Kuo: Next Year's iPhone Lineup Won't Include a Mini Model

[MacBH928]

You can tell by the comments that some people are very passionate about the mini🙂

I can understand however why Apple would cancel it, people vote with their money. If a product isn't selling - it's not an attractive enough product. The iPhone 12 fits perfectly in normal pockets, I feel like most people with a mini would be fine with the normal 12 as well - which is probably what Apple is banking on if they cancel the mini.

or move to a small Android phone...if such thing exists.

 

[alexandr]

Have you met one person outside of an Apple fan website that asked for a smaller iPhone ?

Smaller than iPhone X? No one

i have, several people actually. and if they keep making the non-max model bigger i'll join them.

 

[navier]

After so many years, I still don't get why so many get so angry just because other people have the option to buy a product they don't personally like.

Internet at its finest.

 

[alexandr]

i think the expectations apple set for the mini were too high. it'll be a shame if they lose the model altogether. perhaps they should simply plan for a smaller run.

 

[muzzymate]

I absolutely love my blue 12 Mini. It's the perfect size for me. Looks like I'll be picking up the 13 Mini after they announce the 14 series in 2022.

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

I went from a 11 Pro Max to a 12 Mini and it was the best decision I have made.

Not only ~$30 cheaper per month but it fits in my pocket and hand better. This is going to really suck if I have to go back to some stupidly huge brick with the 13.

So you upgrade every year? Must be nice. I'm still rocking my 6 Plus and hoping an SE Plus gets announced.

 

[darcyf]

The mini never got the chance it deserved. To appreciate it you’d have to see it, hold it in your hands, compare it’s size and feel to the other models. If it had come out even just one year prior I believe it would have been a much bigger success.

 

[Lemon Olive]

Not surprising at all.

If they could have canceled the iPhone 13 mini without losing money, they would have.

The blog hounds can cry all they want. The market isn't wiling to pay $729+ for such a small phone.

 

[Lemon Olive]

The mini never got the chance it deserved. To appreciate it you’d have to see it, hold it in your hands, compare it’s size and feel to the other models. If it had come out even just one year prior I believe it would have been a much bigger success.

It got every chance. People don't want it. They either want a $399 phone, or the biggest thing they can afford. That is the market.

 

[profets]

I love my iPhone Mini. The battery of my iPhone Mini is the best battery I've ever had. Sometimes I forget to plug it into the charger in the evening and next day I can use it a second day without troubles.

The sales of iPhone Mini were 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.

It’s not hate, majority of people do not want small phones anymore. The sale numbers back that up

I love the iPhone mini myself - it feels fantastic in the hand and harkens back to the 4/5 days. Having said that I ended up myself going with the 12 instead.

However, I think its excellent to have it as an option in the lineup. Doesn't surprise me about sales numbers, I think volume wise the majority prefer larger screens, but doesn't mean that it can't be a successful product in the line up (successful doesn't have to mean its the best selling iPhone).

 

[jayducharme]

Then I'm glad I have my current mini. If another comes out this year, I might upgrade just to make it last a little longer. The current iPhone SE/8 is too big for me. But if Apple got rid of its bezels and basically relabeled the mini as the new SE, I'd be fine with that.

 

[Mainsail]

I love my iPhone Mini. The battery of my iPhone Mini is the best battery I've ever had. Sometimes I forget to plug it into the charger in the evening and next day I can use it a second day without troubles.

The sales of iPhone Mini were 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.

Do you disagree that, in general, smaller phones have less battery life than larger phones? Other things being equal.

 

[mazz0]

You already reported this yesterday!

 

[DarthDon]

if mini would be mini they hadn't that problem. mini means 4" and less.

 

[robvalentine]

there's a cult on this site of people who think the 12 mini should be super cheap because it's a bit smaller... What they don;t seem to realise is that the cost of development, components (there's likely little difference in cost of aluminium for the shell, and maybe slightly smaller screen), marketing/manufacture etc is similar to the regular sized one. Heck the Max is £100 more that the pro, by the 'Mini Truthers' beliefs the Max would be a lot more expensive than the pro if you use the same cost ratio.

Yes a cheaper price would encourage more sales (that's economics for ya), but the margin would be smaller than the other phones in the range.

I'm not interested in the mini, but there is a small demographic that is (8th in a very fragmented market where I imagine only samsung apple oneplus and pixels reign isn't anything to write home about.) interested in it, so I hope it stays around. The iphone 11pro is a good size for me, and 6.1 will be a good step up for the 13, if it's similar in size (like the 12 pro is to the 11 pro).

I'm so gonna get flammed for this.... 😂

 

[Hairball]

I went from a 11 Pro Max to a 12 Mini and it was the best decision I have made.

Not only ~$30 cheaper per month but it fits in my pocket and hand better. This is going to really suck if I have to go back to some stupidly huge brick with the 13.

No one is forcing you to upgrade. Keep the phone for 3-4 years.

 

[crawfish963]

If they would have made it a pro phone I would have purchased one.

 

[furou]

I would’ve preferred if the regular size was below 6 inches (5.8 or 5.4) and the max was above 6 inches (6.1 or 6.7).
So the lineup would have 4 phones: 2 non pro and 2 pro, at normal and large sizes.

 

[darcyf]

It got every chance. People don't want it. They either want a $399 phone, or the biggest thing they can afford. That is the market.

It’s almost as if you completely ignored my one and only point just to assert your opinion 🤣

 

[chalkdiesel]

Rip MINI model.

Dang, I hope not. I just downgraded from the 12 Pro to the mini and haven't missed it at all. I understand the sales not being too good and ditching it though, just wish they wouldn't!

 

[Hmm]

I guess I don't understand why some are saying that people wanted a cheaper phone vs a smaller phone when the mini sold better than the SE.

 

[velocityg4]

Seems a bit ridiculous. 8th best selling smartphone isn't exactly bad. Something other companies dream about for their high end phones. The only ones selling better are sub $200 phones. Still beating the SE 2020.

Best-selling smartphones: six iPhones in top ten globally- 9to5Mac

iPhone models made up 6 of the 10 best-selling smartphones globally in January, according to a new market intelligence report today ...

9to5mac.com

 

[happygodavid]

I'm bummed, but I'm a realist. If it isn't selling to their expectations, they will cancel it. I just know I like it and will continue to use this size if it becomes the SE. The 6.1 and 6.7 are just too big. I like the pocket-ability of the mini. I have an ipad mini at 7.9 inches that is not much bigger than the max phone.

Personally, I think Apple is misinterpreting the poor sales as a lack of interest in a smaller phone. Sure, it didn't sell well. But... they released the 2nd gen SE months beforehand (I imagine a lot of folks who prefer smaller phones pounced on this, thereby cannibalizing some sales. Anecdotally, I know that's what my dad did.). They launched it AFTER the "regular sized" models (folks who just want to be ahead of the tech curve and get the latest and greatest might have chosen those because they could get them sooner). Also, I frequent tech forums, and I have seen a ton of folks say things like, "I'd get it, but I want better battery life." Or, "I'd get it, but I want the best camera." Or both. For me, it's absolutely that combo. I got a 12 Pro, but I'm a camera junky. I want that third lens. Point being, I do think there's a market for it; they just need to make it comparable to other models and sell it on different sales cycles than the SE brand. Now, it seems like they're thinking there isn't a market for both to coexist, and I'm bummed. I'd commit to a mini-Pro for life if they'd sell one. I'm so done with giant toasters in my pockets.

 

[1258186]

Big mistake if it happens. Some models will inevitably sell more than others but that should not be used as an excuse to reduce the range available. I want more choice not less. Tim Crook is far too quick to axe products.

 

[sdreamer07]

They can just put the mini on the SE time line for release. In 2 years, they'll keep the iPhone 13 mini around and sell it for almost the price of the SE. They can remove the SE from sales, and keep the iPhone 13 mini in it's price bracket. The only reason the SE outsells the iPhone 12 mini right now is pricing. Remember though even though the 12 mini is a failure, it still outsells like all the other competitor's flagship models (according to figures seen on Macrumors).