Small and Light but Battery Also Small... Trying Out the 'iPhone 12 Mini'

iPhone 12 Mini with 5.4-inch Display, Smaller than iPhone 5
Weighs 133g, 15g Lighter than iPhone SE 2nd Gen
Excellent Low-Light Camera Performance, Makes Food Look More Delicious
Battery Capacity Disappointing... Maximum Charging Speed Limited to 12W

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Apple's iPhone 12 mini is the smallest iPhone in the flagship lineup released since the iPhone 5. Although it has a 5.4-inch screen, it is smaller in size than the iPhone SE 2nd generation (4.7 inches). Weighing only 133g, it is 15g lighter than the iPhone SE and 29g lighter than the iPhone 12. In a market dominated by smartphones with 6-inch screens and weights approaching 200g, the small size and light weight are the distinguishing points of the iPhone 12 mini.

After using it for a few days, the sharp edges felt uncomfortable to hold, but thanks to its small size, it was easy to operate the phone with one hand. Because the screen is small, the frequency of typos when typing messages was noticeably higher. The bezels are the same as other models despite the smaller size, which made the bezels feel even wider.

iPhone 12 Mini Blue photographed outdoors. The sides are made of aluminum, and the back is made of glass. Fingerprints are easily visible on the back.

The 5.8-inch iPhone X and the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 Mini. As the rear camera module has become larger, the rear camera appears more prominent.

The notch design and bezel thickness of the 5.8-inch iPhone X and the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 Mini are almost identical, but the bezel feels thicker on the iPhone 12 Mini because its screen size is smaller.

The iPhone 12 mini is suitable for those who want a small-sized iPhone with powerful performance. The AP specifications and camera of the iPhone 12 mini are identical to those of the iPhone 12. Compared to most flagship smartphones priced over 1 million KRW, the price of 950,000 KRW (64GB) is also attractive.

The camera is equipped with a 12MP ultra-wide and a 12MP wide lens. Although the specs are the same as the iPhone X, the results are much better. The larger camera sensor captures clear photos even in dark places and distinguishes backgrounds and objects well. When shooting indoors with an outside view, walls, floors, and tables were clearly differentiated. Even when shooting outdoors in bright lighting, the leaves of plants and flowerpots inside were captured in detail. Compared to the iPhone X the reporter used, photos taken with the iPhone 12 mini made the same food look brighter and more appetizing.

Low-light indoor photos taken with the iPhone 12 Mini (left) and iPhone X (right). In the iPhone 12 Mini photo, indoor plants, tables, and tableware are clearly captured even with bright external lighting, whereas the iPhone X image shows light diffusion and improper exposure adjustment, resulting in objects not being properly represented.

The food and plate photographed with the iPhone 12 Mini (left) appeared brighter than the photo taken with the iPhone X (right).

Photos taken indoors at a cafe during the daytime showed little difference between the iPhone 12 Mini (left) and the iPhone X (right) results.

Among iPhone 12 buyers, instead of the popular "straw shooting" in portrait mode, I tried photographing a wine glass. The iPhone 12 mini camera distinguished the handle of the wine glass well from the background. However, as the distance from the wine glass increased, the upper part of the glass tended to be recognized as part of the background. Since iPhone portrait mode is trained with machine learning to recognize people and animals, its ability to judge objects may be somewhat limited.

Wine glass photographed in Portrait mode with iPhone 12 Mini (left) and wine glass photographed with iPhone X. Thanks to the wide-angle lens, the iPhone 12 Mini can take Portrait mode photos from a distance. However, the upper part of the glass was not well recognized as the distance from the glass increased.

It is unfortunate that the battery specifications are as small as the device itself. The iPhone 12 mini has a 2227mAh battery, which differs from the iPhone 12's 2815mAh. The video playback time is 15 hours, which is 2 hours shorter than the iPhone 12. This is based on LTE and Wi-Fi connection. Apple optimized each model and limited the iPhone 12 mini's fast charging speed to 12W. The iPhone 12 supports up to 15W charging when using a MagSafe charger. Considering the smaller battery capacity, purchasing a MagSafe for fast charging requires more thought. The MagSafe charger (55,000 KRW) uses USB-C and to achieve maximum speed, a 20W charging adapter (25,000 KRW) must also be purchased. While the iPhone 12 mini is small, light, and reasonably priced, the battery is a compromise. It is better to keep a regular wireless charger nearby and charge frequently rather than buying a MagSafe charger.