iPhone 12 mini review: The soccer mom’s antidote to big and tall phones

Apple’s iPhone 12 mini is proof that, when it comes to smartphones, bigger is not always better.

With a starting price of $699, Apple’s new 5.4-inch “miniature” iPhone comes with all the same flagship specs (and bragging rights) you’ll find on the rest of its new iPhone 12 lineup — a Super Retina OLED display, the latest A14 Bionic chip, MagSafe charging compatibility, advanced camera sensors, and 5G connectivity — except that it’s all packed into a compact, flat-edged body that fits in one hand.

As the most petite iPhone in the current lineup, the 12 mini goes against the trend of plus-sized phones that have been dominating the market for years now. If you’ll remember, Samsung kicked off this ever-increasing smartphone display growth with the large-for-its-time 5.3-inch screen on 2011’s Galaxy Note. But it wasn’t until a few years later in 2014 that Apple finally followed suit, launching the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus alongside the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 6. 

Fast forward six years, and now Apple’s current flagships, the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, come in at an even larger 6.1-inches, with the ultra luxe iPhone 12 Pro Max measuring in at 6.7-inches — making it Apple’s biggest phone yet.

Up until now, iPhone loyalists who wanted a small device were limited to the following options: holding onto their outdated phones, upgrading to one of the larger 5.8-inch (or even bigger) iPhones, or settling for the first-generation iPhone SE with older parts. And while there are plenty of people who appreciate having more screen real estate (myself included), the options for smaller phones with the latest specs have become limited, especially for Apple. 

For a while, Apple seemed to have forgotten that there are entire groups of people out there who want cutting-edge smartphone features but in a smaller, more durable body: the busy, on-the-go soccer moms who keep their phones in cup holders for a majority of the day, the small-handed (aka me), the clumsy types who tend to drop and crack the screens of their fragile, oversized phones (also me), the parents who want the latest technology that’s also the perfect size for their antsy toddlers to play with, and so on. 

These are the kinds of people the iPhone 12 mini was made for. 

The nostalgia is real

The iPhone 12 mini looks like what you’d get if you put the regular iPhone 12 in an Incredible Shrinky Dink Maker from the 90s. It has the same flat-edge design with boxy corners, an aluminum border, and a glass back — just smaller. It’s also available in the same colors: black, red, white, green, or blue. But, unlike the 6.1-inch iPhone 12, the mini comfortably fits in the palm of your hand.

With a design that’s heavily reminiscent of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5, the 12 mini’s small stature sometimes made me feel like I was carrying an old iPhone that I dug up from a drawer in my parents’ house. That’s not to say it has a dated aesthetic, because it’s certainly a sleek-looking phone, but the miniature size feels super nostalgic. It’s tough to accurately describe how small this phone is in words, and photos don’t truly do it justice. 

So, I’ll break down the numbers for you. The iPhone 12 measures 5.78 inches tall and 2.82 inches wide while the 12 mini comes in at 5.18 inches tall and 2.53 inches wide. It’s also now officially the smallest phone Apple offers, stealing the title from from the second-generation iPhone SE introduced earlier this year, which measures 5.45 inches tall and 2.65 inches wide.

The absence of a Touch ID button on the 12 mini allows for a larger display, that’s also higher quality. Unlike the 4.7-inch Retina LCD screen (1334 by 750 pixel resolution) on Apple’s budget iPhone SE, the 12 mini touts a 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR display (2340 by 1080 pixel resolution) complete with minimal bezels. 

This brings me to my next point: The phone is too damn tiny for me — display, form factor, and all. Trust me, this realization came as a shock considering how I constantly criticize flagship phones for being way too large for my hands. A friend even described the 12 mini as a “Brenda-sized phone” when it was first announced. 

Allow me to explain: I rely on my phone a lot throughout the day and night, whether that’s for watching Netflix, texting friends in never-ending group chats, or scrolling through social media. So, not only was it frustrating to have to constantly stare at or navigate such a small display for long periods of time, but when typing with both hands, my fingers felt squished while resting on the back of the phone.

Look, I’m not proud of my excessive smartphone usage, but it’s made me realize how crucial a large display is for me. Now, if you have a better grasp on your smartphone addiction than I do and only use your phone periodically to answer some texts here and there, scroll through Instagram once in a while, and receive or answer phone calls, then I can confidently say you’ll be unbothered by both the size of the phone and the screen.

There is an upside to its small form, however, that I very much appreciated — it’s really easy to hold one-handed. In fact, I very rarely used the phone with both hands for the majority of my time reviewing it. On a typical day, I’d have a cup of coffee in one hand while mindlessly snapping photos and answering texts with the other. Whereas with the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, I often felt like I had to handle both phones with two hands, a lot of caution, and care. 

With a glass display and glass back, the 12 mini isn’t a rugged phone by any means. But it’s so lightweight and easy to maneuver that it never felt like it was going to suddenly slip from my hands and fall to the ground. I constantly felt like I had such a good grip on it at all times that I didn’t even feel the need to put a case on it. 

And seeing as how I’m the (self-appointed) clumsiest person on earth, that’s saying a lot.

Yes, you still get those dual cameras 

Even though the 12 mini is the cheapest iPhone 12 of the bunch, Apple made sure not to skimp on the camera system. You know, the way it did with that single 12-megapixel camera on the iPhone SE (2020). 

On the back, the 12 mini features the same dual camera system as the iPhone 12 with a 12-megapixel wide lens (f/1.6 aperture) and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens (f/2.4 aperture and a 120-degree field of view). Meanwhile, the front is home to a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera.

The 12 mini also has the same lowlight camera features as the iPhone 12, so you can take Night Mode selfies and Night Mode shots with the ultra-wide-angle lens. I already tested the iPhone 12’s cameras, and am confident when I say photos on the 12 mini produced the same results as far as image quality goes.

Overall, photos looked super crisp and sharp in both daylight and at night. Here are a few examples of shots I took while testing out the cameras:

Standard daytime shots

Portrait Mode

Lowlight shots with Night Mode

Trouble-free performance, but battery life will vary

As with the rest of the iPhone 12 lineup, the 12 mini packs an A14 Bionic chip that runs as fast and smooth as its more expensive siblings. Apps open quickly and scrolling through emails, texts, and social media feels swift. But, as I said in my review of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, the 40 percent increase in speed over last year’s chipset isn’t all that noticeable if you’re coming from the iPhone 11. 

The chipset is supposed to be more efficient when it comes to optimizing battery life. And the 12 mini does have impressive battery life depending on how much you use it. During my time with the phone, I would consistently eke out 12 hours each day before reaching low battery. With its small size and therefore, smaller battery, that’s actually pretty impressive — it’s also longer than the 10 hours I managed to squeeze out of the iPhone 12 Pro. 

I did notice, however, that the battery tends to drain quickly when you begin to push the phone harder than usual. On a day where I was using the phone to test out its cameras while also answering texts and making a few calls, I reached 50 percent battery life within only four hours. The phone still lasted me 12 hours, but that’s only because I limited my usage at night.

During another day, I relied more on my MacBook to answer texts and emails, or check social media, and switched to the mini after the work day was over. I still had about 60 percent battery left by the late evening, thinking I’d be able to push battery life into the next morning. But after jumping back and forth between multiple apps for a few hours, and spending the night texting a few friends, I was at about 5 percent by midnight — bringing me back to that 12 hours of battery life.

Again, I’m someone who uses her phone a lot. If you’re the type to use your phone intermittently throughout the day and night, you will likely experience even better battery life than I did. It’s only when you’re constantly on it that you might notice it start to deplete quickly. 

With wireless charging coils built into the phone, the 12 mini is also compatible with Apple’s MagSafe charger. But unlike the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, which support up to 15W of charging, the mini only supports up to 12W, which helps to preserve the life cycle of the battery over time. Regardless, you’ll still get similar fast charging capabilities, with up to 50 percent battery life in 30 minutes.

You’ll have to drop some extra cash for that MagSafe charging puck though — $39, to be exact. Otherwise, you can opt for the USB-C power adapter for $19, since all iPhone 12 models only come with a USB-C to lightning cable in the box. 

A great choice, but it’s not for everyone

Seeing as how the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro were rather disappointing as far as new features go, the 12 mini feels like the one phone that shakes up Apple’s latest lineup a bit. I have minimal complaints for it aside from wishing it had a lower than $699 starting price to match its paltry 64GB of storage. 

I also think it’s a worthy upgrade even if you currently have a more recent iPhone. But that’s really only if you’ve been settling for Apple’s larger devices for years now, and have been patiently waiting for something like the 12 mini to finally launch. With the latest specs under its hood, that price is easier to justify knowing the mini will last you through years of iOS updates.

And although my smartphone addiction does not lend itself well to the iPhone 12 mini, I can confidently say those of you who have a healthy relationship with your technology will have a pleasant experience. 

The 12 mini has more than capable specs to power you through each day without a hitch, and it comes in a form factor that doesn’t require being handled with the utmost care at all times. You can throw this phone in your bag and slide it into your pocket, all while navigating it one-handed without even thinking twice about it.

Sure, Steve Jobs might’ve been wrong when he said no one would buy a phone bigger than the 4-inch iPhone. But no one ever said that both options can’t peacefully co-exist, and I’m certain the iPhone 12 mini is proof.