Exactly, you hit the nail on the head. It's so easy to get caught up in how much amazing technology they can put into a big phone, and it's been YEARS since any big company has tried to commercialize a really compact phone. But the best thing about smartphones since 2008 and earlier is how they can fit in the pocket and be used everywhere. I'm going to love my 12 Mini, using it with one hand!
Yep. Same. Been watching reviews after reviews of the mini. Saturday needs to come around quicker. I need to get my hands on this thing. It looks like almost the perfect small phone. Apart for that notch which I'm still no fan of. But will put up with it for now.
@@mbovb006 LOL TRU update, i've had my iPhone 12 Mini for a few weeks i think, and it's PERFECT. i'd love one even smaller but this'll last me a very long time, it fits in my pockets and hand just fine and it's so cute.
If you have mini,by the end of the day you may have left with 5-10% battery . If you have bigger phones you may have 30-40% battery at the end of the day .But still you have to charge the bigger phones every night because you don’t want to start the next day with only 30 percent battery in your phone. So for me it does not make much difference. I want a small size phone that I can operate in one hand and pocket it easily .
Feel like I’m back to 2013, a phone is a phone, a laptop is a laptop and an iPad is an iPad. Loving the form factor in love with again. Sad that it may be the last mini but we got it.
@cnet I THOUGHT THAT CAMERA FOOTAGE LOOKED LIKE DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE AND FALLS PARK!!!!!!! Fellow Greenville resident here, awesome that you are here. I came here to confirm that my pre-order of the 12 mini was a good choice. I’ve been rocking the first Gen SE for nearly 4 years. Just had Apple put a new battery in it last year. I was furious when they unveiled the second Gen SE and it was A FULL SIZE PHONE. I’m so happy they have made the 12 mini and can’t wait for mine to get here.
@Itzgreytonic None of the current phones are small. iPhone SE first gen can be considered small. This 12 mini is average and everything else on the market is basically 6.5 inch phablets.
Held on to my old SE for 4 years and now I've ordered a white Mini to replace it. Feels like I've been waiting for this phone forever and now it's here. I love the feel and convenience of a smaller phone. When I want to consume media, I use my 27-inch high-res computer screen (LOL) or my tablet.
Love the size ! The girl at T-Mobile said I was the first one to order the small everybody was ordering the larger ones, but I’m a small phone girl! So happy you gave it such a great review...can’t wait to get mine!
I used an original SE from launch until the new SE released, then upgraded to the new SE. However the new SE is still a little too big, so I'm upgrading to the Mini.
The new SE is horrible. I too used the old SE for a long time but i upgraded to Xs instead, the new SE only had smaller display and not much smaller body, its not a compact flagship like the old SE was but a budget model.
@@ramoncastillo532 please dont spread disinformation! the 12 mini is considerably smaller, the 12 Mini is closer in size to the old SE and 5s than it is to the SE 2020!
Finally! Finally a great review. Literally every other review just said it's an iPhone 12. No one reviewed the unique aspects of it and how it affects day to day life. You hit all the right details and covered everything no one else did, really trying to understand the point of the phone and the kind of person looking to buy it. Except... RAM. It seems like Apple has given the 12 a shorter life than the Pro with 2GB less RAM, and only 1GB more RAM than the X from three years ago!
@James R Davies (Disgybl 2014) I have the 2018 iPad Pro so it still has the home button with the finger print scanner. I try to tap it to wake it up everyday because I’m used to my phone. Do the newer iPads have tap to wake?
@James R Davies (Disgybl 2014) that is both cool and disappointing at the same time. The 2018 model still hold up really well, so I’m not in a big hurry to upgrade, but it sounds like I’ve got a lot to look forward to.
Only issue is that battery will decrease performance as any phone does leaving you with even less battery life sooner than later. But question is how much we use compared to when we had an iPhone 5? For example? Will fit a lot of people for sure.
This is the natural successor to the original SE. I have ordered one of these. I have been using the SE for years waiting for Apple to produce a truly small phone. IOS after all was designed for small phones anyway. Awesome if retro ( relatively speaking) design. Can't wait to get mine on Friday
Ordered one today. My first ever smartphone. Been resisting modern tech for years but finally caved in. Not keen on the look of those big paddle phones and I'm coming from an internetless Blackberry 3g. Judging by all the reviews, I think I got it right first time. Looking forward to using Apple pay, not sure what else will interest me about the phone but who knows.
Just got the case in for my mini and it’s still a bit bigger in my hand than I hoped for. BUT I’m still so happy for a smaller phone finally. Been asking for this for years. Maybe they can do a pro mini next year 🤞🤞
iPhone 12 mini is the ideal size for a phone. Also, people’s obsession about battery life isn’t justified because the battery life is significantly better than on any 4.7 inch iPhone and probably better than on the X and XS.
Best review I’ve seen. I love my iPhone 12 mini. The blue is gorgeous. Feels so light. I find myself navigating through apps and texting a lot faster now. Plus, I’m always near chargers and usually put it in low pwr mode when not in use. Great phone ! Slap a case on it and you’re good to go.
Preordered one, and been waiting for something like this since original SE. I even answered an Apple customer survey on phones to specifically ask for something like this, and now it’s here. I have AirPods, but I still prefer to have an option for a headphone jack...
I am an Android user 100% and been using Pixel 4 for its "compact size" but even that is too big for my front pockets. So when I read that Apple is releasing a mini device with pretty much good specs, I thought to myself "why not?!" I will give it a try, as this is the perfect/ideal phone size for my usage.
Took Apple long enough. I've been waiting for mini phones to come back since Sony butchered their compact line and Samsung butchered their S Mini line. I'm not gonna buy this phone because I prefer android and I definitely know Samsung will copy apple. This phone is probably the best thing Apple has done for me ;P
@@SuperChunty9o9 In fact, the size of the display on the 12 mini is just a tad smaller than the 7 plus's display, even though the size of the phone itself is a tad smaller than the 7 (not plus), so you will feel right at home!
Great review. Will answer your questions. I miss the iphone 4&5 designs, so yes, I’m anxiously waiting to see this mini. To your 2nd question... is it small enough? If it is, I’ll be happy to give up the extra battery life, camera, and lidar technology from the Pro for the comfort of an appropriately sized smart phone.
Yasssss. So excited for this. Preordered the 12 mini in blue last week. Can’t get here fast enough. My iPhone 7 is on its last leg...it does not function as a phone unless I’m using my AirPods.
Been asking for this for years so yeah, definitely loving this release! Ordered and waiting for delivery. So glad the features were not scaled back on the mini. Many will say it is SMALL with emphasis because of the bigger counterparts, However, for many like me, it’s just right! Probably the only one that’s right sized. Don’t forget people using iPhone 8Plus have 5.5” screen while this is about there even, with 5.4”. :)
I bought a new ipad pro 11 for college and media. Since I would like to switch to the apple ecosystem i guess this phone makes sense. A mini 5.4 inch, ipad 11 inch and next year an macbook 13 or bigger. Every size has its pros and cons and usability. I don't feel like getting a big phone anymore wether its apple or android.
Having the iPhone SE back then made me more productive because I can't enjoy watching stuff and playing games on such a small phone even if I tried. It made me able to read 3-5 books a month, more focused on work, and made me pick up a sport that I am now kinda good at. Battery life didn't matter, it was just right and I didn't have to use a powerbank but I bring one just in case. It's because I just use it when I need to. Now I have an iPhone 11 and still have the habits that I acquired but I always miss having a smaller phone.
I have big hands, so you might think I would go for a big phone. And you'd be in for another think! I absolutely hate the trend toward giant phones! I'm viewing this on my old reliable Nokia Lumia 925, which happens to be about the same size as the iPhone 12 Mini. I love my Windows phone, but since no one is supporting it, I'm going to have to replace it. Physically, the iPhone 12 Mini is the perfect upgrade. Now if I can only decide which color I want!
Android user here. I see what u did there, lol. U may b interested to know that I am hoping this will push samsung to produce something as small as the original iPhone se. Or smaller! I am writing this on an A41, which is Samsung's smallest with a fingerprint scanner.
@@Ag3nt0fCha0s 😁 Samsung is rushing to release the S21 in January now so who knows, you might get one. I'd hope it's not one of their cheap-looking plastic phones.
@@nuyou21 Performance is heavily dependable on temperature management and battery discharge capacity.. It is likely that the phone is faster for 3 minutes then it gets throttled.
Thank you for your in-depth review of these iPhone 12 models. From the video watching point of view (time code: 3:20) the Mini & SE does not seem much difference when watching in the original 16:9 expect ratio; however, when reading contents (time code: 4:20) the Mini & Max both model are able to fit words like "Cupertino" on the world clock and "Today Show new" in the wedged but the standard 12/12 Pro would not due to they have less pixel density. I wish Apple would make a " there is one more thing..." iPhone 12 Pro Mini with IBIS + larger camera sensor and I would not even think twice about the smaller battery since the charging cable are mostly available either in the house or in the car when connected with Apple CarPlay.
They hadn't zoomed in to the video! The notch covers up a very small part of the video when zoomed-in watching a video with that ratio, but it's more than worth it for me, using an iPhone 10s. If he'd zoomed in, it still looks amazing, and gives you a much bigger image with a, you know, like 9% loss of content from the notch.
I'm going to wait. I bought the iPhone SE 2 in May 2020 because I wanted a small, light phone. My previous phone was an iPhone X. Admittedly, I knew I'd be downgrading on the screen size and no OLED, but I was tired of the iPhone X's slipperiness and heft. It looks great, but man, it is heavy. Anyway, the one thing I absolutely like about the iPhone SE2 is the camera, it's great! And the biggest reason why I'm waiting on the iPhone 12 Mini: Face ID. The iPhone SE2 has touch ID which, given the times of face masks, is MUCH better (at least for me), than using Face ID. That's why I'm going to wait a bit for the iPhone 12 Mini. Oh, and 5G is not really that ubiquitous, even in Downtown Miami or Downtown Phoenix, where I spend most of my time, so...
I like this reviewer. The Verge has great reviews, but the reviewers all seem to have drank the same sort of kool-aid that gives them some kinda annoying mellennial-quirky-vibe-thing, which is just somehow annoying. I say that as a millennial.
Nice to have a small phone...should have been the SE2...but anywho...it would be nice to have the battery capacity to match...I would have taken a thicker frame to compensate for it.
My bestie got this not long ago for her first phone, she was.only 11. She got the mint green colour and it's so beautiful and the camera is outstanding.
Can't wait to open my iPhone 📲 12 mini even though I carry a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 as u know it's pretty big which I'm use to but I've been wating for a phone 📱 this small. All the reviews I've seen are awesome 👍 about the new mini 12 📲 I can't wait for Christmas 🎁 to open it
I held on to my iPhone SE 1 waiting for this phone. But the price point is a shame. It's only 100 dollars cheaper and you get less battery life than the iPhone SE2, which is much cheaper. Still on the fence, but I don't see any reason why I would not switch to an Android phone, like the Pixel 4A.
The best part this marvelous IPhone12 Mini was not designed by J. Ive ......was tired of tinny iPhones from his time he sacrifice functionality for aesthetics....
no 120 hertz display well ok, but why no 90 hertz ??? i would have defintly bought one if they would have 90 hertz displays... the oneplus 7 pro came out waaay over a year ago and now also the 400 euro oneplus nord also has a 90 hertz display... there is NO reason for them to only have 60 hertz displays...
I bought it yesterday and it is a great smartphone, the only complain is that the phone does not come with a charger or even wired headphones. Other than that is great to have a phone with this size
