iPhone 12 mini Review, Features, Performance and Price

First of all I would like to clarify that this review, like all that worth its salt, is based on a real user experience and that here I pour my personal opinions with no other objective than to help whoever reads it to know more about this iPhone. 12 mini. Its behavior in day-to-day life and the way I use it could be of use to all those who have a certain interest in this product, either by intention to buy it or mere curiosity.

Technical specifications, are they that important?

I spoke previously that this is a review based on my experience of use, for which I consider it unnecessary to some extent to talk about technical aspects. At the end of this article you will find a table with the assessment that we make in this writing of the device, accompanying it with these specifications. However I would like that, if you do not know anything about this phone, you would not go at the end to read it or inform yourself elsewhere. I encourage you to continue reading my experience based on the use and then and see if the technical data corresponds to what is expected based on it. Do you like the game?

Love at first sight

The fact that the leaks let us know months before that there would be a 5.4-inch iPhone did not make my expectations fall apart when Kaiann Drance, vice president of marketing, began to open briefcases of smaller and smaller sizes until reaching the “ tiny ”phone. I have to say that when I had it in hand for the first time I found that it is smaller than one expects . This is neither negative nor positive, it is simply surprising given that neither the photos nor the videos do justice to their actual size. But to get an idea, just take a standard spoon and think that it is slightly taller than the iPhone 12 mini.

The device completely fell in love with me and although the size did a lot, I have to say that the red color did its part. Not in vain it is my favorite color, although it must be said that this year’s Product RED is very different from the one found in the iPhone XR and iPhone 11, which had a more intense red, while the 12 mini even has orange tints depending on how the light hits it. While I would prefer the tone of the previous ones, this has not been a negative point.

Is it the real iPhone SE 2?

2016 saw the launch of the original iPhone SE and in subsequent years there were many rumors regarding a hypothetical second version. Already in 2020 we finally saw this long-awaited sequel to the popular phone, but with a design identical to that of the iPhone 8, although with more advanced features. When precisely that second generation became official, many users were disappointed waiting for a phone with compact dimensions, but with a better used front and no Home button.

If we look at these user requests we see that the iPhone 12 mini fully matches this. This phone is small, has a modern design and on top of that it has performance to spare for professional use. Therefore, the demands of those demanding users are met, but the truth is that in the end the main defender of an iPhone SE is its price and although this 12 mini is the cheapest of the new ones, it is far from the 489 euros of those that part the real iPhone SE 2020.

Mamma mia what a screen!

The most curious point with which to start this section is that the smallest screen this year, the 5.4 inches of the 12 mini, is only 0.1 inches smaller than the size of the old ‘Plus’ models. It is very paradoxical, but not strange either, since in the end those phones were so big mainly because they had quite robust edges, with the Home button included.

For practical purposes, the screen of the iPhone 12 mini looks great in all light conditions and this is something to be appreciated. Although it does not incorporate the resolutions of the larger models for obvious reasons, it is a very good quality OLED panel and nothing negative can be attributed to it. The LCD of the iPhone 11 already looked great, but making the leap to more modern technologies even in this little phone is appreciated.

Putting aside the quality issue, putting ourselves on the more practical side, this is a screen with which you can consume very good quality videos, but here another very important factor enters. Is it the best size for it? From my point of view, no. Under normal circumstances I would hardly have consumed videos with an iPhone, since I always prefer to do it with my iPad, iMac or even on television with the Apple TV. However, I wanted to put this little one to the test. It complies with a note as I said at the level of quality, it is very comfortable to have it in hand because it barely weighs and is easily grasped, but if you do not want to force your eyes excessively, you should remove this function from your head as one of the strengths of this device.

A walk? The ‘mini’ accompanies you

I am used to taking long walks with my dog and this is probably one of my favorite moments of the day to clear my mind and leave my mind free of worries. For this I always carry AirPods, with which I listen to music or my favorite podcasts. The mobile is really a testimonial companion in these cases, since it hardly serves me for anything other than going from one song to another or to raise and lower the volume of the headphones. But even if it’s just for that, I find it essential and this is where the iPhone 12 mini has come into play very well.

With the larger models it was tedious for me to have to take it out of my pocket each time to perform such trivial functions as those I have described above. If my pants are also jeans, it makes me even heavier having to fit my mobile in such tight pockets. Even walking it becomes heavy to carry it, since you feel an extra weight. Quite the contrary with the ‘mini’, which has never bothered me and I even wanted to carry it in my hand because its weight is tremendously light and does not bother between the fingers.

Battery, what a nice surprise

Do not trust what they tell you about the battery of this iPhone. Don’t even trust what I’m telling you. Each experience is different and there will never be two people who use the iPhone in the same way. In my case the use is intensive, although not gross. I mean I use the phone all day long, but never for very heavy tasks like photo or video editing. My use in this time with the iPhone 12 mini has consisted of being attentive to my social networks, maintaining contact with co-workers via Slack, resorting to work tools when I have not had the Mac in front of me and the consumption of YouTube videos and others. platforms as I have previously commented.

I have reached 6 and a half hours of screen with a percentage around 15-30% battery. It is not the mobile with the greatest autonomy that I have had and it does not even come close, but taking into account the size of the phone and that the demand has not been low, it seems to me a more than optimal result. Depending on your type of use, you should be the one to analyze whether this would be okay or not, but I think I am not wrong in saying that an average user could reach the end of the day without having to go through the plug first.

Outperform with the A14 Bionic

If an iPhone differs from its Android rivals for something, it is because of the optimization of resources that it achieves as Apple itself designs custom hardware and software. The A14 Bionic of the iPhone 12 mini follows the same line as in previous generations in this sense and if we compare it with the rest of the models of this generation, it goes without saying that it is the same chip and that therefore at the performance level the same experience is obtained. Beyond the millions of operations per second that this chip is capable of performing, the question is, how does that influence day to day?

It affects absolutely everything, from battery management to lag that can be noticed when opening applications or performing processes. Precisely that slowness is conspicuous by its absence in this phone, since it looks fast and fluid in any part of the system. Even playing video games, even if it is not the most comfortable in a small phone, it is noticeable that it loads quickly and the graphics do not stumble.

Another outlet that has a processor of this caliber is iOS , the operating system of the device. Although there is no expiration date set for this phone, we could guess that it will have updates until at least 2024-2025 , this being the average time that Apple provides support to its iPhone. This is not only positive in order to obtain the latest aesthetic and functional novelties that are arriving in these years, but it also produces a benefit in terms of performance and safety.

iPhone with 5G, but with controversy

This is the smallest phone in the world with 5G . Or at least that’s the way it is at the time of writing this review and at the time when Apple said this phrase when presenting the device. The connectivity of the future is already here, albeit at the level of support in the devices, although the truth is that the infrastructure that exists worldwide and more specifically in Spain is still far from being a standard. To this we must add that only in the United States do they obtain mmWave connectivity and a receiving antenna for this, being a better 5G than the one we could obtain here in Spain. Therefore, although I am happy that it incorporates this 5G (or improved 4G) I do not think it is still something appreciable.

Same cameras as iPhone 12

The particularities of this phone mean that there are other points to analyze that are more interesting to know. However, the camera is an always relevant point in any phone today. We might think that being such a compact team the cameras are inferior to their siblings, but this thought could not be more wrong. Both technically and in terms of results, exactly the same is obtained as in the iPhone 12, which in turn is very similar to the ‘Pro’ model, except for the absence of a telephoto lens.

The characteristics seen in that table translate into professional results in many photographic fields. Whether it’s portrait mode photos, panoramas, ultra wide angle photos or night mode photos, this phone delivers. It is worth noting the improvement it gets thanks to computational photography which Apple calls Deep Fusion. This improvement at the software level allows that even with less technical capacity than other competing phones, the iPhone 12 is able to offer better results. However, all this depends at the end of the perception of each one, although being honest it is quite balanced in color, sharpness and other important factors in this area.

In video we do find a greater difference with the ‘Pro Max’ model, which has an improved stabilizer that helps considerably to make better quality videos. However, this little guy is also capable of doing amazing things and being more than enough for a vast majority of the public. The quality obtained is even optimal if you are a content creator and have a YouTube channel, since for many of your recordings it could even be your main camera.

It is not a price problem, although it is not cheap

I do not mean that the iPhone 12 mini is not worth what it costs, because I consider that it has a fair price that is consistent with everything it offers, despite the small size. However, it must be taken into account that this fact is not contrary to a high price. It is worth the same as the iPhone 11 when it went on sale, this being a misleading precedent. That was a bigger phone and also with very good specifications, but you also have to take into account improvements to this phone in terms of screen quality, performance, camera or the inclusion of 5G technology.

In the end, assess whether or not it is worth the expense for this device should correspond to each person, analyzing the needs and economic possibilities that are available.

Why won’t it be my main phone?

I commented at the beginning that this would have been my ideal phone two years ago and the origin of this comes from my latest iPhone. The first large Apple device I had was the iPhone 7 Plus, a call in all respects, but one that made me tremendously uncomfortable and difficult to handle. A few months later I was able to exchange it for the standard iPhone 7, the 4.7-inch one. My problem was not so much the dimensions of the screen as if the size of the entire device. The jump to the iPhone X cost me less, since in the end the device did not grow so much in dimensions. Later I had the iPhone 11 Pro and finally the 11 Pro Max.

Precisely the ‘Pro Max’ model from last year is the culprit that I have not finished fully accommodating myself to this device, since in the end I got used to losing in comfort of use and gaining in visual amplitude. Therefore, going from one extreme to another is complicated and unnecessary considering my needs at a time when I hardly leave the house and therefore it is not so essential to have a comfortable phone to carry in my pocket.

As an extra point I must say that when taking photos and videos it is also very comfortable. On more than one occasion I have come across a sunset, landscape or position of my dog that I wanted to immortalize. Taking out the large iPhone in these cases also made me tedious and well, you may think that it is me and my laziness the problem, but the truth is that with the iPhone 12 mini it has not happened to me. What’s more, they have made me more want to take photos with it on me, since I have been able to take them even with one hand and without difficulty.

Conclusion: it’s ideal, but maybe not for everyone

This is a computer that will not leave you stranded and with which you can spend many years without any problem, even when it is outdated by software. All this depending on whether you take good care of it or not. In any case, not only for this reason it will be recommended for you. Many people have asked me in these weeks if I advise it, and my answer is always the same: it depends .

You should assess your needs and do a special self-analysis on aspects such as the comfort of carrying a small phone assuming that you will lose experience at a visual level, that the battery is somewhat lower than in older versions and also that it costs 809 euros in its most basic version. 64GB of storage. If you are clear that you want a compact phone, you may not find anything better on the market. As far as Apple is concerned, surely not.