Verdict
It might be mini in size , but the iPhone 13 Mini excels thanks to an first-class camera , quality presentation and improved stamp battery animation .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
telephone set are becoming enceinte and large for allow for more screenland space . The downside of this is that they ’re becoming increasingly more difficult to hold and type with one hand for those with modest figure . Enter the iPhone 13 Mini .
Apple ’s dinky phone pack in the vast legal age of the feature found in the standardiPhone 13 , include the same A15 Bionic chip and twofold - television camera system of rules . Unfortunately , for little - handed folk , Apple did not launch a novel iPhone 14 Mini alongside theiPhone 14 in 2022 . So if you ’re stand for to buy a new low smartphone today , the iPhone 13 Mini is n’t quite the same bargain as it was back in 2021 .
The iPhone 13 Mini has a lot more challenger now too . TheGoogle Pixel 7amay be slightly marvellous and all-encompassing , but it ’s not as slurred as the iPhone and is far more low-cost . It ’s also throng a superior set of features , especially when it comes to the camera . The raw trend of foldable phones has also mean you may now have a phone which has both a large screen and a compact aim that can slip into a small air hole , such as theSamsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 .
Nevertheless , if you ’re an Apple loyalist and are smashing to have the smallest phone possible , then the iPhone 13 Mini remains a adept option .
Design and screen
The iPhone 13 Mini looks just like the regular iPhone 13 – only noticeably smaller . This is for those citizenry who mean most new earpiece are too bounteous , too heavy and do n’t well fit into a sack or small bag .
Whether the iPhone 13 Mini size appeals to you will really depend on personal taste . I encounter it a slight too small for much of what I apply my headphone for – and , if you ’re big into nomadic play , video watching or the alike , then the 13 Mini ’s grade is unlikely to be for you . On the other mitt , if you require a speech sound that can easily slip in a sack and be held in one manus , then the iPhone 13 Mini is one of thebest phonesaround alongside the Google Pixel 7a andAsus Zenfone 10 .
My colleague Tom has been using theiPhone 12 Minisince its release and he said it has deepen how he uses phone in general . The smaller sizing realise it easier to pull out on meddlesome public transport and encourages him to take more pictorial matter . This really is a telephone you demand to examine out to see whether it accommodate you .
In terms of actual size , then , it ’s similar to theiPhone SE 2and iPhone 8 . But , of course , the larger exhibit does enable you to cram a flock more on the screen . If you ’re coming from an iPhone 8 or older , you ’ll feel at base .
Size away , the design mirrors that of the larger iPhone 13 – Apple shifted to a great extent from its curved smell with the iPhone 12 , so it ’s no surprise to see the aim carried forrard for a 2d year . The phone has matte aluminium side that are savorless , very much like the iPhone 5 or original iPhone SE , while the back is chalk .
There are three obvious changes to the figure seeable here over theiPhone 12 Mini . First is the expectant , more spectacular camera module that houses the new ( and immensely better ) dual television camera on the back . It ’s bigger , but the benefits are clean-cut when you start shooting .
The other notable change is on the showing , where the size of the notch has been cut down by around 20 % . The snick feel the most egregious on the Mini phones , since it contain up more place . The diminished size is therefore welcome , but I ca n’t see it changing anyone ’s overall legal opinion of the notch , especially now the more ergonomicDynamic Islandis available on theiPhone 14 Pro Max .
The final change is the new compass of colours in which the iPhone 13 Mini is available . Starlight feels like the newspaper headline hue , add up a jot of gold to a eloquent body . There ’s a very deep Product(RED ) model , too .
Joining those colouration is Midnight , averydark blueing that front almost black ( it ’s the one you ’ll see pictured in this review ) , plus a lighter blue and unclouded pink . This is n’t quite the standout natural selection of colours we ’ve seen late ; I ’m disappointed that there ’s no minty green or regal choice – both of which I really like on the iPhone 12 series . Still , it ’s a decent selection of colours and it ’s nice to see so much variety on go .
Apple calls the glass covering on both the front and back of the equipment ‘ Ceramic Shield ’ , and after using an iPhone 12 for a yr now , it ’s certainly fair to say it ’s more rugged than it face . You ’ll likely sum a case and screen protector on the telephone anyway , but it ’s always welcome to make out it ’s middling lasting without – as long as you ’re heedful . The iPhone 13 Mini also come with anIP68water - underground rating .
Where the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini diverge from the Pro series is with their display . While all mannikin use the OLED tech for rich blacks and high contrast , the crummy twain ditch theProMotionadaptive refresh rate technical school for the stock 60Hz board that ’s been present on every old iPhone .
A faster 120Hz is something that ’s laborious to change aside from once you ’ve spent clip with it . Scrolling , swiping and gaming all feel A-one - smooth ; it just makes vivification and movements so much faster . But the iPhone 13 Mini has one of the expert 60Hz screen door I have try , so it ’s still utterly adequate .
Refresh charge per unit aside , the rest of the screen is great . At 5.4 inch it ’s comparatively dinky , so is n’t really idealistic for play or movie cyclosis . But if you do adjudicate your manus at both , the results are great , thanks to the high grade of brightness level in HDR video cyclosis .
Camera
The iPhone 13 Mini might very well have the finest camera of this size I ’ve ever used , at least when you consider the Google Pixel 7a is a little larger .
The main camera sensor on the iPhone 13 Mini offers a significant rising slope in terms of size , with larger picture element and a truehearted lens , both of which leave far more light to hit the sensing element . This is paired with a 12 - megapixel ultra - wide , with a 120 - degree force field of view .
The principal sensor also benefits from the same detector - shift stabilization first innovate in theiPhone 12 Pro Max . It ’s certainly telling that the tech from a headphone that cost upwardly of £ 1000/$1000 is available in a model costing about half that .
The biggest improvements are felt when the light is low , either outdoors or in dimly light up bars and restaurants . The iPhone 13 Mini does n’t force itself into the dedicated modest - luminousness Night manner as much , turning instead to that bigger sensor and its rude skills . Photos get at Nox retain much of the contingent from the day , with minimal noise and fantastically accurate exposure .
In easier condition , such as well - lit environments , the picture pop with detail and a lovely natural finish . They ’re on par with those catch by thePixel 6and , for my tastes , are a whole tone before of those taken with theSamsung Galaxy S21series – even the Ultra .
If you want to tweak the look of catch , the Modern Photography Styles provide more mastery than I ’ve ever seen on an iPhone . There are distinguishable elan for vibrancy and rich contrast , along with options for making snap quick or cool .
copious contrast , for example , pulls out more of the highlights and trace , devote effigy a look that is n’t too dissimilar to those accept on the Pixel 6 . These styles are n’t just filters , they ’re deeper than that – and , as a issue , you ca n’t murder them once the image has been snapped with them .
extremist - blanket snaps are big , too , and I still bang the versatility this photographic camera brings . However , what could do with an update is the front photographic camera , which has n’t take in much in the way of love for a few year . Selfies are fine , but they ’re a trivial short on item – and the colours do n’t quite pack the punch of mental image shoot down with the rear television camera .
What the camera is missing is any sort of optical zoom , with that third detector earmark for the Pro model . The digital zoom pale in comparison to the Pixel 6 , and I rarely plant myself using it .
Video remains a impregnable point , and if you ’re bully on picking up a phone to capture footage then the iPhone 13 series is , just put , the best there is . Video is well stabilize , with natural colours and mess of selection for frame charge per unit and resolution . Cinematic mode brings across the Portrait modal value from the stills camera , just with less effectivity . you could record Cinematic mode in HDR Dolby Vision up to 1080p at 30fps , far lower than the 4 KB 60fps maximum in the standard video mode .
Performance
What make the iPhone 13 Mini such a unique equipment is that it does n’t sacrifice performance to reach its dinky size .
At the heart of the equipment you ’ll find the sameA15 Bionicchipset as not only the iPhone 13 , but the iPhone 13 Pro Max – and this direct to especial hurrying in every task . It ’s a little outdated now we ’re in 2023 , but most the great unwashed should still be felicitous with the performance here .
Inside the chip is a six - core CPU , four - core GPU and a 16 - core neural locomotive engine for AI tasks . The base storage sits at 128 GB , double the 64 GB of the 12 Mini . plainly take the A15 Bionic spits out safe bench mark scores and performs well day - to - twenty-four hours is underplay it and the bulk of mod silicon . Like the Pixel 6 and itsTensorSoC ( system - on - chip ) , the applications programme is more famed in the arena of television camera processing , machine erudition and AI .
The A15 Bionic powers the Cinematic mode with its focus rack and perpetually change blur effects , alongside the preposterously useful Live Text feature , which can pull addresses and phone numbers from your photo library .
It also make water its comportment felt in play , comfortably handling all the big titles at maximal configurations . I ’ve been churning through a number ofApple Arcadetitles during the review menstruation , and while the concealment is n’t the idealistic size for play , everything performs incredibly well .
There ’s a wider selection of 5 G lot thanks to a new 5 gm modem . USA versions of the phone also put up mmWave 5 one thousand – a faster version of the technical school that only properly works when you ’re very closelipped to the masts . mmWave is n’t available in the UK , nor many other regions yet , so the tech is simply just missing from these iPhone models .
Battery life
If there was one major literary criticism I had with the iPhone 12 Mini , it was barrage life . Endurance was moderately sapless ; I often barely made it through a work day without having to reach for a charger .
Thankfully , that ’s no longer the case here – although the iPhone 13 Mini still ranks as the worst iPhone 13 model for battery life .
The best means to describe the bombardment life history here is that it last just about as long as the regular - sized iPhone 12 from 2020 . I ’ve been wanting to properly test this battery , and during my calendar month of using the phone every twenty-four hours , in the main it has just about seen me through to bedtime – although it ’s hack it okay , close to 3 - 4 % by the time I plug it in . That ’s a pair of special hours of economic consumption per day over the iPhone 12 Mini .
This is a welcome betterment ; however , with all iPhone framework receiving significant electric battery boosts this year , the Mini remains the only one to not make it into a second day of use . For most people this will be absolutely fine – but if you ’d care to be in a position where you do n’t have to worry about battery life then you might be better opting for the slightly bigger , but still comparatively small , iPhone 13 .
In a more assure trial , the iPhone 13 Mini only just fall back behind its tumid sibling . An hour of HDR Netflix at 100 % brightness take the steady iPhone 13 down 9 % , while the same test on the Mini take it down 10 % .
Charging f number will calculate on the type of courser you ’re using . The iPhone 13 Mini supports up to 20W fast wired charging , and using one of these you ’ll get to around 50 % in half an hour . You do n’t get a courser in the box , though , and I ’d recommend picking up a 20W equal to USB - nose candy fire hydrant since using an honest-to-goodness iPhone 5W charger will take a longsighted clock time to get to 100 % .
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Should you buy it?
The biggest reason to take the iPhone 13 Mini over the regular iPhone 13 is the size of it . If you want the smallest , most powerful phone going , this is the one .
While there have been some excellent improvements to the endurance here , this still remains the iPhone 13 with the worst survival .
Final Thoughts
Small , powerful and no longer let down by stingy shelling life , the iPhone 13 Mini retains the sizing that made the late iteration standout but fixes the major progeny we had with it – endurance .
A couple of years on , with no signal of the iPhone 14 Mini , it is starting to palpate a tad outdated . TheGoogle Pixel 7ais a better value alternative if you ’re happy to increase the size a little , while theAsus Zenfone 10is also deserving considering .
Nevertheless , if you ’re corking to stick to Io and crave the low earphone possible , the iPhone 13 Mini is the obvious pick .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try out every mobile phone we review thoroughly . We apply industry standard tests to compare feature film properly and we use the phone as our main gadget over the review catamenia . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , take money to reexamine a product .
FAQs
Nope , ProMotion is only for the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max .
There ’s a cable television in the box , but no point male plug .
The iPhone 13 Mini comes in 128 GB , 256 GB and 512 GB flavours .
Test Data
Full Specs
