My “New” iPhone: an iPhone 13 mini

Reading Time: 10 minutes.

My iPhone 13 mini was starting to show its age. Mostly in the battery life department. I would notice the occasional performance stutter too. Apple said the battery capacity was 85%, and therefore still good, but the mini isn’t exactly king of the batteries. The iPhone 13 mini has fine battery life for about the first two years. After that, things start to get dodgy. I’d go out for a day and realize that, by nightfall, my screen time while riding the subway was enough to push me down below 30%, and I’d need to break out the battery pack. On top of that, I have a confession to make: I always wished I went with green or red for my iPhone 13 mini. I got the pink because I thought, “You know what? It’s one year. When they release the iPhone 14 mini, I’ll just get that.” And then Apple didn’t do the right thing, and released an iPhone 14 Plus instead, which initially sold like a lead balloon, proving that the mini was more popular, it just needed more space from the SE. Hey, I’m not bitter or anything.

Apple still isn’t giving consumers great choices. The iPhone 15 is a repackaged iPhone 14 Pro with fewer cameras and the slowest implementation of USB-C ever created. The iPhone 14 series was practically a repackaged iPhone 13, with almost no improvements to performance or cameras. Apple is still trying to sell too many phone models instead of simplifying their lineup and putting their best tech forward, along with giving customers choice of sizes. Instead of making 4 models each year, they could just make 3: a 5.4″, 6.1″, and 6.7″ iPhone. Then relabel and repackage the old phones. Instead, each release offers fewer features than the one before it. An action button? You have to hold it for a second, you know what’s faster than that? Tapping an app icon! Plus, your app icons aren’t on the furthest edge from your fingers! Well, I guess if you have an iPhone 15 Pro Max, everything is far from your fingers.

Again, not bitter or anything.

So, with the new iPhones once again being too large and too boring, I did what anyone with the need for a new battery and out of date AppleCare would do: I traded in my old iPhone 13 mini for a brand new iPhone 13 mini. This time in green.

Basically Still New

The iPhone 14 was barely a bump above the iPhone 13 series. In fact, the update was so small, I recommended most people go to the iPhone 13 instead of the iPhone 14, unless they really needed the “Pro” iPhone. In my own tests, my iPhone 13 mini passed the average benchmark scores for the iPhone 14 on Geekbench, both for single-core and multi-core tests, only slightly losing out on the GPU test.

Averages on Geekbench’s site could be brought down by battery performance, especially on older models. My new iPhone 13 mini crushed the iPhone 13 mini averages on Geekbench in every scenario, leading me to believe the averages are being pulled down by phones that may limit processing power due to battery life remaining. Still, in hand, my iPhone 13 mini is outperforming the average iPhone 14 in two out of three benchmarks. That tells me all I need to know about the new processor in the iPhone 14: it’s not really any better than the iPhone 13 mini.

The iPhone 15 uses the same processor as the iPhone 14 Pro. To its credit, the iPhone 14 Pro did actually use an improved processor over the iPhone 14. My own iPhone 13 mini could not beat the iPhone 14 Pro in any benchmark, though it came close with the single-core test. The iPhone 15 Pro is the first iPhone processor capable of ray tracing in games. It actually is a leap forward in performance, finally. But with the iPhone 14 producing almost the same results, and the iPhone 15 only performing slightly better than my iPhone 13 mini, I’d say it’s definitely still a relevant device. Apple hasn’t dramatically improved the iPhone processor until the iPhone 15 Pro this year, and that leaves me comfortable with my current phone.

USB-C with… 2.0?

The worst part of the Lightning port isn’t the charging nonsense. I carry a tiny dongle on my keychain that turns UCB-C into Lightning so I can charge with any smartphone charging cable. That’s a tiny annoyance compared to the slow transfer speeds of Lightning. If you’ve ever tried to offload a large number of photos or video from an iPhone to a Mac or other computer for editing or sharing, you’ll know that the process can take hours. Hours. This became particularly absurd once the iPhone became capable of recording 4K HDR videos at 60fps. These are massive video files, and an hour video can take longer to transfer than it took to record. Apple didn’t use the far more standard USB 3.0 standard with USB-C on the iPhone 15 specifically because it’s basically just the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 14 Pro had a Lightning cable, and was only set up to use the USB 2.0 standard as a result. Maybe next year, when the iPhone 16 is using the processor and features of the iPhone 15 Pro, you’ll see decent speeds for data transfers. For now, the USB-C on the iPhone 15 isn’t much better than just using a USB-C to Lightning adapter for charging on your iPhone.

A Better Camera! … Well, Kind Of…

To be fair, the iPhone 15 Pro is an actual camera upgrade this year. The 5x telephoto lens uses a larger sensor than most smartphone optical zoom lenses do, the larger sensor is actually better at taking night shots, including astrophotography, and the higher resolution is something you notice… on a massive crop. The fact of the matter is, some editing and tweaking on my iPhone 13 mini can produce a photo that’s as good as something on the iPhone 15 Pro, at least to the naked eye at a standard crop. Sure, if you look closely you might notice some dynamic range issues, but for the most part, for the photos I’d be taking with my phone, you won’t really notice the difference. Plus, I have optical lenses from Moment that give my iPhone 13 mini zoom, wide angles, anamorphic widescreen, and macro photography. At the end of the day, the camera is improved, but not enough for me to really feel the need to upgrade.

Besides, if I want to take really good photos, I don’t use the tiny sensor in my iPhone, I use the larger one in my Canon EOS M3, and older compact APS-C camera that still produces better photos than any iPhone. The iPhone really just sits in that area of, “The best camera is the one you have on you.” It doesn’t produce photos that have a nice vibe like an old point-and-shoot camera or Polaroid instant camera, and it doesn’t have the quality of even a compact interchangeable lens camera. It’s in a middle ground, and it’ll always be the one you’re happy to have, but not the one you rely on.

In other words, it’s not a reason to upgrade. Big performance or battery upgrades, major usability upgrades, those would be reasons to get a new device. But a mildly better camera? Pass.

Accessories: Woes and Wins

It’s almost surprising when I go to buy an iPhone 13 mini case and it’s not on sale. With the iPhone 13 series now two generations old, it’s not so exciting anymore. However, that’s a double-edged sword. Many companies no longer carry their iPhone 13 cases. However, what is potentially a larger problem is these are all old stock. Sure, once they run out, they’re gone, but the worst part is these are old cases. A case that got floating buttons for the iPhone 15 may have had plain buttons for the iPhone 13. Not all iPhone 13 cases had MagSafe, and the mini was often left out (despite most first party Apple accessories made precisely to the size of the iPhone mini). I see updates to clear cases from dBrand that supposedly will never yellow, and I want to check them out, but I can’t. Nomad did something I recommended, and took the sport case design and applied it to their leather cases, for better grip. Andar cases cover the bottom to make them more secure now. I can’t check out any of these new and improved cases.

This has lead me to re-visit some of my old iPhone cases. A few of these are great and I still use them as part of my case rotation.

The cases I still like:

The Best:

• Apple’s leather case
  • Original Score: 9/10 (fair)
  • It’s held up well and looks great! Over a year of use for a leather case that still looks this fresh? Surprisingly well done, Apple!
• Nomad’s Sport case
  • Original Score: 9.5/10 (a bit too generous, it gets scratched easily. 9/10)
  • It’s still slim, protective, and looks better now with the green iPhone 13 mini.
• Carved’s case
  • Original Score: 9/10 (fair)
  • It’s a bit bulky, but it does look great and the unique shape improves grip to the point that you can forget the extra bulk.

Honorable Mentions:

• Caudabe’s Sheath case
  • Original Score: 8/10 (I was too generous here. 7/10)
  • I almost didn’t include this, as it’s quite boring as a case, but it is protective and durable
• Andar Aspen case
  • Original Score: 6.5/10 (fair)
  • I actually still use this one sometimes, but it offers next to no protection and hasn’t aged as well as Apple’s leather case.9
• Flaunt’s square cases
  • Original Score: 5/10 (fair)
  • It’s a unique looking case, even if it’s a terrible case, and that’s why I still use it sometimes.
• Moment’s cases… sort of
  • Original Score: 7.5/10 (way too generous, 5/10)
  • I only still use this because I have to for their lenses. It’s otherwise not a great case at all
  • I actually have two Moment cases, and neither is a very good case. Moment’s non-clear case actually got worse between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series. I’m not sure if they improved these, but I wish other manufacturers still made Nomad camera mount-compatible cases so I could use their cases instead.

The cases I rarely use or just outright dislike:

• MagBak iPhone 13 mini case
  • Original Score: 6.5/10 (too generous, 4/10 is more accurate now)
  • It didn’t feel great in the hand, and got discolored easily. The magnetic array had a ton of extra magnets… except the ones they actually needed! No alignment magnets? Seriously? The MagBak wallet was a disappointment too, as it got too loose and couldn’t hold your cards in if you had fewer than usual, like if you had to give your card to a bartender at a bar to keep your tab open. I spilled my cards on the floor because of that.
• Nomad’s leather case
  • Original Score: 3/10 (fair)
  • It’s still slippery and terrible, a waste of leather. I suppose that’s why they updated it.
• The Casetify compostable case
  • Original Score: 6.5/10 (maybe 5/10. If it’s too bulky to use, it doesn’t really help the environment, does it?)
  • Just too bulky to ever actually use
• Rhinoshield Crashguard
  • Original Score: 3/10 (I might say 2/10 now)
  • It’s a bumper, which is neat, and it works for the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini… but they’re both worse for having it. It’s just a thick ring of hard plastic.
• Elago Silicone Case
  • Original Score: 2/10 (fair)
  • Yeah, I don’t even have this case anymore. I cut it up for some project where I realized I could use some molded silicone in the shape of an iPhone. I think it was to make a better grip for the Razer iPhone controller? Anyway, reduce, reuse, recycle!
• No (real) name case
  • Original Score: 6/10 (a bit generous, would say 4/10)
  • Just a bit too flimsy even for a MagSafe sticker. Also got messy quickly.

The Guilt!

I really wanted to hold on to my iPhone 13 mini for four whole years. Honestly, I should have. However, I wanted to swap the battery, and I really didn’t like the pink color. I never did, but I stuck with it for two years anyway. Withe the iPhone 13 mini about to be retired forever, I just figured it would be better to just get a new iPhone 13 mini and hold on to it for a year or two, maybe even more. I’m still mad at myself for making the assumption that I’d stick with the “iPhone every year” program and trying a color I wasn’t sure I’d like instead of one I knew I’d like, such as red, black or, well, green. With my trade-in, it wasn’t much of a premium over a new battery, and I just figured I’d go for it.

Still, keeping your device as long as you can, even if you recycle it (as I did mine), is better for the environment than buying a new one, and I wish I had just kept my old iPhone longer. At least I know it might be recycled, turned into new iPhones or wiped and re-sold as refurbished.

Activation Issues?

Activating my new iPhone 13 mini from my old iPhone 13 mini was a nightmare. First, I had to boot up the new iPhone 13 mini without transferring a backup over because the brand new iPhone 13 mini out of the box had an old version of iOS on it. Obviously, it was boxed up sometime after iOS 16 was introduced, but not recently enough to have the last version of iOS 16 before iOS 17 came out. Then I had to wipe it and restart. When I went to transfer it over, the eSIM transfer failed repeatedly. Verizon’s automated help chat bot actually locked both of my phones off the network and we had to do some crazy things to get my account back. I spent about 8 hours working on it, cumulatively. It was a nightmare. I think the next time I upgrade I’ll just also switch carriers, it might be easier.

Was it because I was upgrading to the same device I was leaving behind? Some symptom of the iOS 17 bug we saw with the iPhone 15? Just eSIM and Verizon woes? I don’t know. But the whole time I just thought it was karma for the aforementioned guilt. This device was supposed to last 4 years, this is what I get!

For Most People

If you didn’t buy a color you have come to hate, you really won’t need to swap out your whole device. Unless you’ve damaged it a lot and have decided that it has damage outside of what Apple could repair, it’s worth it to keep your device. Even with the iPhone 15 out, for most users, the iPhone 13 series will be almost indiscernible from the iPhone 15. The only exception I’d point out is if you actually do use your iPhone for a lot of video, then the iPhone 15 Pro Max might be the right choice. Or, I suppose, if you would like to play new games, turning your iPhone into a kind of Switch-style gaming handset. Otherwise? The upgrades aren’t enough for the average consumer, even tech-savvy consumers. Take that from someone who got FOMO if she didn’t have the latest iPhone on launch day every year.

Remember when you do upgrade to recycle your old cases. Terracycle can take many styles of case and recycle them. Of course, also recycle your old device. You may even get some money for it. As for me? I’m hoping to use this at least until the iPhone either has a flip phone version or the Vision Pro has become small and unobtrusive enough to just wear and use as a phone.

Still the Best iPhone… For Me

The iPhone 13 mini is just the perfect size. Any slimmer and it wouldn’t easily be able to work with a MagSafe wallet. Any larger and it would be hard to grip and use with one hand. Apple sabotaged the marketing on the iPhone 13 mini in nearly every way imaginable. A pro model of it, making it thicker for a larger battery, or even just charging the same as the iPhone 13 could have saved it, rather than making it look like the lesser iPhone 13 model. On top of that, when Apple introduced the mini size, they did so right after introducing the iPhone SE, which many small iPhone fans grabbed not knowing the mini was on the way. There’s so much online demand for the mini, but Apple went out of their way to ensure that only the diehard fans actually got one.

I am one of those diehard fans. I feel like everyone else is crazy. Fumbling their phones around, dropping them, putting grips on them, using lanyards and bags to carry them, when I can get by just putting it in my pocket. The battery life is better than expected, the performance matches the iPhone 13 series and even the iPhone 14. It’s more durable, easier to use, and just feels nice in the hand. I’ve never held my iPad mini and thought, “Wow, I wish this was my iPhone!” But here we are, in a world without a single new iPhone that actually is fit for one-handed use. So, for me, the iPhone 13 mini is still, by far, the best choice, and I’m happy to be sticking with it.