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Apple iPhone 12 mini · Photo source

Apple iPhone 12 mini
Photo 1 of 10

Apple iPhone 12 mini · Photo source

Apple · iPhone

iPhone 12 mini

Released November 2020

The iPhone 12 mini is Apple's 5.4-inch iPhone from 2020, with the same A14 Bionic chip, 12MP dual cameras, 5G and MagSafe as the iPhone 12 in a 135 g body, suited to people who want a small iPhone and are comparing it with newer models.

Screen
5.4″
Display
OLED, 60 Hz
Chip
A14 Bionic
Memory
4 GB
Storage
64 GB – 256 GB
Main camera
12 MP
Zoom
–
Battery
2,227 mAh
Weight
135 g

What reviewers say

Reviewers agree the 12 mini brings flagship performance, an excellent display and capable cameras to a truly compact phone. TechRadar and Tom's Guide found battery life shorter than the other iPhone 12 models and 64GB base storage too little, while GSMArena judged battery life good for the size but saw throttling in demanding games.

From techradar.com, tomsguide.com and gsmarena.com

Specifications

Report a wrong or missing spec

Display

Screen size
5.4″
Resolution
2340 × 1080
Sharpness
477 pixels per inch
Panel
OLED
Refresh rate
60 Hz
Peak brightness
1,200 nits
Display type
Super Retina XDR all-screen OLED display with a notch for the TrueDepth camera; 5.42 inches measured as a standard rectangle
Pixel density
476 ppi
Brightness detail
625 nits max (typical); 1,200 nits max (HDR)
Always-on display
No
Screen protection
Ceramic Shield front; fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Display features
HDR; True Tone; Wide colour (P3); Haptic Touch; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical)

Performance

Chip
A14 Bionic
Memory
4 GB
Storage
64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB
CPU
6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores; 4 GB of Micron LPDDR4 RAM (iFixit)
GPU
4-core GPU
AI engine
16-core Neural Engine

Cameras

Main camera
12 MP
Ultra wide camera
12 MP
Telephoto camera
None
Optical zoom
None
Front camera
12 MP
Main camera
12MP Main, ƒ/1.6 aperture, optical image stabilisation, seven-element lens, 100% Focus Pixels
Ultra wide camera
12MP Ultra Wide, ƒ/2.4 aperture, 120° field of view, five-element lens
Front camera
12MP TrueDepth camera, ƒ/2.2 aperture
Zoom
2x optical zoom out; digital zoom up to 5x (photos) and 3x (video)
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
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
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

Battery and charging

Battery
2,227 mAh
Video playback (maker's claim)
Up to 15 hours
Wireless charging
Up to 15 W
Battery life detail
Up to 10 hours streamed video playback; up to 50 hours audio playback; 2,227 mAh (GSMArena); 8.57 Wh (iFixit)
Wired charging
Up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter or higher (sold separately)
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

Connectivity

Satellite messaging
No
Mobile network
5G with 4x4 MIMO (mmWave on US models); Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO and LAA
SIM
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0
Ultra Wideband
Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness
NFC
NFC with reader mode; Express Cards with Power Reserve
USB
Lightning connector; video out up to 1080p through the Lightning Digital AV Adapter (sold separately)
Positioning
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; digital compass; iBeacon micro-location

Design

Type
Standard
Weight
135 g
Thickness
7.4 mm
Height × width
131.5 × 64.2 mm
Water and dust resistance
IP68
Materials
Ceramic Shield front, glass back and aluminium design
Colours
Black, White, (PRODUCT)RED, Green, Blue, Purple
Buttons
Ring/Silent switch; side button; volume up/down
Water resistance detail
IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529
Biometrics
Face ID
Sensors
Barometer; three-axis gyro; accelerometer; proximity sensor; ambient light sensor
Microphones
Stereo recording

Software

Operating system
iOS
Software at launch
iOS 14
AI features
Apple Intelligence not supported

Storage options

Storage
64 GB
128 GB
256 GB

Pros and cons

Pros

  • 135 g and 131.5 mm tall, with a 5.4-inch OLED display at 476 ppi
  • Ceramic Shield front and IP68 rating to 6 metres
  • 5G and MagSafe, like the iPhone 12

Cons

  • 60Hz display with a notch, and 625 nits typical brightness
  • Lightning port rather than USB-C
  • Up to 15 hours of video playback, against 17 hours for the iPhone 12

Closest rivals

Model
ScreenDisplayChipMemoryStorageMain cameraZoomBatteryWeightReleased
AppleiPhone 13 mini
5.4″OLED, 60 HzA15 Bionic4 GB128 GB – 512 GB12 MP–2,406 mAh140 gSept 2021
AppleiPhone 12
6.1″OLED, 60 HzA14 Bionic4 GB64 GB – 256 GB12 MP–2,815 mAh162 gOct 2020
GooglePixel 3a
5.6″OLEDQualcomm Snapdragon 6704 GB64 GB12.2 MP–3,000 mAh147 gMay 2019

Newer model: iPhone 13 mini.

Sources

  1. support.apple.com/en-gb/111877
  2. apple.com/uk/newsroom/2020/10/apple-announces-iphone-12-and-iphone-12-mini-a-ne…
  3. apple.com/uk/newsroom/2020/11/iphone-12-pro-max-iphone-12-mini-and-homepod-mini…
  4. support.apple.com/en-us/105047
  5. gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_12_mini-10510.php
  6. ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+12+mini+Teardown/138505

Photo: store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com

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