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Comment by Amorymeltzer | Hacker News Reader

Of note: the iPhone 12 mini appears to be slightly smaller and lighter than the (current) iPhone SE (2), so is basically the phone those of us who prefer phone-sized phones have been asking for for years. The price differential of $300 seems reasonable (in Apple-adjusted numbers); if I hadn't bought an SE this past month (unfortunate toddler-related water incident!) then I'd be right in there.

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Smaller than the 2nd SE, a bit larger than the 1st one:

https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?device1=iphoneSE&devic...

Is the depth measure with or without the camera bump? I was not expecting it to be .2mm thinner than SE (1).

I believe it does NOT include the camera bump.

Honestly, the only feature that makes me lean towards the SE2 for my next phone is that I want a fingerprint reader since face masks have ruined Face ID

This was the deciding factor for me. I use my phone far less nowadays because many of its functions are served by other hardware at home, so the most important function left exclusively to the phone was the Wallet/Apple Pay. I would have preferred a better camera, but I’m not out taking nearly as many pictures as I used to, so the camera is fine. Post-pandemic I can always swap out my phone for a newer one, or rather I look forward to it.

I'm really hoping someone like Samsung or Sony picks up on the small iPhone with the same specs as the normal one and come up with something similar in their next gen when my Pixel 3 will be due for an upgrade.

(I don't use apple phones because I'm against not being able to run whatever you want on your pocket computer)

S10e came out year and a half ago! Unfortunate despite everyone complaining no one bought it and we didnt get s20e. Seriously that has been the best smart phone I've ever used or heard of and if mine dies I'm buying the exact same one.

I have an S10e. Coming from the 2016 iPhone SE I was looking for something a bit larger, but still reasonably small. It was a bit bigger than I would have liked, but I thought it would be fine. It's not. It's too big for me and I'm an adult male with relatively large hands. I'd be all over the 12 mini if it weren't for the price.

Se 2016 is 123x58

Se 2020 is 138x67

12 mini is 132x64

S10e is 142x69

So s10e is still the biggest one of "high-end small phones" though it has the best screen ratio by far. I do think mini might be just the right size! I hope this will prompt more small phones on the market!

Sony has had a few attempts at small phones, but now seem to be concentrating on a weird 21:9 screen aspect ratio form factor: https://www.anandtech.com/show/16089/sony-announces-xperia-5...

I only use Apple phones because I'm against anyone else being able to run whatever they want on my pocket computer.

Apple has built a huge trust with my information, and that's impossible to find anywhere else.

I don't use Apple phones because I cannot afford one. I used to be a developer (in India), earned a decent salary, and at the end of 3 years I had something like 20k USD saved. If I spend 1k on an Iphone, that's 5% of my entire life savings (though I'm pretty young) for a phone. So I end up spending 200$ for an Android phone that runs for maybe 3 years and dies. That being said, the 400$ Iphone SE sounds tempting :)

Even if I go beyond my comfort zone and pay $ I cannot really afford for an arguably better/durable Iphone, the psychological anxiety that comes from "I should be really careful with this phone because I cannot afford a new one/repairs" is something I would not be happy with.

You don't need Apple for that. Actually it's incredibly easy. Just don't install the software you don't want to run.

How do I keep software I don't want to run from shipping on the phone?

How do I keep an ad company from building a profile of me from my phone?

> How do I keep software I don't want to run from shipping on the phone?

Buy a phone that doesn't ship that software. Or jailbreak your phone and use a custom android version.

> How do I keep an ad company from building a profile of me from my phone?

Run uMatrix with firefox. Actually iOS is way worse in this regard then Android. Since iOS doesn't give you ANY way to prevent this.

I am keen to get a iPhone 12 mini once the iPhone X breaks (it had a touch screen replacement already within warranty, touch issues, problem still exists).

Size is pefect (iPhone range), love the iPhone 4 like frame and overall look. I don't use a phone too much at home (only on the go) so don't need the iPhone 12 Pro premium features. For taking photos and videos, I'll use the Sony A7 iii.

NOTE: in Australia the price is A$1199 for 12 mini 64GB, and A$1449 256GB (more expensive than my iPhone X 256GB).

As a small phone fan I’m hoping the SE2 hasn’t cannibalized much of the small phone market. I’d like the mini to succeed. But, I also bought an SE and won’t be upgrading, as the SE us great and has Touchid.

I just bought an SE about a month ago too. Damn.

Same. They are kings of curating their marketing timeline to extract every single dollar out of you.

How so? They release new phones every autumn, with few exceptions. So if you buy an iPhone in the autumn and it’s not the brand new just-announced model, you should expect that you’re going to have a previous-generation phone very quickly.

Apple’s marketing timeline is remarkably consistent with very few exceptions.

They release the SE (2020) in April. So they hit that smaller but latest phone market, and then they are tapping in again only 6 months later with the 12 mini. A lot of people with the SE (2020) will want to upgrade for the speed, camera, even smaller body etc.

The camera was not in fact a direct upgrade, it was the same hardware with improved software post processing. That was the deciding factor for not getting an SE for me, and to wait for this cycle.

Why? It's been leaked for ages that the iPhone announcement were coming this month.

I'm only asking because you added Damn as if you were disappointed in your timing. I've been holding off waiting to see if the 12 was going to be something I'd be interested in, or just waiting for the 11 series prices to drop. My 6S+ works fine, but the capacity is too small.

Yeah, I read rumors about the iPhone Mini when the SE 2 launched. Glad I waited!

Yeah, and I mean, Apple releases a new phone around this time every year, it’s hardly unpredictable.

What is it about the iPhone Mini that is selling you most?

I only now learned that the SE had touch ID and am now contemplating buying that instead of the mini. I was ready to drop $1500 if their had been a mini-sized iPhone with all the pro features and touch ID, but now I find every option frustrating.

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