Apple 'Likely' to Reimburse Samsung for Missing OLED Display Purchase Targets Due to Poor iPhone 12 Mini Sales

[Seanm87]

Apple clearly have staff whose job is to research what people online are saying, and the general feedback on their products. That will be on social media platforms and yes forums like these. Don't get me wrong the vast majority of stuff on here they won't pay much attention to but if it is getting a lot of attention like pages and pages worth of stuff I'm sure they make a note of it. Doesn't mean they'll do anything if they don't consider it an issue but I don't think for a second they are completely oblivious to what people are saying online about them and their products.

Anyone that's worked for a big company before knows these market research teams exist.

 

[kironin]

I would like a more compact phone but my XS is working just fine and there is no valid reason to get a new phone at the moment.

 

[Septercius]

I would have bought a mini to replace my 1st generation SE, but I don't need to as I work from home now and barely use my phone. I can't help but think that using sales figures during a worldwide pandemic to decide whether or not a product is worth making or not is a bit pointless.

 

[Michael Scrip]

They priced that thing wrongly. Plain and simple. Battery weak, price too steep.

Tiny body... tiny battery. It's science!

People claim to want smaller phones... but hardly anyone buys them when they are available.

And those who do buy them... they get upset when the battery life is terrible.

What to do...

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Dormammu]

queue all the folks getting defensive about their iPhone mini purchase lol

 

[ilikewhey]

You are so out of left field on anything I have said. I never mentioned anything a specific issue getting completely ignored by Apple when brought up over multiple social media platforms. Dave2D is a big YouTuber and he's a single person. It's easier for big companies like Apple to focus on what he is saying. You're also ignoring the fact that Apple does have to reference on how often the same issue gets reported to their Genius Bar for repair. I also said forums are bombarded with whiners with personal wants rather than major issues. Forums are also bombarded with Apple trashing. Think about it, would you running a major corporation pay full attention to a forum that constantly bash your company out of pure hate? It's difficult to syphon through any real concerns people have.

One great example, the Touch Bar. I happen to love it. I use mine all the time because I do a great deal of video and photo editing and my pallets and scrub bar are all in the Touch Bar freeing up valuable screen real estate. If Apple paid attention to the small group on this forum who tries extremely hard to hate on the Touch Bar and drown out the people who like it in order to get Apple to remove it then I may be screwed over on something really useful. I would argue there are a great deal more people who love and use the Touch Bar than the vocal minority on forums trashing it.

This is exactly why Apple uses market research to get a more accurate count.

Lastly did it ever occur to you that Apple's own employees and executives use Macs? Did it occur to you that their own staff also reports issues? Do you think they just sit quietly and tolerate issues? I hope you don't think that. Apple's own employees and executives are also perfect references for issues. They have no agenda. People on forums do.

your opinions are literally everywhere. you go from discrediting forums/twitter/reddit to just forums, and when I want to stick to the original points you were making, you bomboarded it back with some other irrelevant stuff 😂

you call me so out of left field on anything but you bring in touch bar. yeah ok lol. there is no point talking about what apple use or don't use cause neither of us works for apple market research. stop treating your hypothesis as fact.

and what is people's agenda on forums, to complain about stuffs that doesn't work as intended for them? that ain't much of agenda.

 

[Blackstick]

My wife loves her Mini, she's a petite, 5' tall woman with smallish hands... there's a market, it's just not a majority market.

 

[WebJester]

This is the problem with listening to small very vocal groups, not just for Apple but for the world. Twitter/Forums/Reddit are not representative for anything.

It's not just that 'small vocal groups' are not representative, it's that the phone doesn't have a clear 'upsell' path for shops. People selling the phones are encouraging their customers to go big, and I experienced this first hand. If the Mini had a "Pro" version that was expensive, it would have sold a LOT more.

Here is how the conversation went with my Verizon Rep: (I have to use one for work, otherwise I'd just order online!)

Me: "I'd like the iPhone 12 Mini, 256 GB, Space Grey"

Him: "Okay. Cool. Are you sure?"

Me: "Yes"

Him: "But that's the small one, you must be mistaken"

Me: "No, I'd like the iPhone 12 Mini, 256 GB, Space Grey"

Him: "But the bigger ones are better"

Me: "Not if you have small pockets and you like keeping your phone in your pocket."

Him: "But the camera on the Pro one is better...."

Me: "Great the mini camera is enough of an improvement for me... I also have somewhat small hands and hate large screens for one-handed operation."

Him: "But watching movies on the small screen won't be very good"

Me: "If I want to watch a movie, I'll do it on a television or my laptop, the latter of which is always with me when traveling."

Him: "Are you SURE?!"

Me: "Yes. I'd like the iPhone 12 Mini, 256 GB, Space Grey, PLEASE."

Him: "Okay."

 

[Wahlstrm]

I agree. Air sounds a lot better than Mini.

Going back to the origin of Air for Apple it’s clearly something they can use to charge a premium for good design.

MacBook Air was basically a luxury computer when it came out.
The iPad Air has always been a bit nicer than the standard.

iPod Mini, iPad Mini, Mac Mini and HomePod Mini have all been the entry level cheap stuff.

For people who just want a cheap phone there is the SE line or just last years model.

For the rest of us, a more premium iPhone Air would make more sense.

Apple literally have no competition in this space, so I don’t really understand why they decided to make it the entry level.

They could’ve made it the most expensive option with all the bells and whistles and it probably would have sold at least as many units.

 

[aknabi]

I do think the pricing and positioning was flawed (though I would also state that not meeting targets does not equal failure of the product... just the target prediction... numbers could still be good).

I went from the 11 Pro Max which ended up giving me muscle cramps from trying to reach targets, not fitting in my running shorts (and annoyingly bulky during runs)... to a 12 mini which I find blissful and big enough... each time I pick up my 11 Max I thin "what was I thinking buying the monstrosity?" (note what I was thinking is I'd give a phablet a try... for my case the mini is a better choice (though it's very close as the battery life is something that's on your mind all the time again)

 

[Ampidire]

Can't wait for these to flood aftermarket for custom projects.

 

[1258186]

Going back to the origin of Air for Apple it’s clearly something they can use to charge a premium for good design.

MacBook Air was basically a luxury computer when it came out.
The iPad Air has always been a bit nicer than the standard.

iPod Mini, iPad Mini, Mac Mini and HomePod Mini have all been the entry level cheap stuff.

For people who just want a cheap phone there is the SE line or just last years model.

For the rest of us, a more premium iPhone Air would make more sense.

Apple literally have no competition in this space, so I don’t really understand why they decided to make it the entry level.

They could’ve made it the most expensive option with all the bells and whistles and it probably would have sold at least as many units.

I would have given all iPhone 12 models the same spec and price them by screen size. The iPhone 11 and SE meet the demand for a cheaper iPhone.

 

[Lemon Olive]

Everyone thinks that Apple is mad the iPhone mini isn’t selling well.

That means people are paying the $100 price bump to get the 6.1” iPhone 12

I think they’ll keep it around.

No, it means the crowd that whines about small phones being most important just goes and purchases the iPhone SE instead because what really matters to this crowd is price. They whine because they want the best for the least amount of money.

Well Apple gave them the "best" possible in a small form factor, and it happens to cost $729, so it's a flop, because it is $200 more than any of these people would ever be willing to pay.

 

[Wanted797]

No, it means the crowd that whines about small phones being most important just goes and purchases the iPhone SE instead because what really matters to this crowd is price. They whine because they want the best for the least amount of money.

Well Apple gave them the "best" possible in a small form factor, and it happens to cost $729, so it's a flop, because it is $200 more than any of these people would ever be willing to pay.

Yeah the first SE dominated before of size and price. I keep saying the 12 mini is going to sell well once the next phones come out.

Most “se” users also don’t upgrade until their device dies.

 

[MacBH928]

This is the problem with listening to small very vocal groups, not just for Apple but for the world. Twitter/Forums/Reddit are not representative for anything.

Apple listened to no body. People asked for a smaller form factor, they released a 5.4 "Mini". This is not "mini" or smaller form factor, this screen is LARGER than iphone 7 which is 4.7. In 2010/11 this size is considered phablet!

Guess what? the 4.7 SE phones are being sold since 2016, 5 years later they get updated and still on the Apple iphone lineup! No news of low sales on that lineup! It also does not have a chipped screen, is cheaper in price, and has TouchID!!

Apple made a phone nobody asked for!

 

[v386]

They priced that thing wrongly. Plain and simple. Battery weak, price too steep.

The battery is crazy strong for the size, it’s the idiots falsely claiming its weak that are a problem. I only need battery to last a day, one that lasts three or four days is just extra weight to carry around.

 

[Zorori]

The battery is crazy strong for the size, it’s the idiots falsely claiming its weak that are a problem. I only need battery to last a day, one that lasts three or four days is just extra weight to carry around.

Reminds me of a guy I used to sit next to at work. I had my tiny SE and he would berate me and show off how his huge LG phablet had much better battery life, had a spare battery in his bag, and multi-day battery life when using the battery case that was always attached.

The stupid part was, he also brought a charger in and left his phone charging all day at his desk. So all that battery and weight for what? His commute to work and half an hour at lunch?

 

[crevalic]

I would have bought a mini to replace my 1st generation SE, but I don't need to as I work from home now and barely use my phone. I can't help but think that using sales figures during a worldwide pandemic to decide whether or not a product is worth making or not is a bit pointless.

Sorry, but this is a great example of why the Mini might be a failure. You are simply not a very profitable customer and Apple would be wrong if they paid any attention to your preferences. The real money is made on people automatically getting the latest and the greatest, buying the new Pro or, even better, Pro Max, every year or at the minimum every 2 years without any regard for the price. Even better if they throw in the Care+ every time, or just subscribe to the IPP and commit to giving Apple money monthly indefinitely. Now consider that people like that probably also spend more on Apple services and many subscriptions available now.

The investment to make Mini happen must have been significant, since it required R&D and new production lines and processes that only apply to this single model. Because Mini is significantly cheaper than other models, even if it sold well, but was mainly bought by people who would otherwise buy any other model except SE, Apple would effectively be losing money every sale. So the thinking must've been that there is a very large untapped market for a smaller phone (as internet would make you think), much of it not yet using an iPhone or being prepared to be upsold from the SE. On another hand iPhone SE makes some sense, because it, at effectively no R&D cost, extracts some profit from people who would otherwise bring in next to none, either by 1) serving as an entry to Apple's ecosystem for people who were on other platforms before or by 2) trapping previously not profitable used/old iPhone users in a new, slower SE upgrade cycle.

You can blame the pandemic and people not going out as much for "tolerating" larger phones, but just as many got used to consuming way more content of all sorts on those larger screens and I assure you that a majority will not want to downgrade their experience just because the are reminded the phone is a bit harder to carry around when they go out again.

 

[-DMN-]

The 256GB Mini is $1,200 in the UK, but just $879 in the US. Quite a difference.

IMPORT TAX

 

[DeepIn2U]

cool cash

And many people say that Apple cant play nice with others lol.

What I find odd is this part of the article ...

Apple reportedly paid Samsung an estimated $683 million in 2019 and approximately $950 million in 2020 for similarly below-par OLED panel orders.

So a $267 million dollar increase in 1 year is 'below-par' ?? Riiight. All these articles keep stating 12 mini sales - YET the orders are in strong demand and 2020-2021 is THE super-cycle that has been sought about since the iPhone 6 timeframe. No other year has Apple sold as many phones. Sure having THE largest mix of models and varying price ranges (retail and especially carrier price cuts for contract entry helps majorly but still).

This is the problem with listening to small very vocal groups, not just for Apple but for the world. Twitter/Forums/Reddit are not representative for anything.

As we say in the Caribbean 'top ya noize ma'an w'hear'nuff of dis aready!'

It's selling - without major marketing from Apple at all since launch (web on their site or anywhere else), print or video and without ANY price cuts thus far in a pandemic where global travel is extremely limited since 3.2020 - AND with the largest spread of phone models by Apple and price mix they've ever had.

So yeah with the iPhone 8 and SE 2 pricing and deals associated with various carriers across the globe the 12 mini has an uphill battler without even marketing from Apple or their partners.

Yet it's still selling quite well - considering major advertising the previous year and deals of the 8 (3yrs now) and the SE2 almost a full year ahead of, and it fullfilled MOST of the small phone pent up demand for 3yrs prior.

 

[zaranoff]

It's ridiculous that some people in this thread seem to have a kind of vendetta against the mini. Like being genuinely happy that it isn't selling as much as maybe projected. "Hahaha there you go", like what kind of reaction is that to a phone size?

I am happy that Apple offers different sizes so people can choose the one that fits best. Personally I returned my mini because it was too mini for my taste. But that does not discredit the fact that the mini is a fantastic little device and has it's place in the lineup.

Now the timing of the SE and pricing of the mini was a bit unfortunate.

 

[Phone Junky]

The 256GB Mini is $1,200 in the UK, but just $879 in the US. Quite a difference.

So what’s the price comparison of the iPhone 12/Pro/Max UK to US?

 

[qoop]

So what’s the price comparison of the iPhone 12/Pro/Max UK to US?

The 12 Pro Max 512GB is $2,000 in the UK.

 

[Phone Junky]

The 12 Pro Max 512GB is $2,000 in the UK.

So the Mini's price in the UK is 1.365 times the US price while the Pro Max's price in the UK is 1.429 times the US price. This makes the Mini less of a markup than the Pro Max. Thanks for the price.

Whenever there is talk about the Mini in these threads, someone will give the price in a country other than the US and talk about how over-priced it is. They always fail to mention the prices of any other iPhones to give a comparison.

 

[WLSON]

It's all my fault! I was planning to buy a 12 mini, but my 1st gen iPhone SE is still working like a charm.

Maybe I'll go for iPhone 13 mini, if it has a minijack for my earphones.

I know, I know, it's time to switch to lightning earphones or those fancy "blue tooth" thingies, but I won't be able to use them with my old iPod.

So maybe it's Apple's fault for making indestructible devices.

Mine too! Still hanging onto the 5S. I want a small phone but no under screen fingerprint reader, no buy.

Hopefully the mini 13 is the one.