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Apple iPhone 13 mini in the test – the best small smartphone

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The competition leaves the field of small smartphones entirely to Apple. But even without pressure from other camps, the group does not rest and with the iPhone 13 mini delivers a successful and perhaps even the last evolution of the iPhone 12 mini. If you are looking for a compact high-end smartphone, you can only get it here.

According to rumors, the rumored “iPhone 14” will no longer be the smallest model in the style of the iPhone 13 mini. If that is actually true, the current year would be the last opportunity for fans of this format to get hold of such a compact smartphone with high-end equipment and very long software support.

The features of the iPhone 13 mini are practically the same as the larger iPhone 13, except that the display and battery are inevitably a bit smaller. The latter is still bigger compared to the iPhone 12 mini and now lasts as long as the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro a year ago (test). And although it is Apple’s smallest and cheapest current smartphone, features such as wireless charging and IP68 protection are retained.

Starting price of 799 euros with 128 GB

With this generation, Apple’s smallest smartphone starts with 128 instead of 64 GB of memory for 799 euros. The levels after that have also doubled their capacity with 256 GB for 919 euros and 512 GB for 1,149 euros. The iPhone 13 mini now offers a maximum amount of memory that was previously reserved for the iPhone 12 Pro (Max). For the iPhone 13 Pro (Max), Apple has increased this to 1 TB. The iPhone 13 mini has been available in Germany since September 24th in the colors Product Red, Polarstern (test device), Midnight, Blue and Rosé and comes without AppleCare + with a one-year manufacturer’s guarantee.

iPhone 13 mini in Polarstern next to black iPhone 12 mini iPhone 13 mini in Polarstern next to black iPhone 12 mini

Technical data at a glance

The smallest current high-end smartphone

64.2 × 131.5 × 7.65 mm (W × H × D) at 140 g is practically everything you need to know about the design of the iPhone 13 mini. Even a Pixel 5 from Google (test), which is actually not particularly large, has significantly larger dimensions of 70.4 × 144.7 × 8.00 mm and 151 g. The iPhone 13 mini is the only current smartphone that can still be operated largely with one hand. Only for – depending on the left or right hand – the iOS Control Center or the notifications you have to change your hand briefly, but even then a second hand is not necessary.

  • Shiny glass back in the new color Polarstern

    Shiny glass back in the new color Polarstern

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    Small stands for advantages in handling

    In terms of design, only the colors and the arrangement of the camera lenses on the iPhone 13 mini are new. These are now arranged diagonally opposite one another instead of vertically on one axis. In the hand, however, the mobile device feels exactly like an iPhone 12 mini: high-quality workmanship, timelessly elegant and, above all, safe. In contrast to many other current smartphones, the compact dimensions ensure that you don’t always have the feeling that the handling is like carrying the Ten Commandments on giant stone tablets down from Mount Sinai.

    The Face ID notch shrinks by 20 percent

    As little as the basic design has changed, the adjustments to the screen are just as small but relevant. First of all, Apple has reduced the area required by the Face ID system by 20 percent, which is particularly noticeable in the slightly more space left and right of the “notch”. However, this area is not used sensibly, for example through additional displays such as the battery level in percent. Ultimately, there is just a touch more space for the displayed content, whereby the gain with the small iPhone 13 mini looks larger than with the giant iPhone 13 Pro Max (test to follow).

  • 5.4 inch OLED display with over 800 cd / m²

    5.4 inch OLED display with over 800 cd / m²

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    New OLED display reaches over 800 cd / m²

    The display itself is unchanged in size at 5.4 inches and still has a resolution of 1,080 × 2,340 pixels at 60 Hz. The variable refresh rate from 10 to 120 Hz is reserved for the iPhone 13 Pro (Max). However, there is one important adjustment: The new OLED panel is now advertised with a maximum of 800 instead of 625 cd / m². In the test, it was even possible to determine up to 858 cd / m² in the worst-case scenario with a completely white screen. In HDR mode, up to 1,200 cd / m² are possible selectively. The peak brightness can be called up in both manual and automatic mode. With the iPhone 13 Pro, the maximum values ​​of 1,000 cd / m² (SDR) can only be achieved with the automatic mode. The brighter display ensures that the iPhone 13 mini is noticeably easier to read in the sunshine.

    Very good factory set-up

    Apart from these features, the iPhone 13 mini has the same, very good display that Apple offers in practically all OLED iPhones. The panel, calibrated at the factory, has a very natural display and shines in HDR playback with great contrast and a large color space. If desired, True Tone and night mode can be switched on again to adapt the panel to the ambient light in terms of the white point on the one hand and to reduce the blue light component at night on the other.

    Apple not only improved the brightness of the OLED screen, but also the built-in processor: the new A15 Bionic.

    On the next page: A15 Bionic comes in two versions

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