I’ve drawn my line in the sand and iPhone 7 size doesn’t cut it.
This is coming from and Android site.
I was getting iPhones every two years since the 3G came out. That stopped when I got the iPhone 7 in late 2016. If I were an Android user, I would not be able to still have my phone from '16 and have the latest version of Android. As a nerd, I would be sad as that’s a lot of features I wouldn’t have access to without upgrading my hardware.
My iPhone 7 still works perfectly. Depending on what I see from Apple in September is going to determine if I replace it, or if I’ll keep using it until '22. And even if I do replace the iPhone 7, I can give it away or sell it to someone, as it is still perfectly useful. An Android phone from '16? Not as much. A Galaxy S6 is about half the value of an iPhone 7 on the market.
Probably get the 5 whenever I next upgrade my phone. I’ve been pretty happy with the Pixel 3 and GoogleFi service overall.
Display: 5.81-inch 1080 x 2340
There’s one stat that is almost the only thing that matters to me in 2020. Even new iPhone SE is bigger than I would like!
Is it an induced-huge-screen-demand deal, or am I that weird to want tiny phone?
We all want the tiny phone.
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@Starfox you aren’t weird, but I like mediumish to large phone real estate because I play a lot of phone boardgame apps which is why I want the full size version.
This is an extremely narrow case, but it still illustrates a very real trend of the rise of Apple’s chip-making abilities and the downfall of Intel.
Previously it wasn’t looking good for non-Apple phones. Now it’s not looking so good for any non-Apple laptops or non-Apple workstation PCs! And I don’t see good things in the future for non-ARM servers.
The decline of x86 isn’t actually the fault of x86. Not that x86 isn’t without flaw, but it’s largely just Intel’s fault. AMD seems to actually be doing much better with it than Intel is. There have been a lot of organizational troubles, failures to stay on schedule, and bad architectural decisions. The AVX-512 thing is a particular hot button issue.
Jelly 2, a Kickstarter for a new tiny Android-based Smartphone. Looks like they have made one before. $159 is a pretty good price for a small phone.
iPhone 12 mini
Basically exactly what I expected and wanted. An iPhone 5, though not quite as small, with a top of the line 2020 power level phone inside of it. The screen is significantly better. The camera is dramatically superior to the one in my iPhone7. The transfer/activation procedure was automatic and instantaneous. Having not activated a phone in 4+ years, I was amazed. It’s already completely setup and perfect with all my apps, settings, data, everything. I just had to log back into a few things, but not that many things. Now I basically have two identical phones.
There are a few user interface differences I had to get used to, mostly having to do with the lack of a physical home button. Not a big problem, because I got used to most of those gestures on my iPad. Biggest one was that turning the phone off is not a long press of the main side button. It’s a press and hold of the main button and either volume button together.
Performance wise, it is faster than the 7, but only with certain things. It loads web pages noticeably faster than the 7 in a side by side showdown, but the 7 doesn’t feel slow on its own. The 12 is just faster than fast. That being said, the performance isn’t noticeable in all applications. It loads and plays YouTube videos at the exact same speed, although they do look and sound much nicer.
Oh yeah, it has 5G. There are two bars of 5G coverage at my desk. Speed test says about 37Mbps down and 6Mbps up. I disabled the 5G (same phone) and the speed was 41Mbps down and 4Mbps up. I forgot to take speed tests with the iPhone 7 before activating the new phone. I don’t think I’m going to see the real 5G speeds until I start going places.
What’s really funny is that because I’m not leaving the house, I have the old phone and new phone side by side on wifi, and they both feel like active phones with the same apps and settings. You couldn’t tell which one was active without trying to use any phone stuff. Maybe we should all reduce our data plans to be very small while we’re stuck at home using wifi almost exclusively. Save some cash.
Having both phones like this really makes it clear, the iPhone 7 is still just fine. I absolutely could have stuck with this 7 until it completely died, and I would not have been upset about it. If I pick up the 7 now after having used the 12 it doesn’t feel slow old or bad at all. It feels 90%+ the same exact thing.
That said, I don’t regret getting the 12. Now I have a backup phone, which is something I kind of wanted to have for situations. Also, I have strong suspicions the next iPhone will not have any ports, not even lightning. That’s the rumor anyway. I don’t want to be stuck with that as the choice when 7 does need replacing. I am absolutely sticking with this 12 until it is completely dead. Considering the 7 is 4+ years old and still strong, I’m expecting the 12 mini to be 6+ years easily, with a possible battery replacement at some point.
If you got money, iPhone 12 is best iPhone yet, mini or regular. I see no reason to get the pro iPhones unless you use the camera on them a lot. Like, you are going to use that camera as your primary camera, take lots of photos and videos with it for actual productions of some kind. And also you are not going to buy a stand-alone camera because you have the pro iPhone instead. If you decide not to buy like, a mirrorless or DSLR camera at all, and get a pro iPhone instead, that’s actually a huge cash savings.
If you don’t have money, you can get a like-new iPhone 7 for < $150. You can get a brand new iPhone SE, which is basically the same form factor as a 7 with much upgraded internals, for $400. The newer phone does have a long list of small upgrades, but the overall experience of using the 7 vs the 12 is not that different. How much meaningful difference will there be on a day to day basis? Not much. iPhone is an iPhone. After the 7 the upgrades they have made have not been nearly as significant, and it shows.
The days of upgrading my phone every two years ended with the 7. We have cross the bridge. Now with the 12 begins the era of upgrading my phone as infrequently as possible. What’s the over/under on my next phone being the iPhone XX?
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Work has given me a new iPhone SE and said I can keep my old one from 2 years ago if I want it.
My wife’s Xperia is dying but mine is holding up. So I will take both iPhones, switch my stuff from all Android to all Apple. She’ll have my Xperia. I’ll put my sim in the new iPhone and use the old one for work.
After all, why not? Why shouldn’t I keep it?
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My father in law just got a new work phone, and it’s an iPhone 12. Regular size, non-pro.
And it’s HUGE. I thought the regular size was the same size as my iPhone 10. But no, it’s noticeably bigger. By a lot! And my current phone is a stretch for me, and I knew when I bought it, moving up from an iPhone 6.
So if I get a new phone next year, the iPhone 12S or 13 or whatever, I’m going for the mini size for sure.
My Pixel 2 decided to stop turning on so now I have a Pixel 5 due to needing it quickly. It’s too big and the hole punch selfie camera bugs me.
I’ve loved the pixel series and owned one ever since the 2, but straight up I don’t see myself sticking with it anymore. Too many manufacturing issues, and they’re just not… good enough anymore. I’ll probably be moving over to the OnePlus series.
If I hadn’t needed a phone quickly, or had a good enough backup to last a couple days, I’d probably do the same. On a related and fun note, Humble Bundles does not do backup 2 factor codes, which made getting back into that account fun. Put that account on two devices to prevent that issue in the future.
How is the battery life in the mini? One of the main benefits I have seen to having a larger phone is increase in battery life. Does the mini last all day on a charge?
According to people who test, benchmark, and review phones it has less battery life than the other models. It’s obviously true because of the smaller battery and the laws of physics.
I can’t personally comment on its battery life because battery life is not a problem for me. I leave my phone plugged in overnight every night. When I’m sitting at my desk, which is most hours of most days, my phone is plugged in. When I was commuting, the only time my phone battery got used was during the commute itself, and maybe lunch break. No matter what phone I have, the battery rarely gets a chance to go below 90% or even 99%.
The only times I ever use my phone battery for extended periods are while biking long distances and while traveling, especially conventions. In both of those cases, no matter what phone I have, I bring an external battery. Even if I got the biggest iPhone with the biggest battery, that battery would still die if I go for a long bike ride in the woods with Strava on the entire time.
There are rumors that people are going to be making magsafe batteries. That would actually be much nicer than having a separate battery with a little lightning cable flopping all round. I would buy that if they made it. Would be very nice for those longer bike rides where the phone is in a rear jersey pocket.
If you rely on your phone battery lasting a long time, you’ll have to take that into consideration. But also consider if you can change your battery behavior and just keep your phone plugged in more often, like I do.