Apple iPhone 12 mini vs Apple iPhone Air

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iPhone 12 mini compared with iPhone Air

	AppleiPhone 12 mini	AppleiPhone Air
Overview
Released
Released	November 2020	September 2025
Display
Screen size
Screen size	5.4″	6.5″
Resolution
Resolution	2340 × 1080	2736 × 1260 (better)
Sharpness
Sharpness	477 pixels per inch (better)	463 pixels per inch
Panel
Panel	OLED	LTPO OLED
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	120 Hz (better)
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	1,200 nits	3,000 nits (better)
Display type
Display type	Super Retina XDR all-screen OLED display with a notch for the TrueDepth camera; 5.42 inches measured as a standard rectangle	Super Retina XDR OLED display with Dynamic Island
Pixel density
Pixel density	476 ppi	460 ppi
Brightness detail
Brightness detail	625 nits max (typical); 1,200 nits max (HDR)	1,000 nits max (typical); 1,600 nits peak (HDR); 1 nit minimum
Always-on display
Always-on display	No	Yes
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ceramic Shield front; fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating	Ceramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back
Display features
Display features	HDR; True Tone; Wide colour (P3); Haptic Touch; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical)	ProMotion adaptive refresh; HDR; True Tone; Wide colour (P3); Haptic Touch; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical); anti-reflective coating
Performance
Chip
Chip	A14 Bionic	A19 Pro
Memory
Memory	4 GB	12 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB	256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores; 4 GB of Micron LPDDR4 RAM (iFixit)	6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	4-core GPU	5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	16-core Neural Engine
Cameras
Main camera
Main camera	12 MP	48 MP (better)
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	12 MP	None
Telephoto camera
Telephoto camera	None	None
Optical zoom
Optical zoom	None	None
Front camera
Front camera	12 MP	18 MP (better)
Main camera
Main camera	12MP Main, ƒ/1.6 aperture, optical image stabilisation, seven-element lens, 100% Focus Pixels	48MP Fusion Main, 26 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, 100% Focus Pixels; 24MP and 48MP photos
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	12MP Ultra Wide, ƒ/2.4 aperture, 120° field of view, five-element lens	–
Front camera
Front camera	12MP TrueDepth camera, ƒ/2.2 aperture	18MP Center Stage camera, ƒ/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus Pixels
Zoom
Zoom	2x optical zoom out; digital zoom up to 5x (photos) and 3x (video)	12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto (52 mm) from the Main camera; digital zoom up to 10x
Video recording
Video recording	HDR video with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 30 fps; 4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; 1080p at 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; HEVC and H.264	4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; 1080p Dolby Vision at 25, 30 or 60 fps; Action mode up to 2.8K Dolby Vision at 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; Dual Capture up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps; HEVC and H.264
Front video
Front video	HDR video with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 30 fps; 4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 fps	4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 fps; ultra-stabilised video; Centre Stage for video calls
Camera features
Camera features	Night mode; Deep Fusion; Smart HDR 3; Portrait mode with Depth Control; Portrait Lighting with six effects; True Tone flash with slow sync; sapphire crystal lens cover	Photonic Engine; Deep Fusion; Smart HDR 5; next-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control; Night mode; Photographic Styles; customisable default lens; Camera Control
Battery and charging
Battery
Battery	2,227 mAh	3,149 mAh (better)
Video playback (maker's claim)
Video playback (maker's claim)	Up to 15 hours	Up to 27 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Up to 15 W	Up to 20 W (better)
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 10 hours streamed video playback; up to 50 hours audio playback; 2,227 mAh (GSMArena); 8.57 Wh (iFixit)	Up to 22 hours streamed video playback; up to 40 hours video playback with the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery (sold separately); EU energy label class A, 40 hours per charge, at least 1,000 charge cycles
Wired charging
Wired charging	Up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter or higher (sold separately)	Up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter or higher (sold separately)
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	MagSafe up to 15W on the tech specs page, though Apple's MagSafe Charger guide gives up to 12W for iPhone 12 mini with a 9V/2.03A adapter; Qi up to 7.5W	MagSafe and Qi2 up to 20W with a 30W adapter or higher; up to 50% in 30 minutes
Connectivity
Satellite messaging
Satellite messaging	No	Yes
Mobile network
Mobile network	5G with 4x4 MIMO (mmWave on US models); Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO and LAA	Apple C1X modem; 5G (sub-6GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO; UK model A3517
SIM
SIM	Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM)	Dual eSIM (two active, stores eight or more); no physical SIM card
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO	Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO; Apple N1 wireless networking chip
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 6; Thread
Ultra Wideband
Ultra Wideband	Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness	Apple second-generation Ultra Wideband chip
NFC
NFC	NFC with reader mode; Express Cards with Power Reserve	NFC with reader mode; Express Cards with Power Reserve
Satellite features
Satellite features	–	Emergency SOS via satellite; Roadside Assistance via satellite
USB
USB	Lightning connector; video out up to 1080p through the Lightning Digital AV Adapter (sold separately)	USB-C with charging and USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s)
Positioning
Positioning	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; digital compass; iBeacon micro-location	Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC); digital compass; iBeacon micro-location
Design
Type
Type	Standard	Standard
Weight
Weight	135 g (better)	165 g
Thickness
Thickness	7.4 mm	5.64 mm (better)
Height × width
Height × width	131.5 × 64.2 mm	156.2 × 74.7 mm
Water and dust resistance
Water and dust resistance	IP68	IP68
Materials
Materials	Ceramic Shield front, glass back and aluminium design	Grade 5 titanium frame with a polished mirror finish; 3D-printed titanium USB-C port
Colours
Colours	Black, White, (PRODUCT)RED, Green, Blue, Purple	Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue
Buttons
Buttons	Ring/Silent switch; side button; volume up/down	Action button; Camera Control; side button; volume up/down
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529	IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529
Biometrics
Biometrics	Face ID	Face ID
Sensors
Sensors	Barometer; three-axis gyro; accelerometer; proximity sensor; ambient light sensor	Barometer; high dynamic range gyro; high-g accelerometer; proximity sensor; dual ambient light sensors
Speakers
Speakers	–	Built-in speaker (one, not stereo)
Microphones
Microphones	Stereo recording	Built-in microphones; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Software
Operating system
Operating system	iOS	iOS
Software at launch
Software at launch	iOS 14	iOS 26
Software updates
Software updates	–	Security, corrective and functionality updates for at least 5 years after it stops being sold (EU product information sheet)
AI features
AI features	Apple Intelligence not supported	Apple Intelligence; Visual Intelligence
Safety features
Safety features	–	Crash Detection
In the box
In the box	–	iPhone Air, USB-C Charge Cable (1 m), documentation; no power adapter