Upgrading from iPhone 13 mini to 16 Pro

I usually get a new phone every 3 years. This works quite well I set my wife up on my old phone and, now that my daughter is old enough to have one, she gets my wife’s.

Three years ago I upgraded to an iPhone 13 Mini from an iPhone XS and now it was time to pass my beloved 13 Mini down the chain. I’ve just bought myself a 16 Pro; here’s what I’ve noticed in the upgrade.

Camera

My two-models-ago XS had a nifty 2x zoom lens, which I found myself using a good amount. It was great for getting a better shot of my kids playing and, for some reason (I’m very much not a photographer), I preferred the photos it took.

I loved my 13 Mini. Loved it. But I missed that zoom lens. I was taking photos of my kids playing together on the beach this summer and zoom would have made for some much better snaps.

I did considered the standard 16, with its 2x telephoto, but the 5x lens on the Pro models was too much to resist. And it looks great. All the cameras do!

Camera Control

The Camera Control feels like a nice idea but I initially found it irritating. I would accidentally launch the camera app while doing other things, particularly when adjusting the volume down… My grip on the opposite side of the phone as I squeeze the volume buttons is low, in order to avoid the Side Button which would take a screen shot or lock the phone; low enough to press the Camera Control. This is also not helped by the fact that it’s flush to the side of the phone, rather than slightly raised like all the rets of the buttons.

I’ve circumvented this by requiring a double click to open the camera in Settings → Camera → Camera Control → Double Click.

The problem now is one of software as I have to triple click to open the camera when the phone is locked: once to wake the phone and twice to launch the camera. If the phone is awake, I should be double clicking, but I still end up triple clicking which means I launch the camera and immediately take a photo. Looks like this is being addressed in iOS 18.2 where they’ve added and option to bypass the ‘waking’ bit and launch the camera with a single or double press, depending on your settings, whether it’s awake or not.

Finally, I find the camera control itself really fiddly. The half-press, the double half-press, and the swipe/scroll gestures are just too fiddly. I’d like some way to configure the control in Settings rather than when taking a photo. Or at least limit what accidental swipes can do. It just doesn’t feel well tested.

Action Button

Since getting my first Apple Watch, I’ve always use my phone on silent, preferring a tap on the wrist for notifications, so I haven’t used the Mute Switch in years. The Action Button is a great idea for people like me.

I’ve assigned the Torch to the Action Button, as I use the torch all the time, and it’s now super convenient to access with a long press of the Action Button. I’ve also removed the torch from both Control Centre and my Lock Screen, freeing up space for other utilities.

One small gripe, though, is that the Action Button isn’t quitez far enough away from the volume buttons, so I often press it when I’m fumbling to turn the volume up.

Dynamic Island

I like the Dynamic Island a lot. The design is delightful and it’s a super clever way to lean into the (for now) necessary cut-out to accommodate the front camera and sensors, but I don’t think Apple have got the interaction pattern quite right.

Battery

I was very conscious of my battery with the 13 Mini. It was fine, but it was always in the back of my mind. I had a MagSafe Battery Pack (now unfortunately discontinued) which got frequent use, but it has been passed to my wife alongside the 13 Mini as the 16 Pro lasts all day and more.

Screen

The Always-On feature is taking some getting used to. It’s weird that the screen doesn’t turn off, and I had imagined the wallpaper would be dimmed further than it is when in Always-On. I guess it makes me uneasy because I was was so conscious of the battery in my little 13 Mini, but Apple must know what they’re doing so I’m leaving the feature switched on.

I now have Pro Motion, which is one of those stealth features that makes a huge difference but is something you’ll never notice. The 120 frames per second refresh rate make the phone feel ridiculously smooth and responsive, and it’s only when you go back that you realise how nice it is; like when I was setting up my wife’s on my outgoing 13 Mini.

The screen is also really big too, and the smaller bezels make a difference. Though I’m back to it feeling slightly insecure in hand, as there’s more stretching to reach much of the screen. I’m making good use of Back Tap for Control Centre and Reachability, which has helped.

Case

Apple have stopped doing leather cases, which I understand, but I did love their leather cases. I got one of their silicon cases instead, which is nice but doesn’t slide in and out of my pocket as nicely as the leather case. One perk is that it feels more grippier in hand, offsetting the slightly insecure feeling while reaching around the screen on a much bigger device.

USB-C

This has taken a wee bit of adjusting to. I’ve had to buy a new cable for the car (I need to plug the phone in to use CarPlay) and I decided to go the MagSafe Charger route for miscellaneous charging around the house, since that’s compatible with my wife’s phone too.

Overall, though, it’s probably better than Lightning: faster to charge and easy to pinch a charge when I’m working from my MacBook (I use USB-C to charge as, unlike the MagSafe charger, it can be plugged in on either side of the laptop). Problem is, I’m now finding myself wishing all of my peripherals (mouse, keyboard, etc.) were USB-C too!

Speakers

Not much to say here except the sound quality is really, really good.

Conclusion

I like my 3-ish years upgrade cadence. If I upgraded each year I don’t think I would appreciate the new features quite as much. Plus it would be very expensive! This 16 Pro is an amazing piece of hardware; on balance I prefer the larger size and I’m looking forward to putting the camera through its paces!