The conclusion reached in this report is flat wrong, demonstrably wrong. Most purchasers of the “mini” form-factor were 5s/SE (1st Gen) owners who had been waiting several years for a replacement phone of the same size, and jumped on the 12 mini, almost immediately. They had eschewed the iPhone 6, 6s, 7, 8, and SE (2nd Gen), purposely… why the f would they y-o-y jump on the 13 mini when it offered little improvement over the 12 mini they already owned? So this interpretation of sales numbers of the 13 mini is stupid; they should be comparing to the 12 mini with an adjustment for overall market size progress… and doing that, the mini size crushes the 14 Plus.
My opinion: Apple is a $2T+ company… give your customers BOTH, ya morons! The mini motherboard should be used in all non-Pro iPhones and iPads, with the remaining volume going to battery. The production advantage is obvious. (That Apple does not do this at this point exposes the sham of their reputation for supply chain mastery and their greed.)
It somewhat amuses me to see all the OBVIOUS goal-seeking that goes on against the small phone form-factor. It’s like there is an evil secret cabal amassed against us owners who prefer small pocketable phones! It is borderline absurd how the small phones get treated, as a topic. (My hypothesis is that Apple is behind it, in an attempt to rewrite history, wherein they had publicly, steadfastly, stubbornly, promoted the small phone form-factor in the face of Android’s stunning growth-rate on the shoulders of large-slab form-factors. It was an embarrassing PR attempt against the “great unwashed” that failed, spectacularly, and made Apple look foolish. Of course, we mini owners realize the Apple designers were correct. Of course.)