iPhone 12 Mini Sales Lackluster Compared to Other Models

[Abstract]

Surely Apple are going to keep the Mini because it makes 5-10% of the market happy, and for the rest, drives sales to the larger 12 and 12 Pro. 🤷🏻‍♂️

If they stopped making the Mini, which new phone would they fill the gap with?

Also, if competitors release smaller phones to compete, Apple aren’t just going to give them the market.

 

[The Game 161]

Surely Apple are going to keep the Mini because it makes 5-10% of the market happy, and for the rest, drives sales to the larger 12 and 12 Pro. 🤷🏻‍♂️

If they stopped making the Mini, which new phone would they fill the gap with?

think they will keep it around no reason not to really....too early to say how popular it will be by end of the year.

 

[Shanghaichica]

The mini form factor is good for 5 minutes of nostalgia but most people then realise the phone is too small to do anything with.

 

[Chris Wallbank]

I agree the smaller battery could be playing a part but for me personally, I wanted to go into a store and see the difference in person which hasn't been all that possible.
Even when the shops were open restrictions meant large queues stopping me going in whenever I was near a store.

 

[fyrpm]

Has anyone complaining about battery life actually used the Mini for an extended period of time? I’m typing this on a 12 Mini that’s has been on battery for 22 hours. The phone is currently at 50% as I type. Granted, I don’t spend all day watching YouTube, but I do text, make phone calls and web browse a fair bit. Battery life has actually improved from when I first used it. And if you use dark mode it does even better. I upgraded from an 11 pro. I typically see a 10-15% difference in battery left at the end of a typical day. With the 11 pro having more left. However, in almost three months of use, I have never run out of battery during a typical day of use with the 12 mini. Size is ideal for pocket carry. I had an 11 pro Max and it’s just a beast. The 12 mini is the BEST IPHONE I HAVE EVER OWENED

 

[kk200]

Surely Apple are going to keep the Mini because it makes 5-10% of the market happy, and for the rest, drives sales to the larger 12 and 12 Pro. 🤷🏻‍♂️

If they stopped making the Mini, which new phone would they fill the gap with?

Also, if competitors release smaller phones to compete, Apple aren’t just going to give them the market.

Mini and SE are pretty fighting each other now. Especially during COVID-19, Face ID is less useful as Touch ID. I bet iPhone13 will bring touch id back.

 

[threesixty360]

I feel like most of the people that want a iPhone mini use it as a phone first and have other devices for their main computing needs. Whereas the rest of the world uses their phone as a portable computer. So screen estate becomes a bit more of an issue than portability / pocketability. For many people a phone is their real home computer. It does it all.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

I love my Mini. Before Mini I have iPhone 8. I hold one as long as possible until Apple sell high end iPhone that is same or smaller than iPhone 8. I didn't want budget option iPhone SE 2 etc. I wanted same high end but smaller size. Glad Apple finally release Mini.

I need iPhone that fit inside my pocket to feel vibration when get notifications etc because I am Deaf and it cannot go in backpack or anywhere else etc. iPhone 12 is too big fit in pocket and sometimes barely fit but uncomfortable. Mini fits all my pockets perfectly.

I hope Apple will continue sell Mini size again when I upgrade in 3 years time.

 

[ginkobiloba]

With most stores closed, and people moving less and being sedentary, it’s not surprising. You have to hold one in your hand to know how lovable and practical it is. Right now people stay with safe choices. Once the pandemic situation resolves and people can see them IRL , sales will pick up again.

 

[B.A.T]

I feel like most of the people that want a iPhone mini use it as a phone first and have other devices for their main computing needs. Whereas the rest of the world uses their phone as a portable computer. So screen estate becomes a bit more of an issue than portability / pocketability. For many people a phone is their real home computer. It does it all.

That would be my wife and I. We both love our minis. I'm glad Apple has made as many options available for everyone as they have this year. Almost everyone can be happy......except for MR members 🤣

 

[Thrutheroofnunderground]

Everyone I know loves theirs. It's the perfect form factor. The pro is too big. But the battery life is what's really killing sales.

My boss was going to get one, but then decided against it because of battery life concerns.

 

[Kiorr]

You guys know that iphones are sold worldwide right?

for instance the mini is the second best selling smartphone in denmark in dec 2020 only beat by the SE!

yeah i know that denmark is a small land, but its still interesting to see.

 

[Burebista]

I’ve suggested this in numerous threads, we can always mimic / achieve a telephoto result by cropping in post, but it’ll take more effort to mimic ultra wide result by stitching multiple images for instance.

In family gathering, group shot is taking the ultra wide lens as advantage rather than a telephoto lens. Of course some would use telephoto lens more than the ultra wide for better reach without loosing resolution (cropping) or distortion free portrait shot, but in terms of production cost wise, if one among the three lens has to go to lower cost, it’s the telephoto.

On the side note I would never use digital zooming, unless the iOS has some digital enhancements like the Pixel phone.

That’s exactly my point, bring in computational digital zoom like in Pixels which barely compromises sharpness up to 2-2.5x, then maybe you can get away with shipping an expensive flagship iPhone with no telephoto lens and just ultrawide.

Otherwise I think telephoto camera would be much more useful to most people than an ultrawide, especially as they are lower quality than the main lens with nasty distortions on the sides of the frame. And most people would not factor that in when taking shot with ultrawide only later to realize that oopsie it’s unusable/sharable. You can always use panorama mode for those rate occasions when you *really* can’t fit something in, otherwise just step back and reframe. For the lack of telephoto, on the other hand, there’s no workaround. Most people have no idea how to crop in and edit the image, and even if they do it’s just too much work for them nowadays and the end result would come out mushy with terrible detail.

Apple probably knows that people zoom in a lot more than they go wide, it’s been shipping phones with telephoto since 2016 , so people kinda expect that functionality by default at this point and when they see it’s not there, many of them can be upsold on the Pro. Even here on the forums many state they went for the Pro because they can’t go back to not having telephoto. It’s a marketing strategy.

 

[speechmaker]

Must there be only one 'winner' among the various sizes? The Mini can well co-exist with the ProMax and the regular 12. Those who like the smaller ones will still buy the smaller one even with acknowledging the smaller battery, I am one right here and will buy the 12mini or the 13mini if/when it comes out by which time my SE(2016) will have given out and run out of software updates too.

People like different things about their phones, I don't need a second lens on my camera and would gladly have given that up for a sliiiiiiight more battery backup. While some people cannot do without the camera upgrades in the ProMax which one would normally assume would only be needed by content creators who earn from it, but others who can afford it and want it will just buy it regardless of the huge outlay and the size.

The regular 12 will most probably outsell all of the Pro, ProMax and the Mini, just as Apple has positioned it with the sweet spot of larger screen which many/most people want, better battery than the Mini and only slightly more costly, while being cheaper than the Pro and the ProMax. That wouldn't mean that Apple should only make the regular one as that is the one most sold, right? The Pro and ProMax both have diehards who wouldn't get the regular one at all even with a gun to their head.

As also the Mini has a place on the store shelves, else Apple would not have made it.

tl;dr version: Like different price points are needed, different sizes are also needed to cater to different people.
Peace.

 

[1rottenapple]

Agreed. I realized that I was leaving my pre mini phone all over the place just because it didn’t really fit in a pocket or felt bulky. My mini is almost always with me. Months later I still say to myself “wow” every time I pick up the mini.

I’m the opposite. I ALWAYS KNEW where my plus or Max phone was. It was always on the table because I don’t like sitting with it. It’s good to not consciously think about the phone all the time.

 

[H00513R]

I still want one, but keeping my iPhone X one more year. What products has Apple killed off after 1 iteration?

I'm in the same boat, but honestly my X hasn't felt old to me yet so I'll probably hold onto it for a couple more years, iPhone Drop God willing.

 

[eatrains]

I wish the mini were smaller. It’s the only option if you use your phone on the go.

 

[Jabet]

The mini form factor is good for 5 minutes of nostalgia but most people then realise the phone is too small to do anything with.

What exactly do you think of?

Coming from a 11 Pro I miss no inch in screen size at all. On the mini, everything is scaled smaller and with Text being set small (as I already did that on my 11 Pro) I basically feel no loss of information on the screen at all. You only notice a slight loss in specific use cases and in direct comparison, but that’s not a game changer. Same goes for battery life in everyday usage. My iPhone 12 mini cannot replace my desktop computer just like my iPhone 11 Pro could not do that before. For usual mobile tasks for a average tech-savy guy with healthy vision there is no difference whatsoever.

 

[macsound1]

You're paying for that phone one way or another.

Yes, with the trade-in value of the iPhone 8.
I signed up for Tmobile (Sprint) and payed $50 a month for the unlimited plan and $15 a month for the iPhone 8. After 16 months I owned the iPhone 8 and my monthly plan dropped from $65 to $50 per month.

Now I want the iPhone Mini. I give them back my iPhone 8, they give me a 12 Mini. Monthly plan is still $50 per month.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The 12 Mini for me is very much like the Pro Max iPhones. Cool to try out for a few minutes but I wouldn’t buy one or use one long term. I do think it’s nice to have choice in the range though as despite what some here claim, the Mini is popular for a proportion of the market.

 

[macsound1]

Unfortunately that’s the theme on here and many tech sites. If you don’t use a Pro model iPhone, a lot of posters simply look down their nose at you and often think you are poor or aren’t into tech. It’s my main frustration when discussing things to be honest.

That's what I always disliked about the "plus club". Like their decision to buy a massive phone and because it had an additional camera, made us with (still too large) regular size phones seem infantile.

Even made me stop listening to a popular tech podcast because one british man was so obsessed with thinking that iPhones are ranked as 'Value - Everyday - Best' Of course people who buy the SE want something cheap, "real" Apple connoisseur would only ever buy the biggest phone, and that regular iPhone, well, that's for the rest of us.

 

[macsound1]

Reminds me of people clamoring for more manual transmissions in cars that aren’t the base model or more manuals in general. People wanted a smaller iPhone, but clearly the mass public isn’t having it.

God do I miss it! So incredibly frustrating as an American and Californian that everyone buys white, grey and black mid-equipped models.
I want a car like I want an iPhone. As well spec'd as possible in my price range, a respectable but unique color, and controls that let me drive like I enjoy it!
Ended up with a DSG which is nicer than an automatic, but I really really miss my 3rd pedal.

 

[macsound1]

I doubt Apple will be unhappy with how many minis are sold. Anecdotally it seems to be a pretty popular phone, a company I worked for is replacing their fleet of iPhone 8s with 12 minis.

I also think “Mini” is a misnomer. I have a friend who went from SE to the X (very keen on mini) and he was super disappointed when he saw mine in person because it “wasn’t that small”. It just feels like a sleeker, lighter full-screen iPhone 8.

The Mini should be the default iPhone size, and the 12 and up should be the “plus” or “Max” models.

Side Note: I had the 11 prior to the mini. What a behemoth! I’d guess become used to how wide and heavy (close to 200g) it was (Apple silicon case too).

It's true, often people only see Apple as a consumer company when they really do sell fleets of iPhones to companies. I too know a company that outfits excutives in the field with iPhones, usually 2 (one Verizon, one AT&T) in case there's bad cell coverage on one of the networks. For them, size is incredibly important because they go in lifeproof cases and you are required to carry both.

 

[dcpmark]

I wish the mini were smaller. It’s the only option if you use your phone on the go.

Yep....I struggle at times to use it one-handed, and since I use my cell phone for only phone calls, texting, emails, music, and CarPlay, I really don’t need a bigger screen.

 

[happygodavid]

Good description of the situation

I will say though - it makes my mind bend just trying to comprehend it all, which I often wonder if it's a problem across multiple Apple product lines now.

The only thing this reveals is that people don't want a fragmented system.. Steve Jobs used to say was a problem with other companies. I'd have an iPhone Mini but what puts me off is the lack of the Pro-Raw feature. No reason at all this cant be in it. It's just ridiculous marketing.

Thanks, Turbine. And I hear ya on the confusion...

Personally, I think they could simplify the lineup in the following way: 2 lines (consumer and pro), 3 sizes each, an SE model. Done. Choose a phone based on size and feature set. So, the models would be:

Consumer lineup:
iPhone Y Mini
iPhone Y
iPhone Y Max

Pro lineup:
iPhone Y Pro Mini
iPhone Y Pro
iPhone Y Pro Max

Budget-oriented:
iPhone SE

That's it. Same features in every phone of each lineup, only size and battery life differ (along with storage and color, of course).

Apple should leave the previous years' models off; if you want an old model, buy it used or from a third party. Apple can keep things simple with this lineup, and the choice of phone becomes related personal preference for size, color, and/or budget, rather than a spiderweb of feature overly confusing choices that only folks who read sites like Macrumors actually read or understand.

And yes, I think the Macs could benefit from a similar revamp. Drop the Air moniker. Two lines of portables, MacBook and MacBook Pro. Two sizes of each (I'd go with 12 and 14 for the MB, 14 and 16 for the MBP). Keep it simple. The desktops stay the same as they currently are. Boom.