Apple's iPhone 12 mini is the smallest iPhone that's been made available since the original iPhone SE, with a 5.4-inch display and a body that's 5 inches high and 2.5 inches wide.
Since it's the smallest iPhone Apple sells, it's also the iPhone 12 model with the lowest battery life, coming in at 15 hours of video playback compared to the iPhone 12's 17 hours. For streaming video, the iPhone 12 mini offers 10 hours of playback, while the iPhone 12 offers 11 hours. The iPhone mini outperforms the iPhone SE, but doesn't measure up to any of the other larger iPhones.
The 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max features 20 hours of video playback, offering five hours longer battery life than the iPhone 12 mini.
Apple breaks battery life down in three categories: video playback, video playback when streaming video, and audio playback. Battery life info for all iPhones in the current iPhone lineup is listed below.
iPhone 12 Pro Max - Up to 20 hours video playback, 12 hours streamed, 80 hours audio
iPhone 12 Pro - Up to 17 hours video playback, 11 hours streamed, 65 hours audio
iPhone 12 - Up to 17 hours video playback, 11 hours streamed, 65 hours audio
iPhone 12 mini - Up to 15 hours video playback, 10 hours streamed, 50 hours audio playback
iPhone 11 - Up to 17 hours video playback, 10 hours streamed, 65 hours audio
iPhone XR - Up to 16 hours video playback, 65 hours audio
iPhone SE - Up to 13 hours video playback, 8 hours streamed, 40 hours audio
All of Apple's new iPhone 12 devices support fast charging and can be charged to 50 percent within 30 minutes using a 20W power adapter and the included USB-C to Lighting cable.
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future.
To set up the...
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...
Okay, sure, the 12 Mini doesn't match the much larger/newer iPhone battery stats, like duh, how could it? However, according to Apple's website it does match the XS Max, which was pretty well-regarded for its battery life back when it launched. What's my point bringing up that comparison? Well, it's that while battery life on the 12 Mini might not be as good as the latest/larger models, it's still shaping up to be pretty dang good all things considered. For anyone upgrading from an iPhone 7/8/SE or heck, even a X or XS, you're looking at improved battery life here despite several upgrades in a significantly smaller package. That's something to be excited about imo.
I don't get why Macrumors always disparages notion of a smaller and lighter iPhone?
For years and years the iPhone has become unnecessarily bigger and heavier. The Mini is a good thing. Moaning about battery life of a more pocketable phone is short sighted.
I'll never understand why Apple won't just add a few mm to the thickness for a significant increase in battery life. It's just like the MacBook Pro that got a miserable keyboard so it could be N mm thinner. Stupid. IMO.
