I come right here to not bury the iPhone mini however to reward it. If studies are true, the iPhone 13 mini would be the final of its line, changed by a bigger iPhone 14 Max this fall. And as somebody who owns and loves an iPhone 13 mini, this makes me unhappy—unhappy sufficient to carry onto my iPhone 13 mini for an additional 12 months.
It appears that evidently not sufficient folks share my love for the iPhone 13 mini for Apple to replace it for the iPhone 14 era. Regardless of: The iPhone 13 mini is a superb system. So nice, in truth, that I believe we haven’t seen the tip of its design but.
In reward of the little man
There’s no denying it: folks love massive telephones. The iPhone went on an enormous progress tear the second Apple made it bigger with the iPhone 6 era. Gross sales figures appear to bear it out. I received’t deny that my love of smaller telephones makes me a distinct segment iPhone purchaser.
However… do folks actually love massive telephones? I feel they love massive screens exhibiting extra info and taking part in greater motion pictures. I’m unsure they love the additional weight, the additional quantity, the additional quantity of bulk within the pocket–but it surely’s definitely worth the trade-off for that massive, vibrant display screen.
Michael Simon/IDG
Yearly I’ve the privilege of utilizing all of Apple’s iPhones as a part of the method of reviewing them. And for the previous two years, I’ve stored coming again to the iPhone mini design.
First off, it’s a non-Professional iPhone. And whereas affordable folks can differ, I feel that within the iPhone 12 and 13 generations, Apple’s iPhone Professional design is worse than that of the non-Professional fashions. From the intense colours on the again of the gadgets to the beautiful anodized aluminum body, give me the iPhone 13 mini over a duller iPhone 13 Professional any day.
At 5.2 inches tall and a pair of.5 inches huge, it’s small–that means it suits effectively in my hand and my pocket–and but has a 5.4-inch show that’s completely able to giving apps loads of room to stretch out. It’s a glance that harkens again to the iPhone 5 period, my favourite period of iPhone design. However the iPhone mini’s display screen is vastly bigger than that on the iPhone 5, because of its use of Face ID.
And whereas battery life on the iPhone mini is undoubtedly lower than on different iPhones, I must level out that Apple did an important job boosting the battery life on the iPhone 13 fashions. The iPhone 12 mini’s battery life was a bit sketchy, truthfully. The iPhone 13 mini? Not an issue.
Sure, when you use an iPhone mini, you’ll miss out on some key options of the iPhone Professional fashions. I’m at the moment utilizing an iPhone 13 Professional with a beta of iOS 16, and I’m always reminded that the cheaper telephones don’t have ProMotion or that additional digital camera on the again. And but, every time I maintain the bigger telephone in my hand or put it in my pocket, I’m turned off by its measurement. Why carry a brick in your pocket when you don’t need to?
It’s useless, Jim
However that is irrelevant, proper? The iPhone 14 mini is, apparently, not a product that can exist. Now that I’ve praised the mini, I must bury it. However… will I?
First, let’s think about the report that the iPhone 14 line will solely characteristic a brand new A16 processor on the Professional telephone fashions. So not solely would the common iPhone 14 fashions not get entry to rumored improvements like an always-on show, they won’t be any sooner than the current-year fashions!
I’m positive Apple will make a couple of upgrades to the iPhone 14 fashions that can push them barely previous the iPhone 13 by way of specs, however on the low finish, that is doubtlessly the least spectacular iPhone improve in years. And it signifies that the iPhone 13 mini will get one other 12 months the place it’s roughly a present telephone. I’ll take it.
After which there’s the inevitable future: I actually do consider the iPhone mini design will likely be again. One chance is for Apple to easily alternate between iPhone fashions in order that the mini seems one 12 months and the Max the subsequent. It’s additionally not unimaginable that Apple may simply carry the mini design again each few years because it clearly has a following–simply not an enormous one.
Then there’s the iPhone SE, which was just lately up to date to a third-generation mannequin. Utilizing the iPhone mini as the premise of a brand new iPhone SE would make sense, because the iPhone mini is superior to the present SE in each method. Despite the fact that it’s barely smaller, it’s bought an even bigger display screen, help for Face ID, and a second rear digital camera.
The reality is, the iPhone mini is simply too good a product–and a measurement–for Apple to disregard utterly. I’m nonetheless unhappy that it’s apparently not well-liked sufficient to benefit a brand new model yearly, however I can’t consider it’s gone for good. Within the meantime, I’ll be holding on to my iPhone 13 mini–and ready on the mini’s inevitable return.