Iphone 12 mini compared to iphone 8

Q: Is the iPhone 13 mini smaller than the iPhone 8?

In fact, itll actually feel larger considering the 5.4-inch screen is more spacious than the 4.7-inch display on phones such as the iPhone 8, iPhone SE (2020) and iPhone 7. If you like the iPhone 8s compact size but would appreciate a larger screen, the iPhone 13 Mini is probably the perfect middle ground.

Table of Contents Show

Key differences
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Design and build
Performance
DxOMark camera tests
Connectivity
Cast your vote
Related comparisons
Is an iPhone 12 mini smaller than an iPhone 8?
Is the iPhone 13 mini smaller than the iPhone 8?
Is an iPhone 12 the same size as an iPhone 8?
What is the size of iPhone 8 and 12 mini?

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 4.7-inch Apple iPhone 8 (with Apple A11 Bionic) that was released on September 12, 2017, against the Apple iPhone 12 mini, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 37 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 8

Fingerprint scanner

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 mini

Thinner bezels – 19.7% more screen real estate
95% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (695K versus 357K)
Has a 0.7 inch larger screen size
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
46% higher pixel density (476 vs 326 PPI)
Shows 9% longer battery life (24:46 vs 22:48 hours)
Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
Comes with 406 mAh larger battery capacity: 2227 vs 1821 mAh
More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A14 Bionic
Has 2x more RAM: 4GB versus 2GB
Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X

Review

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Performance

CPU/GPU performance in apps and games

Battery

Battery life, charging type and speed

Camera

Photo and video recording quality

Connectivity

Networks, ports, data transmission

NanoReview score

Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type	IPS LCD	OLED
Size	4.7 inches	5.4 inches
Resolution	750 x 1334 pixels	1080 x 2340 pixels
Aspect ratio	16:9	19.5:9
PPI	326 ppi	476 ppi
Refresh rate	60 Hz	60 Hz
Max rated brightness	625 nits	625 nits
HDR support	No	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Tempered glass	-
Screen-to-body ratio	65.4%	85.1%
Display features	-	- DCI-P3

Display tests

RGB color space	99.9%	-
PWM	Not detected	-
Response time	22 ms	-
Contrast	1373:1	-

Peak brightness test (auto)

Sources: NotebookCheck [3]

Design and build

Height	138.4 mm (5.45 inches)	131.5 mm (5.18 inches)
Width	67.3 mm (2.65 inches)	64.2 mm (2.53 inches)
Thickness	7.3 mm (0.29 inches)	7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight	148 gramm (5.22 oz)	135 gramm (4.76 oz)
Waterproof	IP67	IP68
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Silver, Gold, Gray	White, Black, Blue, Green, Red
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in home button	No

Performance

Tests of Apple iPhone 8 and Apple iPhone 12 mini in the benchmarks

SoC

Chipset	Apple A11 Bionic	Apple A14 Bionic
Max. clock	2100 MHz	3100 MHz
CPU cores	6 (2 + 4)	6 (2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 1.42 GHz: Mistral - 2 cores at 2.39 GHz: Monsoon	- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
Lithography process	10 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Apple GPU	Apple GPU
FLOPS	~325 GFLOPS	-

Memory

RAM size	2 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR4	LPDDR4X
Channels	2	2

Storage

Storage size	64, 256 GB	64, 128, 256 GB
Storage type	NVMe	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

Benchmarks

Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)

CPU	121523	190074
GPU	110958	284641
Memory	44570	94157
UX	80000	126265
Total score	357570	695830

3DMark Wild Life Performance

Stability	62%	69%
Graphics test	19 FPS	46 FPS
Graphics score	3189	7687

Software

Operating system	iOS 11 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16)	iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16)
OS size	6 GB	-

Battery

Specifications

Capacity	1821 mAh	2227 mAh
Charge power	15 W	18 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes, Qi (7.5 W)	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	No	No
Fast charging	Yes (50% in 30 min)	Yes (60% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:15 hr	1:29 hr

Battery life tests

Web browsing	08:04 hr	09:23 hr
Watching video	08:37 hr	09:46 hr
Gaming	03:56 hr	04:56 hr
Standby	82 hr	78 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones

Main camera

Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4032 x 3024	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Digital	Digital
Flash	Quad LED	Quad LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	No	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	240 FPS (1080p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	-	120°
Lenses	1 (12 MP)	2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 1.22 micron - Sensor: 1/3", Apple iSight Camera (BSI CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	-	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX503 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode
Samples	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 8 from DxOMark	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 mini from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels	7 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	3088 x 2320	4290 x 2800
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	32 mm	23 mm
Pixel size	1 microns	-
Sensor type	BSI CMOS	CMOS
Sensor size	-	1/3.6"
Video resolution	1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Hotspot	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version	5	5
Bluetooth features	LE, A2DP	LE, A2DP
USB type	No	No
USB version	2	-
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode	- Charging - USB-Storage mode
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
NFC*	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	No	No

Network

Number of SIM*	1	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	-
eSIM support*	No	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat*	16	18
5G support	No	Yes

Sound

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Other

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	September 2017	October 2020
Release date	September 2017	November 2020
SAR (head)	1.35 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.36 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
Sensors	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor

*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 12 mini is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?

Apple iPhone 8

25 (19.5%)

Apple iPhone 12 mini

103 (80.5%)

Total votes: 128

You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below

Is an iPhone 12 mini smaller than an iPhone 8?

The iPhone 12 mini features a bigger screen than the iPhone 8 — 5.4 inches versus 4.8 inches. Yet Apple's newer phone is both shorter and slimmer than the iPhone 8.

Is the iPhone 13 mini smaller than the iPhone 8?

In fact, it'll actually feel larger considering the 5.4-inch screen is more spacious than the 4.7-inch display on phones such as the iPhone 8, iPhone SE (2020) and iPhone 7. If you like the iPhone 8's compact size but would appreciate a larger screen, the iPhone 13 Mini is probably the perfect middle ground.

Is an iPhone 12 the same size as an iPhone 8?

The iPhone 8 has a 4.7-inch screen, while the iPhone 12 has a 6.1-inch display. Because there are several iPhone 12 models, you can also choose the smaller 5.4-inch iPhone 12 Mini and the larger 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max.