1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,080 For some reason, everything keeps getting bigger. 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:08,720 Oh my God, this thing is crazy. Everything's up here? 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,040 And people, they love it. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:18,080 Look how big trucks have become. But I'm not the type who thinks bigger is better. 5 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:22,120 Sometimes the less popular choice is the best one. 6 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,960 I've always been a small phone person, but when the 14 Pro came out, 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:28,960 I wanted to try a truly premium experience. 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,520 It's got better cameras, better battery life, better screen, really everything. 9 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,280 And yet, I think I want to go back. 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,520 Am I wrong for wanting the cheaper, smaller, older, 11 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:46,740 less popular phone? No, no, it's you guys who are wrong. 12 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:53,080 We've only seen two generations of this mini iPhone, and yet it's the only small premium phone 13 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,520 you can get, period. It delivers the same experience you'd expect 14 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,640 from a full-size iPhone just scaled down 20%, 15 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,520 which it does beautifully. Sure, you give up on some battery life, 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:08,040 but just hold the thing. It fits in the palm of my hand like a phone should. 17 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:12,200 I can reach any part of this 5.4 inch screen with one hand, 18 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,280 which is something that most people don't seem to care about 19 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,520 since large phones are the norm now. 20 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:23,080 But it's not only about screen size. Years ago, I created this weird rule 21 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,880 where I would not buy a phone that's more than 70 millimeters wide. 22 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,080 I've had an iPhone 5 and SE, which I think are great, 23 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:34,080 but a touch too narrow. I've had an iPhone 6, which despite being 24 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,760 only 67 millimeters wide, was still 25 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,560 a little too cumbersome for me. Okay, so I'm starting to sound 26 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,240 like a bit of a Goldilocks here, but when Apple announced the iPhone 12 mini 27 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:50,960 two and a half years ago, I was ecstatic because the perfect phone finally existed. 28 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:56,160 Oh, man, this is great. It was lightweight. 29 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:01,280 I love the symmetry of the stacked camera lenses. I love the available mint green color. 30 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,160 And even though the notch took up most of the top of the screen, 31 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:10,560 it did so with a certain proportionality. Many of these things changed with the 13 mini, 32 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,160 less notch, larger diagonally placed camera sensors 33 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,360 from the 12 pro and a bigger battery. 34 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:23,240 But other than battery capacity and obviously screen size, the 13 mini matched the non mini spec for spec. 35 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:29,360 Regardless whether it's the 12 or the 13, I'm happy with any of these as long as it's a mini iPhone. 36 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,800 And I know I'm not alone. I think I prefer the 12 mini. 37 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,880 What phone do you currently use? The iPhone 13 mini. 38 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:41,400 Got an iPhone 12 mini. I have the iPhone 13 mini. 39 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:46,600 I have an iPhone mini 13. What do you love about the iPhone mini? 40 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:53,560 In terms of just physicality, this is by far the best phone I've owned, hands down. 41 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,120 It's cheaper and it's the right size. It's effectively it. Like, you know what I mean? 42 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,680 It doesn't leave me wanting anything else, which I think is important. 43 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:06,320 Yeah, I wish I had one, a phone that I can just hold it in my hand, 44 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,920 like one hand, not two hands. 45 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:14,000 It's compact. Second of all, it's still very much competes 46 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,120 with a lot of the regular devices you'd find. 47 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:26,400 At like a very good price point as well. And with, I feel a camera that is 48 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,680 acceptable for a phone camera. 49 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:39,440 Even though there's no 14 mini, I still don't think it's too late to get a mini iPhone. 50 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:43,160 At $600, the 13 mini is incredible value. 51 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,680 Like this video's sponsor, Squarespace. Now, when it comes to choosing an iPhone, 52 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:53,040 you are spoiled for options. But the iPhone 13 mini is the best bang for the buck. 53 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,400 Yes, you can try and save more money and opt for an SE, 54 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,760 but you'd be giving up a lot. If you go for the full size 12 for the same price 55 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:06,400 as the 13 mini, you lose a ton of new features, improvements, and storage just to get the larger screen. 56 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,480 In every way, it's a lose, lose for me. 57 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:12,600 And even for the large screen loving person, 58 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:17,920 I don't think the trade-offs are worth it. You could of course go for the 6.1 inch iPhone 13, 59 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,080 but at that point, you're so close in price and performance to the iPhone 14, 60 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,120 you might as well go for that. But if you really want a big phone, you could get a plus. 61 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,880 And at that point, well actually you're kind of close to the iPhone 14 Pro. So maybe you get that. 62 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,680 Oh, but then you can get the iPhone 14 Max. It's a super slippery slope. 63 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:35,760 And in deciding what iPhone to spend my money on, 64 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:41,040 it's super easy. But it is worth considering some of the downsides. 65 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,640 What do you not like about the iPhone mini? 66 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:51,640 The iPhone, this kind of like, it's the iOS. You know, like I use the phone because it's comfortable, 67 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,480 because it's well-designed in spite of the software. 68 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:59,720 As far as the hardware goes, I miss having a rear fingerprint sensor. 69 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,920 Yeah, but I mean, also I don't like the fact that you use a lightning cable. 70 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,720 I mostly charge it with, what's it called? 71 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:10,320 It's not a great phone though, for calling though. 72 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,800 I will say that, it doesn't sound great, 73 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:18,520 you know what I mean? And the battery life was not entirely there. 74 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,680 Like for example, if I am like going on a road trip 75 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:25,800 or something where I'm going to be using my phone for most of the day, 76 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,240 then that is very much something I have to be super aware of. 77 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,040 The main thing is the battery life. Let's say if I'm like traveling and stuff, 78 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:37,000 like I will definitely bring a Mexico charger. 79 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,800 So I just put it on here. That gets rid of the disadvantage 80 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:47,040 of like the battery life for the smaller phone. Our gripes aren't the biggest issue with the mini iPhone. 81 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,960 The complaint everyone else has with this phone is the thing we all love about it. 82 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:58,200 It's size. All things considered, the mini line accounts for just two to 3% of iPhones sold 83 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,360 during their life cycle. That's still millions of devices, 84 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,520 but not enough to be considered popular. 85 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,600 This and the opportunity to sell higher cost phones 86 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:12,040 seems to be why Apple decided to swap the mini for a plus this time around. 87 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:17,660 And that has me quite worried because there's now a possibility that we may never see a mini iPhone again. 88 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:25,440 And then what? That's it. The reason I am on iPhone is because of the form factor. 89 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:30,360 If that goes away, there is nothing compelling to me about staying on an iPhone. 90 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:34,400 Probably go for a 13 mini or find a used 13 mini. 91 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:38,560 Like I don't want this to come across as cheap. I just don't value the high end stuff. 92 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:44,480 I'll probably still go out and just buy this one because it's cheaper than the new one 93 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,220 and the old new fancy feature I probably don't really need. 94 00:06:48,220 --> 00:06:51,720 If I really had to, just for the sake of convenience, 95 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,080 I would end up switching to the current generation 96 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,560 regular iPhone that is available. 97 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:06,320 The prognosis is not good when you step outside the Apple ecosystem. 98 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,440 All of the normal size Android phones, 99 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,960 I find to be quite large and all of the best features are saved 100 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:17,160 for the largest among them, which can be better described as monolithic. 101 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:22,560 I've searched high and low in the Android sphere for an alternative and the best I've been able to find 102 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,960 is the ASUS Zenfone 9. 103 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:31,520 At first things look promising. This 5.9 inch phone has a surprisingly strong battery life, 104 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:35,560 flagship specs and would you believe it, a headphone jack. 105 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:40,260 The wins keep on going. It also has a 120 Hertz refresh rate, 106 00:07:40,260 --> 00:07:43,540 which easily bests what the 13 mini offers. 107 00:07:43,540 --> 00:07:50,380 The news isn't all good though. It lacks wireless charging and the cameras are rough. 108 00:07:50,380 --> 00:07:55,620 What's going on with my hand here? You can find a better camera on a cheaper phone 109 00:07:55,620 --> 00:08:01,180 and compared to the 13 mini, it's not even close. Look at how the Zenfone messed up this jacket. 110 00:08:01,180 --> 00:08:04,260 These haptics feel as bad as phones from 2010 111 00:08:04,260 --> 00:08:09,260 and carrier support isn't even ubiquitous. Verizon, for instance, doesn't support this phone. 112 00:08:09,260 --> 00:08:12,780 And although it did eventually receive Android 13, 113 00:08:12,780 --> 00:08:17,160 OS updates aren't timely. There are times when it is a couple of months 114 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:21,260 behind on security patches and it only just got its latest one recently. 115 00:08:21,260 --> 00:08:25,860 You'll also only get two years of updates, which was bad a decade ago 116 00:08:25,860 --> 00:08:29,180 and is now inexcusable for a phone of this price. 117 00:08:29,180 --> 00:08:34,260 I'm still glad a small phone alternative exists, but this is a low bar. 118 00:08:34,260 --> 00:08:38,580 There should be better options. And with the 14 line dropping the mini, 119 00:08:38,580 --> 00:08:43,280 we might be at risk of losing one good choice entirely. 120 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,680 But I wouldn't worry just yet. We thought that the 5S would be killed for good 121 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:52,580 and yet we got the first gen SE. And when that was replaced with the 4.7 inch SE, 122 00:08:52,580 --> 00:08:57,300 we thought that an all screen design that's this small would be impossible. 123 00:08:57,300 --> 00:09:03,660 And yet we got the 12 mini. We are a minority wanting this, but we're a vocal minority. 124 00:09:03,660 --> 00:09:06,780 And Apple has so far been able to fill this niche. 125 00:09:06,780 --> 00:09:09,540 It's not surprising, Steve Jobs was on our side. 126 00:09:12,500 --> 00:09:15,620 Now with the current SE getting long in the tooth, 127 00:09:15,620 --> 00:09:18,620 I think that line is primed for a new model, 128 00:09:18,620 --> 00:09:21,820 one which could carry on the legacy of the mini. 129 00:09:21,820 --> 00:09:27,140 When the iPhone 15 comes out, give me the body of a 13 with updated internals. 130 00:09:27,140 --> 00:09:32,580 Don't get me wrong, this isn't dead yet. It'll still get OS updates for years to come. 131 00:09:32,620 --> 00:09:37,140 And even when it stops getting major iOS releases, it'll likely continue getting security updates, 132 00:09:37,140 --> 00:09:42,540 just as old versions of iOS do. But eventually there will come a time to replace it. 133 00:09:42,540 --> 00:09:46,460 And when that time comes, I hope there's an option for people like me. 134 00:09:46,460 --> 00:09:51,280 Thanks for shrinking this Mac Address down to size. If you like big phones, give this video a like. 135 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:58,220 And if you like small phones, you might as well subscribe. I'm curious, what is the perfect size phone for you? 136 00:09:58,220 --> 00:10:00,700 Do you cope with a measurement policy like I did?