I Purchased a Used iPhone 13 Mini and Discovered a Onerous Lesson

After over 4 years of utilizing an iPhone 12 Professional Max, Apple’s thinner and lighter iPhone Air gave the impression of a refreshing change. The cellphone’s promise of offering the identical Apple-exclusive perks, like iMessage and FaceTime, whereas being extra pocket-friendly, actually appealed to me.

The issue: $1,000 is just too a lot for me to place in direction of a cellphone proper now. Plus, my present T-Cell plan has a low month-to-month worth and is not eligible for these bigger “get a cellphone on us” offers as a result of it is so previous. Switching carriers to get such a promotion can be a no-go, as practically each wi-fi plan that’s eligible would value me more cash month-to-month. Telephones themselves are much more costly, with the value of recent gadgets fluctuating as a result of an unsure financial outlook and the continued RAM scarcity. Two telephones I’ve just lately reviewed, the $180 Moto G Play and the $700 OnePlus 15R, each have larger beginning costs than the fashions they changed.

And that is when it hit me: Apple made extra pocket-friendly iPhones years earlier than the Air with the since-discontinued iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 13 Mini. Each are in a position to run iOS 26 and can probably obtain updates for a couple of extra years. Much more incentivizing, I may get a 13 Mini with 256GB of storage for a similar worth as a brand-new finances cellphone.

However I’ve considerations about shopping for such an previous cellphone.

Apple not makes the iPhone Mini, so the one method to discover one might be to purchase it used. Whereas sellers promise that their used telephones will operate and solely present some indicators of wear and tear, will that basically be the case? And although it should run iOS 26, will the cellphone be capable of sustain with my every day routine? I made a decision to make the leap and check whether or not a used iPhone 13 Mini may fill among the iPhone Air’s promise at a a lot lower cost. 

Discovering an iPhone 13 Mini

For the needs of this check, I purchased an blue iPhone 13 Mini with 256GB of storage for $353, after taxes, from a vendor on Amazon. I exploit a 256GB version of the 12 Professional Max, and did not need to sacrifice storage by switching to a distinct cellphone. In the event you do not need to undergo Amazon, yow will discover the iPhone 13 Mini on quite a few used cellphone websites, together with Gazelle, Again Market, Swappa and eBay, amongst others. I typically scope Woot for cellphone offers, and infrequently see refurbished fashions of the Mini pop up there, too.

These distributors will typically worth the used telephones based mostly on their situation. On this case, I purchased one in Renewed situation, which meant that the cellphone would present some indicators of wear and tear and a battery with not less than 80% capability. Amazon additionally has a Renewed Premium tier, which prices $60 to $90 extra and provides telephones with not less than 90% battery capability. Renewed is totally different from refurbished, because the latter means a cellphone has been repaired or repackaged and offered in like-new situation. On this case, a renewed mannequin ought to imply it has been inspected earlier than being offered and mailed out.

I made a decision to go the cheaper route, as I imagined that the majority renewed telephones would have a battery lifetime of not less than final a day (and I later found this to be unsuitable). Additionally importantly, the cellphone got here with a beneficiant return coverage, permitting me three months to get a refund if I made a decision the cellphone wasn’t for me.

Unboxing and establishing the iPhone 13 Mini

The iPhone 13 Mini arrived in a reasonably nondescript field. I did not anticipate to obtain far more than the cellphone, nevertheless it got here with an influence adapter and a charging cable (Lightning), which was a pleasant bonus.

When inspecting the iPhone, I observed some seen put on and tear alongside the upper-right body, however that was nicely inside my expectations for the cellphone’s situation. The display screen had no cracks, and any indicators of prior use would not affect its usability.

I powered it on, stunned to see that the cellphone hadn’t been manufacturing unit reset earlier than it was shipped to me. It went straight to the house display screen as a substitute of main me by means of an preliminary setup course of. Though it wasn’t logged into somebody’s account, I most popular a more energizing set up earlier than including my private info. So I carried out a manufacturing unit reset and used iCloud to switch my account, apps and settings over. 

The iPhone 13 Mini’s battery life is shorter than anticipated

Because the iPhone 13 Mini is a smaller cellphone, I anticipated it to have a smaller battery. I hoped — very similar to the iPhone Air — that iOS 26’s battery optimizations would assist preserve the cellphone working by means of the day with probably a night recharge. Nonetheless, I did not account for a way the battery’s diminished capability would think about.

The iPhone 13 Mini’s battery was at 83% capability. Apple recommends changing an iPhone’s battery when its capability is beneath 80%. My new-to-me Mini was above that threshold, simply barely. And I shortly realized that my persistence with this reduced-capacity battery would put on out quick.

On my first full day with the iPhone 13 Mini, I took it to work, totally charged, round 7 a.m. By 6 p.m., the battery life had depleted to 30%. At this level of the day, I primarily used the cellphone for checking notifications, apps and a few gentle images. Nevertheless it was after work once I realized how shortly the rest of this battery would drain. The battery dropped to fifteen% after I used GPS over 5G for half-hour to get from the workplace to a bar’s trivia night time. That is the place my energy financial institution got here in helpful, charging the battery to 60% inside an hour.

On days once I used the cellphone’s digital camera or the wi-fi hotspot characteristic for my laptop computer, the battery was mainly toast. I exploit my cellphone commonly for these duties, and was shocked to see that a couple of of them would drain the iPhone 13 Mini roughly 40% in an hour. 

Apple’s iPhone 13 Mini runs iOS 26 so nicely

Regardless of its sparse battery life, I actually loved utilizing the iPhone 13 Mini. Apple’s iOS 26 optimizes so nicely on the smaller display screen that I barely needed to change how I used it: working apps, video games, video calls and even watching TV exhibits.

Though the iPhone 13 Mini’s 5.4-inch show is far smaller than each the 12 Professional’s 6.7-inch display screen or the iPhone Air’s 6.5-inch one, it simply meant I held the cellphone slightly nearer whereas watching HBO Max and varied cooking movies.

I did, nonetheless, really feel restricted by the display screen’s actual property when typing. It was a bit too comfortable for utilizing each thumbs. I obtained round this by utilizing the swipe keyboard for one-finger typing, although it is more durable to right a phrase when it predicts incorrectly.

The iPhone 13 Mini’s cameras have aged gracefully

I am not going to faux that the iPhone 13 Mini’s 12-megapixel digital camera system can go toe-to-toe in opposition to the iPhone Air’s newer 48-megapixel digital camera. However the Mini does have a devoted ultrawide digital camera that is absent on the Air. Even with older cameras, the iPhone 13 Mini continues to be in a position to take good images. I commonly check low cost telephones, and I can comfortably say that the Mini’s cameras are nearly as good, if not higher, than what’s out there on most new $300 Android telephones — keep in mind I paid about $350 for the used iPhone.

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Beginning off with this sausage, egg, cheese and tomato sandwich taken whereas exterior, this photograph from the principle digital camera exhibits loads of element on the bagel (discover the the whole lot seasoning). The tomato within the picture even has a slight glisten to it. Whereas not terribly dynamic, the photograph is an correct illustration and would not want a filter or additional modifying.

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On this photograph of a espresso store’s foyer, discover the vibrancy of the colour. You may even see the yellow wall’s texture. On different telephones I usually evaluate within the $300 worth vary, these sorts of element typically will get softened or would mix into the wall’s yellow coloration. I like the best way the daylight pours throughout the body from the window to the correct and the way it’s contrasted by the plant’s shadows. 

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I anticipated to overlook my iPhone 12 Professional Max’s telephoto lens for the reason that Mini would not have one and depends solely on digital zoom. This picture taken at 5x zoom of a chicken alongside the Siesta Key, Florida seaside is just not a fantastic photograph when it comes to picture high quality. It suffers from picture noise. The chicken’s feathers and the sand’s texture are smoothed to a blur from all of the noise discount.

I took the photograph beneath of the identical chicken at 5x with a Samsung Galaxy S24, which has a devoted 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom telephoto digital camera. The picture appears to be like higher and you’ll even make out among the feathers on the chicken.

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The iPhone 13 Mini has a 12-megapixel front-facing digital camera, which is greater than enough for fast selfies and FaceTime calls. I like how the photograph beneath exhibits the smaller particulars of my hair and face. Additionally you may even make out the main points and textures within the tree and plant which are within the background.

May I actually improve to this used iPhone 13 Mini?

Functionally, I loved utilizing the iPhone 13 Mini. Though the cellphone is far smaller than my iPhone 12 Professional Max, not one of the apps I commonly use felt compromised. I particularly appreciated the way it took up a lot much less house in my pocket, which I observed on walks or on the health club, as a result of I did not really feel as weighed down. It is sufficiently small that I even used it as a quasi-fidget spinner (you may watch the tip of my video journal embedded into this story to see what I imply).

The draw back is that I simply can’t get previous the battery life points. There are, nonetheless, quite a few choices I may take to treatment this however that might contain discovering one other pocketable system. I may return this one and get one other iPhone 13 Mini in Renewed Premium situation on Amazon, which is at present going for $403, and would promise a battery with not less than 90% capability out there. That upcharge can be much less cash than paying Apple to switch the battery, which might value $89.

And if I am increasing my finances to the $400 vary, there are additionally a couple of different telephones that could be a greater improve. As an illustration, Apple’s iPhone 15 has a bigger 6.1-inch show, nevertheless it’s nonetheless smaller than my iPhone 12 Professional Max, and it may be discovered for round $470 in Renewed situation at 256GB of storage. I may even think about an Android flip cellphone, just like the Motorola Razr or the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, since each are being supplied within the $450 to $600 worth vary, both used or marked down from vacation gross sales.

So whereas I will be returning this particular cellphone over its poor battery life, there’s not less than loads of different choices to contemplate in my seek for an inexpensive and extra transportable smartphone.