# iPhone 13 mini 141 Hacker News commenters recommended iPhone 13 mini and 51 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 1.5 years (4 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** The last truly small iPhone, easy to use one-handed and pocketable, so owners hold onto it; critics cite sluggishness on iOS 26, a weaker camera and short battery life. ## Why people recommend it - Comfortable one-handed use (7 comments): "A number of people (especially women with smaller hands) I know are holding onto their iPhone Minis for as long as possible." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49631190)) "I don't want a phone that I can't type on one-handed, and for me that means sticking with the mini." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47592519)) "easy to hold & use in one hand while walking down the street, and fits into normal sized pockets" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47233153)) - Pocketable and lightweight (4 comments): "It was fine up till the 13 mini. Every iPhone after that is too big and heavy to fit in a running belt without jostling." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49633931)) "I imagine because all phones are the size of aircraft carriers now, and an iPhone Mini really stands out." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48837783)) "easy to hold & use in one hand while walking down the street, and fits into normal sized pockets" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47233153)) - Owners refuse to upgrade (8 comments): "When I asked myself if I would rather keep the new Air or go back to my 13 mini with an extra thousand dollars in my pocket, it was no contest." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47225116)) "There’s at least 3 of us still on iPhone 13 Minis, and I plan to keep it going until Apple caves and makes a sensibly sized phone again." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48837408)) "I returned it because I liked it less than the Mini. If there was a new Mini I would have purchased and kept it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49111024)) - Full flagship in small body (3 comments): "the 13 mini was essentially identical to the regular 13 except for the physical size and battery life" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49631985)) "it will give you at least another year of software support and is generally the same phone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46551073)) "i love the utility that i can literally do whatever i need on the iphone mini" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49634908)) ## What people warn about - Laggy on newer iOS versions (6 comments): "performance, especially for the Camera and Safari seem to have hit new lows with iOS 26" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47225056)) "I thought mine was great but just wasn't up to the job of running the latest & greatest" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49371957)) "an App I need for work started consuming so much memory it became unusable on it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49638316)) - Weaker camera than larger models (2 comments): "They confused 'smaller' with 'budget' though, if the good camera was available in the smaller size I would have bought it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49632220)) "Only the camera sucks when I look at somebodys else his holiday pictures on their phones." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49107431)) - Short battery life (3 comments): "the 13 mini was essentially identical to the regular 13 except for the physical size and battery life" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49631985)) "was great except for the fact i had to charge it twice a day in the end" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47836991)) "the screen size to battery volume ratio is or least was particularly bad for the mini" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50226255)) - Lightning port, no USB-C (2 comments): "I'm a fan of the iPhone Mini as well. It turns out though, I'm a bigger fan of USB-C." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49373063)) "The only thing that holds me back is that I can’t easily convert it to USBC." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45890348)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Apple iPhone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone.md): 706 recommend - [Fairphone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fairphone.md): 168 recommend - [Apple iPhone Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-17-pro.md): 144 recommend - [Jolla Phone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jolla-phone.md): 88 recommend - [iPhone SE](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-se.md): 84 recommend ## Where to get it - [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Apple+iPhone+13+mini&tag=YOURTAG-20) (affiliate link) - [Official site](https://www.apple.com/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "iPhone 13 mini", https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-13-mini/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).