iPhone 13 Mini was as you say. In every way as good as the full size iPhone but small. I hear it was quite an engineering challenge. I love the thing. The people of earth did not buy it.
It was a self-fulfilling prophecy to launch the iPhone mini during Covid, offer it 2 years, and say no one wants them. Especially when the SE proved people have no aversion to a normal sized phone meant for human hands.