The iPhone SE 2022 has much better battery life than the 12 Mini and that’s saying something. Also, the 12 Mini battery life is barely any better than the 2020 iPhone SE.

The entire iPhone 12 lineup has awful battery.

Basically…in terms of battery life for these iPhones.

iPhone 13 Mini >> iPhone SE 2022 >>> iPhone 12 Mini > iPhone SE 2020

If you really want a modern small iPhone, get the iPhone 13 Mini. Avoid the iPhone 12 Mini at all costs. There’s a reason why Apple discontinued it too.

Otherwise get the iPhone SE 2022. It’s a fine iPhone with the updated hardware internals. The rear camera itself takes better photos than the iPhone 11 series and the 2020 SE.

Also the Touch ID sensor is even more improved on the 2022 SE over the 2020 SE and the iPhone 8.

It also has 5G support and you can turn it off if you want better battery life.

Another benefit of getting the 2022 iPhone SE is that all screen protectors and cases for the iPhone 7, 8 and 2020 SE will work fine. They all have the same dimensions too.

I personally do not recommend the iPhone 12 Mini. Garbage iPhone. I had it issued to me at work and immediately replaced it with the next year 13 Mini which was far superior in battery life. It literally lasted 2.5x longer than the 12 Mini.