Apple iPhone 13 vs iPhone 12 mini
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.1-inch Apple iPhone 13 (with Apple A15 Bionic) that was released on September 14, 2021, against the Apple iPhone 12 mini, 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
- Has a 0.7 inch larger screen size
- Shows 46% longer battery life (36:13 vs 24:46 hours)
- Comes with 1000 mAh larger battery capacity: 3227 vs 2227 mAh
- Delivers 33% higher peak brightness (826 against 621 nits)
- 19% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (800K versus 673K)
- The phone is 11-months newer
- 8% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 1714 and 1589 points
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 mini
- Better grip in hands – the body is 7.3 mm narrower
- Weighs 39 grams less
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.
Value for money
You can enter your local prices of these phones (in USD or other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
Type | OLED | OLED |
Size | 6.1 inches | 5.4 inches |
Resolution | 1170 x 2532 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
PPI | 460 ppi | 476 ppi |
Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 625 nits |
Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | - |
HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
Screen protection | Ceramic Shield | - |
Screen-to-body ratio | 86% | 85.1% |
Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
RGB color space | 129% | - |
PWM | 609 Hz | - |
Response time | 7.5 ms | - |
Contrast | ∞ Infinity | - |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
Height | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) | 131.5 mm (5.18 inches) |
Width | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) | 64.2 mm (2.53 inches) |
Thickness | 7.65 mm (0.3 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
Weight | 174 g (6.14 oz) | 135 g (4.76 oz) |
Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
Rear material | Glass | Glass |
Frame material | Metal | Metal |
Colors | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red, Pink | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red |
Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
Chipset | Apple A15 Bionic | Apple A14 Bionic |
Max clock | 3230 MHz | 3100 MHz |
CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard - 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
Graphics | Apple A15 GPU | Apple GPU |
GPU clock | 1200 MHz | - |
FLOPS | - | ~998 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
CPU | 202276 | 188306 |
GPU | 340827 | 290180 |
Memory | 132614 | 73618 |
UX | 128546 | 126263 |
Total score | 800547 | 673671 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature | 45.7 °C | - |
Stability | 79% | 69% |
Graphics test | 52 FPS | 45 FPS |
Graphics score | 8717 | 7663 |
Memory
RAM size | 4 GB | 4 GB |
Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
Memory clock | 2133 MHz | - |
Channels | 2 | 2 |
Storage size | 128, 256, 512 GB | 64, 128, 256 GB |
Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
Memory card | No | No |
Software
Operating system | iOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.5) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.5) |
OS size | 18 GB | - |
Battery
Capacity | 3227 mAh | 2227 mAh |
Max 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 (54% in 30 min) | Yes (60% in 30 min) |
Full charging time | 1:46 hr | 1:29 hr |
Web browsing | 13:11 hr | 09:23 hr |
Watching video | 14:33 hr | 09:46 hr |
Gaming | 05:31 hr | 04:56 hr |
Standby | 123 hr | 78 hr |
General battery life
Camera
Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
Zoom | Digital | Digital |
Flash | Dual LED | Quad 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) | 2 (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: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
Ultra-wide lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 14 mm - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX503 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 13 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 mini 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 |
Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | CMOS |
Sensor size | 1/3.6" | 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) | 0.99 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 |
- 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
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 13 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 108