Design
- Elegant, 'new' charming design, that resonates with the iPhone 4 and 5 models - it has flat aluminium sides and a flat-screen, the glossy back comes in plenty of colours to choose from - it’s the smartphone equivalent of jewelry
- At the front, the bezels are narrower and Apple is using the new sapphire crystal shield to provide better drop protection than previous iPhones
- It's cute - very cute in fact - and exceptionally light too, making it a genuine delight to use day-to-day, especially one-handed
- The back of the phone features Apple’s new MagSafe magnetic wireless charging and mount system - it let's accessories to attach at the back of the phone magnetically, Apple has some of its own accessories like a wireless charger, a wallet and many cases that attach to the back - Apple is hoping a MagSafe ecosystem will develop as third parties find more use for this execution
- IP68 water and dust resistance - the iPhone 12 series can take a dunk of up to 6 meters, compared to 2 meters on similarly rated phones
- Face ID is plenty fast and accurate (though, it could be a pain to use while wearing a mask)
- The notch is still present and is significantly larger than any other competing flagship phones
Display
- The iPhone 12 mini features an OLED, 5.4-inch, Full HD+ Super Retina XDR display that looks bright and vibrant, it has blacker blacks - the bezels are a lot thinner all around too, which certainly makes for a far better viewing experience when watching Netflix or scrolling through social media
- There's no high refresh rate to be found on the iPhone 12 mini, so, you're stuck with that 60Hz refresh rate instead - it has become the standard for almost every Android flagship phone out there right now
Software
- As always iOS 14 continues to be a clean, intuitive, and smooth experience - additionally, you will get regular updates for years to come, something beyond any Android manufacturer could provide
- Apple has added few customisation options with the new iOS 14 - you can now use custom icon packs and add widgets to your home screen
- Siri still lags as a virtual assistant - it would be great if Apple would put much more effort into making Siri a little more competitive with the Google Assistant
Performance
- Incredibly rapid performance from the new A14 Bionic - Apple remains the undisputed king when it comes to mobile CPU performance - iPhone 12 series is the fastest phone available in the market - you can throw anything, be it heavy games, AR, or numerous app, it handles everything with ease
Camera
- iPhone 12 mini features the same cameras as on the iPhone 12, just in a smaller package - the primary cameras now has wider ƒ/1.6 aperture to allow in slightly more light, night mode is available on all cameras on the iPhone 12 mini and even a night portrait mode
- The primary camera's image quality is pretty spectacular - it produces some of the best looking images, with plenty of bright colours and rich detail
- The ultra-wide camera remains the same as the last year's iPhone 11 - it adds some software improvement and the images look pretty dramatic as the iPhone 12 mini trades detail for space - the night mode on the ultra-wide also works well
- Low-light photography is excellent with the wider aperture, you will get clearer, brighter shots, a nice improvement in image quality and sharpness in dim lighting conditions
- Night mode is impressive, the iPhone 12 mini needs to drop into night mode less often, but when it does, you get bright, sharp images that look amazing - they still feel like they were taken at night and the camera doesn't over-blow it
- Video quality iPhones have always been the best in class, the iPhone 12 mini continues that tradition and even adds Dolby Vision, a first for any mobile camera - the Dolby Vision adds features for Pro filmmakers to use that no other phone provides
- Very good selfies come out of the front camera on the iPhone 12 mini - the wider view can accommodate more people in selfies - night mode selfies portrait is a great new feature and produces impressive results
- Overall, the cameras remain excellent and on the top of the chart, right there with the Note 20 Ultra and Pixels of the world
- The 2x telephoto lens and LiDAR for improved focus in low-light, is exclusive to only Pro models
Audio
- Excellent stereo speaker setup - the Dolby Atmos support is still present, with the Apple-exclusive spatial audio feature
5G
- Apple has added 5G support to all iPhone 12 models, however, they leave out the support for faster 5G mmWave in Indian models - there's also no infrastructure for 5G availability in India and there might not be for years to come - 5G is good to have as an option that makes the iPhones future proof, but not a game-changing feature
Battery
- Average battery life - the iPhone 12 mini gets the smallest battery out of the bunch, it will require a charge to get through the day
- The iPhone supports improved 20W fast charging, but Apple isn't providing a charging adapter with the new iPhones at all - so, if you don't have an adapter lying around or you want to use that fast charging, you will have to buy that separately
Verdict
- The Apple iPhone 12 mini might be the smallest of the iPhone 12 models, but it is a fantastic little device that shouldn't be underestimated - it has a lovely lightweight compact design, absolutely stunning display, great cameras, and delivers a smooth and fluid performance
- Though, if you want a more 'normal' form factor and want better battery, get the bigger iPhones