I think it all comes down to what people use their phones for. If you use it primarily for gaming and watching movies, a huge screen is a great benefit. For me, gaming and movie watching is all done on much larger device like a computer or TV. I want a small phone because for me the phone is primarily just used for messaging and email, communication things where a huge screen isn't needed or wanted. Being able to fit in my pocket and be unobtrusive is a bigger benefit for me. Plus I already can barely reach the top of the screen with my fingers when holding it, so it's annoying to use as is.
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iPhone 17 Base Model Rumored to Feature Larger Display
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Not a chance. The 16e is vastly superior to all the minis for the mainstream, and better than all the SEs for their time too, albeit at a higher price.
Anyhow, I wonder if there will be a 17e next year, or if they'll just keep the 16e around for another year or so.
On further reflection on the entire screen size issue. I unfortunately agree that the market has been pushing for ever larger phones over the last several years. However, at some point, it is probably inevitable that if Apple and the leading Android phone companies will go one size too large, and finally the sales will start to go flat on the largest size and maybe phones will stop increasing in size, and at least level off and recede a bit, even if another iPhone Mini model will never be sold. But at least a "maximum" size will be reached at some point.
What does that even mean?
Who exactly is this "market"?
This feels like saying "the market has been pushing for AI"
Dig deeper and we find the "market" to be vested interests of one form or another.
The market has indeed been pushing for larger phones, up to a point anyway. I'm surprised you even question this. Take a look on the Android side and you'll see that the majority of even the garbage crap phones for $200 have fairly big screens, because that's what most customers actually want.
These days 6" is considered a small phone (unless you count flip phones).
YET, they sell a lot less than they did of the SE.
iPhone 16e Sales Lag Behind SE Models Despite Bestseller Status
The iPhone 16e is one of Europe's top-selling smartphones, yet its early sales figures still lagged significantly behind those of Apple's...
www.macrumors.com
The 16e is the worst iPhone Apple has ever released and it's too big. Also, too expensive for what it is.
Maybe if anyone had shown up to buy the last 2, there'd still be one.
50 million did. How many showed up for a Mac Mini over the years? Yet we keep seeing a Mac Mini still being here? It's not about that buddy.
I don't think that's fair, only if you were 100% certain the reason it didn't sell well was because it was to small, i am more inclined to believe it was due to Apple nerfed it into oblivion. A smaller iPhone with the same specs as the big brothers would surely sell a lot better, but that would eat into the sales of the high margin phones so such an iPhone will obviously never see the light of day
I liked the Mini and would have bought it, but they made it a stripped down model. I want the pro features with a smaller screen. They have this idea that smaller screen means cheaper, to me it's not.
I don't think the Mini makes sense for a budget model at all. It is better positioned as a high-end phone for the upper end of Apple's demographic. The low end of the market needs the biggest phone they can get, because they can only afford one device. Students and low-income buyers need an iPhone Max because they have to consume all their content on one device. Buyers at the upper end of the demo have everything from a MacBook Pro and a Studio Display all the way to an Apple TV connected to an 85" OLED. They want compact, convenient iPhones that are pocketable and can be used with one hand. Make the screen 4", maximize the specs, and price it at $2k or higher.
As real estate agents always say, anything will sell at the right price. As an actual phone, the 16e is vastly superior, but it also costs way more than the SEs ever did.YET, they sell a lot less than they did of the SE.
iPhone 16e Sales Lag Behind SE Models Despite Bestseller Status
The iPhone 16e is one of Europe's top-selling smartphones, yet its early sales figures still lagged significantly behind those of Apple's...
The 16e is the worst iPhone Apple has ever released and it's too big. Also, too expensive for what it is.
Ironically though, even at this MUCH higher price, the 16e outsold the SE 3 at launch in the US.
iPhone 16e had stronger demand than 2022 iPhone SE did at launch
The iPhone 16e is off to a faster start than the 2022 iPhone SE 3 managed, giving Apple a boost in the competitive mid-range phone market.
appleinsider.com
Essentially, the iPhone 17 has switched to the same 6.3" panel as the iPhone 16 Pro but the refresh rate will be locked at 120 Hz since it's not a LTPO display with 120 variable to 1 Hertz refresh rate.
You should consider buying a tv for your house, trust me, movies are so much better on a tv.
I'd love a Pro Mini
I'd love a 17e Mini
Anything that is smaller than all their offerings now would be appealing to me.
I'm constantly on walks and runs ...it's hot here half the year and I'm in shorts..
I want the smallest and lightest iPhone possible, for how I use iPhones.
I'd love a 17e Mini
Anything that is smaller than all their offerings now would be appealing to me.
I'm constantly on walks and runs ...it's hot here half the year and I'm in shorts..
I want the smallest and lightest iPhone possible, for how I use iPhones.
However, the poor sales of the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini could mitigate against getting a new 5.4" iPhone, unless they can substantially thin the screen bezels so we get almost the equivalent of a 5.8" display but in the iPhone 13 mini form factor.
Typical Apple doesn't know what they're doing comments... Yet the company manages to limp along with 1+ Billion active and repeat customers who love to purchase their products, and have propelled Apple to being one of the most successful consumer tech companies in the world.
I think the leaks are generally coming from parts suppliers and accessory makers, less from the assembly line.
As real estate agents always say, anything will sell at the right price. As an actual phone, the 16e is vastly superior, but it also costs way more than the SEs ever did.
Ironically though, even at this MUCH higher price, the 16e outsold the SE 3 at launch in the US.
iPhone 16e had stronger demand than 2022 iPhone SE did at launch
The iPhone 16e is off to a faster start than the 2022 iPhone SE 3 managed, giving Apple a boost in the competitive mid-range phone market.
Well, of course SE 3 didn't sell as good as SE 2 (whooping 14% at launch), since for most people it was basically the same phone as the SE 2 they already had. Most probably wanted to wait for SE 4, which turned out to be 16e, so it's not surprising to see some of the SE 2 crowd finally moving on to the only "SE" available phone in Apple's 2025 lineup - the 16e. 2% increase is very small. It just proves that the 16e is just bad value for money, too big and not really worth it for those who still use SE 3, or 12 Mini, or 13 Mini. I would attribute the poor sales of the 16e to the iPhone 15 still being available, which is a lot better value for money than some 16e.
They need to clean up their lineup. If they offered two phones - one smaller, one bigger (just like they did with 6S and 6S Plus for example), both phones would succeed. They have too many cooks in the kitchen, their lineup is a mess.
Lol recently I had been considering a Motorola Razr so maybe you're on to something.
Small changes on top of small changes on top of small changes result in a big change. Going from a phone to one of these phablets is definitely something you'd notice.
They could have made the 16e a mini, based on the existing design (a 14 mini with an A18 and the same single camera, basically), and nobody would have felt scammed.
Without a mini, there’s less incentive to not leave Apple for Android, since all flagship phones are large now.
It's an excellent point.
If they are all going to be patio pavers, I might as well get a dirt cheap deal on a Pixel 9 and put GrapheneOS on it.
The iMessage lock in has dropped off a fair bit for me with RCS working very well and some fracturing across my networks on comms (different folks are dispersing around to various Apps as time marches on). I used to like iMessage for group thread purposes but I've increasingly come to despite group text chains, so that's mostly a wash.
Honestly, if there were a good option at 13 Mini sized or smaller on "the other side", I'd likely jump... perhaps waiting for my 13 Mini to age out a bit more first.
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