iPhone 12 mini review: Smaller hands? This is the iPhone you need

Fans of smaller phones rejoiced last month as Apple announced the iPhone 12 mini – one of the four new models the company confirmed during an online-only event.

The iPhone 12 mini is an exciting phone in many regards, not just for its smaller stature, but because it sports almost exactly the same features as its slightly larger (and more expensive) counterpart the iPhone 12.

While compact, cheaper phones are generally considered a bit of an inferior compromise, can the same be said for the first official mini iPhone?

What does the iPhone 12 mini look like?

One of the main talking points surrounding this year’s four new devices is the new design, dropping the rounded edges Apple’s preferred for the past six years in favour of flat, matte brushed aluminium sides. Its back is coated in glossy, reflective glass in a choice of five finishes: black, white, red, green and blue, which look slick and stylish but swiftly become covered in hard-to-shift sticky fingerprints (particularly noticeable on the darker colours).

Ideal for smaller hands

Its tendency to attract smudges aside, the iPhone 12 mini is a fantastic piece of design: slim and small enough to sit in the palm of a hand and – crucially – tap out texts single-handedly. Weighing in at just 135g it’s light and well-balanced, meaning it will be markedly easier for people with smaller hands to use than the gigantic Pro Max or even the standard iPhone 12 models.

While I prefer using the largest phones possible because I enjoy the novelty of a bigger screen, I appreciate that many women and people who struggle to grasp and type on broader handsets will want a device that’s more manageable (and is small enough to slip into a pocket).

Elsewhere design-wise, the SIM card tray has moved from the right-hand side of the phone’s body to the lower-left, but otherwise, it’s pretty much business as usual: power button on the right-hand side, volume buttons and silencer on the left and a lightning charging port on the bottom – marking one more year Apple has resisted switching to USB-C (more of which later).

What’s the display like?

The iPhone 12 mini has a 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR display that’s very similar to the iPhone 12’s, just smaller and with a slightly lower resolution (2340 x 1080 resolution at 476 ppi – pixels per inch – compared to the larger phone’s 2532 x 1170, 460 ppi). The handset uses a form of customised OLED (organic light emitting diode) technology, which in plainer language, means that each pixel on the screen emits its own light: causing blacks to appear blacker and the brighter, richer colours to pop without that danger of appearing over-saturating and unnatural. The higher the number of pixels, the sharper and clearer what’s being displayed on the screen will appear.

For such a small screen, the iPhone 12 mini is bright and clear. Text is defined and photos are sharper and more detailed than the second gen iPhone SE – which has a 4.7-inch LCD (liquid crystal display).

This is because OLED tech is superior to LCD, which relies on an LED backlight rather than the light of the individual pixels, meaning images and text don’t appear quite as precise.

How much is it?

The iPhone 12 mini starts at £699 for 64GB of storage, rising to £749 for 128GB and £849 for 256GB. Each version is £100 less than its iPhone 12 counterpart, meaning unless you’re wedded to the bigger phone’s larger screen, you’re getting all the same features for less money. While iPhones are never cheap, this model is a relative bargain.

Ceramic Shield for greater screen protection

Like the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, which are already on sale, the Phone 12 mini’s display is covered in a new toughened glass which Apple is calling Ceramic Shield, a new material created using processes that mean it’s technically not quite glass, but is translucent enough to cover the display. This new layer, Apple claims, is both the toughest glass ever used in a smartphone and four times more durable when dropped compared to last year’s iPhones.

While I haven’t taken a hammer to the screen to test these claims, any new feature that toughens up a handset and leaves it less susceptible to shattering is a good thing. However, within two days of testing, I noticed a short but deep scratch on the edge of the screen I wasn’t able to attribute to a specific drop or scuff. Without being confident about its origin, I can’t really say if Ceramic Shield offered a greater degree of protection than Apple’s previous screen glass in terms of scratch defence, but it’s annoying nonetheless.

Like last year’s models, the iPhone 12 mini is IP68 rated, meaning it can withstand being submerged in up to 2m of water for up to half an hour without damage, and the back is also coated in a new tougher glass to help it withstand falls.

While I found the Ceramic Shield on the front of the iPhone 12 attracted greasy fingerprints that were hard to shift, the Phone 12 mini seems less susceptible to them. It’s hard to deduce why this might be, beyond reduced surface area, but any grubby marks are more easily buffed away than on its larger counterpart.

What else is new?

It was a pleasant surprise when Apple confirmed that all four of the new iPhone 12 models would support 5G, given it was previously rumoured only the two Pro models would be able to access the fifth generation of mobile connectivity.

Giving the iPhone 12 mini 5G support puts it on the same footing as the more expensive iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will help to future-proof the handset for years to come as 5G becomes more widely available. As I noted in both my iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro reviews, 5G coverage is still quite patchy even in London, meaning I wouldn’t recommend anyone buy any smartphone purely based on its 5G credentials.

Read More

iPhone 12 Pro Max review: The best of everything for Apple purists

I conducted a number of 5G speed tests in east London to work out the kinds of speeds achievable on the iPhone 12 mini, though they’re just a metric and not overly representative of real-life use. An EE test SIM returned average download speeds of 187Mbps (Megabits per second, the unit for measuring internet data transfer speed), while upload speeds came back at around 53Mbps.

This is largely in line with the kinds of speeds I encountered during my testing with the iPhone 12, and reflective of the connections we know 5G is capable of. However, the strength of your connection will vary, and with it, its current usefulness. 5G is still a nascent technology, a useful service to have when you can get it, but something that will inevitably build in strength over time. For now, it’s very much a work in progress.

A new faster processor

New year, new iPhone, new processor (essentially the brains of the device), and this year’s four new phones all contain the A14 Bionic chip – Apple’s fastest to date, and, it claims, the fastest ever in a smartphone full stop – the same assertion it made about last year’s A13 Bionic processor.

Due to the iPhone 12 mini’s diminutive size, its smaller battery is reflected in its shorter battery life. It tackled texting, sending and receiving WhatsApps, emails, using social media and browsing the internet easier for around 11 hours, before battery life dropped to under 40 per cent and you’d have to charge it again before heading anywhere for the evening.

MagSafe magnetic accessories

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models all support MagSafe, a new network of magnets in the phone’s backs to support a range of rear-mounted accessories. It consists of two magnets: one circular, one rectangular, and two NFC and magnetometer sensors integrated into the internal wound-wire coil the iPhone uses to charge wirelessly. In practice, this means it’s easier to snap Apple’s new range of silicone, leather and transparent protective cases onto the phone and to align it on top of a new circular MagSafe wireless charger (that looks like an enlarged Apple Watch charging puck, sold separately for £39.99, without a plug).

Read More

iPhone 12 Pro review: Breathtaking video on the default choice for photographers

The charger attaches securely to the back, holding the phone firmly enough to prevent it from falling free if knocked, recharging the handset from 24 per cent to 100 per cent within just under an hour and a half – at a rate of roughly 10 per cent every 10 minutes.

But the cleverest part of the MagSafe system is the opportunity to attach other accessories firmly and safely to the iPhone’s back. While the only official Apple add-on at this time is a neat little leather case for debit and credit cards (shielded to prevent interference with the cards’ magnet-sensitive strips), Belkin is the first third-party manufacturer to launch a range of MagSafe products including a 3-in-1 wireless charging stand (£139.99) and car mount (£34.99).

The leather case fits across the width of the handset and fit two debit cards comfortably, but struggles to accommodate three (to remove one of three cards, you’d have to detach the case from the phone and wiggle it out, though there is a thumb gap on the rear end to help ease out the card nearest the back). Although the magnet’s hold is relatively strong, its strength is overly concentrated around the wallet’s top, meaning it can easily become dislodged when slipping the phone into a pocket – particularly a tighter-fitting one. I’d be cautious about putting all your important cards into the wallet if you plan on carrying the device around in just a pocket, as there’s real potential for the wallet sliding off. At least within a bag, you’d be reassured if the wallet came loose it’d be safe.

IPHONE 12 MINI SPECS

• 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR display
• 2340×1080-pixel resolution at 476 ppi
• 64GB/128GB/256GB
• A14 Bionic chip
• Ceramic Shield front
• Glass back and aluminium design
• Dual 12MP camera system: Ultra Wide and Wide cameras – Ultra Wide: ƒ/2.4 aperture and 120° field of view – Wide: ƒ/1.6 aperture, 12MP front-facing camera
• Black, white, red, green and blue finishes
• Rated IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) 
• Weighs 135g
• From £699

Starts from £699 for 64GB, £749 for 128GB and £849 for 256GB
On sale from 13 November

What’s the camera like?

While the iPhone camera has always been simple to use, its Android-running rivals swiftly developed more complicated systems that produced impressive results, using cameras with higher MP and sophisticated AI algorithms that made Apple’s snappers look pretty modest in comparison.

Consequently, Apple has undertaken some serious groundwork in the past few years to narrow the gap, developing its own behind-the-scenes algorithms and technology that make it easier than ever to simply point and shoot to capture amazing images.

The iPhone 12 mini has the same camera set-up as the iPhone 12 – two rear-facing 12MP cameras: one wide and one ultra-wide. The wide camera has a faster ƒ/1.6 aperture (the opening in a lens that allows light to pass through into the camera) to let in 27 per cent more light than last year’s iPhone 11, while the ultra-wide camera is now capable of capturing four times more in its field of vision.

As camera systems go, they don’t come much easier to use than the iPhone’s. The phone is so light it’s easy to swivel round in your hand to quickly snap pictures, particularly when long-pushing the camera icon from the home screen.

Better in low-light, you can now shoot time lapses at night

Just like the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 mini is markedly better than previous iPhones at capturing photos in the dark via its Night Mode, the feature Apple rolled out last year to make pictures taken in low light sharper and brighter. As it’s now included in the front-facing camera, selfies taken at night now look better lit and more detailed than on older iPhones, thanks in part to Deep Fusion, Apple’s automatic image processing system that aims to replicate colours naturally and clearly.

Night Mode is at its best when used on shots that foreground people and objects against darker backgrounds, highlighting faces and items without a natural source of light and brightening without blanket-lightening and obscuring finer details. It still struggles slightly in outdoor settings at dusk, when it sometimes brightens the sky to broad daylight levels, and at night with street lamps, when it occasionally washed the sky from black to a purple-ish grey.

While you’ve always technically been able to shoot sped-up time lapse videos at night, the Night Mode tweaks means that the iPhone 12 mini is able to process darkened scenes much more clearly, meaning it’s now capable of clearly picking out subjects instead of just watching darkness rapidly give way to light as the sun rises.

Read More

iPhone 12 review: Apple’s first 5G flagship device delivers big jumps in performance

Whereas pictures taken on older iPhones with ultra-wide cameras could appear slightly warped thanks to its curvature, the new phones contain software designed to correct it. Buildings which were previously curved have now been straightened out, making them appear closer to what the human eye observes.

Fantastic video shooting

While the still photography you can achieve on the iPhone 12 mini is brilliant, its video capturing abilities are where it’s really punching above its weight.

Footage shot on 4K 60fps (frames per second) while walking in noticeably smoother than previous models thanks to greater stabilising tech, capturing changes in light and the tonal depth of autumn leaves, hair colour and city lights in fading light beautifully.

The wide rear-facing camera’s larger aperture means videos look lighter and brighter in low light conditions, coupled with less noise and the ability to shoot directly in Dolby Vision – the first and only camera in the world to do so. Dolby Vision is a form of HDR (High Dynamic Range) video technology that constantly tweaks the brightness, contrast and colour performance being relayed to you on a device’s screen to ensure it appears as realistic as possible, maintaining the colours it was shot in and intended to be viewed in, free from additional overlays or saturating tech that means a video appears differently when replayed to how it was originally shot. Apple claims the 10-bit video is capable of capturing up to 700m colours (60x more than previously available on an iPhone).

Colour is particularly crisp and vivid in 4K, though HDR also does a solid job of replicating shades and tones accurately, without making them cartoonishly bright (which other phone manufacturers such as Samsung have a tendency to do because it makes them pop on-screen).

No plug included

If you were wondering why the iPhone 12 mini’s box is so slim, it’s because Apple’s decided to ditch the charger power adapter (plug) that usually comes with a new handset. Instead, there’s a USB-C to lightning cable, which won’t work with the standard plugs you may be used to charging previous iPhones with. While this won’t be an issue for people who already own relatively recent MacBooks (which have come with USB-C ports and supportive charging plugs for several years) it will be for those of us who don’t – you’ve just bought a phone without a full operational charger.

Read More

How the iPhone has evolved in size, from the very first to the iPhone 12 Pro Max

Apple’s reasoning is to cut down on electronic waste, an undisputed noble cause, but a decision that isn’t necessarily consumer-friendly. Seeing as smartphones and mobile phone before them have generally always been sold with the appropriate charging apparatus, it’s a bold choice that may well be one that would-be customers aren’t overly happy about. Handily enough, Apple sells a compatible adaptor for £19.99, so make of that what you will. It does still charge with a standard lightning iPhone charger though, so if you’ve got one lying around, you’re sorted. Otherwise, tough luck, you’ll have to shell out for the plug.

So, should you buy the iPhone 12 mini?

The iPhone 12 mini will be the iPhone most people should buy, because it’s essentially all the same features as the iPhone 12 for less money – bar the difference in screen size and slight gap in battery life. For that reason, it’s hard to fault the iPhone 12 mini for what you get – Apple is clearly prepared to forfeit potential iPhone 12 sales to cater for both money-conscious shoppers and ardent fans of smaller phones.

While I still wouldn’t encourage anyone to buy one of the new iPhones purely for 5G, the fact the iPhone 12 mini supports it, has an excellent camera system and a slick design for a lower price tag, it’d be unreasonable to describe it as anything other than fantastic value for money. The Ceramic Shield sustained a bit of damage during my testing and the battery isn’t quite as powerful as its larger rivals, but on the whole it’s the best new iPhone for the masses.

Rating: 4.5/5

Pros:

• Fantastic value for money considering its features
• Smaller size is great for people who struggle with larger handsets
• Great rear-facing cameras, very quick

Cons:

• The Ceramic Shield scratched slightly after two days
• Battery life isn’t as long as bigger phones as the cell is smaller
• Still a relatively expensive smartphone

The iPhone 12 mini is on sale from £699 from 13 November

…→