Hey guys, it's Adam The Tech Enthusiast, helping you to make informed decisions about your tech purchases! Today we are reviewing the world's most powerful and capable small smartphone, the iPhone 13 mini. I've been using the iPhone 13 mini as my main phone for the last 2 weeks. I've been tweeting from it, scrolling on Instagram and taking plenty of photos. So how did I find it? Let's find out!
So first of all, the iPhone 13 mini costs £679 and comes with 128GB of base storage. It comes in 6 colours: starlight, midnight, product red, pink, blue and green. Personally I'm using the product red because that's the colour that I really wanted because sadly it's not an option on the Pro series.
Battery life
So this has actually surprised me. On my use case (I'm a very heavy user) it doesn't last all day but with 15 minutes on my MagSafe it does the job! Using 5G does have a huge impact on the battery which I really noticed when I went in to town with this phone, it drained so much quicker than when i was using 4G or WiFi. After using the phone as my primary phone for a few weeks I realised one important thing, this phone will last the day for most poeple's use cases and may even be impressive for someone upgrading from an older iPhone.
What I love about this phone
Did you know that this phone's screen size is only 0.1” smaller than that of the iPhone 8 plus? Just let that sync in. Today's smallest phone has a similar screen size to what used to be the biggest phone we could get. After using this phone for 10 or so minutes I have forgotten about the smaller screen size, even though I daily drive an iPhone 13 Pro Max, which is the biggest iPhone that Apple currently offers. To be honest, I just love how this fits in every pocket.
The cons
So while using this phone there are definitely some things that I’ve missed, especially coming from its’ bigger brother, the iPhone 13 Pro Max. First of all, I've missed the 120Hz refresh rate because it's just so smooth while scrolling through Instagram and Twitter or just an article which I really enjoy but I wouldn't say that a 120hz refresh rate is a necessity for iOS, more of a luxury.
Why this iPhone is PERFECT for an Apple ecosystem
If you carry an iPad or a MacBook then this phone is the perfect choice for you to complete your Apple ecosystem. So why is it so perfect? I hear you asking… well hear me out. If you already carry a device with you most of the time that has a larger screen, even like an iPad mini, then you may as well just opt for the smaller iPhone and enjoy its portability because when you need a bigger screen you can just use your other device which is really convenient. Some people will still prefer to have a larger phone but i still think the mini is a solid option if you already use an iPad or something else but if your phone is your only device the mini might not be for you.
The future of the mini series…
Saldy if you pay attention to Apple rumours it seems likely that this is the last mini series iPhone so if you really want a flagship small phone, then now is the time to go for it. The sales for the mini iPhone haven't been that great so it would make sense for Apple to drop it but I really hope it returns with the iPhone SE series in the future, but Apple will probably sell the iPhone 13 mini for at least the next two years at a cheaper price anyway.
Camera performance
The best way to describe the camera system is it's kinda like the 12 Pro Max but without telephoto and lidar but with some new features. The two new camera features on the iPhone 13 series that stood out to me were the cinematic mode and photographic styles. The cool part about the mini is that it has the exact same camera system as the regular iPhone 13, which is to be expected as the mini is just a smaller version of the regular 13 so except for screen size and battery they are identical in every other way. When switching between this phone and my Pro Max I haven't really noticed a drop in quality at all, this phone takes some really nice photos, I would say though that I really do miss having that telephoto lens for an extra perspective but most people would probably not miss it as I have to say, ultrawide is a lot more useful as you can get some really nice landscape shots and it's really fun to play about with. You can check out a few samples on my iPhone 13 mini highlight over on Instagram!
Should you buy it…
So after all of that, should you actually buy this phone? If you really want a smaller flagship phone, then don’t hesitate, go for it! But if you don't know about the size then you should probably just go for a regular 12 or 13 which are still both great capable phones. Sadly recent rumours point towards there being no mini iPhone this year which I really hope is false because I think it's nice for people to have the choice of a smaller phone. So definitely pick it up if you're after that smaller form factor as it may be your last chance.
Thank you for reading everyone, I appreciate all of you for supporting me!