Are you still stuck with your iPhone 8? It’s time to upgrade to the iPhone 12 mini and experience a world of difference. The iPhone 12 mini offers a major upgrade over the iPhone 8 in terms of design, camera, functionality, and battery life. Boasting three years of design changes, hardware improvements, and software enhancements, the iPhone 12 mini is an excellent small form factor phone you can buy today. Let’s see why.
Table of contents
Why should you upgrade to the iPhone 12 mini?
- 5G connectivity. The benefit of having 5G connectivity in the iPhone 12 mini is that it allows faster internet speeds, lower latency, and better power management compared to 4G. 5G also provides more reliable connectivity, with wider coverage and fewer dropouts.
- Dual camera. The double camera feature of the iPhone 12 mini allows for more versatility in photography and videography, and you can capture more detail and depth in your shots.
- A much better display. The iPhone 12 mini Super Retina XDR OLED display has a larger size of 5.4 inches compared to the iPhone 8’s 4.7 inches, allowing for a bigger screen and more viewing space with higher quality.
- Thinner bezels. The iPhone 12 mini has a larger screen size than the iPhone 8 but also enjoys an 85.1% screen-to-body ratio, providing more screen real estate.
- A much better performance. The iPhone 12 mini offers a significant improvement in performance over the iPhone 8. It has a more powerful A14 Bionic chip, allowing faster processing speeds, improved graphics performance, and better battery life.
- Better battery life. The iPhone 12 mini has up to 17 hours of video playback compared to the 13 hours of the iPhone 8.
- IP68 waterproof rating. The iPhone 12 mini is dustproof and can withstand full immersion in water up to a depth of 6 meters for 30 minutes.
- It’s lighter. Although you may not notice, the iPhone 12 mini is lighter than the iPhone 8, so it would be more comfortable to carry around with you.
- The iPhone 8 won’t probably be compatible with future iOS versions. The iPhone 8 is no longer being produced and is unlikely to be compatible with future iOS versions since this is the oldest model supporting iOS 16.
iPhone 12 mini vs. iPhone 8: Specs comparison table
| Features | iPhone 12 mini | iPhone 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Release date | 2020 | 2017 |
| Dimensions | 5.18 x 2.53 x 0.29 in 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4 mm | 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 in 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm |
| Weight | 135 | 148 |
| Display | Super Retina XDR OLED | Retina IPS LCD |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels at 476 PPI density (19.5:9 ratio) | 750 x 1334 pixels at 326 PPI density (16:9 ratio) |
| Colors | Black White (PRODUCT)RED Green Blue Purple | Black Silver Space grey Gold |
| CPU | Apple A14 Bionic Hexa-core (2×3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4×1.8 GHz Icestorm) | Apple A11 Bionic Hexa-core (2x Monsoon + 4x Mistral) |
| Memory | 64GB with 4GB RAM 128GB with 4GB RAM 256GB with 4GB RAM | 64GB with 2GB RAM 128GB with 2GB RAM 256GB with 2GB RAM |
| Rear camera | Wide: 12 MP, f/1.6, 26mm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.4, 13mm, 120º, 1/3.6″ | Wide: 12 MP, f/1.8, 28mm, PDAF, OIS |
| Front camera | Wide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6″ | 7 MP, f/2.2 |
| Video recording | 4K at 24/30/60 FPS 1080p at 30/60/120 FPS, gyro-EIS | 1080p at 30fps |
| 5G connectivity | Yes | No |
| Water and dust resistance | IP68 dust and water-resistant (up to 6 meters for 30 min) | IP67 dust and water-resistant |
| Battery capacity | 2227 mAh | 1821 mAh |
| Battery life | Up to 17 hours of video playback | Up to 13 hours of video playback |
| Original price | $629 | $699 |
| Price (refurbished) | Starting at | Starting at /refurbished/iphone/iphone-12-mini" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">8"/> |
Image credit: Apple
iPhone 12 mini vs. iPhone 8: What are the differences?
Let’s further compare the most important differences between the iPhone 12 mini vs. the iPhone 8 to make your choice easier.
Display
The iPhone 12 mini features a Super Retina XDR OLED display, while the iPhone 8 has a Retina IPS LCD. OLED displays are thinner, brighter, and more energy efficient than IPS LCDs, providing more vibrant colors and increased contrast. The OLED display of the iPhone 12 mini also has a higher resolution and more pixels.
Design
The design of the iPhone 12 takes us back to the iPhone 5’s. This modern and elegant design is one of the most prominent since the release of the iPhone X. It has thinner bezels and an 85.1% screen-to-body ratio compared to the older model’s 65.4%, which provides much more screen space to enjoy your smartphone. At the same time, it is smaller and lighter than the iPhone 8, so using it with one hand and carrying it around is more comfortable.
Performance
The iPhone 12 mini has a higher performance than the iPhone 8. All the iPhone 12 models have the same A14 Bionic processor, which is still a beast, while the iPhone 8 starts to lag behind with the A11 chip. However, for everyday usage, the iPhone 8 is still more than enough, especially considering it’s compatible with iOS 16 (although likely not to be with the upcoming iOS 17 or 18).
Camera
The iPhone 12 mini is equipped with a dual-camera system, consisting of a 12 MP f/1.6 (up to 5x digital zoom and 2x optical zoom), wide-angle front camera, and a 12 MP f/2.4, ultrawide angle camera. In comparison, the iPhone 8 has a single rear camera setup with a 12 MP resolution and f/1.8 aperture. The iPhone 12 mini also features a 12 MP front camera (wide), while the iPhone 8 has a 7 MP resolution front camera.
In addition, both the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 8 are capable of recording videos in 4K at 24, 30, and 60 FPS and 1920×1080 at 30, 60, 120, and 240 FPS. However, only the 12 offers HDR. In terms of the front camera, the iPhone 12 mini has a 12 MP f/2.2 wide-angle camera, while the front camera of the iPhone 8 offers only 7MP with f/2.2.
Battery and charging
Both phones feature a non-removable Li-ion battery with a capacity of 2227 mAh for the iPhone 12 Mini and 1821 mAh for the iPhone 8. Both phones also feature fast charging and wireless charging. To illustrate their battery capacity, the iPhone 12 mini offers up to 17 hours of video playback, while the 8 only delivers up to 13 hours. Even if these calculations are always estimates, there’s a huge difference here.
Network connectivity
The iPhone 12 mini has an updated WiFi 6 version, and both phones have Bluetooth 5.0. However, the difference comes down to 5G connectivity. Only the iPhone 12 mini offers 5G, a vital difference if you want to use a high-speed network in the following years.
Conclusion
The iPhone 12 mini is a great choice. It offers a lot of key advantages over the iPhone 8. It has 5G connectivity, thinner bezels, more screen real estate, dual camera, and much better display and performance. Therefore, yes, it’s totally worth the upgrade.
👉 Related: iPhone 8 Plus vs. iPhone 12: Do you Need an Upgrade?
Since the iPhone 12 mini is now also officially discontinued, buying it refurbished is the best way to find it and save money in the process. On RefurbMe, we compare the best refurbished Apple devices from multiple trusted merchants, so you can get the lowest price on your new iPhone 12 mini, with a warranty, thoroughly tested, and working as a new model would. Compare all models below in real time:
64GB storage
White
64GB storage
Blue
64GB storage
Blue
Don’t hesitate to check our list of the 10 best iPhone accessories you can get in 2023 to enhance your experience even more, and learn if the iPhone 12 or the iPhone 12 mini is the best choice for you.
Good luck!
