It’s throwing no shade on Apple, quite the opposite arguably, when I say that iPhones just don’t get that much better year on year anymore. They’ve reached a really high level, and so can last even the most nerdy among us, a very long time.
As regular visitors to AppleVis may have read, I have been mulling over the idea of purchasing the iPhone Air of late. Funnily enough, this took even me by surprise as all year I have been absolutely determined that I do not need, or even want, a new iPhone this year. My iPhone 15 Pro, aside from some battery degradation, is performing perfectly. Even the rumours about the iPhone Air before it was announced didn’t particularly sway me. Since the Apple event however, for whatever reason, I admit the desire has grown a little.
This summer I once again took part in beta testing the new version of iOS, iOS 26. Many people test on a secondary device, but I decided to do things the other way around. I put iOS 26 beta on my primary device, the iPhone 15 Pro, and took my old iPhone 12 mini out of the drawer, running iOS 18, to have there as an emergency backup device should I need it.
As it turns out, I didn’t need it, but I did find myself picking it up and playing around with it. It was my favourite ever iPhone, and I think it still is. I love the small and light form factor, pocketable and easy to hold and use in one hand. What perhaps surprised me though was that I did not feel a significant drop off in speed and performance. I admit I haven’t yet tried to use it as my daily driver again, so maybe I would notice more over time, but I’m convinced these phones really can be used for years if you want to. Of course many people are doing just that.
Maybe I just like having something new, even if it’s something old! So what if I did move on from my 15 Pro, except not to a shiny new 2025 model, but instead back in time to the 12 mini? How crazy is this idea? What would I actually miss?
Battery:
Ok, lets address this one head on. The 12 mini does not have a good battery. Even with a replacement battery, it would almost certainly be out-performed by my two year old 15 Pro. For many people battery is an absolutely top tier priority. I appreciate a long lasting battery of course, but it’s not a deal breaker for me. I’m generally able to top up my phone during the day if needed, and for those more active weekends etc, I can bring a power bank. So unless it turns out to be worse than I expected, battery is not a show stopper in this thought experiment.
Dynamic Island:
With the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, Apple introduced the Dynamic Island to replace the notch at the top of the screen. I acquired it with the iPhone 15 Pro. It reduced the size of the notch, and made a portion of it capable of displaying information, including live activities. I don’t deny it’s a nice little innovation.
However in practice, I have not found it to be of much benefit at all. The live activities that often fill it don’t seem to update very well for me, so I don’t trust the information. The media controls work fine, but I don’t use them, instead typically using the Lock Screen and the physical controls on my AirPods. So Dynamic Island; definitely not a show stopper.
LiDAR:
Another feature that I would lose is LiDAR, the additional censor on the back of the phone, primarily used for judging distances. This for me has been something that sounds very promising in theory, but has yielded little or no benefit for me in practice.
Many of its features which are designed for us lie in the Live Recognition and Magnifier apps, but the truth is I don’t use those apps. The tools and features I use such as Be My Eyes, Ally, Seeing AI, PiccyBot and so on don’t appear to require or really benefit from it.
I would though also lose precision finding, which is very impressive at tracking down dropped or lost AirPods and AirTags. While this isn’t something I need often, perhaps it’s something I could really miss some day, just when I need it most. So this one has some validity.
Camera:
On a related note, with the use of the aforementioned apps and tools, it is possible that I would notice a difference in camera quality. I’m genuinely unsure how important the camera improvements of the past five years have been for what I do with my phone, including OCR and AI. I suspect I could get by just fine, but am open to being convinced either way on this one.
Action button:
The Action button, introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro, replaced the mute switch on the side of the phone with a user programmable button. While we’d probably all like Apple to give us more functionality with it, such as assigning actions for double press, triple press and long press, it is nonetheless a very useful and powerful feature. I currently have mine set to launch Gemini voice chat and find it incredibly useful. So this is something I would most definitely miss if I switched back to the 12 mini.
Ports:
As a 15 Pro user, I’m essentially all in on USB C now. My AirPods Pro 2 case is the only device I have left in day to day use that is on Lightning; and even that can be charged by MagSafe and my Apple Watch charger. The iPhone 12 mini too supports MagSafe, so I would not be completely reliant on Lightning. So a return to Lightning would certainly be a real annoyance, but one I could perhaps live with, maybe.
Apple Intelligence:
I won’t get to deep into Apple Intelligence here, we all know we are yet to see it’s full promise. Apple over-promised and under-delivered when they launched it, under much public pressure, in 2024. Of course there has been machine learning in iPhones for years, and honestly, the stuff I actually benefit from likely is in the 12 mini. The Apple Intelligence branded features such as writing tools, Genmoji, image playgrounds and email summaries simply haven’t been of use to me so far. Even visual intelligence doesn’t really do anything that I can’t do, often better, with other apps, although I have on occasion used the “Ask” feature on screenshots in iOS 26.
I believe it will greatly improve in time, and I will appreciate Apple’s more privacy focused approach, but as of today, this is not yet something that influences my choice of device.
Weighing it up, I am definitely at least somewhat tempted to try going back to the 12 mini as my daily driver, but unsure if I ever will. Do you agree with my thoughts above, or are there other factors I haven’t considered? Have I underestimated the performance gap?
Whichever phone you’re using now, could you ever go backwards?
Comments
Understandable
I'm not a heavy iPhone user myself, especially now that I just got the Apple Watch Ultra 3 which has cellular capability I'm finding myself just leaving the iPhone home unless there's a risk of getting lost or I know in advance that I might have to read something, and the only reason why I am even replacing my otherwise perfectly fine iPhone SE 2gen is because of USB-c and MagSafe. Even before getting this Apple Watch I wasn't using my iPhone that much, since I spend most of my time home where my Mac Studio and iPad Mini are by far my primary communication devices (the iPad Mini is only here for the camera since I run my Mac headless). On the other hand the 48 megapixel cameras and lidar on the iPhone 17 Pro sound somewhat useful to me which is why, in addition to USB-c and MagSafe, I chose that model in particular, so I can perfectly imagine myself in your situation and making the same choice, if it wasn't for Lightning I mean.
your crazy
Yes your crazy :) You asked 😂 Now why would I never go back? 1 better phones. Better battery ETC.
Missing the Mini Form Factor
In 2021, I bought an iPhone 13 mini because I wanted the ultra-small form factor and I knew from rumors that Apple was likely to discontinue the mini model after the iPhone 13 series. While I ultimately did not keep the iPhone 13 mini due to poor battery life, I loved having such a small device. If Apple could reimagine the mini with today's battery technology, I think they would have a hit.
What is the point of this?
Why not just do what you want? Does there have to be a discussion? Ultimately, you are an adult capable of making decisions without a committee. I have no interest in signing off on any decision you make.
For Ash: "If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say..."
Ash,
It is your comment that I struggle to see the point of, not the original post.
In your comment, you wrote:
I think you are totally misjudging the point of the original post, as evidenced by your statements above. As I see it, the post was meant as a lighthearted, nostalgic reflection and to hopefully spark a lively discussion about the points raised. In the future, I ask that if you do not have anything nice to say, please do not say anything at all.
Re: Missing the Mini form factor
Yes I liked its size the most. But the battery just gave me no confidence. It is props to Apple they support devices for a long time, so this is still theoretically an option if you want it. Kind of a fun (geeky?) thought experiment.
Even size, when I went back to a 15 pro from a Mini, the thinning of the bezels has made it feel far less cumbersome than the XR I had before. So at least if the 6.3" size iPhone doesn't grow I am not bothered by it anymore.
I just thought of one thing I know the Mini doesn't have though: and it would certainly annoy me. And this thing is the boot-up vibration and sound. I hated not knowing if the old iPhones actually powered on or not.
And lastly, you may wish to double check the storage situation, obviously I don't know what storage size your faithful Mini has.
To be or not to be
That is the question!!
Your Not Crazy
Thanks for putting so much thought into this blog post. I don’t usually comment on blogs, but I really enjoyed reading this one. Like you, I’ve always loved the smaller form factor of the iPhone mini, though I was hesitant about its battery life. Looking back, I kind of wish I had chosen it over the Pro when I had the chance.
Your piece stirred up a lot of nostalgia for me. Just the other week, while searching for a charging cable, I stumbled across my old iPhone 4s. I was struck by how tiny it was compared to today’s models—and honestly, it’s still one of my all-time favorites. It fit so comfortably in one hand, slipped easily into any pocket, and yet was packed with impressive technology for its time.
So thank you again for the thoughtful post. Sometimes I really do miss those days of smaller devices. Modern phones feel like they just keep getting bigger, and I can only hope that trend slows down.
security
Hello,
I see one major drawback to going back to the 12 Mini. Eventually, it will no longer be supported and then you will not be able to upgrade to the newest version of iOS. From a user point of view, this may not be that big of a deal; but from a security point of view, there might be some security fixes that never make it onto your phone. This might leave you vulnerable to hackers and virii that we do not yet know about.
feofil
I think
Hello Dave.. After reading your post, I feel even more confident about not upgrading my device from the iPhone 13 to the iPhone 17 series. When Apple launched the new models two weeks ago, I’ll admit the temptation to update was very strong. However, after installing iOS 26 on my iPhone 13, I noticed the performance difference is minimal. Maybe this is also because my iPhone 13 is still quite young, only about 18 months old since I purchased it in May 2024.
Your post makes me appreciate my current iPhone even more, so thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I do have a question for you: if you actually downgrade, would you feel the loss of the new smart battery features in iOS 26? For example, the ability to check the battery cycle count directly on the iPhone, as you can on the 15 Pro, or the 80% charging limit option. Are those features meaningful to you? Do you use them often?
For me, the one factor that almost convinced me to upgrade was exactly this: the promise of better battery management on the newer iPhones with Apple Intelligence integration. If I ever decide to move on from the iPhone 13, I think I’d be more interested in the iPhone 16E. From what I’ve heard, its battery life is significantly better, and it comes in a compact form factor — which I personally really like.
Iphone size and unlock
I am in the interesting position of having an SE 3rd gen for personal use and an iPhone 16 for work.
There is a difference in speed but it’s not that great that I find it annoying.
I love the smaller size of the SE. I could quite easily live without the home button, but for me the biggest loss with the iPhone 16 apart from small size is the lack of Touch ID. Face ID works pretty well 90% of the time, But with Touch ID I don’t have to look at the screen which is fine for me as a totally blind person. So, while the 12 or 13 mini phones are nice and small, I think size is their only real advantage. An up-to-date iPhone the size of theSE 3 with touch ID on the power button would be great. it would perhaps also be good if it had an ultrawide band chip to allow more accurate location of AirTags would be good. It could even be E-sim only to allow a bit more space for other things.
I think I could go backwards
I would go backwards for me because I would want my phone to still have a home button. I’m on my first phone right now. That doesn’t have a home button. I have a regular 15. That’s actually the reason that I kept my iPhone SE third generation as my secondary device because it’s the last phone that has a home button on it. That’s just easier for me to do things like the app switcher and Siri and other commands where I would just need one button. I just find it a bit more convenient than having to do everything with the side button. And I don’t like the gestures to have to go home and app switcher which are difficult for me with my CP. I’ve gotten the hang of them now, but it doesn’t make it any easier really. It was easier to just have the one button to do those things. I also don’t like having to use a passcode. I really don’t like that. It was either having to set up Face ID or having this type of passcode. And my SE I had the option to do touch ID or passcode and now we don’t really have any of those options. So I would definitely go back to something with a home button. What I would really like to have happen and I know it never will is to get something with like an iPhone 5 hardware but have all the updated internal processors and chips from 2025. I actually like the feel of the mechanical home button. I actually have a fully functional iPhone 5 that will still run and it’s great for Music in Web browsing. It will even recognize my Apple Music subscription and can still download music and play it quite well. I just have one speaker but it’s one very good speaker. But he even has a 3.5 headphone jack. Although I guess the thing that about going backwards, that would be tricky would be having to have the lightning port like you said. But since I still have the lightning EarPods and lightning charger for my iPhone SE third generation, it wouldn’t be that much of a problem for me. But yes, my regular iPhone 15 is using a USB-C charger so I could totally see why that might be an issue to go backwards, but I still think there’s a lot of valid reason to go backwards. I think if your iPhone 12 mini still does things that you wanted to do, I could totally see you going backwards. The only thing I could see that might be an issue perhaps would be significant speed changes in the processor that you use in the phone that you might notice performance differences with how voiceover runs the phone, but I don’t know that for sure. I’ve never seen or used an iPhone 12 mini. I do wish there were still Apple phones that were minis though. I really hope I don’t have to get a phone any bigger than what I have now for the regular iPhone 15. This is even a little bit bigger than what I want. I love the form factor of the SE third generation. I already know that it’s not coming back. But I will keep this as long as there’s life left in it. Even if Apple continues to update the software, I will update it as long as it gets support. Even when this phone no longer receive support, I will still keep my music on it and use it as a music player and web browser. This is similar to what I was doing with the iPhone 5, but like I said because that thing will actually download music. I will recognize my Apple Music account, which I find amazing. The only reason that I love having that thing is cause I still got the old sounds. I really wish Apple would bring those back, but we already know that won’t happen. This is a great blog grade though.
I don't believe you would lose precision finding.
Precision finding came out with the 11 version. I remember because when AirTags first came out, everyone said that 11s and up could use precision finding, and I was so envious because I only had an 8+. I had a 13 mini but had to trade it in when I got my current phone, because I needed all the financial help I could get. If that weren't the case, and if the mini hadn't needed a new battery, I would have kept it.
Dave Nason
Some of the points you made in this thread, are why myself and others, still rock older gen devices, such as my iPhone SE 2022. Which I just got March of last year. After my fiasco with two overheating iPhone 15 Pros at the tail end of 2023, I am confident in saying that no, you are not crazy. Some of the older Jen devices were, and still are, some of the best.
Oh no! Now you have me going down a new rabbit hole
A case of interest, though it is sold out, adds USB-C and MagSafe to older iPhones.
(The obsolescent case.) [https://obsoless.com/products/iph0n3-usb-c-protection-case?customer_posted=true#contact_form]
I'm wondering about picking up a 13 mini as a secondary device. I'm guessing I can share everything, including phone, etc., to it... My cousin had the 12 mini, and I must say I did like the feel of it. Then again, the SE 3, which is the old-style pre-X version, is also tempting with the Touch ID. Again, battery is always the issue.
There are other cases for the 12 and 13 mini that can improve battery, of course. I'm not sure if Apple does one themselves, or did? There may be the compromise of losing MagSafe, though.
And, for Ash... We talk about this because we're nerds. There is pleasure in the indecision and asking others about it. Taking the effort to say you don't care suggests that you do. Either way, please employ your time in more useful pursuits.
I'm getting very tired of trolls on here and would ask that mods are free with soft bans. Let's build up what others say rather than attack, god knows we have enough struggles as it is.
A rather interesting post
As someone who changes phones a lot, this post really interested me.
I had a 12 mini for a few years, before switching to a 15 pro max.
Finding the max too big after some time, i switched to the 16e, which felt much better.
Now I'm using the iPhone air, and I have to say, while it is bigger than both my iPhone 12 mini and 16e, the hand feel, weight distribution, and overall weight feel better than both.
Don't say that!!! Now I need to look at one...
Then I'll buy one and then I'll be broke and sad.
Air phone
People if you are a heavy user do not get it, you will be upset. If you do not take pictures, watch videos or any big projects yes, but also might need to spend 100$ for the battery. Just get the regular iPhone 17. It is much better from what people are saying. If you listened to music with the speaker you will be unhappy. Just make sure you do your research. Unless someone is going to get it for you for free.
Or... You may love it.
I think any of us who have even a passing interest in Apple products will have heard about the compromises and advantages of each device. Everyone should choose based on their own use case scenario. Nice thing is, in most countries, there is a 14 day return window, quite enough time to see if it works for you.
Oliver Re: Cases
I know I posted in another thread on here, somewhere, but the current case I use on my SC 2022, is a clear case, so I can show off the lovely 'Product Red' coloring of my iPhone. And it has MagSafe capabilities. Does not convert my lightning port into a seaport, however. That, is a very intriguing prospect. I will have to look into finding alternative cases with that feature.
On a sidenote, my iPhone may now be MagSafe compatible, but wireless charging is not as fast as wired charging is. Still, it works well enough for overnight charging while I am asleep.
Michael Hansen
I’m not sure why I have to be kind. I maintain politeness. This type of post annoys me to no end. And I have every right to express that. Everyone who wants can have fun with this as they like. I’m friendly on plenty of other posts. Especially when many of the posters are dismissive and rude, dismissive, aggressive, etc.
I will comply though. I barely post as it Is. I will focus on bug reports as I believe that is more important.
It’s really a preference thing
While I complained a while ago that apple slows down older devices, I also noticed a lot of users refusing what I said considering newer devices. According to that, I tried to use my iphone 15 for a bit and yes, I will admit the difference is barely there, if at all, which is really interesting, but I didn’t regret getting the 17 pro max because the reason I hated my 15 was the overheating and battery life, which the 17 addresses perfectly, so I guess it just depends on what you’re willing to compromise on, if the thing you wish for is a tiny device, the mini makes sense, but if you’re like me who just wants the greatest battery life and the least heating problems the pro/pro max make sense. I’ve scene the air in a store a few times, including today, and while yes I think it’s fancy in the hand I can’t help but wonder if it’ll stop feeling that cool after a month or two then you get stuck with the compromises the air did to achieve that form factor.
I don’t think apple will discontinue the air, at least, not without trying two and three generations at the minimum, but yes considering how the iphone air is in stock everywhere compared to pro and pro max, it’s obvious it’s barely selling if at all, so I’d say this air is kinda of a failure maybe?