Apple iPhone 12 mini
Hacker ApprovedRanked 8 of 60 smartphones by recommenders
Owners love its compact size and say it still runs well years on, though the battery fades and it feels underpowered for newer software.
Owners love its compact size and say it still runs well years on, though the battery fades and it feels underpowered for newer software.
73 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 49
- criticize it
- 24
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 5 years
Median of the 11 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 49 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Small size and form factor
“I cherish my iPhone 12 Mini and treat it with great care as it is the form factor I want”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Jolla Phone Pre-Order” “Apple 12/13 mini has been my absolute favourite form factor for a hand-held device”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo” “I still prefer small phones, which is why I still have an iPhone 12 mini.”
Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “iPhone Pocket” - Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo”
- Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “iPhone Pocket”
- Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo”
- Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Tell HN: Get a dying iPhone 12 mini in 2026”
- Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces iPhone 17e”
Still fast enough for daily use
“feeling it was so fast that no phone task would ever be able to use all that power”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Ex-Apple engineer says Apple deliberately slows older phones via updates” “it's honestly still fine in terms of its processing power, cameras, features etc.”
Comment from 22 May 2026 in “AI is killing the cheap smartphone” “I have zero issues in terms of compute with the iPhone 12 Mini”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “MacBook Neo” - Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “iPhone 16 Best-Selling Smartphone in 2025; Apple Takes 7 Spots in Top Models”
- Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo”
- Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max”
Long lifespan and security updates
“Throughout that time my 5 year old phone got every OS and security update.”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'” “There's at least another year left in this phone now if I want it.”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max” “I appreciate the longevity and durability of my iPhone 12 mini”
Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces iPhone 17e” - Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “iPhone Pocket”
Cheap to buy used
“you can buy a used iPhone 12 that works fine for about the same price”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo” “Get an iPhone 12 Mini or 13 Mini for around $200 used.”
Comment from 25 Jul 2026 in “Why Sony Can't Bring Back Its Classic Walkman Models”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Battery drains fast or fades
“Battery is starting to fade during the day, despite minimal use.”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027” “Battery is a bit bad though. But I carry a battery pack.”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “Jolla Phone Pre-Order” “the life on the battery seems very low even for a mini”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027” - Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo”
- Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max”
- Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Pixel 11 Pro Fold feels like the end of an era”
Feels slow, underpowered, or overheats
“I have been using a iPhone mini 12 for 3 years now and love it, but I won't keep it simply because it's getting too old and underpowered.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Tell HN: Get a dying iPhone 12 mini in 2026” “it was too slow. I missed many things because the camera wouldn’t open most of the time.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Tell HN: Get a dying iPhone 12 mini in 2026” “even basic tasks cause it to overheat and just hang for several minutes”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max” Water and humidity damage
“iPhone mini 12 did not survive the humid jungles of Malaysia”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “I Returned My iPhone Duo” “It fell in a pool. It stayed there about 30 seconds (1m deep). When I fished it out, screen was off and it never turned back on.”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “Ben Lerner's Big Feelings” “just messed up my iPhone 12 mini cams and faceID with some of Malaysia's high humidity”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Fairphone is now officially available in the United States” Lightning port wears out
“There's just nothing wrong with my phone other than the lightning port.”
Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Neo” “The lightning ports just don’t hold up as well as the rest of it.”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'”
Other smartphones people recommend
The four most recommended other smartphones, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone | 706 | 882 | 44% | 13 | 7 yrs107 owners | — |
| Fairphone | 168 | 107 | 61% | 13 | 3 yrs19 owners | — |
| Apple iPhone Pro | 144 | 155 | 48% | 12 | 4 yrs26 owners | — |
| iPhone 13 mini | 141 | 51 | 73% | 12 | 1.5 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| Apple iPhone 12 miniThis page | 49 | 24 | 67% | 10 | 5 yrs11 owners | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 91 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“iPhone mini 12 did not survive the humid jungles of Malaysia”
“it was fine since i charged in car on cummute 2x a day”
“Loved my iPhone 12 mini and rode it until Apple Intelligence was announced”
“even basic tasks cause it to overheat and just hang for several minutes”
“Less redraw of icons on the main screen is the primary thing I've noticed.”
“I chickened out at last minute and went with the non-mini iPhone 12 because it had marginally better battery life. I regret that choice to this day.”
“My phone still runs like it did when it was new.”
“Apple 12/13 mini has been my absolute favourite form factor for a hand-held device”
“I'm still on the iPhone 12 mini for this reason.”
“the iPhone 12 gen had particularly bad battery life, which also hurt the mini”
“I'm still stuck on my iPhone 12 mini because I like the size”
“I still cannot reach all points on the screen one-handed”
“There's at least another year left in this phone now if I want it.”
“it is still more than fast enough”
“which unfortunately did not work for me because the battery drained too fast”
“just messed up my iPhone 12 mini cams and faceID with some of Malaysia's high humidity”
“Get an iPhone 12 Mini or 13 Mini for around $200 used.”
“it's honestly still fine in terms of its processing power, cameras, features etc.”
“feeling it was so fast that no phone task would ever be able to use all that power”
“you can buy a used iPhone 12 that works fine for about the same price”
“the life on the battery seems very low even for a mini”
“Battery is starting to fade during the day, despite minimal use.”
“It fell in a pool. It stayed there about 30 seconds (1m deep). When I fished it out, screen was off and it never turned back on.”
“I appreciate the longevity and durability of my iPhone 12 mini”
“There's just nothing wrong with my phone other than the lightning port.”
“I have zero issues in terms of compute with the iPhone 12 Mini”
“But I love the form factor and I'm going to keep it going as long as it is reasonably secure.”
“now the battery still last ~2 days, easily worth it”
“After a battery replacement, it still runs perfectly well.”
“it was too slow. I missed many things because the camera wouldn’t open most of the time.”
“I have been using a iPhone mini 12 for 3 years now and love it, but I won't keep it simply because it's getting too old and underpowered.”
“It's the perfect size and form factor.”
“Battery is a bit bad though. But I carry a battery pack.”
“Still using my 12 Mini on iOS 18 - I won't go without a fight.”
“I cherish my iPhone 12 Mini and treat it with great care as it is the form factor I want”
“Throughout that time my 5 year old phone got every OS and security update.”
“The lightning ports just don’t hold up as well as the rest of it.”
“the 12 Mini wasn't massive and was actually a decent phone”
“Still using it and holding onto it as long as I can.”
“I still prefer small phones, which is why I still have an iPhone 12 mini.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.