14.6 million in 3 months is hardly a "very small vocal minority". It outsold the 12 Pro, and by a lot.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 12 Mini Faces Production Cut Due to 'Far Lower' Demand Than Expected
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Ok, I'll bite. Whats the right price? Anyone expecting top of the line specs and the newest hardware in a cheap phone is dreaming...If the price was right, this could be the top seller, but no. They just wanted more and got much less. Take that Apple
I'd pay $1000 for an iPhone 12 Mini with the extra camera lens and LIDAR scanner, definitely.
Apple is cutting orders for all iPhones by around 20% compared to its plans in December...
Apple has done this every year since I've been a MacRumors member.
Why doesn't the article title say, "Apple doing it annual order cutting"?
I am not concerned. With more and more states opening up, I think more people will be looking to spend money. I think Apple will release another mini this year. Hopefully, it will be enough of an update to warrant getting the new model.
Mini is overpriced…ok why do you think that is?
They knew it wouldn’t sell as well as the standard 12 variant so they had to account for this. It’s the reverse of volume pricing. Less units sold = higher cost per unit.
They knew it wouldn’t sell as well as the standard 12 variant so they had to account for this. It’s the reverse of volume pricing. Less units sold = higher cost per unit.
the 12 mini’s battery capacity is only 1 hour less than the 12 regular. I think the battery thing is overblown. Those who use their phone so heavily that they run out of charge on a mini would probably run out on an SE or 12, too.
I only rarely end up wit’s less than a 50% charge at the end of the day.
iPhone X was supposed to be a "statement" phone and I feel like a strong, affordable, compact phone can also be that. where it's not purely about the sales but about the options that the device brings to the product category and lineup. having these options pulls people into the Apple ecosystem, where Apple continues to make money money in other ways. IMO small phones are for people who are not phone fanatics. they want to stay off their phones but while they use them they want them to be nice.
No but “mini” implies that it is a small. the body is actually around the same size as the SE/8. The screen is significantly larger, but reviews seem to play up how small it is (perhaps because those reviewers are in the Max club?)
When users see names like “mini” they assume it means really small like a gen 1 SE.
Yes, but then you would end up with a large, heavy phone that doesn’t fit in pockets and offers very little in additional benefits other than more unused battery capacity. Someone in the market for a smaller phone is not necessarily “settling”. Even if the price were the same, I would chose the mini over the max.
Last edited:
To be fair, the iMac in the 90's was anything but "cheap".
Apple's always had premium prices.
Exactly. The mini is a failure purely due to it's crappy small size. In literally every market outside of America, people demand the largest possible screen size. I really don't get why Americans are still stuck in the early 2000s and continue to bother about such tiny screens and all those "portability and pocketability" excuses.
Apple should NOT make another 'SE' ... use the 12 mini later next year as the physical design IF another budget phone is required.
Uh, yes? And how does the SE1 size not “work with the web and apps?” I used mine for browsing/Redditing/normal phone stuff for 5 years with no problems.
Because hand size has remained the same since the early 2000s?
Lol I still use an SE 1 still and I'm a mobile engineer. I have no idea what he's talking about.
Lots of armchair reviewers here trashing the 12 mini, who have probably never even seen or handled it, yet practically all tech websites and tech you tubers just love this phone.
Last edited:
If people want a smaller phone, they might go with the SE 2 over the iPhone 12 mini. SE is less expensive anyway. I can't see why it is still so expensive. 700 dollars is expensive for the 12 mini because it is smaller. Most people prefer bigger devices anyway.
I had the SE 2 before the mini and I still thought it was a little too big. I also didn't like the round edge design, which made it harder to hold without feeling like I was about to drop it.
Apple is interested enough in the niche to have two models. It will cut production of any product at some stage, the one of a niche a bit earlier one would assume.
My wife is happy with hers. She came from an iPhone 8 and wanted a modern iPhone with no home button and the smallest one at that. She’s very satisfied with hers.
The nice problem for Apple is, if you’re not buying that mini you’ll probably buy either the SE or the standard 12. Because many buy what they like when they need it, and most don’t jump ecosystems.
Yeah yeah it’s always the gear, never the photographer, as the saying goes.
And here you are on a site for Apple smartphone enthusiasts although you find them silly.
IMO in the region of around $600, or even below, without contract or trade in. It feels around about $150 too high. If you remove yourself from the iOS vs Android game you've got the 12 mini at basically the same price as an Samsung Galaxy S21 (at full retail - wait a couple of months and as we approach the release of the Note this will drop dramatically) when you account the 64GB vs 128GB storage difference. Within the product line up the SE is almost half the price. It's simply placed wrong.
It comes down to what market you're looking at though. Those that look at the price tag its straight too high and they'll buy the SE. Those for which it is in fact the right thing I think the inability to in store handle it due to COVID has hampered its sales. Don't forget that we're not "out and about" and on the sofa screen size may matter more than it otherwise would. The mini is a great phone which is squeezed into a niche by its price and the product line below it.
For myself if I were to buy an iPhone today it would be the mini. But Apple missed the boat on that for me and I switched to Android as I stopped waiting for exactly this in 2018. Now I feel I wouldn't return to iOS with my primary phone for quite a number of years now… if at all.
FWIW I have always felt the 12 mini form factor will be used for the SE down the road so I can't imagine the 13 mini not being released.