Honestly, I think the biggest issue was the price. There just wasn't enough differentiation between the fat models and the Mini. $600-650 would have been the sweet spot.
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iPhone 12 Mini Reportedly Accounted for Only 5% of Sales in First Half of January
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I still think there are valid reasons for the "lackluster" sales of the mini than just people don't want small phones.
- Some people who prefer smaller phones already upgraded to the 2020 iPhone SE and are not ready or able to upgrade to the mini
- Price is a bit high and too close the the regular non-mini - so really only those who REALLY want the smaller phone are going to go for it.
- Some people prefer smaller phones but also what the best camera available or need more battery life. So are willing to make that trade off.
Anyway, I love my mini. I hope at the worst maybe it becomes a 2 year refresh rather than every year. 5% is still a lot of phones!
- Some people who prefer smaller phones already upgraded to the 2020 iPhone SE and are not ready or able to upgrade to the mini
- Price is a bit high and too close the the regular non-mini - so really only those who REALLY want the smaller phone are going to go for it.
- Some people prefer smaller phones but also what the best camera available or need more battery life. So are willing to make that trade off.
Anyway, I love my mini. I hope at the worst maybe it becomes a 2 year refresh rather than every year. 5% is still a lot of phones!
I'll be in the minority here but I love the size and would buy one, I haven't yet because my 8 is a tank! All I want my phone to do is be a phone, apple pay, small convenience apps (like uber, Hilton for room keys), maps (directions) and let me read email. I could care less about the damn camera and wish there was an option for a phone that had just a basic, decent carmera.
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I just got mine (in 2021) and it's the best iPhone ever. Thought I'd give it a try, and immediately decided to sell my 11 Pro. The 12 mini reminds me a lot of how the 5s felt.
12 mini is my favourite iPhone. Also, if 5% of iPhones sold are the mini that's a lot of minis (one in every 20). Keep in mind also that analysts only know so much. Also, keep in mind people like my sisters who got a present of an 11 for XMAS and think it's too large, and when I told her about 12 mini she said she would have preferred that.
My wife and I both got the iphone 12 mini when it came out, and absolutely love it. It was the form factor and feature set that we'd been waiting for for years.
However, I think the 12 mini sits in a weird position between the iphone SE, and the larger iphone 12's. We got the 12 mini's because we have small children, so want to take great pictures, but like to be able to hold a phone in one hand (so the other hand can be holding a child's hand). But if we were LESS picky about photographs we could have saved a TON of money with the SE for a pretty similar form factor (we had previously had 6s/7's). Plus, the SE has a home button AND touch ID! FaceID really sucks in a pandemic. If we were MORE picky about photographs we'd want the 3 camera setup of the bigger iphones.
So in short, I think the 12 mini hits a value proposition that only a small niche of people will go for.
However, I think the 12 mini sits in a weird position between the iphone SE, and the larger iphone 12's. We got the 12 mini's because we have small children, so want to take great pictures, but like to be able to hold a phone in one hand (so the other hand can be holding a child's hand). But if we were LESS picky about photographs we could have saved a TON of money with the SE for a pretty similar form factor (we had previously had 6s/7's). Plus, the SE has a home button AND touch ID! FaceID really sucks in a pandemic. If we were MORE picky about photographs we'd want the 3 camera setup of the bigger iphones.
So in short, I think the 12 mini hits a value proposition that only a small niche of people will go for.
Well, the mini folks have been using the fact the mini was released late, as an excuse for the 6% of sales in the end of 2020. But 5% in Jan blows that theory out of the water.
What makes it worse is this is in the US. In China, and the developing world in general, where people rely on their phone as a sole device much more than the west, I would presume the mini would be even less popular
What makes it worse is this is in the US. In China, and the developing world in general, where people rely on their phone as a sole device much more than the west, I would presume the mini would be even less popular
Again, please think about the situation we're in. No one wants a small phone when all they do is stay home.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Mini was 10% in a normal world - which is probably Apple's target anyways.
Not happening with an A14, two cameras, OLED, MagSafe, and Face ID. The $399 price tag is what the SE is for.if this really is a flop, and retailers clear them out eventually, maybe I'll pick one up
$399 would be sweet
The mini could just be a marketing ploy. Here is a full fledged iPhone for only $700, but you could upgrade to a bigger screen for only $200. Very common in sales, get them in the door with a cheaper product, then up sale them.
Same here, they should just put a gsm module into the ipod touch 7, and update it's internals every 2-3 years.
I don't think that's really a valid excuse; if anything I'd go the other way round. If you're all home all the day, it can IMO make more sense to have a small phone like the mini, since you'll have 24/7 access to your tablet, laptop and TV. The advantage of big phones for me, is a big screen that fits in my pocket for when I'm out and about, commuting to work, at work, around the city etc. I'd rather have a bigger display regardless of where I am but still.
Why are people still surprised by this? The fact is most people want a big(ger) phone. The fanatic small phone crowd is a very vocal minority that would like to make you think that everyone wants a small phone.
No, the biggest issue was/is the pandemic.
I'd replace my XR today if I could go out every day. But being home so much, I'd like a bigger phone.
Seems to me that the Mini is destined to become the next SE design in 2022/2023 (or whenever Apple updates the SE shell again). I think if the Mini had been $399 it would have flown off the shelves. As it was people who wanted a basic iPhone went for the just-updated SE and people who wanted the latest phone went for the 12/12Pro.
Absolutely. Most people want a bigger phone than the Mini.
We don't know Apple's expectations. Maybe Apple expected 10% of all sales, but because of the pandemic, it sold just 5% instead. The small size has no advantage when everyone is at home.
