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I am still using my 13 Mini. I got it, because I knew that it would be the last Mini Apple does. I plan to use it, until I need to charge the battery every 15

I am still using my 13 Mini. I got it, because I knew that it would be the last Mini Apple does. I plan to use it, until I need to charge the battery every 15 minutes.

robin_reala 2y ago
Then replace the battery and carry on using it?
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
  May end up doing that. We'll see. I also write software for these beasties, and it may well be that I won't be able to justify avoiding getting one that has Apple Intelligence.
  - ryandrake 2y ago
    Eventually, Apple (and 3p developers) will abandon you, and you'll need to throw away a perfectly good phone and take another step on the treadmill. I'm still hanging on to my perfectly working iPhone 7, while app developers tell me to fuck off left and right. It does everything I want a phone to do, but developers consider "old phones" to be icky and stop supporting them.
    - layer8 2y ago
      Eventually yes, but the 13 is less than 3.5 years old and will likely receive iOS updates for another 3.5 years. And most apps support one or two iOS versions into the past. I agree it’s not ideal, but ~8 years of use isn’t that bad either.
    - bschwindHN 2y ago
      Yup - it was the same for me with the 2016 SE. Still runs perfectly fine, we're still doing the same old CRUD web shit for apps, but apparently now our apps are so much more advanced that there's no possible way they could keep supporting that "legacy" hardware. https://blog.bschwind.com/2025/01/11/the-original-iphone-se-is-the-best-iphone-apple-ever-made/ https://blog.bschwind.com/2025/01/11/the-original-iphone-se-...
      - ryandrake 2y ago
        I'm totally with you, with that article. It is terrible how owners of slightly-old hardware are treated by software developers. Leaving potentially millions of users out in the cold because they just can't be bothered to keep a maintenance branch around and backport a few fixes to it. For apps that are by and large not complicated. So much waste sacrificed at the altar of developer comfort!
        ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
        My low-end test unit is an old SE (running 15). I'm an iOS native developer. The screen size is the main reason I test with it. However, these days, I usually release with minimum support beginning with iOS 16, because I am a one-man shop. My stuff will usually run in 15, though.
    - raudette 2y ago
      Ultimately, one of the cameras in my iPhone 7 failed, and I replaced it with an SE3 - which was indistinguishable from the 7 - but another issue was patches. With very little skill, I found I could duplicate this issue on my iPhone 7 running the latest supported version of iOS: https://joshua.hu/apple-ios-patched-unpatched-vulnerabilities https://joshua.hu/apple-ios-patched-unpatched-vulnerabilitie...
avs733 2y ago
I have a 13 mini that is hanging on by a thread and you will pry it from my hand (because I can actually hold onto it). I'm actually considering finding a refub because I prefer my old-fashioned artillery to the 6.1". The larger phones barely fit in pockets, fit poorly in running packs/biking gear and are just generally inconvienient for being active with them.
- nunez 2y ago
  Refurbs are out there. I got two a few months ago. Battery health on both is around 85% though.
kennywinker 2y ago
Just so you know, the batteries are replaceable ;)
beretguy 2y ago
I still use 1st Gen SE with 4 inch screen.
- asdff 2y ago
  I would have kept using mine if it didn't have issues dropping calls and also certain app incompatibilities that began to be frusterating. It is actually a lot better of an iphone than my newer SE2. It is much faster on the OS it runs than this SE2 on ios 15. Spotlight search is instantaneous on the old SE. On the SE2 it might hang in spotlight for 5 seconds or longer.
  - beretguy 2y ago
    I use both 1st and 2nd at the same time. 1st as phone, 2nd as a PDA.
- grvbck 2y ago
  I'm still on iPhone 7+… It gets a new battery every 2-3 years and works great. I love how it has a big screen but feels much smaller and thinner in my pocket than any modern iPhone. I was really looking forward to this new "SE4", but the 7.5W charging and lack of magsafe is a deal breaker for a phone that in my country costs ~900 usd.
DanHulton 2y ago
Same boat, though with battery replacements, I think what will actually do me in and force me to downgrade to a newer model will be when they stop supporting OS security upgrades. I'm perfectly happy to keep replacing the screen protector and battery until that point.

I am still using my 13 Mini. I got it, because I knew that it would be the last Mini Apple does. I plan to use it, until I need to charge the battery every 15 minutes.

robin_reala 2y ago

Then replace the battery and carry on using it?

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
May end up doing that. We'll see. I also write software for these beasties, and it may well be that I won't be able to justify avoiding getting one that has Apple Intelligence.
- ryandrake 2y ago
  Eventually, Apple (and 3p developers) will abandon you, and you'll need to throw away a perfectly good phone and take another step on the treadmill. I'm still hanging on to my perfectly working iPhone 7, while app developers tell me to fuck off left and right. It does everything I want a phone to do, but developers consider "old phones" to be icky and stop supporting them.
  - layer8 2y ago
    Eventually yes, but the 13 is less than 3.5 years old and will likely receive iOS updates for another 3.5 years. And most apps support one or two iOS versions into the past. I agree it’s not ideal, but ~8 years of use isn’t that bad either.
  - bschwindHN 2y ago
    Yup - it was the same for me with the 2016 SE. Still runs perfectly fine, we're still doing the same old CRUD web shit for apps, but apparently now our apps are so much more advanced that there's no possible way they could keep supporting that "legacy" hardware. https://blog.bschwind.com/2025/01/11/the-original-iphone-se-is-the-best-iphone-apple-ever-made/ https://blog.bschwind.com/2025/01/11/the-original-iphone-se-...
    - ryandrake 2y ago
      I'm totally with you, with that article. It is terrible how owners of slightly-old hardware are treated by software developers. Leaving potentially millions of users out in the cold because they just can't be bothered to keep a maintenance branch around and backport a few fixes to it. For apps that are by and large not complicated. So much waste sacrificed at the altar of developer comfort!
      - ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
        My low-end test unit is an old SE (running 15). I'm an iOS native developer. The screen size is the main reason I test with it. However, these days, I usually release with minimum support beginning with iOS 16, because I am a one-man shop. My stuff will usually run in 15, though.
  - raudette 2y ago
    Ultimately, one of the cameras in my iPhone 7 failed, and I replaced it with an SE3 - which was indistinguishable from the 7 - but another issue was patches. With very little skill, I found I could duplicate this issue on my iPhone 7 running the latest supported version of iOS: https://joshua.hu/apple-ios-patched-unpatched-vulnerabilities https://joshua.hu/apple-ios-patched-unpatched-vulnerabilitie...

avs733 2y ago

I have a 13 mini that is hanging on by a thread and you will pry it from my hand (because I can actually hold onto it). I'm actually considering finding a refub because I prefer my old-fashioned artillery to the 6.1". The larger phones barely fit in pockets, fit poorly in running packs/biking gear and are just generally inconvienient for being active with them.

nunez 2y ago
Refurbs are out there. I got two a few months ago. Battery health on both is around 85% though.

kennywinker 2y ago

Just so you know, the batteries are replaceable ;)

beretguy 2y ago

I still use 1st Gen SE with 4 inch screen.

asdff 2y ago
I would have kept using mine if it didn't have issues dropping calls and also certain app incompatibilities that began to be frusterating. It is actually a lot better of an iphone than my newer SE2. It is much faster on the OS it runs than this SE2 on ios 15. Spotlight search is instantaneous on the old SE. On the SE2 it might hang in spotlight for 5 seconds or longer.
- beretguy 2y ago
  I use both 1st and 2nd at the same time. 1st as phone, 2nd as a PDA.
grvbck 2y ago
I'm still on iPhone 7+… It gets a new battery every 2-3 years and works great. I love how it has a big screen but feels much smaller and thinner in my pocket than any modern iPhone. I was really looking forward to this new "SE4", but the 7.5W charging and lack of magsafe is a deal breaker for a phone that in my country costs ~900 usd.

DanHulton 2y ago

Same boat, though with battery replacements, I think what will actually do me in and force me to downgrade to a newer model will be when they stop supporting OS security upgrades. I'm perfectly happy to keep replacing the screen protector and battery until that point.