Overcoming Hurdles: Why I Hold Off on Upgrading My iPhone

Quick Links

• The iPhone Mini Is Big Enough for Me
• There’s No Sign of an iPhone 16 Mini in Sight
• I’ll Just Stick With What I Have

Rumors for the iPhone 16 are picking up, but the one aspect of a new phone that would make me excited about upgrading is something Apple gave up on years ago. I just want a smaller size.

The iPhone Mini Is Big Enough for Me

Broadly speaking, most people prefer larger phones. They want a bigger screen, a bigger battery, and more space inside the device for better cameras and other components. This preference is clear from the sales trends. But not everybody feels the same way.

I love my iPhone 12 Mini . I don’t need to perform finger-gymnastics to use the phone one-handed, it slips into my pocket comfortably without leaving a large outline on my pants leg, and it feels more understated and unobtrusive than the slab of metal and glass that is a larger device.

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And I’m very happy to make the sacrifices that come with a smaller device. I generally try not to use my iPhone too much, so a smaller screen for videos, social media, and other distractions like that isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it pushes me not to mindlessly scroll on my phone but to more deliberately find something to read, play, or watch elsewhere.

At the same time, the battery life has always been less of a concern for me because I’m trying not to use my phone too much, so I’m happy to put it on charge at home if the battery is a little low. For a long day out, I can just grab a MagSafe battery pack and top up the charge on the go.

And although it would be lovely to have the triple-lens setup of a larger, Pro iPhone, I can make do with the wide and ultrawide lenses I have. The photos are certainly high enough quality for me to capture and look back on my life.

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There’s No Sign of an iPhone 16 Mini in Sight

I’m not the only person who loves the iPhone Mini form factor. I’ve seen lots of other people voice similar opinions online, and I’ve had several people comment enviously on the smaller size of my phone in real life. There are dozens of us! But there aren’t enough.

After the poor sales of both the iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 13 Mini, Apple discontinued the iPhone Mini size, potentially for good. The iPhone 14 and 15 lineups each offered standard and Max iPhone sizes, with no smaller option, and it looks certain that the iPhone 16 lineup will be the same.

There simply wasn’t enough consumer interest to make a smaller iPhone worthwhile for Apple, especially considering the lower price tag attached to it. So I understand why the smaller iPhone line has ended, but that does leave me much less excited about an iPhone 16.

I’ll Just Stick With What I Have

My iPhone 12 Mini will be four years old this September. The battery is now getting to be an issue (even for me) and loading speeds can be a little slow when booting up certain apps or opening the camera. But if I want to upgrade to a new device, I’ll need to either size-up to the iPhone 16 in September or jump ship to Android.

Jumping ship is tempting—there are plenty of enticing palm-sized Android smartphones to choose from. But I’m so heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem , an Android phone would essentially downgrade a lot of my other devices through lost compatibility.

So I’m back looking at the upcoming iPhone lineup. The iPhone SE is slightly smaller than the regular iPhone, but it’s not much of an upgrade to my 12 Mini, and it would actually be a downgrade in some ways, like losing Face ID and the edge-to-edge display.

Instead, the best option for me is probably to just keep my 12 Mini and save some money. My iPhone 12 Mini will support iOS 18 when it comes out in fall, so software support isn’t a concern. I’d like a new battery —four years on a 12 Mini battery is a little much even for me—but I can get that replaced at a fraction of the cost of a new device. And as for the declining speed, I’m just going to try a complete software reset and cross my fingers.

I’d rather do that than pay several hundred dollars for an iPhone 16 I don’t want.