPhone vs Android: Which Is Better For You?
• Where to Download iPhone Manuals for Every Model
• Should You Upgrade Your iPhone?
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Review
• 2024's Best Budget-Friendly Phone Plans
• iPhone 13 Review
• Samsung Galaxy Note10 Review
• Which iPhone Should You Buy?
• OnePlus 8T Review
• Apple iPhone SE (2020) Review
• How to Turn Off 5G on an iPhone

Apple unveils stunning new iPad Pro with the world’s most advanced display, M4 chip, and Apple Pencil Pro

Thinnest Apple Product Ever

World’s Most Advanced Display

Only Possible with M4

Outrageously Powerful Device for AI

Pro Cameras

Pro Connectivity

Apple Pencil Pro

All-New Magic Keyboard and Smart Folio

Powerful iPadOS Features

Logic Pro for iPad 2

Final Cut Pro for iPad 2

iPad Pro and the Environment

• Customers can order the new iPad Pro with M4 starting today, May 7, at apple.com/store , and in the Apple Store app in 29 countries and regions, including the U.S., with availability in stores beginning Wednesday, May 15.
• The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space black finishes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations.
• The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at  $999  (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and  $1,199  (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-inch iPad Pro starts at  $1,299  (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and  $1,499  (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Additional technical specifications, including nano-texture glass options, are available at apple.com/store .
• For education, the new 11-inch iPad Pro is available for  $899  (U.S.) and the 13-inch iPad Pro is $1,199 (U.S.). Education pricing is available to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and home-school teachers of all grade levels. For more information, visit  apple.com/us-hed/shop .
• The new Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available for $129 (U.S.). For education, Apple Pencil Pro is available for $119 (U.S.).
• Apple Pencil (USB-C) is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available for $79 (U.S.) and $69 (U.S.) for education.
• The new Magic Keyboard is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available in black and white finishes. The new 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $299 (U.S.) and the new 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $349 (U.S.), with layouts for over 30 languages. For education, the 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $279 (U.S.) and the 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $329 (U.S.).
• The new Smart Folio is available for $79 (U.S.) in black, white, and denim finishes for the new 11-inch iPad Pro and $99 (U.S.) for the new 13-inch iPad Pro.
• Logic Pro for iPad 2 is available on May 13 as a free update for existing users, and for new users, it is available on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month, or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial. Logic Pro for iPad 2 requires iPadOS 17.4 or later. For more information, visit apple.com/logic-pro-for-ipad .
• Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 will be available later this spring on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month, or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial.
• Apple offers great ways to save on the latest iPad. Customers can trade in their current iPad and get credit toward a new one by visiting the Apple Store online , the Apple Store app, or an Apple Store location. To see what their device is worth, and for terms and conditions, customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in .
• Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all upfront.

Text of this article

May 7, 2024

PRESS RELEASE

Featuring a new thin and light design, breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display, and outrageously fast M4 performance with powerful AI capabilities, the new iPad Pro takes a huge leap forward

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today unveiled the groundbreaking new iPad Pro in a stunningly thin and light design, taking portability and performance to the next level. Available in silver and space black finishes, the new iPad Pro comes in two sizes: an expansive 13-inch model and a super-portable 11-inch model. Both sizes feature the world’s most advanced display — a new breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display with state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology — providing a remarkable visual experience. The new iPad Pro is made possible with the new M4 chip, the next generation of Apple silicon, which delivers a huge leap in performance and capabilities. M4 features an entirely new display engine to enable the precision, color, and brightness of the Ultra Retina XDR display. With a new CPU, a next-generation GPU that builds upon the GPU architecture debuted on M3, and the most powerful Neural Engine yet, the new iPad Pro is an outrageously powerful device for artificial intelligence. The versatility and advanced capabilities of iPad Pro are also enhanced with all-new accessories. Apple Pencil Pro brings powerful new interactions that take the pencil experience even further, and a new thinner, lighter Magic Keyboard is packed with incredible features. The new iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, and Magic Keyboard are available to order starting today, with availability in stores beginning Wednesday, May 15.

“iPad Pro empowers a broad set of pros and is perfect for anyone who wants the ultimate iPad experience — with its combination of the world’s best displays, extraordinary performance of our latest M-series chips, and advanced accessories — all in a portable design. Today, we’re taking it even further with the new, stunningly thin and light iPad Pro, our biggest update ever to iPad Pro,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “With the breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display, the next-level performance of M4, incredible AI capabilities, and support for the all-new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, there’s no device like the new iPad Pro.”

The new iPad Pro — the thinnest Apple product ever — features a stunningly thin and light design, taking portability to a whole new level. The 11-inch model is just 5.3 mm thin, and the 13-inch model is even thinner at a striking 5.1 mm, while both models are just as strong as the previous design. The 11-inch model weighs less than a pound, and the 13-inch model is nearly a quarter pound lighter than its predecessor — allowing pro users to extend their workflows in new ways and in more places. The new iPad Pro is available in two gorgeous finishes — silver and space black — both with 100 percent recycled aluminum enclosures.

The new iPad Pro debuts the Ultra Retina XDR, the world’s most advanced display, to provide an even more remarkable visual experience. The Ultra Retina XDR display features state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology that uses two OLED panels and combines the light from both to provide phenomenal full-screen brightness. The new iPad Pro supports an incredible 1000 nits of full-screen brightness for SDR and HDR content, and 1600 nits peak for HDR. No other device of its kind delivers this level of extreme dynamic range. Tandem OLED technology enables sub-millisecond control over the color and luminance of each pixel, taking XDR precision further than ever. Specular highlights in photos and video appear even brighter, and there’s more detail in shadows and low light than ever before on iPad — all while delivering even more responsiveness to content in motion. For pro users working in high-end, color-managed workflows or challenging lighting conditions, a new nano-texture glass option comes to iPad Pro for the first time. 1 Nano-texture glass is precisely etched at a nanometer scale, maintaining image quality and contrast while scattering ambient light for reduced glare. With its breakthrough tandem OLED technology, extreme brightness, incredibly precise contrast, brilliant colors, and nano-texture glass option, the new Ultra Retina XDR display is the world’s most advanced display, giving iPad Pro customers an unparalleled viewing experience.

The incredibly thin and light design and game-changing display of the new iPad Pro is only possible with M4, the next generation of Apple silicon that delivers a huge leap in performance. M4 is built on second-generation 3-nanometer technology that’s even more power efficient, which is perfect for the design of the new iPad Pro. With an entirely new display engine, M4 introduces pioneering technology for the stunning precision, color, and brightness of the Ultra Retina XDR display. The new CPU offers up to four performance cores and now six efficiency cores, 2 with next-generation machine learning (ML) accelerators, to deliver up to 1.5x faster CPU performance over M2 in the previous-generation iPad Pro. 3 M4 builds on the GPU architecture of M3 — the 10-core GPU includes powerful features like Dynamic Caching, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, which come to iPad for the first time. Coupled with higher unified memory bandwidth, pro rendering apps like Octane will see up to 4x faster performance than M2. 3 M4 also delivers tremendous gains and industry-leading performance per watt. Compared to M2, M4 can deliver the same performance using just half the power, and compared to the latest PC chip in a thin and light laptop, M4 can deliver the same performance using just a quarter of the power. 4 A new advanced Media Engine includes support for AV1 decode, providing more power-efficient playback of high-resolution video experiences from streaming services.

The new iPad Pro with M4 features Apple’s most powerful Neural Engine ever, capable of 38 trillion operations per second, which is 60x faster than Apple’s first Neural Engine in the A11 Bionic chip. Combined with next-generation ML accelerators in the CPU, a high-performance GPU, more memory bandwidth, and intelligent features and powerful developer frameworks in iPadOS, the Neural Engine makes the new iPad Pro an outrageously powerful device for AI. With iPad Pro with M4, users can perform AI-enabled tasks even faster, like easily isolate a subject from its background in 4K video with just a tap with Scene Removal Mask in Final Cut Pro. With this advanced level of performance, the Neural Engine in M4 is more powerful than any neural processing unit in any AI PC today.

iPadOS also has advanced frameworks like Core ML that make it easy for developers to tap into the Neural Engine to deliver phenomenal AI features locally, including running powerful diffusion and generative AI models, with great performance on device. iPad Pro also supports cloud-based solutions, enabling users to run powerful productivity and creative apps that tap into the power of AI, such as Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Adobe Firefly.

The updated camera system on the new iPad Pro delivers even more versatility, and with its rich audio from four studio-quality mics, users can shoot, edit, and share all on one device. The 12MP back camera captures vibrant Smart HDR images and video with even better color, improved textures, and detail in low light. It also now features a new adaptive True Tone flash that makes document scanning on the new iPad Pro better than ever. Using AI, the new iPad Pro automatically identifies documents right in the Camera app, and if a shadow is in the way, it instantly takes multiple photos with the new adaptive flash, stitching the scan together for a dramatically better scan.

On the front, the TrueDepth camera system moves to the landscape location on the new iPad Pro. The Ultra Wide 12MP camera with Center Stage makes the experience of video conferencing in landscape orientation even better, especially when iPad is attached to a Magic Keyboard or Smart Folio.

iPad Pro includes a high-performance USB-C connector with support for Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4, delivering fast wired connectivity — up to 40Gb/s. Thunderbolt supports an extensive ecosystem of high-performance accessories, including external displays like the Pro Display XDR at its full 6K resolution, and external storage, all connected using high-performance cables and docks. iPad Pro supports Wi-Fi 6E for super-fast Wi-Fi connections for pro workflows on the go. Wi-Fi + Cellular models with 5G allow users to access their files, communicate with colleagues, and back up their data in a snap while on the go. Cellular models of the new iPad Pro are activated with eSIM, a more secure alternative to a physical SIM card, allowing users to quickly connect and transfer their existing plans digitally, and store multiple cellular plans on a single device. Customers can easily get connected to wireless data plans on the new iPad Pro in over 190 countries and regions around the world without needing to get a physical SIM card from a local carrier.

Apple Pencil Pro features even more magical capabilities and powerful new interactions that take the Apple Pencil experience even further. A new sensor in the barrel can sense a user’s squeeze, bringing up a tool palette to quickly switch tools, line weights, and colors, all without interrupting the creative process. A custom haptic engine delivers a light tap that provides confirmation when users squeeze, use double-tap, or snap to a Smart Shape for a remarkably intuitive experience. A gyroscope allows users to roll Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of the tool they’re using. Rotating the barrel changes the orientation of shaped pen and brush tools, just like pen and paper. And with Apple Pencil hover, users can visualize the exact orientation of a tool before making a mark.

With these advanced features, Apple Pencil Pro allows users to bring their ideas to life in entirely new ways, and developers can also create their own custom interactions. Apple Pencil Pro brings support for Find My for the first time to Apple Pencil, helping users locate Apple Pencil Pro if misplaced. It pairs, charges, and is stored on the side of iPad Pro through a new magnetic interface. iPad Pro also supports Apple Pencil (USB-C), ideal for note taking, sketching, annotating, journaling, and more, at an incredible value.

Designed for the new iPad Pro, an all-new thinner and lighter Magic Keyboard makes it more portable and versatile than ever. The new Magic Keyboard opens to the magical floating design that customers love, and now includes a function row for access to features like screen brightness and volume controls. It also has a gorgeous aluminum palm rest and larger trackpad that’s even more responsive with haptic feedback, so the entire experience feels just like using a MacBook. The new Magic Keyboard attaches magnetically, and the Smart Connector immediately connects power and data without the need for Bluetooth. The machined aluminum hinge also includes a USB-C connector for charging. The new Magic Keyboard comes in two colors that perfectly complement the new iPad Pro: black with a space black aluminum palm rest, and white with a silver aluminum palm rest.

The new Smart Folio for iPad Pro attaches magnetically and now supports multiple viewing angles for greater flexibility. Available in black, white, and denim, it complements the colors of the new iPad Pro.

iPadOS is packed with features that push the boundaries of what’s possible on iPad. With Reference Mode, iPadOS can precisely match color requirements of the Ultra Retina XDR display for tasks in which accurate colors and consistent image quality are critical — including review and approve, color grading, and compositing. Stage Manager enables users to work with multiple overlapping windows in a single view, resize windows, tap to switch between apps, and more. With full external display support of up to 6K, iPad Pro users can also extend their workflow, as well as use the built-in camera on an external display for enhanced video conferencing. Users can take advantage of the powerful AI capabilities in iPad Pro and intelligent features in iPadOS, including Visual Look Up, Subject Lift, Live Text, or Live Captions and Personal Voice for accessibility.

With iPadOS 17 , users can customize the Lock Screen to make it more personal — taking advantage of the larger display on iPad — and interactive widgets take glanceable information further with the ability to get tasks done right in the moment with just a tap. The Notes app gives users new ways to organize, read, annotate, and collaborate on PDFs, and working with PDFs is also easier with AutoFill, which intelligently identifies and fills fields in forms.

Logic Pro for iPad 2 , available starting Monday, May 13, introduces incredible studio assistant features that augment the music-making process and provide artists help right when they need it — all while ensuring they maintain full creative control. These features include Session Players, which expand on popular Drummer capabilities in Logic to include a new Bass Player and Keyboard Player; ChromaGlow, to instantly add warmth to tracks; and Stem Splitter, to extract and work with individual parts of a single audio recording.

Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 , available later this spring, introduces Live Multicam, a new feature that transforms iPad into a mobile production studio, allowing users to view and control up to four connected iPhone and iPad devices wirelessly. 5 To support Live Multicam, an all-new capture app also comes to iPad and iPhone, Final Cut Camera, 6 giving users control over options like white balance, ISO, and shutter speed, along with monitoring tools like overexposure indicators and focus peaking. Final Cut Camera works as a standalone capture app or with Live Multicam. Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 also allows users to create or open projects from external storage, giving editors even more flexibility, and offers new content options. 7

The new iPad Pro is designed with the environment in mind, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards. The new iPad Pro meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, and PVC. The packaging is 100 percent fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal to remove plastic from all packaging by 2025.

Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and life cycle of every product.

Pricing and Availability

• Nano-texture glass is an option on the 1TB and 2TB configurations of the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models.
• iPad Pro models with 256GB or 512GB storage feature the Apple M4 chip with a 9‑core CPU. iPad Pro models with 1TB or 2TB storage feature the Apple M4 chip with a 10‑core CPU.
• Testing was conducted by Apple in March and April 2024. See apple.com/ipad-pro for more information.
• Testing was conducted by Apple in March and April 2024 using preproduction 13-inch iPad Pro (M4) units with a 10-core CPU and 16GB of RAM. Performance was measured using select industry‑standard benchmarks. PC laptop chip performance data is from testing ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405MA) with Core Ultra 7 155H and 32GB of RAM. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of iPad Pro.
• Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 is compatible with iPad models with the M1 chip or later, and Logic Pro for iPad 2 will be available on iPad models with the A12 Bionic chip or later.
• Final Cut Camera is compatible with iPhone X S and later with iOS 17.4 or later, and iPad models compatible with iPadOS 17.4 or later.
• External project support requires iPadOS 17.5 or later.

Press Contacts

Tara Courtney

[email protected]

[email protected]

Apple Media Helpline

[email protected]

Images in this article