pianoThe world of smartphones has been going on for years to propose the axiom “big is better”. Understandable, considering how many functions they perform, how many components they contain, how universal phones are today in life. Impossible, it is tempting to think maybe even unconsciously, that so many roles can be played by something small. The wave is taken for granted that no one is surprised if Apple releases a 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max or Samsung launches a 6.9-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 20. What is surprising enough to require to be explained is instead the choice of launching a phone like the iPhone mini with a 5.4-inch screen and with dimensions that are comparable to those of a phone from six years ago. Why Apple has launched into this enterprise and what the result is achieved will be at the center of this review that will leave aside information and in-depth judgments on the processor, camera, design.
iPhone 12 mini quel which we will not talk about
The premise is in fact that we are talking in all respects of an iPhone 12 that we have already reviewed here on Cyberlayman, only with a smaller screen. Form, materials, components, camera, processor, functions, colors, finishes are exactly the same. If you are interested in learning more about it, we invite you to scroll through the review of a few days ago.
In fact, here we will not talk about
In practical terms everything that made iPhone 12, as we wrote , the most dangerous competitor of the iPhone 12 are all gathered here in the iPhone 12 mini. canvases Android phone.
The small size, however, changes the perspective not only in terms of ergonomics, but in terms of usability of the system and therefore also of use. And that's what we need to focus on to understand how the iPhone 12 mini fits into the iPhone range of the year .
In the iPhone 12 mini box there is only the cable to recharge the battery
The dimensions first of all
iPhone 12 mini is really small, extraordinarily small , smaller than what we have imagined and also what you probably imagine. With its 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4mm and a weight of 133 grams, iPhone 12 mini is the smallest and lightest iPhone seen since the launch of iPhone 6. Indeed, it is smaller than iPhone 6 and slightly larger. of the first generation iPhone SE. The new iPhone SE which is the smallest of the Apple smartphones currently on the market is larger (138.4 X 67.3 X 7.3mm) and only 4 grams lighter. Coming to today, iPhone mini cubes 20% less than iPhone 12 and also weighs 20%; compared to iPhone 11 marks -50% and -18%. A nice jump back (or forward…). Those who, like the writer, have had in their hands (and reviewed) all the iPhones put on the market in Italy from 2008 to today can only be surprised and feel transported back in a sort of time machine. Going back to being able to touch your fingers while clenching a phone in your fist is a feeling buried in memory, a return to the aforementioned iPhone SE which was nothing more than an iPhone 5s, or even to iPhone 4.
iPhone 12 mini is really very small
Ergonomics
The result of all this is a phone that can be handled with great agility , which can be put literally anywhere, including even your pocket of the change of a pair of jeans. While we were trying to slip it into our pockets, the first thing that came to our mind was that in terms of thickness and size it would be the ideal phone for the pockets of a tight women's pants. A more prosaic thought then ran to the curses that we launched ourselves the various times when we went to the bathroom we heard a dull “knock”, the noise of our iPhone 11 Pro Max falling from our back pocket, a problem that will not have who in that pocket will put an iPhone 12 Mini.
It fits in the palm of your hand
Fashion and stories from the toilet aside, the ergonomics of the iPhone 12 mini are also perfect in the hand . Thanks to the size and square edges of the range of all iPhone 12, the mini holds securely, just like it did with the first generation iPhone SE. The sharp edges may or may not like (we like them) but it is indubitable that for size, friction provided by the shape and the shiny back, the new mini iPhone remains firmly in the hands even when you pass it from one palm to another or you rotate it.
The screen
After the premise we get to the point: the screen. The display is clearly the elephant in an iPhone 12 Mini review room since everyone will first wonder if 5.4 inches is enough for everyday life, what is it? it loses and how much compared to an iPhone 12 screen.
The answer is not simple because it largely depends on the usage habits and the importance assigned to some of them. Qualitatively and technologically the display is extraordinary; it is almost completely borderless (even smaller than those of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro), it has a density of 477ppi, higher than the density of that of an iPhone 12 or 12 Pro (460). This means that iPhone mini, with the native resolution 2340 X 1080 is able to show the same content as a phone with a 6.1 inch screen, even if everything will be more defined but also smaller . This added to the high brightness makes the images well readable even if it is clear that you must have good eyesight (or good glasses) to grasp all the details.
On the left iPhone 12 Pro Max on the right iPhone 12 mini; the visible contents of the screen are the same
In any case, the screen presents messages, mail and Internet contents in a sufficiently legible manner. As for watching streaming content, this is not the phone to turn to; we can use it for some videos on an occasional basis but not to watch all episodes of Good Omens or Theran. In a nutshell the 5.4-inch screen is not for those who spend the day staring at their phone and probably not even for those who want to use it as a navigator mounted on a support to the windshield in automobile.
On the other hand the 5.4 inches is a dimension that makes the Phone 12 mini excellent for texting or typing anything with one hand . Since we have been using iPhone 12 mini, getting used to the shape, we have realized that we make far fewer mistakes than we do when writing with iPhone 12 Pro. From this point of view, the new Apple phone is the dream of whoever is. fed up with having to hold the phone with one hand and write with the other. complained about the small size of the keys and that too small characters make it difficult to see typos.
Typing text is easy, thanks to the proximity of the keys (which for some are however a bit small)
The autonomy
If the screen is the elephant in the room, the autonomy runs the risk of being the real weak side of the iPhone 12 mini. The doubt arises from the inevitability of the fact that a small phone corresponds to a small battery, We are talking about a component from 2,227 mAh while that of the iPhone 12, as mentioned, substantially identical in terms of components, is from 2,815 mAh. What a 20% lower capacity means in practice we know from Apple, which tells us that iPhone 12 mini plays video for two hours less than iPhone 12, streaming video for an hour less and sound audio for 15 hours less .
We in practice with about 4 hours of phone use per day (essentially messages, Safari, reading news on application) and a series of tasks in the background, our iPhone 12 mini ends the day attached to the charger at ten in the evening with about 10% of remaining energy; iPhone 12 with the same usage rate at the same point shows a 30% battery.
iPhone 12 mini battery in a photo taken from the disassembly of iPhone 12 mini implemented by iFixiIt
Put aside the numbers to go to the substance, what we can say is that iPhone 12 mini is not as disastrous in autonomy as some American reviewers say , but it is certainly not the phone that we can forget to recharge at the end of the day. Above all it is not the phone to buy if you intend to exploit (when possible) the 5G network given the experience told in the test of the iPhone 12 Pro. In this case we suspect that the use of an additional pocket battery or a quick connection to a power supply may be a must in the middle of the day.
The slower wireless charging
About charging. iPhone 12 mini is compatible with fast charging and Magsafe for iPhone. It means that using the USB-C cable on Lighting (supplied) and a USB-C charger (shown separately) will fully charge the battery in an hour and a half. Using the Magsafe you will instead have a slower recharge than the rest of the range, because on this version of the iPhone 12 the wireless system works not at 15W but at 12W . It's not too surprising that the Magsafe for iPhone doesn't offer the same performance here as it does on the larger models. Wireless charging generates heat, and Apple probably doesn't think the small size of the iPhone 12 mini is adequate to withstand the temperature that occurs when using the magnetic accessory at its peak performance.
Magsafe for iPhone used with iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 mini for taking pictures identical to that of the iPhone 12, but for the ergonomic factor. The size and quality ratio of the images makes iPhone 12 mini even more interesting to buy a phone to photograph. In very little space you can count on a device capable of capturing very pleasant images in all situations , including times when the light is low since like all iPhone 12 it shoots in night mode with all focal lengths and with all cameras, including the front one. iPhone 12 mini is the ideal phone for one-handed photos and selfies; it is in fact very easy to point and orient it . It is so small that it ends up in any of your pockets to be extracted when needed without noticing its presence when not needed.
Conclusion
iPhone 12 mini to our judgment is the real surprise of the iPhone 12 range . It certainly is in relation to our expectations; we thought we were faced with a sort of “freak”, a timeless person unable to respond to what he asks a phone today, too small and devoid of meaning. Instead with iPhone 12 mini Apple presents a fully functional device with which it meets the request of those who ask for a device that minimizes the dimensions without minimizing functions or quality. It matches iPhone 12 in every respect and replicates its build quality, takes pictures equally excellent and has a top-notch screen. Indeed, it brings with it, in a smaller format, everything that you appreciate iPhone 12 Pro for except for the zoom and even everything that is in the iPhone 12 Pro Max except the largest sensor.
The only real technical limitation compared to the rest of the range is in the autonomy , forcibly reduced, a disadvantage that added to the screen in (relative) miniature prevents you from imagining iPhone 12 mini a phone for everyone. But if iPhone 12 mini can't be the phone for everyone, it's still a candidate to be the phone for many more people than you might be tempted to imagine.
Pro
Cons
Price and availability
iPhone 12 mini is available in three memory cuts, from 64, 128 and 256 GB in five colors (red, blue, white, green and black) with a starting price of 839 euros. It can be purchased on the Apple Store online, in authorized stores and also on Amazon where it is available in installments without interest and without a paycheck.
