Apple is not officially present in Romania, the products only reach us directly and that's why we thank iStyle for making all 4 available for us to test.
Next, we are talking about the iPhone 12 Mini, which is an original appearance, although the giant from Cupertino has also tested the market with the C and SE models. It's hard not to like the iPhone 12 Mini, it's beautiful, it feels solid in the hand, yet at these dimensions it brings a smartphone from the year 2000. Is it as productive as its bigger brothers? We'll see next.
The iPhone 12 Mini has dimensions of 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4 mm, 135 grams and a 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen, 1080 x 2340 resolution and 19.5:9 ratio. The user experience is also influenced by Dolby Vision, Wide color gamut and the usual True-tone.
To understand how small it is, apart from saying that it fits in the palm of your hand, I will compare it with the iPhone SE (2020), which with a 4.7-inch screen has dimensions of 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm and 148 grams.
Although it is Mini, it feels solid, the frame is aluminum, and the front and back are covered with Gorilla Glass. I was afraid of dropping it a few times, but I think no matter how you dropped it and how it broke or cracked it wouldn't affect its function. Apple says the phone also features scratch-resistant ceramic glass, plus an oleophobic coating and IP 68 water and dust resistance.
He still has huge bangs. I can't say that it bothers me very much, but you can't ignore it when the overwhelming majority of manufacturers are trying to offer screens as complete as possible, without bangs and with discreet selfie cameras.
I tested the white model, but the Mini can also be purchased in black, red, green and blue. For someone who keeps the phone permanently in a case, the color may be an insignificant detail, but considering that I labeled it as a gem, I'd say it's still important.
How it moves, just as well as its bigger brothers and, overall, flawless. I am a fan of large screens, so I would always opt for the larger models. If your budget allows, my recommendation is the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Even more balanced would be the iPhone 12 Pro.
Let me also tell you the specifications of the tested model: Apple A14 Bionic processor (5 nm), Apple GPU graphic processor, 4 GB of RAM memory, 64 Gb of NVMe type storage. 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 802.11 dual band a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.0 with A2DP and LE, A-GPS positioning, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, NFC, USB 2.0 Lightning port.
The back room consists of:
The cameras also have Dual-LED dual-tone flash and HDR.
On the wide camera, the dynamic range is well above average, the noise is well managed, the white balance is accurate and the contrast is high.
Night image. Night mode turns on automatically when it detects low light.
The images taken in Auto Night mode are excellent, have a well-balanced exposure, are clear and detailed, with low noise levels. The color saturation is kept natural, and the contrast is good.
Photos from the 12MP ultrawide camera have average detail, reasonable noise, good contrast and accurate white balance. The colors in the photos reflect reality well.
However, the lack of a telephoto camera is felt, the digital zoom is at its limit.
Collage of images taken in portrait mode.
The selfie camera is a dual wide (23 mm) with a 12 MP sensor, f/2.2, SL 3D, (depth/ and biometric sensor). It has HDR, electronic stabilization and films at 4K resolutions at 24/30/60 frames per second, 1080p at 30/60/120. Selfies have top detail and contrast, excellent colors and well managed noise.
iPhone 12 mini shoots at 4K resolutions at 24/30/60 frames per second, 1080p at 30/60/120/240 frames per second. Filming has options for HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 30 frames per second) and stereo sound recording.
Like the rest of the iPhone 12 series, the Mini offers two stereo speakers. There is a loudspeaker at the bottom and another, hybrid, at the top of the screen, which also acts as a headset in conversations. The sound has an extra touch of spaciousness compared to other phones I've tested so far.
Gaming on a screen of this size is more pain than pleasure, but I assume that those interested in this model are not taking it for games. In Call of Duty Mobile I couldn't see anything, In Asphalt 9 it's a bit better, but it's not a recommended model for gaming.
The results in the Antutu Benchmark and 3DMark synthetic tests are very good.
Small smartphone, small battery. That is, the Li-Ion battery has only 2227 mAh. The approximation based on more intensive use is 3.5, maximum 4 hours of SOT (screen on time). In any case, the smaller battery is compensated by the faster charging speed, 20W wired and 12W wireless. As you probably know, the charger is not included in the package and must be purchased separately.
Although Apple says it removed the charger to protect the environment, it is not a decision in favor of the buyer. In the package you only have the wire and if you don't want to pay extra, you can connect it to the chargers you already have. I used the iPad and Apple MagSafe charger, which is not as expensive as I expected. The iPhone 12 Mini charges up to 50% in about 30 minutes, but a full charge takes up to an hour and a half.
For the network test I used a 5G subscription card, but the Mini did not show a 5G signal. However, the speed was better than on the iPhone 12 Pro model (right), which displayed 5G. Wireless results are close.
Although perhaps more beautiful, but as performing as the iPhone 12, the Mini seems to arrive at a time when large phones have become a habit.
At a price of around 730 euros in Europe, the iPhone 12 Mini can be a choice of those who are more focused on fashion than on functionality itself.