I Used An Iphone 13 Mini In 2026...

Man, this thing brings me back. This is the iPhone 13 mini, the smallest iPhone that still runs the latest iOS, and it's also getting iOS 27, shoutout to Apple for that. We have the green 128GB base model here, the color was actually part of Apple's mid-cycle refresh which came out back in March of 2022. Now because this was Apple's last smallest iPhone, I think it's only fair that we take a step back and see what life was actually like when iPhones were smaller. It really fascinates me that just 13 years ago, the 5s was Apple's largest iPhone, it was small and compact. The fact that the 13 mini is a similar size and still runs iOS 26 is huge, and it's one of the only chances we'll have to use a small iPhone today, because Apple isn't going to make another small iPhone, I can tell you that. So if you were thinking about downsizing your iPhone, this might be your only chance, and in today's video, we'll check out the iPhone 13 mini and see if it's still worth picking up in 2026. Let's get into it. Now in terms of where I bought it, I got it off eBay for about $175, it was actually a pretty decent price, but there was a catch. The phone's in okay condition cosmetically, a few dings, but the battery on the other hand is at 79% battery health. This thing needs a replacement ASAP, but for the sake of this video, we're going to keep this phone as it is to really give you guys that real life example of how much screen on time you can actually get with 79% battery health, especially on a mini sized iPhone. We'll dive into that in just a moment. Now I'd be lying if I said I didn't try unlocking this phone by pressing the top. It's so weird because the phone's size makes me feel like I'm using an iPhone 5s, and sometimes I found myself accidentally trying to find a power button at the top, it's just a very unusual force of habit. Now it just comes to show you how small this device really is. The green is also nice, it has a bit of a darker tone, probably not for everyone, but I like that it matches my desk, so hey, there's that. This phone also has a lightning port, so I decided to get a little creative. I bought a 3.5mm to the lightning adapter, went completely wired, and it literally felt like I was using an iPhone 5 with the original Apple wired headphones. And when I tell you guys, using wired headphones was a trip down memory lane. There's so many small things I forgot about, like having to untangle my headphones while standing up and hoping the phone doesn't fall out of my hands, or the sound you hear when you change a song on Spotify, take a listen, or wrapping your phone with your headphones because you didn't want them to get untangled. I know a lot of people hate on using wired headphones or they think it's performative. Personally, it's what I grew up using and it's just nostalgia, it's fun. I've also been using this phone with my everyday apps, and because it runs iOS 26, you literally won't run into any issues with app compatibility. The fact that Apple is still supporting the iPhone 11, mind you, that came out 2 years before the iPhone 13, is kind of insane because the iPhone 11 is still getting iOS 27, which makes me very confident that this iPhone 13 mini will continue to get the latest updates for the next couple years. And it's not a terrible experience, it's been just fine. You will feel a little bit of a slower screen if you're coming from a 120Hz display because this thing only has 60Hz and it only has about 4GB of RAM, but I'm not doing a crazy amount of multitasking on here. I'm watching TikToks, I'm scrolling through endless tweets on Twitter, there's been very little lag. Now I was also thinking about installing the iOS 27 beta on here to test out the promised faster performance that Apple is apparently rolling out with the newer iOS, so if you guys want to see a video like that where I test out iOS 27 vs 26 on this phone, be sure to comment down below. I'm really curious to see how this update will actually impact older iPhones. But besides functionality, it's still a small phone. I mean, typing isn't as hard as it looks and it's great for one-handed use. And before anyone asks, this little thing on the side isn't actually a button, it's the 5G mmWave antenna, which I think is exclusive to US model iPhones only so they can get slightly faster 5G speeds. But yeah, if your 13 mini doesn't have it, don't worry, it's probably because you have an international model. Okay, now let's quickly talk about some comparisons. The 13 mini isn't the only small, affordable iPhone you could buy right now. Let's say if you had $100 or $200 to spend, what iPhone should you buy? Well, there's also the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone SE 3rd gen, which are all receiving iOS 27 later this year. But let's quickly talk about camera here first, because this is where the 13 mini does a decent job. Now, this isn't a stripped down camera system, it's actually the exact same setup as you'd find in the standard iPhone 13. You get 12 megapixel dual cameras, both wide and ultrawide. And this generation is actually when Apple brought sensor shift stabilization down from the Pro Max model, so handheld shots are noticeably steadier. This was also the first iPhone to get cinematic mode, which still looks decent in 2026 if you're into filmmaking on a small device. No telephoto lens here, that's the one thing you're giving up on, but for the size, the camera is fair, it's great, gets the job done. Now, camera is only one part of it of course, but let's also talk about what's actually different across these devices. Chip-wise, the 13 mini and the SE 3 are actually on the same generation, the A15 chip. The 12 mini runs the A14, that's one generation older. That doesn't really matter much today, to be honest, all three run iOS just fine. What does matter though is that in 2-3 years, A15 iPhones are probably going to hold on to software updates a lot longer, so you can expect those phones to be supported for future iOS versions. The display is also a bigger deal on the 13 mini and 12 mini because they both have OLED screens, they're beautiful. You get deeper blacks, better contrast. The SE 3 on the other hand still has an LCD, and you can really tell, especially when you're using it in dark mode. And then there's the design split. The 13 and 12 mini have face ID and of course the famous notch, whereas the SE 3 still has touch ID and a home button, and it just genuinely looks like a phone from a decade ago because it actually is. It's literally based on the same design as the iPhone 7, which came out in 2016, which also means we should probably unbox an iPhone 7 on this channel. If you guys want to see that video, be sure to comment down below. But the battery is where the 12 mini really falls behind. It has the smallest battery out of all three of these devices, and being the oldest phone, that should probably be one of your largest concerns when you're considering buying a used iPhone. Alright, now let's quickly talk about the battery here because this is where the phones start to struggle a little bit. So yesterday, I started off the day with about 98% battery, and I have my main SIM card in here, all of my day to day apps, and we had screen on time of about 4 hours, which isn't that great, and screen off time of about 2 hours. Yeah, this phone was pulling a lot of battery considering that it was already charged up to almost 100%. That's not very efficient for a 79% battery health device. So yeah, I would absolutely recommend bringing around a little charger with you. I would not feel confident bringing this phone around with me without a charger if you're traveling. You're going to need that cable with you at all times, so keep that in mind. But otherwise, you have to remember, this is a small phone. This isn't going to get incredible battery life like the 17 Pro Max, for example. So if you are planning to pick a device like this up, just put replacing a battery at the top of your list, especially as more software updates come out. I don't know how iOS 27 is going to affect the battery, but maybe we'll figure that out once it gets released. But anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this video. You guys may have noticed I shot some footage in New York in the beginning of this video. That was such a fun little trip. I actually just came back from a work trip, and I wanted to show you guys something. This is not sponsored, by the way, but a company called Waterfield Designs sent me this backpack here, and this is their Trigo backpack. This is a San Francisco-based company. They're not paying me to make this video at all, but they sent me a free PR backpack, so I was like, hey, why not include this in the video? I brought this with me when traveling. I love it. It has two laptop slots. It has a separate slot for your keys, whatever you want to put in there, your AirPods. And it's been great. I honestly was using the same backpack that I had before from when I was in first year of college, from 2018, so that thing was old. I needed a replacement ASAP, but if you want something that's minimalistic, it's Design California. It kind of gives you that Apple vibe. This is a beautiful backpack. It also hooks up to your luggage as well, so shout out to Waterfield Designs for hooking it up. This was great when I brought it to New York. It was actually pouring the whole trip, so I couldn't get that much footage, because otherwise my camera would have gotten all wet. So hopefully we can go back and do some more day-in-the-life footage there. But I hope you guys enjoyed this video. I'll be shooting some more content over the next couple weeks, so stay tuned. But anyways, I'll catch you guys on the next one. Peace.