iPhone 12 mini is a great phone. After using it for over a year, I’m happy to talk about this excellent smartphone from Apple.
In this article, I’ll share why I plan to keep using this phone in 2026, even though it’s now a five-year-old device. I’ll talk about my experience of living with the iPhone 12 mini – or in other words, living with a tiny display and a battery that’s just a little over 2,000 mAh.
Yes, you heard that right. Just a bit over 2,000 milliamps.
So, this is going to be an interesting read.
Build and design
2020 was the first year Apple introduced a mini phone in its iPhone lineup. I still remember watching the Apple event. They opened a suitcase, which was inside another suitcase, which was inside yet another suitcase – and then revealed the iPhone 12 mini to the world.
At the time, I was using an iPhone 6S, and the iPhone 12 mini instantly appealed to me. I ended up buying it three years after its launch, though… You know, money.
I really like smaller phones, especially because using them one-handed feels just right to me. Typing is easier, the phone is naturally lightweight, and my hand can easily reach every corner of the screen. Having a smaller phone just makes sense to me.
The iPhone 12 mini has chamfered edges, similar to the iPhone 4 and 5. Apple brought back this long-lost boxy design with the iPhone 12 series, and I actually prefer it over the older, more rounded designs.
Display quality and brightness
The iPhone 12 mini comes with a 5.4-inch Full HD, 60 Hz AMOLED panel, and there is something about this display that just screams quality to me.
Here’s a fun fact. Because of the smaller screen size, the 12 mini has the highest pixel-per-inch density in the entire iPhone 12 lineup – 476 PPI. That’s actually higher than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Weird fact, but I’ll take it.
Because the display is smaller, the notch does look bigger on the 12 mini. It bothered me a lot in the beginning, but at this point I’m used to it. I’ve been using this phone for more than two years now, and I don’t have any major complaints about the display. It’s a high-quality panel.
Brightness, however, is a bit of an issue. It would have been really nice if it could reach 1,000 nits, but in reality, it tops out at around 625 nits. That means whenever I’m using the phone under direct sunlight, I can barely see the screen.
It could have been better, but it is what it is.
Battery life and charging experience
To be honest, there isn’t much to talk about here.
I believe the phone charges at 20W. Earlier, I used to charge it twice – sometimes even three times – a day. I remember that very clearly.
Now, I try to top it up to around 80% whenever I get the chance. I also keep my trusty power bank with me all the time because I never know when I might need it. It’s a bit of a struggle, honestly, and I’ve learned to live with battery anxiety at this point.
The 2,227 mAh battery usually stays plugged in when I’m at the office. I let it charge up to 80% and then unplug it.
Camera performance
The iPhone 12 mini has two cameras on the back: a wide and an ultra-wide lens, with 26 mm and 13 mm focal lengths. Both sensors are 12 megapixels.
Photos taken on the iPhone 12 mini are a bit on the softer side in low light. But in good lighting conditions, the photos are absolutely fine – crisp, clean, and perfectly usable.
The same goes for videos. In low light, expect softer results. In good lighting, videos look good, fairly detailed, and completely up to the mark.
You can shoot videos in 4K at up to 60 frames per second. If you switch to 1080p, you can go all the way up to 240 frames per second for slow-motion footage.
As for the selfie camera, I don’t really use it much. But from what I’ve tested, it’s perfectly fine. The front camera can also record 4K videos at 60 fps, and at 1080p, it maxes out at 120 frames per second instead of 240.
Software and iOS experience
This is my favorite part about iPhones – and about Apple in general.
Hear me out.
This phone was launched in 2020, during a global pandemic. The world took almost two years to get back to normal, and today it has been three years since then. You get what I’m saying?
This is a five-year-old phone – actually a bit more than that – and Apple is still pushing the latest software updates to this device.
To me, that is nothing short of impressively bonkers. Thank you, Apple.
That said, the phone does show its age sometimes. It can lag. It can take a bit longer to load certain UI elements. Thankfully, I haven’t experienced anything worse than that.
When it does lag, it gets annoying. But come on – it’s an old boy at this point.
Final thoughts after one year of use
That was my experience of using the iPhone 12 mini in 2025.
My iPhone 12 mini hasn’t given up on me yet, so I’ve decided not to give up on it either. I’ll keep using it until its last expected iOS update later this year – iOS 27.
Thanks for reading. If you made it all the way till here, comment down below and share your thoughts!