By Md Waquar Haider

New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS): Small is beautiful and the new Apple iPhone 13 mini proves to be the next generation of small-screen smartphones.

The iPhone 13 mini offers huge upgrades over its predecessor, featuring a sleek and durable design, an advanced new dual-camera system for improved photos and videos in low light and Cinematic mode.

In terms of design, the iPhone 13 mini copies almost the same design language from the iPhone 12 mini. However, unlike iPhone 12 mini, the iPhone 13 mini has a smaller screen notch.

The other notable change is at the back. The dual-camera now uses diagonal alignment as opposed to the vertical one on the iPhone 12 mini.

This time, Apple has moved the LED flash top right corner and the mic to the bottom left corner of the module.

The Apple iPhone 13 mini is a small and lightweight smartphone - it is 131mm tall, 64mm wide and weighs 141 grams.

Despite being small and lightweight it is one of the most durable devices. It comes with ceramic Shield front, aluminum frame, Corning-made rear panel, and sapphire crystal lens covers.

The bottom of the iPhone spots a mouthpiece grille, the Lightning port, and the other stereo speaker behind another dotted grille.

The volume keys, the silencer and the SIM tray are all on the left, properly placed for single hand operations. The Side key sits on the right side of the iPhone 13 mini.

Also, the new iPhone 13 series comes with an IP68 rating, meaning the device can survive underwater to a depth of up to six metres for up to 30 minutes.

The device features a 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR screen. The improved Super Retina XDR OLED displays deliver an incredible contrast ratio for true blacks and a 28 per cent increase in max outdoor brightness at 800 nits, with higher peak brightness for HDR content like photos and videos at 1200 nits, all while being more power efficient.

The screen cutout contains the Face ID sensors, the 12MP selfie camera and one of the stereo speakers that also acts as an earpiece.

In terms of performance, the new iPhone 13 mini comes loaded with a powerful 5nm class 64-bit architecture-based A15 Bionic chipset and a significant bump in the battery capacity.

No doubt, the device handled all daily tasks smoothly. Interestingly, it was good for gaming too.

The device comes with two 12MP snappers on the back and one 12MP selfie imager at the front. The SL 3D scanner for Face ID also assists the Portrait selfie mode.

The main camera of the iPhone 13 mini shot excellent 12MP photos -- sharp and with a lot of details.

The dual-camera system and power of computational photography support Smart HDR 4, now with improved colour, contrast and lighting for each subject in a group photo, including in challenging conditions, making images more true to life, as well as improved Night mode.

The TrueDepth camera supports all the new camera features, including Cinematic mode, Photographic Styles, Smart HDR 4, and more.

Cinematic mode that records videos of people, pets, and objects with a beautiful depth effect with automatic focus changes, so anyone can capture cinema-style moments. For creative control, the focus can be changed during and after capture, and users can also adjust the level of bokeh in the Photos app and iMovie for iOS.

Cinematic mode records in Dolby Vision HDR. The device also offers HDR video recording with Dolby Vision -- from capture to editing and sharing -- supported for 4K up to 60 fps on all cameras.

The Apple iPhone 13 mini packs a 2,438mAh battery -- that's about a 10 per cent increase over the iPhone 12 mini. During the review, the device was able to stay with us for almost 8 hours with moderate usage.

The iPhone 13 mini also supports fast wireless charging up to 15W (the 12 mini was limited to 12W). To get this 15W maximum, you need to use Apple's MagSafe charger. Otherwise, any Qi-compatible would do for slower 5W-7W charging.

The device comes in three storage options -- 128GB, 256GB and 512GB -- for Rs 69,900, Rs 79,900 and Rs 99,900, respectively.

The company is offering the iPhone 13 mini in five vibrant colours -- pink, blue, midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT) RED.

Conclusion: In simple words, the iPhone 13 mini is meant for those who don't like to carry big-screen premium phones, offering everything people want from large devices.

The device offers super-fast performance and power efficiency with A15 Bionic, longer battery life and a brighter Super Retina XDR display.