Apple iPhone 13 mini vs iPhone 12 Pro Max
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 5.4-inch Apple iPhone 13 mini (with Apple A15 Bionic) that was released on September 14, 2021, against the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 13 mini
- Better grip in hands – the body is 13.9 mm narrower
- The phone is 11-months newer
- Weighs 85 grams less
- 8% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 1745 and 1616 points
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
- Has a 1.3 inches larger screen size
- The rear camera has a 2.5x optical zoom
- Comes with 1281 mAh larger battery capacity: 3687 vs 2406 mAh
- Shows 10% longer battery life (35:25 vs 32:15 hours)
- Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
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Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
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Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 5.4 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1284 x 2778 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 476 ppi | 458 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 800 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Ceramic Shield | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 85.1% | 87.4% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99.7% | 99.4% |
| PWM | 510 Hz | 238 Hz |
| Response time | 4.8 ms | 8 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 131.5 mm (5.18 inches) | 160.8 mm (6.33 inches) |
| Width | 64.2 mm (2.53 inches) | 78.1 mm (3.07 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.65 mm (0.3 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 141 g (4.97 oz) | 226 g (7.97 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red, Pink | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A15 Bionic | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max clock | 3200 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard - 2 cores at 3.24 GHz: Avalanche |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Apple GPU | Apple GPU |
| GPU clock | 1200 MHz | - |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 193760 | 199661 |
| GPU | 347737 | 262671 |
| Memory | 108337 | 132086 |
| UX | 131541 | 136404 |
| Total score | 781635 | 737847 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 38.8 °C | 45 °C |
| Stability | 77% | 75% |
| Graphics test | 53 FPS | 47 FPS |
| Graphics score | 8914 | 7882 |
Memory
| RAM size | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256, 512 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.4) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.4) |
| OS size | 12 GB | 16 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 2406 mAh | 3687 mAh |
| Charge power | 20 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (7.5 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (61% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:24 hr | 1:32 hr |
| Web browsing | 10:48 hr | 12:04 hr |
| Watching video | 11:55 hr | 14:25 hr |
| Gaming | 05:14 hr | 07:11 hr |
| Standby | 124 hr | 122 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2.5x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) | 4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.7 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.7 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 65 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX613 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Depth lens | - | Yes |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 13 mini from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4290 x 2800 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 23 mm |
| Pixel size | - | 1 microns |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" | - |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | - | No |
| USB version | 2 | - |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 18 | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | September 2021 | October 2020 |
| Release date | September 2021 | November 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 0.97 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.98 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the design is more important to you, then choose the Apple iPhone 13 mini. But if the battery life and camera are more of a priority – go for the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 298