iPhone 13 mini iPhone 12 & 13 mini prices holding strong - why?

[Dilby]

Hi all - With the announcement of the iPhone 14 I was holding off buying either a 12 or 13 mini for my wife so they would be discounted. This has been my normal cycle of buying phones, yet this year there still has been no reduction in the UK. Does anyone know if theres a reason why price reductions would be so slow to come through, especially during a huge cost of living crisis?

Thanks!

 

[ericg301]

here in the US, price of the 13 mini has been reduced $100. the 12 has been and should have been discontinued. (13 mini is superior to the 12).

and let's be honest, private companies who's singular goal is to make more profits this quarter than the last don't change how they operate due to a cost of living crisis.

 

[webkit]

Hi all - With the announcement of the iPhone 14 I was holding off buying either a 12 or 13 mini for my wife so they would be discounted. This has been my normal cycle of buying phones, yet this year there still has been no reduction in the UK. Does anyone know if theres a reason why price reductions would be so slow to come through, especially during a huge cost of living crisis?

Part of the issue is the USD / £ exchange rate.

The 128GB 13 mini is currently priced at £540 (before VAT) which is around $611 USD.
A year ago, the 128GB iPhone 13 mini was £565 (before VAT) which was around $774 USD at the time.

The price of the 128GB 13 mini in the UK was reduced $163 USD which is actually greater than the $100 USD reduction seen in the U.S.

 

[snipr125]

At the moment the only discounts we have with the 13 mini is the measly £30 price drop to £649 with Apple themselves, and also Amazon (along with Currys) who have maintained their £629 price for the last few months. I too was hoping for larger discounts myself so i can snag a 13 mini in Midnight. I guess the fact that the 13 mini has the same processor as the regular 14 means that it maintains its value somewhat.

 

[webkit]

I guess the fact that the 13 mini has the same processor as the regular 14 means that it maintains its value somewhat.

Regardless of similarities (or not) among various model generations, Apple has been pretty consistent in recent years about how they price year old and two year old models in the U.S. The year old model gets a $100 reduction and the two year old model gets a second $100 ($200 total) reduction.

Where things vary is outside the U.S. and a lot of that can be due to currency fluctuations. As I posted above, the 13 mini price reduction (in USD) this year was actually greater in the UK than in the U.S. It may not be as much as usual in £ but that's likely due mostly to the exchange rate.

 

[arkitect]

It's because they are wonderful little phones well worth their price.

I think they are far more popular than sites like MacRumours would have us believe. So no need for a fire sale on them.

If you are in the market, then buy one now.

🙂

Edit:
Love my Green 13 Mini… probably get a Red one as a backup later this year.

 

[aurora_sect]

I think they are far more popular than sites like MacRumours would have us believe.

I think if they sold really well there would be a 14 Mini.

 

[arkitect]

I think if they sold really well there would be a 14 Mini.

I think not… It is just that Apple's long term plan is based on massive phones. Easier to get "Pro" features into a large chassis… and "Pro" features sell.

No idea why, but there it is.

 

[snipr125]

I think if they sold really well there would be a 14 Mini.

Apple have made no statement at all why they never made a 14 Mini, but i suspect that they knew they were going to keep the A15 in the normal 14 (albeit the 5 core GPU version). They likely deemed the 13 Mini sufficient as it was with the normal A15 due to the smaller battery and thermal constraints, and keep it in the line up as their small phone A15 device. Makes complete sense to me.

 

[Strider64]

I like my 13 Mini and plan to keep in awhile and I bet Apple has that same philosophy to the phone. It's harder to cram in new features in a smaller product and still keep it profitable, so if the 13 mini will satisfy many for years to come why put all the research & money into something that isn't going to make them a good profit margin?

 

[aurora_sect]

Apple have made no statement at all why they never made a 14 Mini, but i suspect that they knew they were going to keep the A15 in the normal 14 (albeit the 5 core GPU version). They likely deemed the 13 Mini sufficient as it was with the normal A15 due to the smaller battery and thermal constraints, and keep it in the line up as their small phone A15 device. Makes complete sense to me.

I think that makes sense, though it seems like a lot of prospective buyers might be turned off my the 13 Mini not being a new model. Half the people here seem to feel it's essential to have one of the newest models and polling seems to indicate that the Pro Max models are the most popular.

I would like a smaller phone, ceteris paribus, but I don't want to sacrifice the battery life and camera performance, so I ordered a 14 Pro to replace my XS.

 

[webkit]

I think they are far more popular than sites like MacRumours would have us believe.

Below are the top 10 best-selling smartphones in 2021 according to Counterpoint. Despite their low prices (compared to most other iPhone models listed), the 12 mini and 13 mini didn't make the list.

 

[Dilby]

Thanks all. I really can't wait much longer so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go for it- knowing my luck they'll be discounted the day after purchasing, but with no solid indicators that's the risk I'll have to take. They seem like great phones and personally I'd prefer having a smaller phone in my pocket. I was suprised they aren't keeping the smaller form because to me it's a greater difference between that and say an ipad and makes a better case to have a range of devices, but I'm sure they have some long term plan. For now, getting a 13 mini and enjoying that size for as long as I can makes sense to me.

 

[DeepIn2U]

here in the US, price of the 13 mini has been reduced $100. the 12 has been and should have been discontinued. (13 mini is superior to the 12).

The 12 mini was discontinued from production. Refurbished are all warranty repaired devices.

Apple Kills iPhone 12 Mini Production Due to Poor Sales

Apple has reportedly ended production of the iPhone 12 mini after months of lackluster sales, according to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce. ...

www.macrumors.com

Below are the top 10 best-selling smartphones in 2021 according to Counterpoint. Despite their low prices (compared to most other iPhone models listed), the 12 mini and 13 mini didn't make the list.

View attachment 2074925

Depends on the date:

January 20TH production was shifted by Apple to the regular 12 series (from the 12 mini)

Apple Shifting Some Production From iPhone 12 mini to iPhone 12 Pro to Meet Demand

Apple has reportedly cut production of the iPhone 12 mini by two million units to create more manufacturing capacity for the iPhone 12 Pro, according...

www.macrumors.com

January 22ND rumors suggested production of the 12 mini was being cut.

Reports of Lackluster iPhone 12 Mini Sales Corroborated By Supply Chain Sources

Recent reports of Apple cutting iPhone 12 mini production to increase manufacturing capacity for the more popular iPhone 12 Pro were corroborated on...

www.macrumors.com

(shout out to those with a 12 mini 256GB on AC+ soon none will be available for a timely full device warranty claim, I smell 13 mini bump up occurring - this is imho possible to happen, not fact).

By that time ...

the ‌‌‌iPhone 12 mini‌‌‌ suffered from lackluster sales, capturing just six percent of the total ‌‌‌‌iPhone 12‌‌‌‌ sales during the launch period, despite broad satisfaction reported by owners of the smaller device. The ‌iPhone 12 mini‌ also failed to obtain a spot in the top five list of best-selling smartphones earlier this year.

iPhone 12 Mini Missing From Top 5 Best Selling Smartphone List of January 2021

According to market data compiled by Counterpoint Research, Apple's smallest iPhone since the 2016 iPhone SE, the iPhone 12 mini, struggled to...

www.macrumors.com

April 19th, 2022:

iPhone 12 Mini Missing From Top 5 Best Selling Smartphone List of January 2021

According to market data compiled by Counterpoint Research, Apple's smallest iPhone since the 2016 iPhone SE, the iPhone 12 mini, struggled to...

www.macrumors.com

the 12 mini reached #8.

SO again it depends on the time of the year. Your picture has no source and no date specifically except for Dec 2021 at the bottom. Seems like both our sources are from the same analytical company, as a guess but without a source link to verify I'm uncertain.


IHMO, a new mini same size, 4-6GB RAM, with same 128/256/512GB storage options and an A15+/A16 chip with various colour options + FaceID pill for Dynamic Island would seriously ROCK!

 

[snipr125]

Interestingly on Amazon UK, the Starlight 128 GB iPhone 13 Mini has gone UP in price to £679 (£649 is the RRP). They seemed to have completely run out of stock for the Midnight colour also, and this applies to most third part retailers, which is annoying as i am trying to get the base model in Midnight on discount but the prices are holding well.