I eventually had to get this thing because my old Samsung, after some years of compatibility, was suddenly no longer able to connect with my daughter's iPhone: she could text me, but could not receive texts from my Samsung. Capitalism at its most cynical, no doubt.
Anyway, after some time, lots of trouble (continuing) getting iPhone stuff to download seamlessly to my Windows 10 desktop and then into the exact folder I want it to enter, I reached the point where I became rather fond of the little unit. That surprised me. The secret, if there is one, is to forget what one thought film or even dslr photography was all about, and start anew with an open mind. That's a liberating experience.
I have discovered that though, for a period, I wanted a camera to replace my mirror-frozen and irreparable D700, that's no longer the case: my still working D200 has sat in its space doing nothing for many months, mainly because eye problems prevented me being able to focus with the right eye. I tried using the left eye, but it has no photographic sense at all. Eventually, I thought to use the iPhone instead. Initially, it left me confused, confused because it seemed to me that the cellphone lens that passes off as a "normal" does not give the same feeling as does an equivalent, far from normal, (28mm?) lens on 135 format cameras. That said, I was to discover that so much imagery really does seem to work very well with that lens in a cellphone context. I seldom employ the super-wide, whatever that is in 135 format terms. As I suggested: start iPhone photography from scratch.
In a nutshell, I no longer have any inclination to used my surviving Nikon - possibly because I don't now have subjects (human) that merit it - and as I no longer intend to print anything again (boxes of dead Hahnemuehle prints inspired that thought), a waste of time and money to be sure, the iPhone is enough to keep the mind active, and an interest in images alive too. Good enough for me. Improvements? Yes; today, I would not have bought the Mini. I would have splashed out and bought a larger iPhone, even if that meant having to buy a new, larger bumbag in which to carry my wallet, cellphone, specs and shopping list.
I started to take it seriously some months ago.