iPhone 13 mini “Downgraded” from 14 Pro to 13 Mini and could not be happier!

[one more]

The market for a compact phone was there and I don’t believe it disappeared — I believe it shifted to larger phones in response to Apple’s shift to offering larger phones.

This is the bit I am not sure about, as I believe that Apple just had to follow global smartphone market trends (read Android phones), rather than setting a trend themselves. The current Android/iOS market split globally is 70/28%, respectively, so Apple have no choice but to keep an eye on it.

My uninformed guess is that making bigger phones is less technologically difficult and probably also less expensive, which allowed Android phone makers of all sizes to flood the smartphone market with 6”+ devices, all at a very reasonable price, pleasing lots of customers.

So could Apple keep or bring a new small iPhone to the market? Sure, as they have both the know-how and money. Would they want to, however, considering minis underwhelming success? This is a trickier question for me to answer, so I will be ebthusiastically awaiting Apple’s next move in September.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I recently visited someone who still uses a 1st gen SE. After commenting on how tiny it seems compared to how big phones have gotten, she held it in her hand, and swept her thumb across it from left to right and from top to bottom, and going as far as she could, made a rectangle pretty much exactly the size of the display. I am now using one as well. Smaller is nice.

I’d consider a newer mini, but not without a headphone jack.

 

[Populus]

Honestly @ThunderSkunk I don’t think I would be able to go back to 4”. The 4.5” of my iPhone 8 felt a tad big back when I purchased it, but now it feels right. So right, that when I used an iPhone 13 mini I actually noticed it being slightly narrower, and I didn’t like that.

That’s why I’m ready to give the 6.1” size a chance, and try it during the next Christmas to see if I can adjust to it.

I was willing to get an iPhone 15 Pro because it is going to be one millimeter smaller both in width and height, but after knowing the rumored specifications of the A17, I’m not willing to spend 1.300€ on it, so I’ll probably wait and get a discounted iPhone 14 this holidays. And try to adapt.

If I drop it more than usual (I already drop quite a lot my iPhone 8), then I’ll just return it and get an iPhone SE3.

Next year we’ll probably have even bigger phones so I don’t have many hopes in Apple releasing a smaller smartphone.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Rumour has it that the new iPhone 15 will have the same SoC as the 14 which is the same as the 13 Mini. Good news for the latter as its specs will be competative for a couple of more years - thus pushing obsolences further down the horizon.

My uninformed guess is that making bigger phones is less technologically difficult and probably also less expensive, which allowed Android phone makers of all sizes to flood the smartphone market with 6”+ devices, all at a very reasonable price, pleasing lots of customers.

It's economies of scale and the reason why a 55-65 inch TV can be cheaper than a 32 inch one.

Macforum is a bubble and echo chamber of apple diehard with high disposable income. Many people can't afford an expensive laptop, phone and tablet. Therefore a large phone is the best value proposition. They don't have the money to chop and change phone every year if they don't like one.

 

[subjonas]

Yes, the forest green color on the 13 Mini is my favorite iPhone color ever. For someone like me who enjoys nature and plants, it’s just perfect.


That’s right. It’s a breath of fresh air to be able to use this phone one-handed and put it in my shirt pocket and not feel like I’m carrying something, it just disappears into my pants. A joy to use.

I remember back in the day, I tried a 6S Plus for a few months. Hated the big size more every day. I finally got rid of it and went back to my 5S. I described going back to the smaller size in the same way—a breath of fresh air.

After the 5S I got an SE1 and held onto that for as long as I could—about 6 years. I‘ve now been on an SE3 for a few months (got it because it’s the smallest iPhone with Touch ID, not because of price), and I still think it’s too big. I’m just a small phone fan, period. I also miss the flat edges of the 5/SE1. I could have used that form factor for the rest of my life.

 

[one more]

Rumour has it that the new iPhone 15 will have the same SoC as the 14 which is the same as the 13 Mini. Good news for the latter as its specs will be competative for a couple of more years - thus pushing obsolences further down the horizon.

Not quite, as standard iPhone 15 should get an A16 SoC, which is currently powering iPhones 14 Pro, while 13 mini is using an A15.

iPhone 15: Should You Buy? Advice, Features, Ordering

The 2023 iPhone 15 models feature USB-C instead of Lightning, faster A16 chip, the Dynamic Island instead of a notch in the display, upgraded camera...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Populus]

Rumour has it that the new iPhone 15 will have the same SoC as the 14 which is the same as the 13 Mini. Good news for the latter as its specs will be competative for a couple of more years - thus pushing obsolences further down the horizon.

Nope. The iPhone 15 is going to come with the iPhone 14 Pro SoC (the A16) which isn’t the same as the iPhone 14 one (A15).

And even tho the A16 is basically an overclocked A15, it’s enough for Apple to justify the cut for support in the future.

EDIT: wow @one more you beat me by one minute!