Apple iPhone 13 / 13 Mini
Announced September 14, 2021
PixelMeter The PixelMeter is our 1–100 aggregate of reviewer scores from trusted publications and creators. Weighted by source tier — not a raw average, and not PetaPixel’s own review.
Reviewer Consensus
Strong
The iPhone 13 and 13 mini serve as powerful, compact smartphones that offer significant upgrades in battery life and storage over previous models. While they lack the premium Pro-exclusive features like high-refresh-rate displays and telephoto lenses, they remain highly capable devices for those who prefer a smaller form factor.
Weighted from 31 reviewer scores
Pros
- Compact, lightweight, and ergonomic design
- High-performance A15 Bionic processor
- Better battery life compared to predecessor models
- Increased base storage capacity
- Improved camera systems with sensor-shift stabilization
Cons
- Missing advanced Pro features like Macro, ProRAW, and ProRes
- Limited battery endurance for heavy users
- Lack of 120Hz ProMotion display
- Absence of a dedicated telephoto zoom lens
- Small screen can be difficult for precise tasks or media consumption
- Launch price $699–$799 (USD)
- Main camera 12MP f/1.6 + 12MP Ultrawide
- Video 4K 60p
- Display 5.4-inch / 6.1-inch OLED 60Hz
- Chipset Apple A15 Bionic 4GB
What the Reviewers Say
All 31 expert reviews, weighted into the PixelMeter score.
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- PetaPixel 7.5/10
The iPhone 13 and 13 mini are easy to like for how well they can shoot relative to where they stand against others, but Apple needs to get a better handle over what its software is doing with each photo.
- The Verge 9/10
The camera systems on the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini are excellent. If there wasn’t also the iPhone 13 Pro in the world, they’d be the best you could get on a phone as of this writing.
- WIRED 8/10
The iPhone 13 is what a “basic” iPhone should be.
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The iPhone 13 mini is without doubt the best small phone you can get.
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We recommend the standard iPhone 13 to most people, as it offers the most potent blend of performance and battery for the price, but if you're willing to trade a bit of battery life for size, the iPhone 13 mini is the most powerful small phone you can buy today.
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The iPhone 13 mini is the best iPhone for those who want a smaller device on Apple’s iOS platform. In fact, it’s arguably still the best small phone on the market.
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Fans of smaller handsets will love this phone, as it fits in many a pocket.
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This is a story we've told over and over again, each time with the same conclusion: While this year's iPhones aren't major improvements over their predecessors, they offer just enough changes that might tempt you to upgrade, particularly if you're still on an iPhone 11 or older.
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In the case of the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini, you get a reasonable upgrade to the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini, which were already wonderful phones.
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This is a super-powerful phone with a great screen and cameras in a highly portable chassis, and it has an awful lot to recommend it; but the things that put people off last year – small screen, high price tag, shortish battery life – remain the case, and I can’t see this [...]
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The Apple iPhone 13 mini is the most compact smartphone on the market right now, with a flagship feature set and surprisingly good battery life for its small size.
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So that's been my experience with the iPhone 13 Mini; I definitely don't regret switching to the smaller phone. It's a one of a kind device with no alternative and there is something about that size that I just really love.
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The iPhone 13 mini is likely going away next year because, based on the sales, most users aren’t willing to give up a big screen to get a small phone.
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Apple’s iPhone 13 remains a solid all-around smartphone, despite also only being an incremental improvement over the iPhone 12.
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In many ways the iPhone 13 Mini is Apple’s best small phone yet. It couldn’t very well not be considering it has the newest processor, upgraded cameras (and the new Cinematic mode), more storage as standard, and a slightly bigger battery.
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[O]verall I gotta say it's still my favorite iPhone.
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So in conclusion, if you ever wondered if the non-pro variant are worth the money, I would absolutely say yes to that.
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It's a small phone that still packs a punch, and really there's nothing quite like it in the market today.
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I think this is a great device, and I highly recommend it to most people.
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With batteries that last longer and double the storage, the iPhone 13 and 13 mini is a boring but very solid update. It beats a bag of new gimmicks.
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I think it's a tremendous phone, I think it's great for active people, I think it's great for busy people, people who just don't have a lot of time to be on their phone but they need something small and compact that gets decent battery life.
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So if you're looking to buy a new iPhone this year, well, this is a great year to do so, and if you want a mini iPhone, iPhone 13 Mini is a phenomenal choice that you should really think about.
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I'm gonna be very happy to recommend this if you want the small phone. The battery life is a safe choice here, it definitely gets through the day.
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As nice as it is having a smaller-sized phone that’s easier to handle and pocket, what I love most about the iPhone 13 mini is that it doesn’t require you to compromise on features or performance.
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Quite honestly, the iPhone 13 Mini is the perfect iPhone in my opinion. You really aren't giving up much of anything with this iPhone.
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It's a great device, it's well worth the buy and it'll easily compete with its contenders.
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If you're coming from an older device, this 13 Mini is going to be a big upgrade for you, especially if you've been wanting to ditch the big, bulky six-inch smartphones.
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Okay, so my final verdict on the Apple iPhone 13 / 13 Mini, and I'll tell you what I think: this is the phone to buy if you don't need the pro features. It's the cheapest in the range and it's tiny.
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[I]t's just an ideal phone for somebody who wants a smaller form factor, who doesn't want to spend a lot of money, who has smaller hands and wants a phone that's comfortable in their hands and doesn't use their phone a lot.
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[T]he Apple iPhone 13 / 13 Mini is the best iPhone that you should buy this year, and I also think it is the best point-and-shoot camera on the market right now.
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I have the 13 Pro and I would highly recommend the 13 Mini to any of my friends. Whenever any of my friends have come up to me, I'm like, "Go for the 13 Mini." This is really all the iPhone you need.
