iPhone 13 Mini vs iPhone 12 Mini: Which one to buy?

The iPhone 13 Mini comes with a larger battery than iPhone 12 Mini. But iPhone 13 Mini has the same limitations as its predecessor in terms of maximum charging power.

The iPhone 13 Mini, along with the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max, went on sale in India earlier this week. While the iPhone 13 Mini differs slightly from its predecessor, the Apple iPhone 12 Mini, there are a few things that haven't changed. One of those modifications is Apple's decision to limit the iPhone 13 Mini's peak charging speeds while utilising the company's MagSafe wireless charger. So, here's a charging comparison between the iPhone 13 Mini and the iPhone 12 Mini.

When the iPhone 12 Mini was released in 2020, Apple limited the maximum charging power to 12W when using the MagSafe wireless charger. MagSafe's quicker 15W charging speeds could benefit other iPhone 12 series devices. While Apple has never said why this limitation exists, it is widely assumed that Apple limited peak charging power in the iPhone 12 Mini due to the thermal limits of a smaller device.

Now, Apple has revealed in a support document that this year's iPhone 13 Mini has the same limitations as its predecessor. This implies that, like the iPhone 12 Mini, the iPhone 13 Mini's max charging power is limited to 12W.

The MagSafe charger, according to Apple, dynamically adapts to conditions to optimise charging users' iPhones at up to 15W of peak power supply for quicker wireless charging.“For iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 12 mini, the MagSafe Charger delivers up to 12W of peak power delivery,” Apple wrote in its support document.

While the iPhone 13 Mini's (and iPhone 12 Mini's) reduced battery capacity may appear to be a significant drawback, it assures that the phone charges faster than other iPhone 13 models, including the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

If it's any consolation, the iPhone 13 Mini comes with a larger battery than the iPhone 12 Mini. For comparison, the iPhone 12 Mini has a maximum video playback duration of 15 hours and a maximum audio playback time of 50 hours, while the iPhone 13 Mini has a maximum video playback time of 17 hours and a maximum audio playback time of 55 hours.