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

The phone is just too damn small! lol

They nailed a perfect mini iphone but general use.. it's not that far of a leap to the standard 12 in weight
 
I'm a Samsung user and the Mini was phone that got me even close to thinking about switching back to iOS. I hope they continue the Mini line.
 
MacRumors said:


Apple is cutting orders for all iPhones by around 20% compared to its plans in December, with the iPhone 12 mini making up the majority of the cutback, according to Nikkei Asia. In line with previous reports, the publication claims that demand for the iPhone 12 mini has been "far lower than Apple initially expected."

iphone-12-mini-pro-max-side-by-side.jpg

The report claims that Apple initially aimed to secure components for up to 96 million iPhones for the first half of 2021, including the entire iPhone 12 lineup and older models like the iPhone 11 and the iPhone SE, but the company is apparently now targeting production of around 75 million units during that period. That is still slightly higher than iPhone shipments in the same period last year, the report adds.

iPhone 12 mini demand has been so lackluster that Apple even asked some suppliers to temporarily stop building components specifically for the 5.4-inch device, according to Nikkei Asia. Some of the components and parts for the iPhone 12 mini have been reallocated to the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, a source told the publication.

Apple is still believed to be seeing healthy demand for its three higher-end iPhone 12 models, with strong sales of the devices helping to contribute to Apple's record-breaking $111.4 billion revenue reported in the December quarter.

While demand for the iPhone 12 mini may be lower than Apple initially expected, the company is still expected to release a so-called iPhone 13 mini this year.

Article Link: iPhone 12 Mini Faces Production Cut Due to 'Far Lower' Demand Than Expected
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That's what apple gets for listening to the whiners.
It's just a small group of peeps, the same ones that miss headphone jack.
small but loud group, maybe this will take the wind out of their sail and make them be quiet.
 
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Not surprising, really. They haven't really marketed the mini very well, or at all, really, and when people can't get to physical stores to lay hands on it, they don't see how good it is.

It also occupies a weird middle ground in the lineup, where
  • It's a $300 premium over the SE.
  • It's physically smaller than the SE, but has a bigger screen.
  • People equate the phone being smaller with it being "lesser" in some way.

I think Apple is trying to segment their audience into too many micro-segments, with too many offerings. Drop the SE, lower the price of the 12 mini by $200, and that'll fix the problem.

Remember when Apple kept their product lines simple with "Good, Better, Best" options? Three choices makes it really easy for consumers to choose. Four choices makes the decision-making more complicated.
 
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ScottKinOC said:
Timing blunder on Apple's part. Rolling out the SE2 prior to the 12 mini soaked up at least a few million potential mini buyers (and several hundred million $$$ of foregone revenue). The cheaper, 'small' iPhone SE2 is a relative bargain for those who want a smaller screen / one handed use, but was guaranteed to cannibalize sales from the mini.
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Yeah, my wife got an SE 2. We would have waited if we had known about the Mini.
 
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We went with the SE 2 strictly due to size and price. Not willing to go over $400. Must be comfortably pocketable (original SE). $600 is cray cray for our family, we have macs and ipads so the phones don’t really get used other than away from home communication. And we stay home ALOT.
 
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robinp said:
My wife got one the other day and it’s great. Really a wonderful thing. If I hadn’t needed the Lidar on the Pro for work, I’d probably have gone for it.

I suspect if more people had been able to see them in person more people would have had confidence to try the new size. Hopefully apple stick with it for another year.
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I agree! My girlfriend has it as well and I’m fairly impressed by it. Super slick, super fast and feels very light. You can easily reach the edges of the screen with one hand. I also hope Apple will still produce the Mini for years to come.
 
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4jasontv said:
That’s my point. Get a mini and you can keep it as long as you want and not feel guilty when you upgrade. The pro max is so expensive you can’t just replace it after a year.
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Well I don’t “feel guilty” at all choosing the Pro Max, I know what I’ve signed up for, it’s a hefty phone for sure. But yeah, we can agree on that point. The Mini is somewhat a phone you can buy and forget although I don’t think $699 isn’t an impulsive buy for most people.

But yeah Mini and Max serves two opposite spectrums. For people like me who wants to keep the phone usable for years I’d get the Max. For others who love compact phone and upgrade more frequently, get the Mini.
 
ericwn said:
The market doesn’t come overnight though. The market comes because customers appreciate the entire package , including price, enough to purchase.

Apple offers multiple sizes and a pro line on top as well as slightly older tech in the SE. They have their niches covered. If you didn’t buy an iPhone mini but you were looking to buy an iPhone, you will have bought one of the other offerings for sure.

And the iMac at the time was not a cheap computer either. No Mac ever was. Especially not in the last millennium.
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The iMac G3 was 1299, I saw Dells in the same issue of BusinessWeek ranging from 1699 to 3,200.
 
Seems I always like the 'less than popular' (relatively expensive?) models: Cube --- R2D2 2013 Mac Pro --- iPhone 12 mini
 
All these people in these forum comments bending over backwards to come up with excuses as to why this isn't selling.

It's not the price. It's not because they can't see it in person. It's because the average consumer... which is not you who is reading or commenting on this news... prefers a larger screen. For a lot of people these are their primary devices. They aren't secondary to their shiny MacBook or iPad's. This is it. So they prefer a larger screen.

The vocal minority strikes again... and can't accept the fact that they are just that. The minority.
 
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smulji said:
Wouldn’t be the first time under Tim Cook’s Apple
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Under Steve Jobs' Apple, the boat was missed a few times as well.

Other than the last record breaking quarter, which just shows no company can win 'em all 100% of the time, and other than the meme for airpower, what other times did Apple miss something under Cook.

Hopefully Apple didn't listen to the vocal majority at MacRumors saying a small factor phone is what everybody wants.
 
one more said:
Not necessarily, Apple could still go for 5.5”-5.9”. 😉 They could certainly bring back a 5.8” screen in a lighter body. It would also be interesting to see what will become of SE over the next few years.
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Yeah, a 5.6” or 5.8” regular iPhone Would be certainly a dream. As long as it is not on the 1.000€ range like the X/XS/11Pro. That would be my ideal iPhone.

Actually, I think a three iPhone lineup makes sense: A regular 5.8” iPhone, a 6.1” iPhone Pro, and a 6.7” iPhone Pro Max.
 
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Mr. Dee said:
The iMac G3 was 1299, I saw Dells in the same issue of BusinessWeek ranging from 1699 to 3,200.
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Sorry that was actually ok. I lived in Europe back then and it was about twice of what any other entry level computer cost.
 
carlhancock said:
All these people in these forum comments bending over backwards to come up with excuses as to why this isn't selling.

It's not the price. It's not because they can't see it in person. It's because the average consumer... which is not you who is reading or commenting on this news... prefers a larger screen. For a lot of people these are their primary devices. They aren't secondary to their shiny MacBook or iPad's. This is it. So they prefer a larger screen.

The vocal minority strikes again... and can't accept the fact that they are just that. The minority.
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It just shows how delusional the mini phone fans are. Why not just accept the fact that their preference is shared by tiny minority. There is nothing wrong with that. They are a cult at this point.

I think the reason why this phone was made in the first place is because there are mini fans inside Apple company and they convinced Apple that this is going to be a big hit
 
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In the end, what hurt iPhone 12 mini sales was the availability of the iPhone SE (2020). The iPhone SE (2020) can do most things like the iPhone 12 mini but it's also much less expensive, and most importantly with the pandemic, unlocks with Touch ID, very useful when you have to wear a face mask a lot. And given the low price of chargers and charging cables nowadays, you can afford to buy multiple chargers and cables, including a car charger if you feel the phone is not getting battery life per day.
 
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harriska2 said:
We we t with the SE 2 strictly due to size and price. Not willing to go over $400. Must be comfortably pocketable (original SE). $600 is cray cray for our family, we have macs and ipads so the phones don’t really get used other than away from home communication. And we stay home ALOT.
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I think the mini can be a solid option for those that want the latest specs in a small form factor but the SE at $400 and the Mini at $700 is too big of a jump. Apple is usually prices things by offering the next upgrade for a little bit more but $300 more is not it.
 
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If it was a 12 mini "Pro" it would have sold extremely well !

More than anything, it needs the same high-quality chassis as the other 12 "Pro" models, to do well.

And, IMO, it doesn't need what Apple calls the Telephoto lens / camera to do well.

Apple would be wise to strip it down to its bare minimum, feature-wise, but package it up as best as possible (highest-end chassis possible, like the other 12 Pro models), & offer it at the lowest price possible !
 
As I said before, Apple goofed releasing it months after the SE 2. I bought the SE 2 and saw no reason to buy the mini. Why spend the extra money? Apple fragmented the small phone market. The mini should have been released first, and many SE people like me would have bought it.
 
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