Just 3% of U.S. iPhone Sales in March Quarter Were iPhone 13 Mini Models

[code-m]

You do have a point--in China the Mini 13 has nearly twice the market share it does in the US: 5% rather than 3%. The diference may be due to some combination of cultural, economic (lower average income) and physical (smaller average hand sizes?) factors. But the share is still pretty low in absolute terms.

iPhone 13 Mini sales continue to disappoint as rumors claim the iPhone 14 Mini may be axed

A report by Counterpoint Research has now provided a look at sales of Apple's iPhone 13 range in China. The iPhone 13 dominates as expected but the iPhone 13 Mini comes in last by quite the distance, further buttressing rumors of Apple axing the iPhone 14 Mini.

www.notebookcheck.net

Probably parents are purchasing it for their children or the tight jeans fashion is live and well in China. ?

 

[code-m]

I find this hard to believe.

3% is way lower than I ever expected.

Anyway, I’ll hold on to my 13 Mini until, hopefully, they make the Mini the new “SE”. If not, I guess my next phone will be an SE?

Actually, I could use the regular Mini (had an XR previously). My wife though…

If only the 13 mini had USB-C, I would not care if it was the last phone of it size produced. ?

 

[code-m]

Your point was that people aren't buying Mini's because the other phones are being incentivized... but you either failed to mention or possibly realize that Mini's are being incentivized as well. The reality of the situation is that there isn't nearly the demand for a full featured small phone that comes with the penalty of being a full featured (price) small phone (reduced battery capacity) as the very vocal promoters made it out to be. Apple made a mistake... now it's course correcting.

People now are more mobile and prefer a phone that’s comfortable for viewing pictures and videos and posting on social media as it’s a more comfortable experience. The mini is small and fits well in the hand and pocket but since it a absence for a long time people have gotten accustomed to larger screens and have worked past its limitations.

Another situation of too little, too late; unfortunately.

 

[4jasontv]

Your point was that people aren't buying Mini's because the other phones are being incentivized...

No, it wasn’t.

 

[code-m]

It’s not really “tiny” except next to monster-truck phones. The screen is almost the size of the iPhone X screen and is much bigger than the SE screen.

It’s just not a mini pro and that is the problem. People who wanted a small phone were willing to pay the money for a equivalent pro level phone not an introductory priced and spec phone.

The problem is with iPhone 14 there will be a regular 6.1” and 6.7” similar to the Pro version but the only small version available for an iPhone 12/13 Pro was/is a 6.1”. An ideal scenario would be a 5.4” Pro to gauge interest as the introductory priced version is a compromise. Not surprised it did not sell well.

 

[mkoesel]

The reality of the situation is that there isn't nearly the demand for a full featured small phone that comes with the penalty of being a full featured (price) small phone (reduced battery capacity)

Agree - that’s a very reasonable conclusion based on the available data we have.

as the very vocal promoters made it out to be.

There are many different opinions about what a modern small iPhone should be, and that makes it a very challenging market to address. Some want it to be even smaller (iPhone5-sized), some want it larger (iPhone X/11Pro-sized). Some care about one-handed use, some don’t. Some care about camera specs, some don’t. Some want OLED, others expressly do not due to eye strain. Some want even more features (”But why didn’t they make a Mini Pro?”) while others want fewer (”They should have just put a ‘full screen‘ on the SE”’). Some want FaceID, others insist on TouchID. You can find all of these diverging wishes throughout this form and the internet at large.

Apple made a mistake... now it's course correcting.

Indeed. But the final answer hasn‘t been revealed yet. Apple currently has the lower end of the iPhone market split across two line-ups - the Mini and the SE. That is obviously a calculated, deliberate strategy, but there is a large gulf between the the two in both price and feature set. Maybe the key lies somewhere in between?

Most will agree that another SE is coming. Reports on the what it will be have fallen all over the map, including when it will arrive. But, if we speculate a March 2024 release (at the earliest) - two years from when today‘s model arrived - there is the possibility for the device to remain smaller than the yearly flagship range. It could do so by adopting the Mini form factor (or perhaps another of the smaller form factors I mention above). Specs, including the camera array, and potentially even the biometrics, could be adjusted to keep sufficient distance between it and the higher end devices.

Of course, it’s perhaps equally as likely that they do indeed go with the older XR/11 form factor which has been rumored. But, we’ve also heard that device has been delayed. So maybe they are rethinking the next SE given all the factors now at play with the Mini under performing in the market. If they do go with a 6.1” screen though, then it will be difficult to call the small iPhone anything but dead - at least for a couple generations, and probably longer.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I find this hard to believe.

3% is way lower than I ever expected.

Anyway, I’ll hold on to my 13 Mini until, hopefully, they make the Mini the new “SE”. If not, I guess my next phone will be an SE?

Actually, I could use the regular Mini (had an XR previously). My wife though…

I wouldn't be surprised that Apple is seriously looking at turning the iPhone 13 mini into the next iPhone SE in a few years--but the cost of the OLED panel could be an issue.

 

[DeepIn2U]

The 5c is a different story, entirely. The 12 Mini already sold to the market the 13 Mini was supposed to. I said since launch of the 12 Mini that it was bound to flop, the 13 Mini is what the 12 was supposed to be.
The 13 Mini flopped because the market of high-end top-dollar flagships was small to begin with and somewhat saturated after the 12 Mini. Also the reputation of Mini was slandered which didn’t help.

Mostly right.

But 12.5million units in a year for the 12 mini with NO marketing whatsoever is a LOT of devices. That’s not a flop by any measurement considering the competition had only 5 other models that sold more globally.

Ps: the 12.5 million was posted as an article on these forums.

 

[debkek]

My husband has a red iPhone Mini and loves it. He says it's the first phone in years that actually comfortably fits in his pants pocket. All of his devices are synched (including his car) so the smaller size of it hasn't negatively impacted his life at all.

 

[SpotOnT]

Love the Mini. But the PWM is nothing but pain. So I am stuck using an SE.

 

[jgbutterfield]

I absolutely adore my mini 13. Great battery life and the perfect size for me.

 

[Abazigal]

Reason I bought 12 Mini because it fits better in my pants or jacket without the heavy weight. I rarely use my phone for visual entertainment outside home. At work, I just stream music, CarPlay, Text, Phone calls and research uplook up info. No YouTube/No movies none of that.

I have a 4K $5000 projector at home for movies and tv shows, PC Desktop and PCVR Quest 2 for entertainments. Why strain my eyes into a phone lol.

Why carry such a big ass phone for my personal needs. Just saying.

I feel the takeaway from all this is that while there may be people who buy and love using the mini iphone, this may not represent enough sales for Apple to justify continuing supporting it.

For people who say that it’s too expensive, what were you expecting? It’s the latest design, with the latest parts. There is no way Apple would have been able to sell it at a price comparable to the SE.

I wonder if this is another case of a small but vocal group online painting an unrealistic picture of the demand for a smaller iphone. They make it sound like there is a ton of pent up demand for such a product, and then reality steps in and you realise the majority simply doesn’t care.

 

[Tagbert]

I feel the takeaway from all this is that while there may be people who buy and love using the mini iphone, this may not represent enough sales for Apple to justify continuing supporting it.

For people who say that it’s too expensive, what were you expecting? It’s the latest design, with the latest parts. There is no way Apple would have been able to sell it at a price comparable to the SE.

I wonder if this is another case of a small but vocal group online painting an unrealistic picture of the demand for a smaller iphone. They make it sound like there is a ton of pent up demand for such a product, and then reality steps in and you realise the majority simply doesn’t care.

Yes, a small but vocal group of millions of people who bought minis, in spite of all the people here and elsewhere dumping on the tiny phone with unusable battery life. Obviously that was not enough people for Apple, so fine. Those of you who like large phones can be happy, now, that there are fewer alternatives to your choices.

 

[Abazigal]

Yes, a small but vocal group of millions of people who bought minis, in spite of all the people here and elsewhere dumping on the tiny phone with unusable battery life. Obviously that was not enough people for Apple, so fine. Those of you who like large phones can be happy, now, that there are fewer alternatives to your choices.

As always, there are two sides to every coin.

One less choice that I was never going to choose is not going to impact me negatively. Meanwhile, this mini iPhone took time and resources to design, produce and support. Plus it competes with the other iPhone models for manufacturing capacity. Which, all other things equal, could have been spent on something else with an even greater impact.

At the end of the day, it just wasn’t worth it.

That’s what this is really all about, I guess. Apple doing what makes the most sense and which benefits the greatest overall number of users.

 

[WRChris]

All of the 3% are here on macrumors saying it’s bs.

 

[FlyingTexan]

Number lie if they don’t tell the truth. What was supply like for the 13mini? I know when I went for mine I almost got the pro because the mini wasn’t available

 

[Scoob Redux]

I feel the takeaway from all this is that while there may be people who buy and love using the mini iphone, this may not represent enough sales for Apple to justify continuing supporting it.

For people who say that it’s too expensive, what were you expecting? It’s the latest design, with the latest parts. There is no way Apple would have been able to sell it at a price comparable to the SE.

I wonder if this is another case of a small but vocal group online painting an unrealistic picture of the demand for a smaller iphone. They make it sound like there is a ton of pent up demand for such a product, and then reality steps in and you realise the majority simply doesn’t care.

I think the more likely scenario is that the market segment looking for a small (iPhone 5-size) full-featured phone is just too high-end and niche for Apple to pursue. The are plenty of us that want the smallest iPhone to be the flagship: highest tech, chip, memory, etc. in an iPhone 5-size package and selling for about $1500 (or more. whatever). Unfortunately, not enough people in that category.

 

[Scoob Redux]

As always, there are two sides to every coin.

One less choice that I was never going to choose is not going to impact me negatively. Meanwhile, this mini iPhone took time and resources to design, produce and support. Plus it competes with the other iPhone models for manufacturing capacity. Which, all other things equal, could have been spent on something else with an even greater impact.

But how many phones are you buying? I mean, if Apple has more capacity to create huge phones instead of the Mini, does that really benefit you?

At the end of the day, it just wasn’t worth it.

That’s what this is really all about, I guess. Apple doing what makes the most sense and which benefits the greatest overall number of users.

Apple doesn't care about benefiting users. Their sole reason for being is to deliver profits to shareholders.

 

[davidhands]

Weird. Best iPhone I've owned so far has been the 13 mini.

 

[MacBH928]

This is because the Mini sucks. Its not Mini , the screen is larger than than iphone7. The mini screen size used to be considered a phablet in 2012 or so. Its not for people who want a small screen, its not for people who want a big screen. Its for no one. My thumb could not reach the four corners and thus non-operateable one handed. Add in there the ridiculous price. I sold it and got a sane sized iphone SE that comes with the advanced home button and touch ID controls. Everything more functional.

---

Whoever did that graph should get a raise, I could totally tell the difference between the colors of 8, 11 PRO, and the 13 models /s

 

[mkoesel]

I wouldn't be surprised that Apple is seriously looking at turning the iPhone 13 mini into the next iPhone SE in a few years--but the cost of the OLED panel could be an issue.

You’re right, OLED cost is a question right now, but let’s see what happens in September. If the 12 Mini stays in the lineup and drops to $499, which we would expect based on the typical lifecycle, that’s just $70 more than the SE. It would then seem not too big a leap for a Mini-based SE by March 2024, especially if they simplify the camera hardware (perhaps borrowing from the older X or 11 generation, for example). They could also potentially bump the price up to $449.

Incidentally, a $499 12 Mini is going to be an attractive device in September (again, assuming it does remain in the lineup) in it’s own right. For anyone who doesn’t have an aversion to OLED and FaceID there’s huge value there for just $70 more than the SE and only one processor generation older.

 

[canyonblue737]

This is where everyone talks a big game of how they like the little iPhone 13 mini and how it's such a great size, has all the power etc. but when push comes to shove they buy the bigger ones. Sales matter, not talk.

Apple will do much, much better offering a a "Max" sized version of the regular iPhone 14 this year and dropping the mini. Perhaps the iPhone SE will always remain a "small" option, even when it eventually gets a full screen, no button design finally and that will be an option for the select few that demand something tiny.

 

[kerr]

The price of the mini is balls

 

[ericg301]

The price of the mini is balls

Balls good or balls bad?

 

[ericg301]

Yes, a small but vocal group of millions of people who bought minis, in spite of all the people here and elsewhere dumping on the tiny phone with unusable battery life. Obviously that was not enough people for Apple, so fine. Those of you who like large phones can be happy, now, that there are fewer alternatives to your choices.

Battery life on the 13 mini is equal to the regular 12. Didn’t hear of any complaints there.