iPhone 13 mini iPhone 12/13 mini sales must have been extremely, extremely poor

[dan98]

People who just pick up their phone to do something useful with it, then put it away again afterwards are in a minority.

The majority spend every free moment of their day gawping into their phones, 'consuming' highly addictive garbage and doom-scrolling sponsored media. This is where the money is for Apple and they're pushing it hard, to the point where fanbois are convinced nobody wants anything else any more.

IMO this is mainly why people want clumsy phablets bulging in their pockets, rather than something simply efficient, compact and functional to do all the great things that a modern smartphone can do.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

It was a design that only appealed to people (including me) who valued the small size over other stuff. Those who valued battery life more didn’t get a mini. Those who valued better cameras more didn’t get a mini. Those who valued better screen refresh rates more didn’t get a mini. Even those who valued price didn’t get a mini. And so on…

I love my mini it still rock it today, but it just wasn’t a good mix of features for the price for too many people.

This is really what it was.
My 12 Mini was an excellent phone, but it pretty much went back to the battery life of the iPhone 5.
But I also just think that the majority of regular consumers don’t want small phones. Maybe they would be fine with small phones if the majority of people still had several home computers, but most don’t. They just use their phone as their computer, so the bigger the screen the better.

 

[klasma]

It was a design that only appealed to people (including me) who valued the small size over other stuff. Those who valued battery life more didn’t get a mini. Those who valued better cameras more didn’t get a mini. Those who valued better screen refresh rates more didn’t get a mini. Even those who valued price didn’t get a mini. And so on…

I love my mini it still rock it today, but it just wasn’t a good mix of features for the price for too many people.

In addition, it came half a year after the SE2 was released, which many owners of the SE1 (release four years earlier) had already jumped on as the next small iPhone.

Furthermore, the marketing was bad. From the cutesy naming “mini” (“compact” would have been more serious), to the silly segment in the keynote, and afterwards about zero marketing for it.

 

[Pantelaias]

I think because it has fairly good battery life, and relatively ”good” price to get into the apple system. And Touch ID don’t forget which is fairly popular still.

Edit: have to add, with a very effective and low cost manufacturing Apple still have huge margins/profits from the sales. Probably biggest reason.

13 mini has way better battery

 

[Macdctr]

I put in a SUNWODA 2592 mAh battery and successfully did the Apple Repair diagnostic and configurator to pair the new battery to my 256GB Green 13 mini and currently have 108% battery health. I enjoy using this device and can go all day but I never use my iPhones all day on the battery since I have opportunities to put my devices on a MagSafe charger anytime during the day.

I do love the small compact footprint of the 13 mini.

 

[TheBeverage]

I bought a 12 mini in 2020 to replace my SE, then a 13 mini in 2023 right before Apple discontinued it, knowing it’d be the last of the line. It’s still trucking along, though I feel the limitations of the 4GB of RAM (reloads) and smaller battery more keenly these days. I still rarely run out of power during a given day, even with multiple hours of calls. Just have to be a bit more cognisant of the battery than would be ideal. It’s almost a positive in that it doesn’t allow me to endlessly doomscroll even if I wanted to.

 

[RoadWarrior56]

As of yesterday, I replaced my long-beloved 256GB iPhone 13 Mini with an iPhone 17e. I had previously looked at the iPhone 17 Air and actually really liked it, but I think it is overpriced for what it is and what it does. I mainly only use the single camera, and I don't really care about promotion, and I really liked the overally iPhone 13 design, including the notch.

I bought the new phone unlocked (I had my reasons) and the retail price of $599 made that feasible. I traded my 13 Mini and got $145 for it from Apple, which covered nearly a quarter of the purchase price. I have already gotten used to the larger size and am happy with my purchase. I will always miss the 13 Mini, which was the best iPhone I had owned to date, and kept it since its 2021 launch date. But for anybody who comes to the time to replace the Mini, the 17e is the most cost-effective replacement, unless you want or need the added features on the regular or pro line. Also, keep in mind that the 17e is a much better value than the 16e. You have double the base memory and magsafe, which were musts for me. Finally, with the cost of memory zooming upward (thanks AI!), I thought this was a good year to switch.

 

[BluefinTuna]

As of yesterday, I replaced my long-beloved 256GB iPhone 13 Mini with an iPhone 17e. I had previously looked at the iPhone 17 Air and actually really liked it, but I think it is overpriced for what it is and what it does. I mainly only use the single camera, and I don't really care about promotion, and I really liked the overally iPhone 13 design, including the notch.

I bought the new phone unlocked (I had my reasons) and the retail price of $599 made that feasible. I traded my 13 Mini and got $145 for it from Apple, which covered nearly a quarter of the purchase price. I have already gotten used to the larger size and am happy with my purchase. I will always miss the 13 Mini, which was the best iPhone I had owned to date, and kept it since its 2021 launch date. But for anybody who comes to the time to replace the Mini, the 17e is the most cost-effective replacement, unless you want or need the added features on the regular or pro line. Also, keep in mind that the 17e is a much better value than the 16e. You have double the base memory and magsafe, which were musts for me. Finally, with the cost of memory zooming upward (thanks AI!), I thought this was a good year to switch.

I replaced my product red iPhone 13 mini with a black iPhone 17e on May 24th. Had the mini for 4 years. The 17e is significantly better and doesn’t weigh that much more. The price is amazing considering the inflation levels much of the world has had. You even get a storage upgrade from 128 GB to 256GB on the base model. I think the 17e will be a no brainer upgrade for many 13 mini owners due to size, weight, and cost.

 

[Lioness~]

I replaced my product red iPhone 13 mini with a black iPhone 17e on May 24th. Had the mini for 4 years. The 17e is significantly better and doesn’t weigh that much more. The price is amazing considering the inflation levels much of the world has had. You even get a storage upgrade from 128 GB to 256GB on the base model. I think the 17e will be a no brainer upgrade for many 13 mini owners due to size, weight, and cost.

I still want a smaller phone, and my 13 mini is just fine, for now.

If the YouTube app takes up to much space again, I just reinstall it every 4-6 month to free up space on my mini. That's the only issue I've had with my mini, otherwise it's great.
Apple's software have become a lot better on it as well - noticed a lot better startup on mine at least.
So I can wait to see what will come during next CEO? Maybe not a mini, but something smaller as a Flip or what can show up beyond the horizon?

 

[robertosh]

I'm still enjoying my 12 with iOS 18, I may just upgrade to a new battery and will keep until it lasts. Unless Apple changes the strategy and makes good software again, this will be my last iPhone.

 

[rwh63]

A duh! That’s why they killed it. Crappy phones, didn’t sell well.

they seem to sell very well as used/refurb devices.