Can we build a modern iPhone 13 mini?

Hi everyone,

I’m an engineer, but I have very limited experience with electronics and board-level repair. I’m hoping to get some advice from people here who have much deeper experience with iPhone hardware, microsoldering and board repair.

I absolutely love the iPhone 13 mini form factor. Unfortunately, Apple no longer makes anything remotely comparable in size, and none of the current iPhones appeal to me because of their size.

So I started thinking about a rather crazy project:

Could we build a modern “iPhone 13 mini V2” by keeping the 13 mini's external dimensions and screen, while replacing as much of the internal electronics as realistically possible with components from a newer iPhone?

The target envelope would be approximately:

131.5 × 64.2 × 10 mm maximum

The original 13 mini is 7.65 mm thick, but I am willing to increase the thickness to around 10 mm if that gives us enough internal volume to make the project realistic and a completely flat back !

The important point is that I would like to keep:

• the 13 mini external dimensions and ergonomics;
• the 5.4" OLED display;
• the original front/TrueDepth assembly if possible;
• Face ID if possible;
• MagSafe;
• the general button and speaker arrangement.

I would like to modernize:

• SoC / processing platform;
• RAM and storage;
• modem / cellular connectivity, if feasible
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth;
• USB-C;
• battery;
• cameras, if feasible.

The extra thickness would allow the camera modules to be integrated into the body rather than using the large camera bump found on recent iPhones.

I initially considered several generations, but the iPhone 16e currently looks particularly interesting to me because of its modern architecture and A18/C1 platform.

However, I don't want to assume that the 16e is actually the best donor.

An iPhone 15, 16e, or another generation might be much more practical if its hardware is easier to integrate into the 13 mini.

If the objective is:

maximum performance and longevity within the physical volume of an iPhone 13 mini,

which generation would you investigate first?

iPhone 15? 16e? Another model?

And why?

Could the original 13 mini OLED and touchscreen potentially be driven by a newer logic board?

If not directly, is a custom interposer/flex PCB technically realistic?

Or is the display interface effectively a hard stop?

My preference would be to keep the original 13 mini TrueDepth module.

How tightly coupled is the TrueDepth assembly to the original logic board in practice?

Is there any realistic way to make a newer logic board work with the 13 mini TrueDepth system?

I am not proposing to immediately remove the A18 or other BGA components from the board.

My preferred approach would be to keep Apple's critical circuitry intact wherever possible and use custom flex/interposer boards and mechanical adaptations to rearrange the surrounding components.

The extra 2–2.5 mm of thickness would give us considerably more freedom.

Is this a reasonable approach, or am I fundamentally misunderstanding how these boards need to be laid out?

I want to be very transparent about this:

I am a micro mechanical engineer and I am comfortable with mechanical design, measurements, CAD, prototyping and experimental work.

However, I am not an electronics/RF engineer and I have very limited experience with iPhone logic-board repair or microsoldering.

So I am not looking for someone to simply tell me “this is impossible”.

I would really appreciate someone experienced telling me:

“This part is impossible, this part is difficult but achievable, and this is the architecture I would try first.”

I am perfectly happy to start with a sacrificial 13 mini and a damaged donor phone and work progressively from a proof of concept.

Any advice from experienced Apple board-repair technicians, microsoldering specialists or electronics engineers would be extremely valuable.

Thanks!