Shame Of The Mini iPhone

It’s not just me! That’s what I felt earlier this week while listening to an Upgrade podcast. Veteran Apple journalist, Jason Snell, shared an important fact about a longstanding frustration I have. It was a validating bit of confirmation and affirmation that I really appreciate.

Mini Problem

Snell expressed the same trouble with typing on the iPhone 12 mini that I often have. On episode 530, “I Am Beyond Recovery” at time 54:19, he said:

“Because, you know, I adapted to the mini, and then when I went off the mini, I adapted to the Pro and it took, it took some adaptation because it's like, whoa, this is so big. But honestly, after like a week or two, and I could type way more accurately on the Pro than I could on the mini. That's the truth, that's the real shame of the mini was that I could never type accurately on it. The keyboard was just so small.”

When Snell said that, I went slack-jawed then for feeling validated. Typing on the tiny iPhone mini isn’t just a problem with my big thumbs or fast speed. It’s just too small of a keyboard for me and, obviously, for Snell too. 

This is striking because Snell has said (on other podcasts and his blog at Six Colors) that he really liked the hand-holdability and pocket-fit of the mini. That is its key strength, which I enjoy too. But over many months, I’ve grown dissatisfied with the frequent and frustrating typos. Like Snell stressed on the podcast above, I can never type accurately on the mini.

Max Solution

Then today, I was at Best Buy and tried out the new iPhone 16 Pro Max and Pro side by side. I visually compared each keyboard in Messages next to my iPhone 12 mini. The Pro Max version had noticeably bigger keys than even the Pro version.

Next, I typed a few sentences on each phone. Without a doubt, it felt more natural and easier to type on the Pro Max than even the regular-sized Pro. My thumbs didn’t feel squished together. I made zero typos in my short testing. I liked it quite a bit just for that reason alone.

This was helpful as I’ve been juggling whether to switch from a 12 mini to a 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max. For typing, the Pro Max iPhone is indeed the best way to go. It’s also best for viewing anything. But I still hesitate at possibly swinging the pendulum too far. If the mini is too small, what if the Pro Max is too big?

Well, if Snell is any indication, he also talked above about adapting to the larger phone (a Pro in his case). As for my own case, I had the iPhone 8 Plus before, using it for a solid two years. It was very big, not great in a pocket. But as I recall, I never felt as frustrated by its sometimes unwieldy size as I am by the 12 mini’s often typo-laden small keyboard. And I remember how nice it was too view photos and watch videos on the 8 Plus’ big display.

So I might go for the 12 Pro Max (or 14 Plus or 13 Pro Max) if I can find a good deal on it. In any case, I’m glad to know when it comes to the mini’s keyboard problem, the shame is on the iPhone; it’s not just me.