iPhone 12 Mini Review (vs iPhone 12) | The Best New iPhone? By InsideTech

After, the earlier launch of the iPhone 12 and 12 pro apple has now released the remaining two phones, the 12 pro max, and the 12 mini. The mini marks are changing direction not just from apple but also in an industry of increasingly large smartphones, and this smaller form factor is a welcome addition to apple's lineup. I've been using the 12 mini as my main device for the past week or so, and I've been gathering my overall thoughts on what it's like to use this phone and who, I think, should buy it. In the last video, we took an in-depth look at every new feature. The iPhone 12 has to offer, including a comparison to the 12 pro. So if you want to see a full review of all the mini's new features, then check out that video in this video we'll be focusing specifically on what makes the mini different from the 12 since its smaller size isn't the only factor at play, so today we'll be covering all the feature, differences, the pros and cons of the mini and how this compares to the rest of the iPhone lineup.

Let's take a look, for all intents and purposes: the 12 mini is just a miniature iPhone 12. It has the same new design from the flat color matching aluminum frame to the glossy glass back. It gets the same improvements as the ceramic shield display and the new water resistance rating too. So you don't have any durability compromises with the smaller phone. But although it looks just like the iPhone 12, it actually feels very different to use, and mostly for the better.

My favorite thing about this phone is that it's super comfortable to hold, not just because it's so narrow, but also very light. There hasn't been an iPhone this small since the original iPhone SE back in 2016 or as lightweight since the iPhone 6 two years earlier. To give you an idea of context. This is how the mini looks next to the original SE, a phone that the mini actually takes its design, inspiration from and now here it is next to an iPhone 6, which is essentially the same size as the 6s 7 8 and the new se2 and then at the other end of the spectrum. You've got huge phones like the 12 pro max, and the size of the mini is a stark difference from basically every other flagship phone from the past few years.

The iPhone 12 mini is a tiny phone, and you can really feel it. The 12 mini being smaller than the regular 12 doesn't just mean that this fits into your jeans pocket more easily. It also transforms the way that you use the phone with the 12 mini. I can comfortably use the phone with one hand I can reach right across the display and to all four corners, which is much more difficult on the regular 12. This is something that's easy to overlook, but it's often the smaller things like reaching the apps in the top row or up to the control center things that affect you every day that become important and your experience with the phone.

The smaller size changes the typing experience too, and you can see side by side with the 12 how much closer together the keys are now. This has both pros and cons. Everything is a bit more cramped, and you're more prone to accidentally hitting the wrong key, especially those with bigger hands. So the typing experience is easier on the bigger 12. , but certainly for one-handed use.

The mini is much more usable. Holding the phone when you're watching a movie or gaming is a lot easier, as is when you're on a FaceTime or phone call, and also when using the phone to take pictures or record video a phone. This thin, narrow and light is just generally more comfortable to use with pretty much all applications and scenarios, but with the smaller display you physically fit less on the screen than the 12, which lets you see more of your content with messages, web pages and menus with the mini. You don't have fewer rows of apps on the home screen, but the icons are smaller and spaced closer together. So, although everything is easier to reach, it isn't as easy to see this affects your experience with gaming and watching videos which isn't as enjoyable or immersive as on the bigger 12.

Incidentally, since the phone's body is smaller, the speakers are actually the smallest on the mini of the four new iPhones, and you can hear that it doesn't quite have the same level of volume or bass as the 12. Opening, apps and scrolling is noticeably superfast and snappy. But, to be honest, I didn't notice a drastic difference compared to the series 5, and I think a lot of the speed boost is actually due to optimizations in watchOS 7, which of course, is also available on older devices like the series 5. What was more interesting to me now, this display on paper matches the iPhone 12. It's the same.

Super retina, Dr OLED display with the notch at the top for face ID technically, the mini actually has the sharpest display of the four new iPhones, and it also has the thinnest bezels, though you really need to look closely to spot the difference. However, the notch is the same size on all four phones and since the mini's display is smaller, this actually takes up more of the screen relative to its size. So you could argue that the notch is more distracting on the mini compared to the regular iPhone 12. You're, still getting a much higher screen to body ratio here than with the pre face id iPhones. Potentially one of the phones you're looking to upgrade from this is the mini next to the 7, plus a phone generally considered to be quite big, but there's actually just a 0.1 inch difference in the screen size. It's just compared to some newer iPhones that the mini screen becomes noticeably smaller.

The mini's smaller display is both one of its biggest drawbacks and strengths, but with phones becoming so big. Now you don't really hear complaints of the screen being too small anymore, but you do hear people asking for a more compact phone for me. What you lose in screen real estate is more than made up for by what you gain in ergonomic improvement. The 12 mini is just so much more comfortable to use, perhaps I'm just jaded from years of all the huge smartphones that have flooded the market. But if you're in a similar position, you too may find the mini a refreshingly fun device to use, even if it means switching to a smaller screen.

In the previous video, we explored the minor differences between the cameras of the iPhone 12 and 12 pro, and I'm pleased to report that the mini matches the 12 for camera performance. The mini has exactly the same wide ultra-wide and selfie lenses as the 12. , along with all the same camera. Improvements like better night mode and Dolby Vision. Video recording the improvements made with the cameras this year are pretty impressive, particularly with dynamic range thanks to the new smart hdr3 feature.

Photos are generally more vibrant and striking, showing a higher level of contrast, but retaining the color accuracy that iPhones have a reputation for the selfie. Camera gets the same benefits with a warmer color temperature and cleaner images compared to last year, and the 4k video remains best in class, even before you add in Dolby Vision, recording we're still waiting for YouTube to support Dolby Vision fully. So for now I can only show you the standard video, but even this is impressively smooth and crisp. The mini performs just as well as the iPhone 12 and even compared to the pro max, which supposedly has a superior main lens, especially with nighttime performance. There usually wasn't a noticeable difference, though I'll be exploring this fully.

In the pro max review. The mini obviously misses out on the telephoto lens and LIDAR of the pro models and though it doesn't have the same zoom capabilities. It still has a very good portrait mode. I won't spend too long talking about the cameras, since I've covered this in depth in the iPhone 12 review, but it's pretty amazing that you can have a phone with a camera, this good that fits into the palm of your hand, and if you had any concerns that the mini wouldn't match the iPhone 12, I can confirm that it performs just as well often in recent years a smaller phone has meant a less capable phone, but this iPhone 12 mini is packing the same processor as the iPhone 12 and pro models making it the joint most powerful phone on the market spec for spec. This is identical to the regular 12.

It has the same ram storage options and matches it for performance. A lot of thought went into the internal design of this phone in order to pack the same power and features into the smaller form factor. You can't simply miniaturize the components for the same reason that the notch is the same size. These are all the same as in the bigger iPhone 12, so the 12 mini is an impressive feat of engineering. Of course, there is one component that isn't the same size and in order to make the phone smaller the battery had to be sacrificed.

The mini is sporting, a 2 227 million power battery versus the 2 815 million power battery in the regular 12, which is pretty much unheard of for a flagship device in 2020. Of course, iPhones typically get away with having smaller batteries. Because of how well optimized the software is. But I have to say that battery life has been an issue with the 12 mini, I'm averaging around five and a half hours of screen on time with daily use a few hours less than with my iPhone 12. The phone does typically make it through a full day, but only just- and I expect some people will need to top up the phone during the day, a phone.

This powerful will, let you film and edit 4k Dolby Vision, video or run high performance games, but it won't. Let you do this for very long, and there is a noticeable drop in battery life compared to the regular 12. So if you use your phone pretty intensely throughout the day, you're, probably best off with the iPhone 12. One small consequence in the mini's favor is that this is the fastest charging phone of the four new iPhones for both fast charging and for MagSafe wireless charging. Even though the mini's MagSafe charging is 12 watts versus the 15 watts for the regular iPhone 12.

, we've never had an iPhone able to charge this quickly before. But for me, this didn't really compensate for the loss in battery life, and this is definitely the biggest compromise you'll face with getting the 12 mini. I would absolutely love to wholeheartedly recommend the iPhone 12 mini to everyone. I've enjoyed using this phone so much that its compact size makes up for pretty much all the other limitations, but I do feel like the battery life will be a dealbreaker for a lot of people, which probably means the iPhone 12 is still the safer choice. The mini matches the 12 spec for the cameras, processor and basically everything else, except for size and battery life, and it's really nice that you no longer need to spend more on a huge screen phone to get the best performance or best specs, plus the fact that you can simply choose between two phones based on which size suits your needs best, something that can't be said about the pro models.

For how much I know I've enjoyed using the mini. I would say that anyone who thinks the battery life won't be an issue should definitely consider getting the mini over the regular 12. It's 100 cheaper and surprised me with just how great it felt to use what you gain in the convenience of having such a small device, which probably offsets the minor inconvenience of needing to top up the phone's battery later in the day, especially since you can fill half the battery in less than 25 minutes. So that's something to consider too, but if you know that you'll use the phone heavily throughout the day or want that bigger screen size for watching videos, typing out messages or even simply browsing your social media apps, then the regular 12 makes more sense for me personally. I've used enough big phones for the past few years that the mini's smaller body has been such a refreshing change.

It's often considered a downgrade to switch to a phone with a smaller screen, but doing so with the mini hasn't felt like that at all, even with its limited battery life, the 12 mini is in danger of becoming not just the best iPhone, but my favorite smartphone I've used this year. But what do you think about this phone? Are you tired of phones becoming ridiculously big, or are you concerned that the mini wouldn't offer the battery life that you need? Let me know which iPhone you're upgrading to and leave any questions you have down below stay tuned to the channel for my upcoming look at the iPhone 12 Pro max and how its superior camera module differs from the regular pro for now, though, thank you very much for watching, and I'll see you all in the next one.

Source : InsideTech