iPhone 12 Mini Faces Production Cut Due to 'Far Lower' Demand Than Expected

[one more]

Have been using a mini for two months now and still like it a lot - great size and weight and very quick to charge up when needed. 🖐

I think that minis might not be selling as well as other models for several reasons:

1) People think “bigger is better”, after years of conditioning by other phone makers and Apple themselves. And for people using their phones for almost everything this might well be true.

2) The price could be lower, as others have mentioned. With both XR (why?) and 11 still being sold by Apple at a lower price than mini, people might not want to pay “more for less”, see 1).

3) iPhone SE 2020 offers a similar physical size and people may not care enough about mini/SE tech differences to justify paying more.

4) Staggered iPhone launch this year, with early upgraders going for 12 and 12 Pro.

5) The whole current iPhone lineup is too big (7 different models!), so there will inevitably be more and less popular ones.

So it will be a pity for me if this iPhone size will disappear in 2022, but I can happily handle anything up to 5.8”. 🖐

 

[_Spinn_]

Wow this is not great news for the mini. Hopefully future models sell better in a non-pandemic year.

 

[ian87w]

If the price was right, this could be the top seller, but no. They just wanted more and got much less. Take that Apple

Apple don't seem to mind, with their record breaking quarters.

 

[ian87w]

Wow this is not great news for the mini. Hopefully future models sell better in a non-pandemic year.

Apple surely will keep the mini, as to keep the main iPhone at $799. They would only remove the mini once their margin on the regular iPhone is acceptable at $699.

 

[fhall1]

If the mini had the Pro camera I would have bought one...as it is I didn’t buy anything and I’m waiting to see what ships this year.

 

[recoil80]

It’s kinda weird having the XR and 11 being cheaper that the 12 mini. Not many people will be stoked to pay more for a much smaller phone. I did it and have no regrets though. I’d imagine that price is a big reason why more people didn’t go for the mini.

I think so.
The original SE was successful because it was smaller AND cheaper.
There is a market for a smaller phone, but it is a niche market. I'm glad they made the 12 Mini and I love my iPad Mini, but even that product serves a niche.
They may share a similar fate, and get updated every 2-3 years.
I'm not sure they'll sell a 12s or 13 Mini, and if they do I don't see them selling two Mini phones, so either they'll keep the 12 at a lower price or make a 12s Mini and get rid of the 12 Mini next fall.

 

[Acronyc]

I bought one for my wife for her birthday to replace her 7 and she loves it. She doesn't like the larger phones and even the 7 was a bit too big for her. The 12 mini is a bit smaller and has everything the regular 12 has, besides the really long battery life. She hasn't had a problem with the battery, though, as her 7 was needing a replacement and could barely last half a day.

I think the 12 mini is such a great size and if I didn't already have an 11 that doesn't need replacing, I probably would get a 12 mini for myself instead of the regular 12. It is much easier to handle and use.

 

[cgs1xx]

we want bigger screens!
🤷🏻

bring on the 8inch iPhone!

 

[Smartass]

It’s kinda weird having the XR and 11 being cheaper that the 12 mini. Not many people will be stoked to pay more for a much smaller phone. I did it and have no regrets though. I’d imagine that price is a big reason why more people didn’t go for the mini.

You people need to realize that smaller size =/= lower price. Mini is far more advanced than 11 and XR. It has iPhone 12's internals in far smaller case. And pricing it 100$ less than iphone 12 is a great deal for a great phone.

 

[xbjllb]

Translation: They were surprised that more people went for the bigger ones. It's the camera + lidar. Many people's first iPhone was the 12 Pro Max because the camera warranted it.

 

[Smartass]

If price is a concern, why then a more expensive iPhone 12 is selling more? Imo it's simple, majority of people just don't find smaller screen phones attractive anymore, especially in the era of WFH and lockdown where for many, their phone is their main source of computing and entertainment.

A lot of people also dont even know about the mini.

 

[Quackington]

I wonder if they'll keep thte 12 Mini on the market after the new phones launch this year, but give it a cheaper price. Though I suspect that'd clash the with the SE.

 

[and 1989 others]

Too expensive, and drowned out with all the other variations of the 12s.
If it was competing with the iphone 12 only and was £499. It would have sold.

 

[MrCrowbar]

I think it also plays a roll that the mini came out way later than the regular 12. So the hype already dropped off a lot by the time you were able to order the 12 mini.

The 12 mini is literally an iPhone 12 with more compact dimensions and smaller battery. Can't really say if the battery life is sufficient for a "normal" day since there hasn't been normal days since I got the phone. But with 5G off and only the notifications and location services activated that I want, battery is adequate for me.

My biggest battery drain is exposure notifications. 😄

 

[Velli]

It’s kinda weird having the XR and 11 being cheaper that the 12 mini. Not many people will be stoked to pay more for a much smaller phone. I did it and have no regrets though. I’d imagine that price is a big reason why more people didn’t go for the mini.

I think it is designed to eventually become the low-end option. For every year, the old models get pushed down a notch, and I think Apple need to consider this, not all high-end features will become enough cheaper over time to manufacture (3D touch for instance). This I suspect is also the reason for splitting up between normal and Pro - then this years normal is next years discount, and Pro only ever exists as the current model. Old Pro features, such as we see with Oled, will eventually trickle down to cheaper models, but this way Apple can control in more detail when it happens. Very clever actually.

 

[Td1970]

There's no such thing as "too much battery". Back in the old days a Nokia would last you a week over a single charge. When it degrades, it's down to 2-3 days and it's still good, when it breaks down completely it's down to a full day and it's still tolerable.

Now when that Mini degrades completely, you'd need 2 maybe 3 full charge in a single day while the Pro Max could've still withstand a full day. That's not bean counting. I don't want to recharge too often because it breaks the battery even faster.

Holy moly why would you yelling at people for wanting MOOOAARRR BATTERY LIFE?

It’s called validating your purchase.

 

[Velli]

Expensive and no jack.

No Jill either.

 

[Mimiron]

Not unexpected. It’s too expensive for what it is, and the battery life is pretty bad compared to the 12.

 

[ian87w]

A lot of people also dont even know about the mini.

Considering that it's right there side by side with the iPhone 12, and it's beside the iPhone 12 on any Apple demo table on stores, I doubt lack of awareness is an issue.

iPhone mini has smaller screen, and majority of people wants larger screen. Plain and simple.

 

[ian87w]

Not unexpected. It’s too expensive for what it is, and the battery life is pretty bad compared to the 12.

Do explain why it is too expensive considering that it has the same hardware features as the more expensive iPhone 12, and it is $100 cheaper.

 

[ian87w]

Too expensive, and drowned out with all the other variations of the 12s.
If it was competing with the iphone 12 only and was £499. It would have sold.

Why should a phone with the same hardware features as the iPhone 12 be priced the same as a two-year-old iPhone XR?
So you're saying that people prefers cheaper iPhone? Then why the iPhone 12 is selling more, the fact that it's actually more expensive than the 12 mini?

 

[ian87w]

Have been using a mini for two months now and still like it a lot - great size and weight and very quick to charge up when needed. 🖐

I think that minis might not be selling as well as other models for several reasons:

1) People think “bigger is better”, after years of conditioning by other phone makers and Apple themselves. And for people using their phones for almost everything this might well be true.

2) The price could be lower, as others have mentioned. With both XR (why?) and 11 still being sold by Apple at a lower price than mini, people might not want to pay “more for less”, see 1).

3) iPhone SE 2020 offers a similar physical size and people may not care enough about mini/SE tech differences to justify paying more.

4) Staggered iPhone launch this year, with early upgraders going for 12 and 12 Pro.

5) The whole current iPhone lineup is too big (7 different models!), so there will inevitably be more and less popular ones.

So it will be a pity for me if this iPhone size will disappear in 2014, but I can happily handle anything up to 5.8”. 🖐

1. Bigger IS better. Consider people who use mainly their iPhones for everything from productivity to entertainment. And larger means better battery life. Cannot cheat physics.

2. How can Apple make the iPhone 12 mini cheaper when it has the exact same hardware features as the iPhone 12, which is more expensive?

3. iPhone SE is after a different segment. A person interested in a $399 iPhone won't be confused with a $699 iPhone.

4. Agree, this might be part of the reason if we look at sales in those early launch days, although it still doesn't explain the situation now, when both models are available. Maybe, just maybe, people simply prefers larger sized phones.

5. Kinda agree. This is actually better than a few years back where they had the original SE, 6s, 6s+, 7, 7+, 8, 8+, and X. I mean talk about confusion, 8 different models, with varying sizes in between. Now the lower lineup has been streamlined into single size models with the 2020 SE, XR, and 11.

I'm sure Apple will keep the mini, as it has successfully increased the ASP without the consumers noticing.

 

[TechLord]

The mini never stood a chance.

People who want a small budget phone will go for the SE.

People who want the lowest price Iphone with a modern design will go for the XR/11.

People who want the newest iPhone with 5g all the bells and whistles will go for the 12 since it’s the “default new phone” and they’re likely used to 6+ inch phones by now.

So essentially what are you left with?
You’re left with the small but premium demographic which the mini caters for. Clearly a very small number of people.
But even this demographic isn’t secure, since you’ll have some who can’t give up their telephoto and stainless steel and will go for the 12 pro. Essentially the mini is in no mans land, without an identity or clear target audience. I’m inclined to believe apple would have been better off fully aiming for this “small premium” demographic and just making a mini pro with small production numbers.

 

[Abazigal]

I wonder if they'll keep thte 12 Mini on the market after the new phones launch this year, but give it a cheaper price. Though I suspect that'd clash the with the SE.

It will probably become the next SE in another couple of years.

 

[ian87w]

Translation: They were surprised that more people went for the bigger ones. It's the camera + lidar. Many people's first iPhone was the 12 Pro Max because the camera warranted it.

I don't think Apple is surprised. Tim Cook is happy with their record breaking quarters.