iPhone 12 mini set to be released on November 6, 2020
By: Megan Holstein
As the Apple special event began, I wasn’t expecting anything special. As a minimalist, I’m not typically interested in tech industry product announcements or upgrading my possessions before I have to. But my iPhone X is starting to go on the fritz, and after three years in my abusive ownership, I figured it’s probably time to get a new iPhone.
When I went online to look at my options, MacRumors told me new iPhones were about to get released, so I sat down today to watch the announcement. Like I said, I wasn’t expecting anything special. I figured it would be the same old spate of iPhones, with slightly better cameras and slightly better displays and slightly cooler bezels.
I was surprised when they announced the iPhone 12 mini.
Surprised… and freaking excited.
When I broke my phone addiction and went from using my phone 6 hours a day to 2 hours a day or less, I started to really hate how big my phone is.
I don’t know if you noticed this, but in the past few years, smartphones have gotten big. Like, really big.
Big phones are a good thing for people who are not digital minimalists, because their gigantic beautiful LCD screens only make more enjoyable the many hours they spend using their phones. But for digital minimalists, large phones are more of a burden than a blessing.
Prinarily, big phones don’t fit in pockets. The largest iPhone Apple sells requires a small purse for me to carry around. The reason I own an iPhone X is that when the iPhone X came out, it was the smallest phone in Apple’s lineup — and it’s still too large for my pocket most of the time. This makes it that much harder for you to put down your phone and live your life.
The other issue I was dealing with was that there weren’t any options for smaller iPhones anyways. Apple sold the iPhone SE, which was a glorified iPhone 5s, but I was always doubtful of whether it would be able to power all my apps without skittering, as older iPhones have always done.
Enter the iPhone 12 mini
The iPhone 12 mini has arrived, and it solves these problems.
First and foremost, it’s a serious phone. It’s not a trinket. It’s not a refreshed version of an older model, like the iPhone SE. It’s a serious phone for serious people. The display extends all the way to the edges of the device, as modern phones do, and it’s camera and processor are on par with modern phones. When I get this phone, I know all my apps will run just as smoothly as they should on a brand-new device.
Second and also foremost, it’s small. Thank god! I will be able to put it in my pocket during the day. (In my roomy pants, I may be able to even fit my keys too). No big, bright screen won’t entice me to read endless internet articles or watch YouTube. Best of all, I’ll be able to use it with one hand, a feat that my tiny child-sized hands can’t usually accomplish. When I get an article idea, or want to call my mom, it’ll be right there.
That’s really it. It works when you want it to, and it’s easy to get out of sight when you don’t. What more can a digital minimalist ask for?
There are lots of other great features, of course. It can get a 5G signal. It’s got MagSafe technology for snap-on cases, wallet attachments, and wireless charging. (It’s cooler than it sounds). It’s spill and splash resistant. It’s got a refreshed dual-camera system. But I wouldn’t care about any of this stuff if it wasn’t included.
All I wanted was a small iPhone. And today, quite by surprise, I finally got it.
The iPhone 12 mini will be available for preorder on November 6 through all major carriers.
