Happy with my Grade A refurbished. Same chip, roughly same specs as my 14 Plus work phone,but in the iPhone 5 size I love.
Is the battery good? I really love the model and I am considering buying it, but I’ve heard some negative things about the battery life.
It’s a smaller battery, so you will geta little less battery resilience as a trade-off for petite size.
My use case is as a second phone to take in stores, restaurants without bulk. Has a meager 2Gb cellular plan (Tello), set NOT to use 5G if wifi is weak. And … I have Magsafe and Qi chargers to top off in the car, at home. I don’t have to plug in, ever. (Apple’s MagSafe Wallet, and MagSafe Battery Pack are both sized to match the 13 Mini’s outline.)
So IMHO if you get one with 80-85% battery life, plan to have ways to boost it infrequently.
Tip: you can get Apple 12 Mini Leather Sleeve with MagSafe for only$8 on the mothership (MSRP was $130 IIRC). It’s a great way to carry a 12 or 13 Mini, protected, with one or two credit cards or ID. Apple didn’t support or fully develop the Sleeve’s custom display (color, icons) enough and it went by the wayside. Dumb. Looks great in Baltic Blue or Product(RED), luxurious leather. I’m sorry that iOS no longer supports the little display window. If you have a Watch or AirPods the Sleeve is great, you don’t have to look at the screen. (Set Accessibility or Airpods to announce known callers.)
HTH!
To second the positives from @davidbspalding, this is a great phone, but definitely a slight cutback in battery capacity. In that same vein, we have a couple of these in rotation in my house, and we mostly just use MagSafe chargers at desks, by the bedside, or in the car in order to keep these topped off (we try not to charge if we are above 80% already). But it is likely the only significant drawback.
Regarding usability, the smaller size makes this model so much closer to a true one-hand phone. One can almost reach the entire screen, but without feeling like the screen borders are awkward like the SE models. The processor is still comparable enough that it’s not in need of an upgrade, and can keep up with the regular 13/14 models just fine. Only the 15 starts to feel noticeably snappier, but it’s not enough to drive an upgrade for us yet.
This is also an incredibly robust phone for build quality, with an extremely dense and powerful product in a small package. It does mean that it’s difficult to do battery or screen repairs, but with screen protectors and cases being inexpensive, we have never had that sort of issue. We have noticed that the smaller model can get warm under extreme loads a bit faster than the bigger siblings, which is rarely ever going to be noticeable unless you want to do heavier tasks like massive photo or video editing, at least in my experience. Mostly just durable and problem free.
If you get a good one, I think it’s just going to spoil you from ever wanting the larger size phones again 
- I never want to have to go back to even the full size, but that is just something that the market doesn’t seem to parallel, so this is the last of its kind.
Ditto to @andthentherewerenone & @david Spaulding.
Blockquote
I’ve had the 12 mini for a few years & love it. My hands are small & I’ve got a bit of arthritis so it’s perfect. Love being able to put all the way in most jeans pockets too. I can’t seem to hold it right for selfies tho.
My battery started getting noticeably bad a couple months ago & yes it does get pretty warm sometimes. I got a warning at 80% to have Apple service replace with new 100% one. HOW much is that? It’s at 77% now.
So I’ve been looking at the 13 & 13 Mini for a new battery really. You made a good argument for staying with the Mini but now I’m bothered by the battery issue. I don’t use it a lot all the time but if I need it for a long time & it randomly runs down it’s a pain in the.ass.
Does MagSafe charge differently?
I’ve also eyed those leather cases. I do drop quite a bit but the clear back cover & screen protector keep it from breaking…so far.
Thanks!
Jen
Ensure that optimized battery charging and clean energy charging are enabled (Settings, Battery, Battery Health & Charging), and the phone shouldn’t always charge to 100%. But sometimes iOS does it anyway, so…. 
(With the much maligned Apple MagSafe Battery Pack, iOS will stop at 90% unless you enable “Charge to full capacity.” But who wants to pay the high price for the Apple Battery Pack…? 
)
MagSafe (or any wireless charging) is a little less efficient than a cable, so the chassis may get warm. I’m spoiled, though, I prefer the ease with which you can simply put an iPhone on and off MagSafe chargers instantly (and be positioned correctly, which was a manual affair with Qi 1).
Getting a new battery, replaced by Apple (probably the bestest), or a third party (more economical), or yourself (iFixit has instructions, but they are involved; they also sell a complete kit) will give you longer life, and may also pick up the CPU speed if iOS has been throttling it to save energy. (Or did Apple discontinue that feature? 
) If the phone is otherwise in great shape, no screen defects, enough storage for your use, why not? The 13 is expected to get updates until 2028 or so AFAIK.
Hey everyone:
At the moment, Woot has 13 Mini screen shields by ORIbox. I don’t know their quality, but for $3.99 WTH 
I will get them if only because the ones I got on the mothership for $4.99 have a notch cut out on them. 
Edit: got the ORIbox screen protector and while not tempered glass, it covers the whole screen, camera, sensors nicely. Comes with a positioning frame as well. Nice quality for $3.99.
Thanks!
Well because the battery wears out pretty quickly, and that sucks.
Now I’m back looking at the 13 regular size. But for instance the one they have on sale right now and those I saw on Amazon, the battery’ only up to a min 80% unless I get a premium refurbished one. So in that sense what’s the point?
would get $105 for my trade-in on Amazon.
I wouldn’t say “the battery wears out pretty quickly.” If you prioritize long battery life over small size, you’re looking full-size, Plus, or Max sizes for the obviously bigger battery.
Is it true that the refurbished ones are the same as new ones but unpacked?
No.
Apple iPhone 13 Mini 256g (Refurbished)
with 2 Year Warranty $389.99
Condition: Refurbished (Scratch & Dent)
Recently a refurbished grade “A” 13 mini was listed on Woot! for a similar price that flew off of the shelves and sold out.
Seems for $390 “scratch and dent,” that’s a risky purchase. Every color at 256g are still available for days now. This item normally flies off of the shelves. Why aren’t these sold out by now? If the price was more resonable I’d purchase one.
Kind regards
The 12 minis sold out fast (grade a), there were more 13s.
These are $40 cheaper at the 128Gb size than the Grade A. (I know because I bought one.)
Horrible deal. The battery is at 78% Health and iOS says it “needs serviced”. After charging to 100% and migrating my old phone, this one is losing power while still on the charger just because it is updating and downloading apps. Wish I had never bought it via Woot. I’ll always go certified refurbished in the future. Be warned!!! Scratch and dent does not just mean cosmetic, but means the battery has also been abused. Very frustrated.
If you’re unhappy, you have a 30-day return period. Reach out to Woot! Customer Service. To speed things up, let them know if you prefer a return/refund or a replacement (if possible).
Please allow 24-48h for them to respond.
Browser: Use the Woot! Customer Service form.
Woot! App: Choose Account from the bottom navigation and then Support.
Self-Return: Items without Li-Ion batteries can be self-returned within 30 days. Go to your Order Details to get started. The return label will be emailed from UPS.
Note: Woot! Customer Service replies go to the email address on your Woot! account, not your Amazon login email if used/different.
Well good luck getting a Mini on Apple’s cert refurb store.
What kind of charger did you have it on. Ideally you plug it into a 20W usb-c charger. Any less and you may not get great charging speed. Particularly downloading and updating.
I use the 20 watt I got here on W00T. Now my problem is not enough storage. I think I’m going to bite the bullet.
Bummer that Costco doesn’t offer T-mobile now at kiosk. I’d always get at least a $150 shop card & free accessory kit.
For those of us who don’t buy new, or the highest storage tiers, this is a very relatable Apple problem… Storage, that is.
I have taken to copying off most of my photos with a NAS device at home, which isn’t a bad way to go, if one is technologically inclined. Not too hard with a relatively inexpensive Synology or QNAP box and a couple of hard drives.
Timing for deals and promotions like what Costco may have is also one of those hit-or-miss things. Hope your service works well regardless.
Welcome to the Mini club, for the few of us who remain on these older, unique devices 