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iPhone 13 mini Product RED Unboxing!

9:05 video

I found this at an Apple store on a random Friday morning: it’s iPhone 13 day, and this is the iPhone 13 mini in (PRODUCT)RED, probably the iPhone 13 I’m most excited about. Last year I called the 12 mini my favorite iPhone ever, for its small form factor, how it feels in my hand, and how compact it is in pockets. It didn’t have the Pro’s camera features, but this year’s upgrades to the camera, display and battery may make the 13 mini my favorite yet.

Unboxing

The box no longer comes wrapped in plastic; there are little tabs to open it. The color: it isn’t like last year’s “(PRODUCT)RED” that wasn’t really red, but like the iPhone SE’s: a deep, dark red that’s what a (PRODUCT)RED should be. I’m so excited about the color that I didn’t buy a case: this will probably be the first iPhone I use without one, to show off the color, though it will probably end up being for worse. In the box: a USB-C to Lightning cable, documentation and stickers, in increasingly small packaging. I think I want to marry this color.

Front and design

The cameras on the back are much bigger than on the 12 mini. The notch is about 20% smaller (Apple says), a tad taller, so not much extra screen space, and the earpiece moved up to the top, framed by a metal bezel that looks refined. It’s a few grams heavier than the 12 mini (I don’t have one to compare), but feels good: the grip is secure, and it slides easily in and out of pockets.

Inside

  • The A15: a six-core CPU (two performance, four efficiency cores) and a four-core GPU.
  • The screen equals the 12 Pro’s: up to 800 nits in regular use and 1,200 nits HDR. Last year I compared the 12 mini and 12 Pro, and there was a decent difference in direct sunlight, so this is a big step up. Otherwise it’s the same 5.4-inch display with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, True Tone, Haptic Touch and P3.
  • The TrueDepth camera seems the same, and there’s still no Center Stage.

Cameras

A new wide 12 MP camera with an f/1.6 aperture and a new ultra wide at f/2.4, with bigger sensors and sensor-shift stabilization on the wide, like the 12 Pro Max, for better, clearer photos and video when moving (chasing a kid or dog).

  • Photographic Styles: in the Camera app, you can change how all your photos are taken (cooler, warmer, vibrant, vibrant cool), not just a filter on one photo. Apple uses machine learning on the fly so it doesn’t mess up skies or skin tones.
  • Cinematic mode: automatic focus racking, with AI finding what you might want to look at and switching focus and blur, like a portrait mode for video. There are good demos on YouTube, and I’ll try it for my review with people in the shot instead of junk on my desk.
  • All cameras benefit from Smart HDR 4, including the front.

Battery

The one reason I couldn’t keep using the 12 mini was battery anxiety: even though I was home most of the time, I felt I needed to charge. Apple says up to an hour and a half more this year, which might be enough to last all day and could make this my favorite iPhone. I’ll test the camera, battery and durability over the next few weeks, because I’m not putting a case on this.

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. See my ethics statement.

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