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iPhone 12 Mini explains why there are no small Android flagships, and more
August 21, 2025
1. Oh yeah, that’s why there are no real small flagships
Reviews are out of the iPhone 12 Mini and while it isthe smol phone to beat(Wired), the shortened battery life is a compromise. And it’s bad enough that it clearly shows us why Android smartphones are so monstrous now.
Not all reviews have been worried by it, and not all reviews see it as more than a middling problem. It’s worth knowing about, but it’s part of the laws of physics to an extent: smaller area, smaller battery, less battery life:
But the point I want to make here is that I might be wrong. I said this in the DGiT Monthly, looking at how the iPhone SE has driven Android to respond, and that the iPhone 12 Mini will as well:
“…it’s possible that the iPhone 12 Mini will have more of an impact on Android in the coming months. People want flagships, but don’t always want the max specs to be the max sized phone. Why not great specs in the compact version, too?”
Breaking:Amazon to face antitrust charges in Europe— this is coming out right now, and includes charges against Amazon’s services in Germany and France, the biggest markets, and to do with big data to exploit its position. A stat: Amazon provides its private Amazon Basics label goods in 10% of overall products, but generates 50% of profits from those categories. Note these are charges, not fines/worse yet. (Politico)
These were thetop 10 smartphones globally for Q3 2020. Samsung had 5 of the top 10, but I’ll wager you won’t guess its best-selling device (Android Authority).
Report:HUAWEI to sell HONOR to Chinese consortiumin a multi-billion dollar deal (Android Authority).
This unusual smartphone patent has eight rear cameras,two on each corner. Probably not for me but uh, it’s something (Android Authority).
6. Pixel 5 review:Google spends its bill-of-materials budget unwisely(Ars Technica).
7. Former Vertu employeesare launching a new luxury smartphone(Engadget).
8.Alphabet will use beams of light to deliver internet in Kenya: Project Taara (Engadget).
- Other Apple product reviews: “The Apple MagSafe Duo charger is overpriced and under-delivers” (The Verge), andthe materials don’t seem ideal, underwhelming(TechCrunch). This one seems like one of Apple’s worst new products in some time. Over on the iPhone 12 Pro Max — is it worth it for the camera? MKBHD: ‘The differences are mostly imperceptible’ (YouTube),The Verge notesthe camera is great but the differences come in low-light, not daytime. And, that’s it’s almost too big, while the 60Hz screen lags all competitors in that $1000+ airspace. But great battery life, and I do think the refresh-rate issue isn’t too big.
10.Mashable’s had a data leak: 1.4M accounts, including full names, locations, email addresses, genders, IP addresses (The Daily Swig).
- Speaking of, a companyhas been forced to change its name that could’ve (playfully) been used to hack websites: The original name of the company I can’t even include here because it may trip email servers! But the new name: “THAT COMPANY WHOSE NAME USED TO CONTAIN HTML SCRIPT TAGS LTD” (The Guardian).
12.The PS5 could’ve been even larger, somehow: “When I started drawing, it was much larger” (Washington Post).
NASA Chief sayshe will step down when Biden takes office(Gizmodo).
“Who are somewomen that often get overlooked in historybut had major contributions to society?” (r/askreddit).
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