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iPhone 13 mini
Camera

12MP Wide, 12MP Ultra-Wide, 12MP Wide Front

Battery

About 8 hours of usage time

Screen Size

5.40

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Each September, Apple introduces its latest iPhone series. While the most recent iPhone 14 series has already been released, for those not willing to pay top dollar for the latest Apple devices, the 13 series still has plenty of desirable features and capabilities for less money. If you fall into this category and want to avoid all the bells and whistles of Apple’s mid and top-tier devices, the iPhone 13 mini may be a great option. Thousands of people shopped for the iPhone 13 mini last week alone, so plenty of great deals are available, and we can help you find them! Read on to find out more.

iPhone 13 mini Deals: How to Find The Best One for You

While the iPhone 13 mini may have a retail price of $599, deals can bring that price as low as $0 for those that want to switch carriers and as low as $99 for people preferring to stay with their existing carrier.

Only some people are, of course, eligible for that price. There is plenty of “fine print” to untangle before determining the best iPhone 13 mini deal price you’re eligible for. So, let’s begin to understand the elements determining how to find the best deal:

Do you have a phone to trade in? 

Say you have an iPhone 11 that you’re ready to part ways with once you get that iPhone 13 mini - were you planning to resell it on an auction site or through a used device exchange? Well, it may surprise you that you can often get much more value by trading that phone in for the new device instead. Depending on the tier and age of your device (and sometimes - but not always - on its condition), you’ll get up to the full price of the phone as a trade-in discount. Even phones several generations behind the iPhone 13 series can fetch hundreds of dollars. Not a bad deal when you have no use for the old device.

Are you willing to switch carriers? 

Apart from trading phones, how about trading carriers? New customers are a huge motivation for the carriers, given the revenue they tend to bring in for a solid few years (see below). So the biggest discounts are reserved for those willing to part ways with their current carrier. It can sometimes be a hassle to move multiple lines over and choose the right plan, but they will do as much as they can to make it financially worthwhile. So if you’ve had issues with your current service or are looking to maximize your savings, you may want to make the leap.

Are you willing to stay with a carrier for the next 24 or 36 months?

Carriers want loyal customers who bring in predictable revenue, and they are willing to compromise on price so long as these customers are guaranteed to stick around. So if you sign a two- or three-year contract, you’ll get a substantial discount on your new phone. This discount will be applied over the contract's lifetime, not all at once. Of course, if you change your mind before that term is up, you may forfeit some of that, so be sure you can stay with your current or new carrier for the duration.

Are you willing to upgrade your service plan? 

The more you spend in the long term, the more you may get back in the short term. Meaning if you have a higher-tier plan with your carrier, with an associated higher monthly fee, you will often receive a higher discount on the phone when you change plans. If you’re already contemplating a plan with more features, such as higher data caps or more perks, then timing that upgrade with a new phone purchase is an optimal scenario. 

Putting it all together, here is an example scenario for a new iPhone 13 mini, which assumes you are a T-Mobile customer ready to switch to Verizon. You may see the $599 list price at Verizon, with a $599 trade-in credit for your iPhone 11, resulting in a no-cost phone upfront. This phone discount would be spread over 36 months or $16.67 per month, so if you decided to leave after 18 months, you’d owe Verizon nearly $300! So it pays to go the distance. This particular deal requires a higher-tier plan. If you want to stay on a lower-tier plan (something like $70/mo instead of $90/mo), then your best bet may be to buy the phone through Apple directly, in which case you’ll only receive a $200 discount, but then you only have to commit to a 24-month term. Complicated but maybe worth it depending on what you need from your plan and how long you’re willing to test the waters with a new carrier.

There are a staggering 33,000 unique deals on the iPhone 13 mini, combining all the above mentioned factors. Figuring out the optimal mix of trade-in, carrier, and plan can be daunting, but we’ve already done the math so that we can help. Check out some highlighted deals for some common scenarios below. 

iPhone 13 mini Deal Summary

IPhones have held their trade-in value like their premium automotive counterparts for many years. For those of you on the iPhone 8 Plus, for example, you can about $200 in trade-in credit when you exchange it for a newer iPhone 13 mini.

The newer, the better, though. For an iPhone 12, customers willing to jump carriers can get up to $730 off the 13 Mini (only up to $600 for a 128 GB model, but higher storage capacities cost more, so your trade-in credit can go higher if the 256 GB version is right for you and you have the right device to trade in).

And the newer and higher-end, all the better. The 12 Pro Max will get you top dollar if you trade it in in good condition and are willing to switch carriers.

Keep in mind that there are also a lot of promotions on the 13 Mini that don’t require a trade-in at all; Verizon is enticing new customers by offering the device for free for new customers with no trade-in required at all!

What if you’re an Android user willing to make that huge jump to the iPhone ecosystem? Good deals can be found by trading in various Samsung phones, all the way back to the [device]. A few highlights: An S20 or newer can get up to $730 off the device for customers willing to switch carriers, or at least a minimum of $400 if you only want to stay with your current carrier. Older models like the S10 have a slightly lower trade-in value ceiling, capping out at around $600, and older models like the S7 may only go as high as $365. Still, promotional trade-in values far exceed the cash value of your old phone, so if you’ve been hanging onto your device for a few years and want to trade it in, a promotion on a 13 mini is a great option.

Don’t feel like having to do all this work to find your best deal? No problem! We scan thousands of deals daily to show you the best ones you qualify for. The best part? It’s 100% free to use.

What Are the iPhone 13 Mini Specs?

The iPhone 13 Mini offers a scaled-down version of the base iPhone 13’s design with the same ceramic shield, glass, and aluminum components. It also comes in the same colors: Product Red, Starlight, Midnight, Blue, Pink, and Green.

The phone looks nearly identical to its larger brother, aside from its 5.4-inch display instead of a 6.1-inch display, translating to a product that is a little over half an inch shorter in height. It is also a little over an ounce lighter than the iPhone 13.

The resolution of the Mini is set at 2340 by 1080 pixels at 476 PPI, notably lower than the base model. However, both have HDR Super Retina XDR display, haptic touch, a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, and the same brightness parameters. The Mini is rated IP68 for water and splash resistance.

Very importantly, the iPhone 13 Mini does contain the A15 Bionic chip, which is Apple’s premier mobile phone processor. It’s much better than the A14 Bionic Chip in the iPhone 12 Mini and the same chip as the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

This inclusion alone means the phone has one of the most powerful processors, with a six-core GPU, four-core CPU, and sixteen-core neural engine. As far as the chipset goes, the Mini will give any other phone a run for its money.

Interestingly, the camera system is also identical. Both feature a dual camera system consisting of a 12MP primary and 12MP ultrawide camera lens, a telephoto rear camera, and a TrueDepth front camera great for FaceID and selfies. The iPhone 13 Mini also carries over the 1080p cinematic mode for HD video playback.

One notable downgrade is the battery size, which is significantly smaller than the base iPhone 13. Both have the same 20W charging speed, but the battery size of the iPhone 13 Mini is sub-3,000, which is very small for a modern mobile phone. It does come with fast charging and wireless charging compatibility, working with USB-C chargers and adapters like the best iPhones, such as the iPhone 14 Plus.

What Are Some Pros and Cons of the iPhone 13 Mini?

The iPhone 13 Mini is an impressive phone for its size. It comes with all the expected iPhone features right from activation, including Bluetooth, Wifi, and LTE connectivity, iOS 15 and iOS 16 compatibility, cloud connection with other Apple devices like the Apple Watch and iPad, and cutting-edge apps on the app store.

It retains most of the features of the iPhone 13 without compromising too much in the hardware or software department. For only $100 less than the base model, you get access to a phone with one of the most powerful chipsets in the world, the A15 Bionic chip.

At $500, the iPhone 13 Mini is a real threat to a phone like the Google Pixel 7, which markets itself as a budget phone but does not have the processing power or branding of an Apple iPhone. For a relatively cheap iPhone, the 13 Mini is a good option compared with the iPhone SE.

Being an Apple phone, the iPhone 13 Mini has access to all the accompanying Apple applications, such as iCloud and iMessage.

That said, the phone is only a hundred dollars cheaper than the iPhone 13, which is larger and has a much more impressive battery. If the issue of pricing is a priority, the 13 Mini is an excellent investment. However, if you do not mind spending an extra hundred, the base iPhone 13 is an objectively better phone unless you are charmed by the Mini’s smaller stature.

What Is the iPhone 13 Mini Pricing?

The iPhone 13 Mini is currently priced at $599. It launched at $699, but since time has passed and the 14 series has been released, you can get it for much cheaper now. This means the Mini is the same price as the Google Pixel 7 at launch.

You could consider the iPhone 13 Mini a budget phone by these standards, especially compared to phones like the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which can hit a thousand dollars.

Bottom Line

The iPhone 13 Mini is a mighty phone for its size, with an impressive processor and a great camera system. It does fall behind when it comes to its smaller display, which is at a lower resolution. It also lacks the battery life of the base model with subpar battery size.

However, it sports the same processor and matches the iPhone 13 in every way, making it an excellent option for people looking for a Mini phone, especially since there is no iPhone 14 Mini.

Author:
Steve Thomas

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