Phone Comparisons: Apple iPhone 13 Mini vs Google Pixel 5

The Apple iPhone 13 Mini vs Google Pixel 5 comparison is upon us. Some of you may wonder why are we even comparing these two phones, as they’re considerably different. Well, the Pixel 5 is, at the time of writing this article, Google’s latest and greatest. At the same time, it’s also considered to be rather compact compared to other flagships. The iPhone 13 Mini, on the other hand, is a really petite smartphone, that is extremely powerful. So, it makes sense to compare them.

It is worth noting that the iPhone 13 Mini is considerably smaller than the Pixel 5, so that actually says a lot about how petite it is. Despite that fact, people who want a manageable smartphone for one-handed use do still look towards the Pixel 5. The Pixel 6 is not coming in such a compact form factor, so the Pixel 5 may have an even longer life span. That being said, we’ll start by comparing their specs, and will then move to the design, display, performance, battery, and camera sections.

Specs

	Apple iPhone 13 Mini	Google Pixel 5
Screen size	5.4-inch fullHD+ OLED display (60Hz)	6-inch fullHD+ OLED display (90Hz)
Screen resolution	2400 x 1080	2340 x 1080
SoC	Apple A15 Bionic	Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
RAM	4GB	8GB (LPDDR4X)
Storage	128GB/256GB/512GB, non-expandable	128GB, non-expandable
Rear cameras	12MP (f/1.6 aperture, 1.7um pixel size, 26mm lens, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS) 12MP (f/2.4 aperture, 120-degree FoV, 13mm lens, ultrawide)	12.2MP (f/1.7 aperture, 27mm lens, 1.4um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF, OIS) 16MP (ultra-wide, f/2.2 aperture, 1.0um pixel size, 107-degree FoV)
Front cameras	12MP (f/2.2 aperture, 23mm wide-angle lens)	8MP (f/2.0 aperture, 24mm lens, 1.12um pixel size)
Battery	2,438mAh, non-removable, 20W fast battery charging, 15W MagSafe wireless charging, 7.5W Qi wireless charging	4,080mAh, non-removable, 18W fast battery charging, 18W wireless charging, reverse wireless charging
Dimensions	131.5 x 64.2 x 7.7mm	144.7 x 70.4 x 8.0 mm
Weight	141 grams	151 grams
Connectivity	5G, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, Lightning	5G, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C
Security	Face ID	Rear-facing fingerprint scanner
OS	iOS 15	Android 11
Price	$699	$699
Buy	Apple	Google

Apple iPhone 13 Mini vs Google Pixel 5: Design

When it comes to the design, these two phones could not be more different. The iPhone 13 Mini is made out of metal and glass. Its sides are completely flat, while it has a rather noticeable notch at the top of the display. Its bezels are uniform, though, not counting the notch. The Pixel 5, on the other hand, offers a metal unibody design, which is covered by resin. It has a small display camera hole in the top-left corner, and its sides are definitely not flat.

The Pixel 5 is far easier to hold in one hand, and also considerably less slippery. Both phones are manageable with one hand, despite the fact the Pixel 5 is considerably larger than the iPhone 13 Mini. It is around 13mm taller, around 6mm wider, and slightly thicker. It is also 10 grams heavier, which is not that much considering the size difference between the two phones. They’re both well-built, to say the least.

Both devices have two cameras on the back. Those cameras are located in the top-left corner, on the back, on both smartphones. They do look different, though, and considerably different hardware is used here. Both phones do feel really nice in the hand, though the Pixel 5 is arguably easier to hold, it cuts into your hand far less. The flat sides do look nice, but they’re not the best solution ergonomically. You’ll also notice that the Pixel 5 has a fingerprint scanner on the back. The iPhone 13 Mini doesn’t have it at all, but it has advanced facial scanning instead.

Apple iPhone 13 Mini vs Google Pixel 5: Display

The Apple iPhone 13 Mini includes a 5.4-inch fullHD+ (2340 x 1080) Super Retina XDR OLED display. This panel supports HDR10 content, and also has Dolby Vision support. It has a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, and is protected by scratch-resistant ceramic glass. The display on the iPhone 13 Mini is flat, by the way, and it has that large notch at the top. It’s not as large as the one on previous models, but it’s still really distracting.

The Pixel 5 features a 6-inch fullHD+ (2340 x 1080) OLED display. This display offers a 90Hz refresh rate, while the iPhone 13 Mini’s is limited to 60Hz. It has support for HDR10+ content, it’s flat, and it’s protected by the Gorilla Glass 6. This panel doesn’t get particularly bright outdoors, so the iPhone 13 Mini is better in that regard. The Pixel 5 is bright enough in all conditions except direct sunlight. This panel has a camera hole inside it, as you can see.

The Pixel 5’s panel is technically better, at least on paper. It offers a 90Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ support. On top of that, the Gorilla Glass 6 should be able to handle micro scratches better than the scratch-resistant ceramic glass on the iPhone 13 Mini. That glass is harder, so it should be more difficult to crack, but if you’re not planning to use a screen protector, get ready for micro scratches. That was, at least, the case with the iPhone 12 series. If you’re planning to use your phone a lot in direct sunlight, though, do keep in mind the iPhone 13 Mini is better for that.

Apple iPhone 13 Mini vs Google Pixel 5: Performance

When it comes to hardware specs, these two phones are considerably different as well. That includes their processors, and other performance-related components. The iPhone 13 Mini comes with an immensely powerful Apple A15 Bionic SoC. That is Apple’s newest chip for its flagship phones. It is paired with 4GB of RAM inside of this phone, which is plenty for iOS 15 to run.

The Pixel 5, on the other hand, comes with the Snapdragon 765G SoC. That is Qualcomm’s mid-range SoC, and not the newest one at that. Google included 8GB of RAM here, and UFS 2.1 flash storage. The iPhone 13 Mini is a more powerful device, from the hardware standpoint, despite the RAM situation. iOS runs completely differently compared to Android, and requires less RAM.

That being said, both of these phones perform admirably. The iPhone 13 Mini is a more powerful device, yes. It will open apps a bit faster, and do better when it comes to extremely graphically demanding stuff. The Pixel 5 performs great when it comes to everyday tasks, though, so that’s not something that should worry you. You can also play games on this device without a problem. Its hardware is still more than enough to offer really smooth performance, though it’s hard to deny the iPhone 13 Mini is considerably more powerful in that regard.

Apple iPhone 13 Mini vs Google Pixel 5: Battery

The iPhone 13 Mini comes with a 2,438mhA battery. The Pixel 5, on the other hand, has a 4,080mAh battery pack on the inside. You’ll notice the huge difference in battery life. iPhones usually do ship with smaller batteries, as they do need somewhat less power to run. The thing is, the difference is huge here, and that is something you will notice in everyday use.

The iPhone 13 Mini, granted, offers much better battery life than its predecessor. The iPhone 12 Mini had horrible battery life. If you push this phone hard, you won’t exactly get admirable battery life. If you do turn off some battery-intensive features, and be a bit careful, you can get really good battery life on it. That handset cannot compare to the Pixel 5 when battery life is concerned. The Pixel 5 offers the best battery life of any previous Pixel smartphone. We’ve managed to cross the 7-hour screen-on-time mark with this phone on a number of occasions, and the iPhone 13 Mini doesn’t even come close to that.

In regards to charging, well, neither phone offers blazing fast charging. The iPhone 13 Mini supports 20W wired charging, along with 15W wireless (with MagSafe), and 7.5W Qi wireless charging. The Pixel 5, on the other hand, offers support for 18W wired charging, 12W wireless charging, and 5W reverse wireless charging. So, they’re somewhat on par in that regard. The iPhone 13 Mini will charge up faster, though, due to its considerably smaller battery capacity.

Apple iPhone 13 Mini vs Google Pixel 5: Cameras

These two devices both have to camera on the back. They both utilize wide and ultrawide cameras, though they’re considerably different. The Pixel 5 utilizes a 12.2-megapixel main camera, and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide unit. The iPhone 13 Mini has two 12-megapixel cameras. That camera sensor on the Pixel 5 has been in use by Google since the Pixel 2, but it still does a good job. The iPhone 13 Mini, on the other hand, will perform like the iPhone 12 Pro would, pretty much.

That being said, they both can capture great-looking shots during the day, with great dynamic range, and plenty of details. The iPhone 13 Mini does lean towards somewhat more saturated images, though. The device provides images with a warmer color temperature, while the Pixel 5 is the opposite, its images have a colder color temperature. They are different, but both perform great in good lighting.

When the light goes away, the iPhone 13 Mini arguably does a better job, but not by much. The Pixel 5 does have a bit more noise in such images, but images from that phone also turn up a bit brighter at the same time. Neither phone wins all the time, it all depends on the scenarios. The video recording is better on the iPhone 13 Mini, while ultrawide cameras are really good on both smartphones.

Audio

Both of these smartphones come with stereo speakers, well, technically. The Pixel 5’s secondary speaker is located under the display, and that muffles its sound. This is better than a single, mono speaker, but it’s still not as good as it would have been if Google included a proper stereo setup. The iPhone 13 Mini stereo speakers are okay, but nothing to write home about. The size of this phone kind of limited Apple in that regard.

Neither phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can either utilize Type-C or Lightning port on these two phones, respectively, or use Bluetooth headphones. The sound that both phones can provide through a good pair of headphones is good. Don’t expect something miracles, and you’ll be fine.