Price When Reviewed
Apple iPhone 13 mini: $599 instead of $699.
Apple iPhone 12 prices: $599 (64GB), $649 (256GB), and $749 (256GB)
Best Prices Today: Apple iPhone 13 mini
The most recent Apple iPhones are not affordable for everyone, especially at costs that are close to or above $1,000. The truth is that the majority of users don’t require the most recent devices, and Apple offers great deals on older models. For instance, Apple still offers the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 small, both of which start at $599 (649 in the UK), making them considerably more affordable for your wallet.
To assist you in selecting the right model, let’s compare the main features of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 and see how they stack up.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 13 mini: Specs
| iPhone 12 | iPhone 13 mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.1 inch Super Retina XDR OLED 2532 1170-pixel resolution at 460 ppi |
5.4 inch Super Retina XDR OLED 2340 1080-pixel resolution at 476 ppi |
| Dimensions | 5.78 in x 2.82 in x 0.29 in | 5.18 in x 2.53 in x 0.30 in |
| Weight | 5.78 oz | 4.97 oz |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Green, Product(RED), Purple, White | Blue, Green, Midnight, Pink, Product(RED), Starlight |
| Processor | A14 Bionic | A15 Bionic |
| Storage | 64GB/128GB/256GB | 128GB/256GB/512GB |
| Rear Camera | Dual 12MP Wide: /1.6 aperture Ultra Wide: /2.4 aperture Optical image stabilization Smart HDR 3 for photos |
Dual 12MP Wide: /1.6 aperture Ultra Wide: /2.4 aperture Sensor-shift optical image stabilization Smart HDR 4 for photos |
| Front Camera | 12MP TrueDepth f/2.2 aperture Smart HDR 3 for photos |
12MP TrueDepth f/2.2 aperture Cinematic mode for videos Smart HDR 4 for photos |
| Video Recording | 4K video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps HDR Dolby Vision up to 30fps |
4K video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps HDR Dolby Vision up to 60fps Cinematic Mode |
| Biometric Security | Face ID | Face ID |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 5G LTE Bluetooth 5.0 Lightning |
Wi-Fi 6 5G LTE Bluetooth 5.0 Lightning |
| Wireless Charging | MagSafe, Qi | MagSafe, Qi |
| Waterproofing | IP68 | IP68 |
| SIM | Dual SIM (nano and eSim) | Dual SIM (nano and eSim) Dual eSIM |
| Battery Life | 17 hours video playback | 13 hours video playback |
| Price | $599/$649/$749 ( 649/ 759/ 979) | $599/$699/$899 ( 649/ 699/ 809) |
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 13: Design and colors
The flat-edge design is shared by the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini, although the mini is lighter and smaller. With the iPhone 12, the two lenses on the back camera bump are arranged vertically. They have a diagonal shape on the iPhone 13 mini.
There are various colour options. Even three colours that appear on both versions and share the same name—blue, green, and Product(RED)—have various hues.
Six colours are offered for the iPhone 12 (left) and iPhone 13 small.
Apple
Our recommendation: The differences in design aren’t significant enough to influence you. The position of the lens is unimportant, and the iPhone 12’s added weight won’t have a significant impact. It essentially comes down to size and personal preference for colours. Several colour schemes are used in each phone. But, you might not give a damn about the colour of the iPhone if you put a case on it.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 13 mini: Display
The Super Retina XDR display, 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, True Tone, and P3 colour capabilities are all shared by the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini. One distinction is that the iPhone 13 small is 28% brighter than the iPhone 12, with an usual maximum brightness of 800 nits as opposed to 625 nits for the iPhone 12. The HDR maximum brightness on both phones is 1,200 nits.
Our opinion:If you frequently find yourself in a position where you struggle to view the screen in an area with bright lights, think about the iPhone 13. The iPhone 12, despite being smaller, will be easier to view in those circumstances due to its brighter screen, but the iPhone 12’s screen is still more than sufficient for daily use.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 13 mini: Cameras
The iPhone 13 has a few peculiarities in this area that can influence your choice. The new camera features can sway those who take their images and films seriously.
The diagonal rear camera lenses of the iPhone 13 Mini S allow Apple to incorporate a sensor-shift optical image stabilisation technology. It enhances the iPhone 12’s built-in standard optical image stabilisation. The main camera on both phones has a bigger sensor for improved low-light performance, but both have the identical 12MP Wide (/1.6 aperture) and Ultra Wide (/2.4 aperture) camera specifications. The front cameras are identical in terms of specs (12MP, /2.2 aperture), but the selfie camera on the iPhone 13 mini s supports more modern capabilities than the 12.
Apple’s new Photographic Styles, which can alter colour tones without impacting skin tones, are available on the iPhone 13 mini. Using the Rich Contrast style will make a photograph’s shadows and colours more intense. Photos are made brighter by the Vibrant style, while warm photographs feature more golden tones and cool photos feature more blue hues.
Cinematic mode, which provides a shallow depth of field so that the subject is in focus while the background is blurred, is a crucial new video feature. With the iPhone, you can even tweak the effect to change the focus or blur while switching the emphasis from one person to another. 30 frames per second are used in cinematic mode.
Apple
Pick: The iPhone 13 mini is the best option for users that place a high importance on their cameras. For content producers who want to do more with their photographs and movies, the cameras are better now, and the new functions are fantastic. But, the iPhone 12 has a fantastic camera if your use case is more focused on taking still photos and quick video clips.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 13 mini: Battery life
The iPhone 13 mini has a lesser battery than the iPhone 12 because it is smaller. The iPhone 13 small s battery is reported as having a capacity of 9.34 watt hours, compared to the iPhone 12’s 10.78Wh, a 15% increase, according to information provided by Apple to Chemtrec. Nevertheless, according to Apple’s specifications, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini both provide 17 hours of video playback. For streaming video, the iPhone 13 mini has a rating of 13 hours, which is 2 hours longer than the iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 has a 65-hour music playback capacity (10 hours more). The iPhone 12 had a battery life of about eight and a half hours during our testing, which was nearly two hours greater than the iPhone 13 small.
Both MagSafe and Qi wireless charging work with both iPhones. Both phones may add up to a 50% charge in 30 minutes if you use a 20W charger or higher.
Our recommendation: Both phones are more than capable of taking you through the day and beyond. The larger battery in the iPhone 12 is more reassuring if you frequently use the phone as a tool for work or your own personal projects.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 13 mini: Processor
When discussing the iPhone 13 mini’s processor, Apple made an unexpected choice: rather than using the A14 Bionic in the iPhone 12, it used the new A15 Bionic. The reason for this is possibly that it can assert more advantages over rivals, whereas Apple may not consider comparisons to the A14 Bionic to be as meaningful. We tested the A15 chip in the iPhone 13 ourselves, and the results indicate a modest 11% improvement over the A14 Bionic in the iPhone 12.
The A15 Bionic includes 6 CPU cores (2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores), a 4-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine, just like the A14 Bionic it replaced. There is one fewer GPU core than in the iPhone 13 Pro, but this shouldn’t significantly affect anything besides the most demanding games and applications.
If you currently own an iPhone 12, the iPhone 13’s A15 Bionic offers a significant improvement over the iPhone 12. Yet, you might not notice the change.
Apple
While some of us geeks quibble about CPU performance, the truth is that the iPhone has been more than fast enough for several generations now to handle regular social media access, camera use, web browsing, instant messaging, video chats, and more. For these as well as more demanding tasks like processing edited video and gaming, the iPhone 12 is more than quick enough.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 13 mini: Storage
Where the pricing variations are most noticeable is here. The iPhone 12 has 64GB of storage at this pricing, and the iPhone 13 mini has 128GB, even though both phones start at $599/$649. The price difference between the 128GB iPhone 13 mini and the 128GB iPhone 12 is $50. Both models come with 256GB of storage, however the iPhone 12 costs $50 more than the 256GB iPhone 13 small ($749/$809). The iPhone 13 mini has a 512GB variant for $899/$979 but the iPhone 12 does not.
Our choice: The costs for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini appear strange if you only take storage into account. We don’t advise purchasing a 64GB phone because it doesn’t provide adequate capacity for the majority of users, especially if you intend to take a lot of pictures and movies. Compared to the 128GB and 256GB iPhone 12, the 128GB and 256GB iPhone mini offers superior value.
Nonetheless, the phone’s actual size matters in this situation. Be prepared to pay a little bit more if you desire the iPhone 12’s huge size.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 13 mini: Conclusion
You get a few additional features with the iPhone 13 tiny than the iPhone 12: more camera settings, a quicker processor, and a reduced cost per gigabyte of storage. The most significant distinction between the two is that it comes in a smaller packaging. Yet, the iPhone 12 is still a fantastic phone and is the superior option if your needs are simpler. Don’t worry about it having an obsolete A14 Bionic; if you’re upgrading from an iPhone that’s considerably older, you’ll still experience a noticeable performance increase.
Check out the greatest pricing available right now below if the iPhone 12 is what you’re after. We also offer a frequently updated list of the top iPhone discounts.