Loving the new phone (iPhone 12 Mini)

[dreamshark]

It was far easier to adjust to than I expected. I was apprehensive about the removal of the Home button, but the new swipe gestures are so easy to use that I really don't miss it. And Face ID works so seamlessly that I wasn't even sure it was doing anything until I tried to open my phone while it was sitting flat and facing away from me and was presented with the password entry screen. And even then, all I had to do was pick up the phone and glance at it, and it immediately opened up. SO much easier than the Home button touch-id, which took a couple of seconds and often required a few retries. I was surprised and a little hurt when I tried to open my shopping list at the grocery store and MY PHONE FAILED TO RECOGNIZE ME. Oh, right, I'm wearing a mask. 

The size is only 1/4" larger than my old OG SE, but I do notice the difference. It's at just about the upper limit of the size I find comfortable in my hand and pocket, so I'm glad I ordered a couple of super skinny cases. 

The only disappointment is the battery capacity. It's noticeably better than the old phone (which it damn well ought to be because the whole reason I decided to buy a new phone was because the battery was going downhill in the old one) but it declines pretty fast for a brand new battery. I haven't drained it yet, but I've gotten down below 60% with a few hours of setup activity and intermittent Candy Crush. Fortunately it has fast-charging capabilities and an uber-convenient magnetic charger (which DID NOT come with the phone, to the annoyance of pretty much everybody in the Apple universe). Unfortunately, the mag charger, while faster than the old 5W charging system, is not as fast as it ought to be. For true fast-charging you have to plug it into a cable (!!). Normally this would mean unplugging the mag charger from the expensive single-port 20W adapter (which also did not come with the phone) to plug in the cable. But it turns out that my computer docking hub has a fast-charging USB-C port right on the front. I normally put my phone on a charger while I am sitting at my computer, so that works fine.

The only downside I have found with the new phone controls is a very minor one, but a little annoying. I often get notifications across the top of the screen while I am doing something important like playing Candy Crush. I have been in the habit of glancing at them and then dismissing them by tapping the Home button. Now I have no Home button and have to wait a couple of seconds for them to fade away on their own. People with newer Home-less iPhones: is there a quick way to dismiss notifications? 

Comments

[redbird]

I have noticed one disadvantage of FaceID vs. the old touch ID on my iPhone SE: it doesn't work when I have amask on. (TouchID didn't work with gloves, but those are more seasonal.)

[arkuat]

Have you tried swiping the notification upward?

[dreamshark]

You're right - that works! Thanks.

[spiderplanet]

Thanks! I came to the comments to see if anyone had answered this question. :)

[carbonel]

I see you found the immediate fix, but I found I had to go into the notifications options in Settings app by app to disable their ability to send notifications. (Years ago, there was a match-3 game that sent me a daily update, and I finally ended up deleting it, partly because I wasn't playing it and partly because the notifications wouldn't stay killed.)

[dreamshark]

I don't mind the notifications, I just wanted to be able to dismiss them quickly.