As the first
pre-orders begin shipping to customers,
early reviews of the iPhone 12 mini have arrived. The reviews praise the
smaller form factor and feature parity with the iPhone 12, but many raise
concerns
about battery life compromises.
Chris Vekazci at Engadget
has praise for the 5.4-inch form factor of the iPhone 12 mini:
block quote
I know Ive been calling the iPhone 12 mini a small phone, and thats
objectively true its a bit smaller than the iPhone SE I reviewed earlier
this
year, but a few trusted people to whom Ive shown the phone didnt think it
was that small. Thats largely thanks to the 12 minis 5.4-inch Super Retina
XDR display. Its just as bright as the standard iPhone 12 and packs the
same support for wide-color gamuts and HDR, but because its smaller, its
more
pixel dense. While bigger phones are almost always better for immersiveness,
this smaller screen never felt like too little.
block quote end
At
The Verge, Dieter Bohn writes
that the iPhone 12 mini is not the best iPhone for most people, but its
going to be a favorite for many. In particular, Bohn notes that the iPhone
12 mini shares almost all of the same features as the larger iPhone 12:
block quote
Its corny to say Im impressed by how much Apple packed into such a small
space but I am. The iPhone 12 mini has the fastest processor on any phone,
it has the same dual-camera system as the iPhone 12, and most remarkably it
has all the components and antennas necessary for both sub-6 and (in the US)
mmWave 5G. It is fast, multitasks well, and doesnt feel like a compromise
when you use it. It really is an amazing feat of technology.
block quote end
The exception to that, however, is the battery life:
block quote
Without making any effort at it, I have consistently drained the iPhone 12
minis battery by early evening. Id say its fair to expect the 12 mini to
clock up something near four hours of screentime with stuff like web
browsing, Facebook, and taking photos. Intense games give you a chance to
watch the
battery percent tick down minute by minute.
So its not bad, but its definitely not great. My feeling after a little
less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of
battery
management. Holding yourself back from putting an hour into an Apple Arcade
game, knowing where your next opportunity to charge might be, and above all
being more willing to turn on
block quote end
For
TechCrunch, Matthew Panzarino
has some details on the scaling of the iPhone 12 mini display:
block quote
Speaking of rendering, the iPhone 12 mini is scaled, which means that it is
displaying at roughly .96 of its native screen resolution of 2340×1080. In
my testing, this scaling was not apparent in any way. Given that the mini
has a resolution of 476ppi in a smaller screen than the iPhone 12 which
clocks
in at 460ppi thats not too surprising. iPhones have been doing integral
scaling for years with their magnification features so Apple has plenty of
practice
at this. I didnt notice any artifacting or scrolling, and most apps looked
just fine proportionally, though some developers that do not take advantage
of Apples native frameworks that support various screen sizes may have to
do a bit of tweaking here and there.
block quote end
Panzarino also took the time to compare the iPhone 12 mini form factor to
previous iPhone models:
block quote
The iPhone mini has a nice lightweight compactness to it. In order to get a
read on its vibe I compared it to the iPhone 4S, which felt far denser, the
iPhone 5 which felt a bit more airy and the iPhone 5C which still feels fun
but cheap. It shares pedigree with all of these devices but feels far more
assured and integral. The iPhone 12 design language doesnt feel like
multiple materials sandwiched together in the way that these earlier devices
do.
It feels grown, rather than made.
block quote end
At
The Wall Street Journal, Joanna Stern
has a bulleted list of the benefits of the smaller design:
block quote
You can comfortably type with just one thumb, and reach icons on the other
side of the home screen without shifting your hand.
You can use just one hand to snap a photo and not drop it on the groundor
in a pool, elevator shaft or drainage grate.
You can talk on the phoneputting it up to your earwithout blocking and
greasing up your whole face. (And in case you were wondering, call quality
when
you do is good).
You can hold up your phone while lying down without fear it will slip and
give you a bloody nose.
block quote end
Writing at
Input, Raymond Wong
has some advice on who should buy the iPhone 12 mini:
block quote
Theres only one reason to get the iPhone 12 mini: its small. The iPhone 12
mini is the anti-phablet and you already know whether its right for you or
not. Its absolutely for you if youre sick and tired of humongous phones
and desire a device thats smaller and more practical.
Going from a big phone to a small phone takes some getting used to, but its
not an impossible task. Yes, the display isnt as on other phones, but I can
tell you one thing: it wont hurt as much when it falls on your face or
chest while youre laying in bed doomscrolling. Small phones are back, and
hot
damn, I missed them dearly!
block quote end
Pocket-lints Britta OBoyle
on the iPhone 12 mini camera:
block quote
The iPhone 12 mini performs well in low-light conditions as well, with Night
Mode automatically kicking in when necessary, allowing you to take some
decent
shots without the flash having to be on as long as you keep still, as
theres not the optical image stabilisation here that you can find in the
iPhone
12 Pro Max and other competitors.
block quote end
===========================================================
The fb-exchange mailing list
Manage account,
List Page: https://www.freelists.org/list/fb-exchange
Subscribe: mailto:fb-exchange-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=subscribe
Unsubscribe: mailto:fb-exchange-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=unsubscribe
Archive: https://www.freelists.org/archive/fb-exchange
Administrative contact: insight@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
===========================================================
