Mighty power in a mini-sized iPhone
Apple iPhone 12 Mini.
There is so much to like about the adorable iPhone 12 Mini. It offers the same powerful A14 Bionic processor found in the larger and more expensive iPhone 12 Pro Max. Compared to the Max, the mini is tiny but I can see this being much-loved by many due to its adorable form factor.
The iPhone 12 Mini really is just a smaller iPhone 12 with a resolution of 2340 x 1080px packed into a stunning 5.4-inch OLED display. The look and feel of the Mini are identical to the iPhone 12, just smaller. All the same premium materials are used including the Ceramic Shield front screen for up to four times more drop resistance and the flat aluminium sides and body.
It comes in five different colours - white, black, blue, green and my review unit arrived in the (product) red, which looks absolutely stunning in the flesh.
When given a choice, I tend to go for large display phones but after using the Mini I can see why many are attracted to a smaller phone. The main benefit is being able to reach all four corners of the screen one-handed and of course, it will fit almost anywhere. And, let’s face it, a 5.4-inch screen isn’t really small in and of itself. It just seems that way when you compare it to larger screen phones. The first Samsung Note coined the word ‘phablet’ and it only had a 5.3-inch screen.
In everyday use, I never felt the screen was too small or had any problems using the keyboard.
For certain things, bigger is always going to be better but I really loved the break from larger, heavy phones while using the Mini.
The iPhone 12 mini has the same A14 Bionic processor and 4GB of RAM as the iPhone 12 and is just as zippy. You also get 5G, so there’s no penalty for choosing the smaller size. Just like all the other iPhone 12s, there’s no charger in the box, only a USB-C to Lightning cable. You do get full Qi charging support and it works with Apple’s new MagSafe wireless charger and accessories. The new MagSafe wallet is a perfect fit on the iPhone 12 Mini, however, you have to take it off when you want to charge the phone wirelessly.
Where you will see a hit in performance is in battery life. Most days I was easily able to get through a full day. However, there were days with heavy use where I had to reach for the charger by 6 pm, something I’ve never had to do with the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The smaller form factor makes the iPhone 12 Mini one of the best point-and-shoot cameras out there. It’s so easy to pick up and shoot and the camera app is so clean and easy to use. I’m still not too big a fan of having some camera settings hidden away in general settings but all of the essential and most used options are easily found within the app.
The iPhone 12 mini has the same dual 12MP camera on the rear and a 12MP selfie camera on the front as those found on the iPhone 12. They perform the same and image quality is identical. The addition of the ultrawide lens on the rear is a major bonus and Night mode works on all cameras now. The lack of the telephoto lens will disappoint some, but most users will be more than happy with the quality and flexibility derived from the dual-camera system.
The iPhone 12 Mini can capture class-leading video quality. Incredibly, it’s capable of capturing glorious Dolby Vision HDR recordings in 4K that looks stunning, especially when played back on a compatible device and screen that support the format.
When you take into account that the iPhone 12 Mini is almost identical to the iPhone 12, just smaller, it’s hard not to be impressed by how the Apple engineers and design team have managed to create such a compact phone without any major compromises.
I loved using the iPhone 12 Mini and although I still prefer the larger Pro Max form factor, I now get why so many people prefer smaller phones like the iPhone 12 Mini.
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