Kuo: 2022 iPhones to Feature 48-Megapixel Camera, 8K Video, and 6.1 and 6.7" Sizes With No 5.4" Mini Option

[randfee2]

They should scrap the SE and have the mini as the cheaper phone. And, move to a two year release cycle for the mini and be upfront about it. Everyone will know where they stand then. The mini has obviously been hit by the pandemic and the lowering of commuting / travel but that is no reason to abandon it long term.

the mini was even more affected by the fact that the SE2 was released 7 months before!!! Apple can blame themselves for the lucklaster sales of the mini, nobody expected the mini and people having waited for AGES to get a smaller phone again got the SE2 in April thinking, there'd be no alternative.

Also Apple's to blame that they don't have TouchID anymore. Who purchases a phone one can't unlock quickly with a mask on? Apple has the technology (see iPad Power-button TouchID), they're just super stubborn and mostly very slow adopters of good ideas themselves, very bad at admitting they were wrong, having removed something great (which they introduced themselves!, next to TouchID that'd be MagSafe!).
If this years iPhones have no TouchID, then they're even more arrogant and stubborn than I think they are.

 

[BvizioN]

Looks like it'll be a max-spec late 2021 Mini for me and hope it carries me ~5 years like my original SE did

My God. Don’t take away our mini! It only just arrived.

Now that's a bummer.

Looks like I’ll be grabbing an iPhone 13 mini before it’s discontinued.

I’ll cherish my mini while I can. I always figured it’d be an endangered species.

Guess i'll be buying another Mini this year and keep it as long as possible.

I will have to get spare 13 minis to last me into the 2030’s...

It seems to me that all these 36 people or so why purchased the mini are Mac Rumours forum members

 

[rafark]

Seems like 48 megapixels is pretty overkill for a phone imo

640k ought to be enough for anybody

 

[yellowbunny]

Hope the mini becomes the new SE. No way I want a bigger phone than this...

 

[MartyvH]

I would buy a mini if there was a pro version

If the only mini was a Pro, that would be the last straw for me. I would have bought a 2020 SE instead of the 12 mini I have. I had a XS for two years and made little or no use of the features at the extra expense of a flagship.

I think many people only buy iPhones because it is the superior platform overall, not for the Pro features and they waste money.

 

[trash eighty]

The mini seems to be the marmite of the iPhone line, i'm hoping to get one later this year though i want to see one for real in an Apple store beforehand.

 

[coolfactor]

Looks like it'll be a max-spec late 2021 Mini for me and hope it carries me ~5 years like my original SE did

I was a huge SE fan, but when no replacement came soon enough, I opted for the XR, and love it (except for it's mammoth size and weight). Battery life is great. I may get the iPhone 12 mini just to show my support for that handy size, but not sure if I'll miss the larger screen that I've become accustomed to now?

 

[coolfactor]

Good riddance mini!! Apple learned the hard way that commenters on tech sites don’t represent the general public

I disagree. I just think that it's increasingly difficult to support the smaller screen size across an increasing number of apps. While the small form factor of the original 4, 5S and SE was fantastic, developers have spent more time designing for the larger screens and the smaller screens get a compromised experience. Users don't like that after-thought experience. I've seen it first-hand, and it's a real shame.

 

[Minxy]

The dawn of consumer 8k? I’m still waiting for a Mac that can handle 4k with ease!

 

[Shalev Lazarof]

WHY???????? I literally waited YEARS for that form factor!!! drop the price to 599! and market it as a one hand use phone...
I hope this is not true! enough with all those phablet phones.

 

[kerr]

So sick of the never ending pissing contest with megapixels. Some of us could not give a flying proverbial. Camera quality is not a selling point for all users.

 

[Black Belt]

The new AppleTV better have 8k

 

[businessnumbersmoneypeopl]

Damn, so they are planning to go past the 41mp camera that Nokia 808 PureView included in 2012? 😅

(Ok and a bunch of recent Android phones.)

 

[NBAasDOGG]

So 5.4 is gone and 5.8 discontinued?

I guess that’s a unwelcome goodbye then...

 

[zombierunner]

Sacre Bleu!

 

[one more]

I love the idea of the iPhone Mini, but I reluctantly got the standard iPhone 12 last year purely because of the battery size. I need to use my phone throughout the day for my business, so the fact that the battery lasts all day is a deal-maker that I couldn't refuse, but would have much preferred a smaller size. If I didn't need my phone for business, I'd get the Mini in a heartbeat.

I want to fantasise that one day there will be a change in battery technology and that Apple will release a mini iPhone that lasts all day (and more), and it'll be a big hit, but my instincts tell me that people will still want a large-screen phone even if a smaller full-spec model is available.

It all depends on our use, I guess. I do enjoy my mini and do use it for business (on the go), such as taking card payments on it, etc.

As for its battery life, it tops up really fast, so over the last 4 months I never had a situation when the mini’s battery would go flat on me. 🖐

 

[Okasian]

The iPhone X will be 6 years old in 2023. Do you normally hang onto a phone that long as your daily driver?

I think I’ll be doing this (upgrading in 2023) also with my current iPhone X.

The X was roughly a third more expensive than my previous iPhone 6, so I’ll be keeping this phone for about a third longer (6 years instead of 4 years)

Also it’s still incredibly zippy and I have no issues with it whatsoever.

 

[blairh]

Truly stunning news. What I think could happen is that we will see a Mini down the road to replace the SE.

This doesn’t mean there isn’t a market for the Mini. It just means not at the $700 entry price. Which makes sense when the SE is nearly half the price and not much bigger.

 

[Zorori]

Good riddance, mini.

But seriously, it makes sense. You can't have a premium device in 2022 with a tiny 5.4" display and no room for a big sensor.

Can't wait until they ditch the "standard" model next. After all, you can't have a premium device in 2022 with a tiny 6.1" display and no room for a big sensor.

 

[erniefairchild1]

That would be very unfortunate if Apple decides to go with under-display Face ID and skips Touch ID. Using Apple Pay at the grocery store with a mask on is way too much effort right now, I've resorted to using my contactless credit card because it is just so much faster.

That will not be an issue by 2023. Considering the lack of mask compliance here in NYC, which is supposed to be a bastion of good, complying Democrats, I have no doubt no one will be wearing masks 2 whole years from now. And besides, this will be past us anyway. Under-display Face ID goooooooooooo!

 

[Darth Tulhu]

That would be very unfortunate if Apple decides to go with under-display Face ID and skips Touch ID. Using Apple Pay at the grocery store with a mask on is way too much effort right now, I've resorted to using my contactless credit card because it is just so much faster.

I remember when people got flamed here for pointing out the superiority of having both a rear touch sensor AND a camera-based authenticator, like Samsung phones used to.

Whoops.

 

[Whathappened]

Noo, don’t touch the mini, please.

That’s the problem: nobody but a few is touching the mini while bigger screens with bigger batteries are available.

 

[George Dawes]

Glad I waited , this looks awesome

 

[Darth Tulhu]

If the only mini was a Pro, that would be the last straw for me. I would have bought a 2020 SE instead of the 12 mini I have. I had a XS for two years and made little or no use of the features at the extra expense of a flagship.

I think many people only buy iPhones because it is the superior platform overall, not for the Pro features and they waste money.

Frankly it's gotten to the point where any modern smartphone (with decent battery life) will do for me.

If my job didn't issue me my iPhone 12 Pro I'd probably gone for the SE, strictly for the ecosystem even if I prefer the biggest of phones (I am a big Galaxy Note fan).

I always hate when Apple removes products like this, even if I understand why they do it.

I hope that the mini becomes the new SE (I doubt it), but even so a 13 Mini would be so powerful that I wager it'd last longer than the 6S has (unless OLED burn-in becomes an issue).

 

[bluecoast]

Seems like devices with powerful video cameras that are (presumably) designed to work & drive the uptake of Apple’s VR/AVR glasses will be prioritised.

It’s got to be near impossible fitting cameras like that - and the rest of the iPhone components - into the body of the mini.

Hopefully the 2021 mini will be a great one and it’ll hang around for a while on Apple’s price list.

And perhaps the mythical 2022 SE will be closer in size to the mini than not. I could see them launching a slightly smaller XR/11, perhaps with the Touch ID module from the iPad Air (2020) ie no Face ID.

Surely they can’t keep on launching new models with the form factor from 5 years ago & the Touch ID unit from 2016’s iPhone 7 for much longer?

I guess what is launched in next week’s event for the iPad mini will answer that question though.