iPhone 12 Mini review: There's a lot to like for a phone so small

This is the iPhone 12 mini, it's tiny and it's wonderful. So let's get small. [MUSIC] Block phones are big, really big. Even small ones are big for a long time now, many of us have wanted Apple to make a truly small iPhone in the vein of the iPhone 55S or original SC and early this year, Apple got her hopes up a little bit by releasing a brand new iPhone SC which put the brains of the iPhone 11 Pro into the small ish body of the iPhone 8. And yeah, it's a solid phone, but not the tiny phone that I was planning for. And then Apple announced this iPhone 12 mini. It's small and it's got everything the iPhone 12 has, which at first I was like that can't be right. It's gotta be missing something, but it's not, it's just a small iPhone 12 with the same design, the same support for 5G, the same OLED screen with support for HDR videos, and it has the same ceramic shield covering the same IP68 rating for dust and water resistance has the same a 14 Bionic processor. They run the same software. They even have the same cameras. They are the same thing, but this one is small and this one isn't. This one has a 6.1 inch display and this one eight 5.4 inch display. This one costs 829$ and this one 729$ 100$ less. Now I should say that if you activate either phone when you buy it on a carrier you'll get 30$ discount also. Carriers have tons of discounts, specials right now, especially if you trade in an old phone. Now, does it make sense though to have a phone this small and 2020? Well, that's what I've been trying to figure out. [MUSIC] Let's let's back up a couple weeks ago I did an in depth review of the iPhone 12, which you can watch to get my reaction to all the nitty gritty details. But since the iPhone 12 Mini is the same phone, all those criticisms stand. Instead, for this review, I wanted to test the iPhone 12 minis, small form factor, and the convenience it provides and how it deals with features like cameras that have grown to love on larger phones. [MUSIC] Let's start with design pocket ability and the iPhone 12 minis reachability, and I'm not exactly talking about the iOS Accessibility feature here. The iPhone 12 Mini has flat aluminum sides and a glossy glass back, and it looks like a premium version of the iPhone 5, which is absolutely a good thing. In fact, it isn't much bigger than an iPhone 5, but it's smaller than the 2020 iPhone SC and it has a much higher screen to body ratio than the sea, which is good for watching videos or having a little bit more information. Show up on the screen like an extra message email app. My only complaint here is that the back glass picks up fingerprint smudges and dust ridiculously easy, but in Case No biggie, but without one you're basically carrying around your own personal CSI. Miami crime scene. I just Europe in my mouth a little bit thinking about that. Sorry also you'll either love or hate those boxy sides now, I think they're pretty wonderful. I feel like I have an absolute rip on this little guy. I can even stand the iPhone 12 mini up on its side to take a picture or watch a video. Now as far as the display. Yeah, it looks tiny compared to the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, especially next to the 6.7 inch screen on the iPhone 12 Pro Max and for some this small screen is the reason to get the iPhone 12 mini. It's amazing being able to reach every part of the screen with my thumb swinging across it like a windshield wiper on a car. All this without sacrificing my grip on the phone. Now if I try this on even a slightly larger phone like last year's iPhone 11 Pro. Which has a 5.8 inch screen and isn't that much bigger. Either strain my thumb trying to reach the top, or I loosen my grip on the phone trying to tap something on the opposite top corner and inevitably drop my phone. Or if I remember, I toggle on iOS reachability mode, which is. Nice, but can be tedious. The iPhone 12 mini has natural reachability. Also, I should note you can use iOS reachability on the iPhone 12, many which, it's kinda meta. Then there's a one handed typing which I found faster and more accurate than typing on a larger screen one handed. As far as pocketability, the iPhone 12 mini is promising. Now, the pockets on my clothes fit most phones comfortably. However, I realize there are many people whose clothes don't always have pockets. And when they do, they can be pretty tiny pockets. I found the smallest pocket in my household, which was the tiny inner pocket on the pair of jeans. I guess it's called a watch pocket. I don't know that and it got mixed results. The phone fits into the watch pocket, but the top of it sticks out. So yeah, there's that. However, the iPhone 12 mini's pocket-friendly size doesn't come at the expense of camera hardware. In fact, it has the same wide, ultrawide and selfie cameras found on the iPhone 12. And like those cameras, they capture excellent photos and video and consistently deliver terrific images. The mini can even record videos up to 4k 60 frames per second and in Dolby Vision up to 4k 30 frames per second. Now, here's a quick montage of photos and videos I took with the iPhone 12 mini. [MUSIC] Now, the iPhone 12 family has the best overall camera system on any phone today. And the fact that the 12 mini can tap into all this camera power while being packaged in such a small device makes for a curious consequence. I use it more to take photos than I would a larger phone that's more conspicuous, like the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Also, the cameras are easy to use one handed. The phone nestles between my pinky and index fingers, allowing my thumb to maneuver the iOS camera app. And I really appreciate the quick settings [UNKNOWN] next to the shutter button. I can easily adjust exposure, aspect ratio even the length of time for a night mode shot. Now, the same index and pinky finger position is comfortable for watching videos and playing games. Overall, the small physical size, the swipe friendly navigation in iOS 14 and the lack of a home button like the one on the iPhone SE makes this compact phone nearly perfect for me. But it might not be for you. That small screen is great for one handed use, but it's small and might not be great for reading or viewing documents. There will be many people who find the keys on the on-screen keyboard too tiny or when holding it in a horizontal position too narrow for ideal double thumb typing. But perhaps the biggest drawback is battery life. Now, Apple doesn't share the size of the battery it puts into the iPhone, but obviously the mini is going to have a smaller battery than the iPhone 12 or 12 Pro. During the week I have the mini, it made it through a day of regular use just fine. I was able to run one formal battery test. So just like we do with every phone we review at CNET, I played a loop video back while the phone was in airplane mode to see how long it would last. Apple quotes 15 hours and in my test it lasted 14 hours and 48 minutes. So yeah, pretty much as advertised. Now, I should say we're gonna run more battery tests over the coming weeks. So check back at CNET for updates to our results for battery performance. Speaking of performance, that mini has the same A14 processor as the 12, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max. Apple doesn't share how much RAM is in the phone, but it used the iPhone 12 mini was peppy and fast. Animations look smooth, the cameras open fast, editing photos was easy. Gameplay was smooth, though sometimes the mini did get warm after just a few minutes. And then there's 5G. Apple managed to build the iPhone 12 mini with the same 5G antennas that are on the 12, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max. In fact, I believe the 12 mini is the smallest 5G phone you can buy. In terms of 5G data speeds and coverage, I tested it in Greenville, South Carolina both on T-Mobile's 5G network and Verizon's nationwide 5G. The consistency of 5G speeds, well, they weren't consistent. Using the app Speedtest, the iPhone 12 mini on T-Mobile recorded download speeds between 2.53 and 14.9 megabits per second. While on Verizon, It got between 48.7 and 104 megabits per second for downloads. For reference, average download speeds in the US on a home broadband connection is 135 megabits per second. Finally, even though it's the smallest iPhone you can buy, the 12 mini is built for Apple's Magsafe wireless charging system. It uses magnets inside the phone and charger to nestle them into a position for the most efficient charge. Having MagSafe on the phone this mall is fantastic. I could see buying a Magsafe charger and AirPods to go with the mini for an ultimate minimalist phone set up. Now, I did try an Apple's MagSafe leather sleeve which looks really cool. In fact there's a little window cut out for a quick peek at the time. There's also you could put credit cards in there and you're shielded so the magnets don't interfere. And it even has a wrist strap, but I didn't like the bulk it added to the phone. Though I can definitely see people getting this case for their phone and putting a few credit cards in there and going out for the night. Yeah, whenever we get to do that again. At the end of the day, Apple nailed the iPhone 12 mini. It's a small phone, lovers dream, especially if you like using the phone one handed. It's good to see Apple go so big on a phone so small. [MUSIC]