12 to 15 years ago, when I was teaching the elders in the family how to video call, there were only two reliable options, Google and Apple.

Google kept changing their solution, so we ended up with Facetime.

Whatsapp did end up coming out with video calls, and Whatsapp would have been an alternative had it been available on iPads sooner (is it even available today?). Signal also came out too late.

But once everyone was trained on Facetime, I, nor any of my cousins was going to put in the time to re-train on any other solution. Plus, if anyone has a problem with Facetime, or their Apple device, they can pop into an Apple store to get it fixed themselves. Or they can chat with an Apple tech support rep who can remote into their phone.

both iOS and Facetime are super slick and baked into the device. The end user doesn't even have to really know how to the app to use the feature as it were. It shows up on a contact as a button click.

Signal does not, even on Android. You have to deliberately use it.

That small friction isn't great when you're likely one of few people using it in day to day life of others.

FaceTime on the other hand, just works

Only the pixel 4 had face unlock that used IR hardware instead of camera nonsense that isn't as secure or reliable.

Edit. It seems like pixel 7 and up includes something that's more secure

I'm able to just use faceid or put in my passcode.

You can buy a mini on secondary markets. Some are even new in box, though you might need to replace the battery.

Until about a year ago, Apple had 13 minis in their refurb store.[1] That's where I managed to get one. I'm going to hang on to it as long as possible. Previously I had an iPhone SE (the one that looks like an iPhone 5), and I still slightly regret upgrading to the mini. The mini's camera and display are significantly better, but it's a little wide for my hands.

1. https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/iphone

My 13 mini is also not great on battery. I've been debating ordering an iFixit battery and doing the swap, but in the past I've felt it was kind of mixed results from that. I don't think those batteries are newly manufactured units, but rather leftovers from the original production line that have been sitting on the shelf for 2-3 years. So although they'll be an improvement over one that's been through 1-2k cycles, they won't be like it was when it was brand new.

For now I'm just making do with having a power bank in my bag when I'm out and about.

I don't think the iPhone Air will actually be smaller in the dimensions I care about, just thinner which I assume will compromise battery life.

My mini is holding up ok. Battery needs replacing but I haven't done it. Like mikepurvis, I carry power banks around if I'm doing anything where I'm not going to be able to recharge easily. I use one like this https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Magnetic-Slim-B2C/dp/...

I was able to get a new battery and screen for my 13 mini via AppleCare, but even the new battery won't get me through the day. Recent OS updates also make my camera shooting experience really slow for some reason.

Even with all that, I'm keeping the mini as long as possible because every year brings bigger and heavier iPhones.

I have a 13 mini for about 3 years now - still holding up for most of the working day (about 15 hours). The trick is to reduce the number of apps you have on the phone, reduce the number of apps which like running on the background, and not watch a lot of videos.

I figured it out that treating it as a communication device + payments device + maps + very occasional content viewer, ie mostly as a utility will make the phone last much longer.

I’m on a 12 mini and it lasts all day easily.

I generally like the phone except it’s a little too big.

Face ID is not terrible. Especially on newer phones which support landscape rotation etc. They check to see if you’re looking at the screen and your eyes are open, so they can keep the screen on regardless of the auto lock setting. It’s a smart and useful feature which you can turn off if you don’t like it.

turn off "attention aware features" under accessibility -> Face ID & Attention if you don't like it checking whether you're looking at it