I did my part as secondary devices. They are great in the pocket and easy to navigate on screen
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There Is No iPhone 14 Mini: Here's Why [Updated]
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I’ve had both minis and defended them to the death on these and other forums but I’ve got a 14 pro in my future. My 13 mini battery health is down to 93, which doesn’t seem like much but I’m having to recharge more often.
I would have gone for a mini if I was younger, (I.e. read better eyesight), but as the years accumulate I find myself struggling with smaller screens and so prefer the better resolution over convenienc.![]()
The iPhone 14 lineup is the first iPhone series to not include a display size below six inches, despite sticking with the 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch form factors of previous generations that included a 5.4-inch model. So why did Apple eliminate the "mini" device that some iPhone customers had come to love?
![iPhone-mini-wonder-feature-yellow.jpg]()
Apple debuted the iPhone 12 mini in 2020 following years of calls from iPhone fans for the company to offer a small-screen device with the latest features. When Apple did so, it was assumed that the small form factor would persist for several years – but it appears that the device has come to a premature end upon the release of the iPhone 14 lineup.
Concerns first arose when the iPhone 12 mini appeared to not be selling as well as Apple had hoped, making up just six percent of iPhone 12 sales in the U.S. in October and November 2020, according to data gathered by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP). Counterpoint Research reported that the iPhone 12 mini accounted for only five percent of all iPhone 12 sales in the U.S. in the first half of January 2021.
Morgan Stanley believed that Apple chose to cut production of the iPhone 12 mini by two million units to create more manufacturing capacity for the more popular iPhone 12 Pro. This was mirrored by a Taiwanese report, citing supply chain sources, which said that strong demand for iPhone 12 Pro models in China led Apple to increase its supply of the more expensive devices.
Most strikingly, JP Morgan Chase claimed that Apple outright halted iPhone 12 mini production in the second quarter of 2021. While the sales reports for the iPhone 12 mini did not bode well for the iPhone 13 mini, Apple plans its iPhone production and supply chain operations well in advance of launch, meaning that the iPhone 13 mini was already well on the way to production by the time the issues with the iPhone 12 mini's sales were clear.
In April 2022, CIRP released more data suggesting that the iPhone 13 mini accounted for just 3 percent of iPhone 13 sales – half that of the iPhone 12 mini. These continued poor sales were likely the main reason behind the demise of the "mini" form factor iPhone.
With the iPhone 14 lineup, Apple has opted to replace the "mini" device with an all-new "Plus" device. In some respects, the iPhone 14 Plus mirrors the iPhone 12 mini, offering the latest iPhone's features in a different display size. Instead of offering a lightweight small-screen option, customers can now choose an even bigger battery and 6.7-inch display – the same size that iPhone "Max" customers have been used to for four years now at a price of $1,099 – but at a lower, $899 price point.
Article Link: There Is No iPhone 14 Mini: Here's Why
If only reachability was easy and dependable to use without an awkward unbalancing of the phone to swipe down on the bottom lip, or do a unreliable double or triple tap on the back of the phone.
All that to say: there’s workarounds, sure, but nothing as easy and dependable as having a 4” screen to reach all the sides.
My preference would have been less tall Mini, and thicker back to hide the camera bump.
Meanwhile I’m here still using the original SE
I don’t like any of these bigger phones and even the mini I personally find too large
I don’t like any of these bigger phones and even the mini I personally find too large
Great companies do not exist solely to make money. Embedded in a great company is a deeper mission, with sustainability and growth being a means to an end. That's the sort of company Apple used to be.
And Apple's main mission is to provide the world with excellent technological tools to accomplish many different valuable tasks in many industries as well as for entertainment, which they have done and still are doing. That doesn't mean they have to be all things to all people. Not sure what else you want them to do here 🤷🏼♂️
I don't think the Mini ever had a chance to shine from a market perspective.
We would expect these buyers to be shopping for a new phone again around now. However, there is no good upgrade path available to them (eg. 14 Mini). I am curious if we will be seeing them buy the older 13 Mini that still seems to be available?
- iPhone SE 2, announced April 15 2020
- iPhone 12 Mini, announced October 13 2020
We would expect these buyers to be shopping for a new phone again around now. However, there is no good upgrade path available to them (eg. 14 Mini). I am curious if we will be seeing them buy the older 13 Mini that still seems to be available?
Apple used to take a principled stance on only offering phones that could reasonably be operated with one hand, until Steve Jobs died. Now their position seems to be "we have no interest in offering a phone that can even uncomfortably be operated with one hand", which is not a position I agree with, and not a position the old Apple would have taken.
The mini has perfect length but it's just too narrow. Apple should increase its width while maintaining the length.
I suspect Apple may keep making the 13 mini as a low end model and replace the 2022 SE with it next year.
The se is missing a lot of stuff (face id, edge to edge display, multi lens camera) and if they keep making the 13 mini the price will come down via economy of scale eventually. All those features are things I suspect Apple would want to be on every phone eventually.
I don’t think they’ll update the spec for some years though.
The se is missing a lot of stuff (face id, edge to edge display, multi lens camera) and if they keep making the 13 mini the price will come down via economy of scale eventually. All those features are things I suspect Apple would want to be on every phone eventually.
I don’t think they’ll update the spec for some years though.
Your thumb's range is circular, so increasing the width would make the far corners harder to reach.
Didn't Steve Jobs also mock the idea of larger phones saying no one was going to buy them? LOL! That comment didn't age well. So I wouldn't be looking to Steve Job's words or thoughts as the gospel, though I know many here unfortunately do. And, seriously, who cares if you need two hands to use the phone? I literally don't even give it a passing thought with my 13PM which I use all day long, and I don't have gigantic hands. But I CAN operate the 13 PM with one hand for some things, and even more if I use the simple "reachability" feature that pulls the screen down for you. But I don't even see the pressing need for that. I understand it's nice to be able to do sometimes, but not something to get all hot and bothered about if you can't.
And of course if you're stationary while using the phone, you can easily use it with one hand by simply setting it down or using a mount.
I suppose he misestimated the general public's tastes from time to time.
Me, and plenty of other people.
I will wait for a new mini. If it won't arrive, I will have to upgrade when I can no longer run the latest version of iOS on my 12 mini
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I suppose he misestimated the general public's tastes from time to time.
Me, and plenty of other people.
Are you familiar with the Reachability accessibility feature that I mentioned? Like I said, I don't care about having to use two hands, but I just went through a bunch of apps using that feature on my 13PM and there was literally nothing I couldn't do with one hand. Seems like a great compromise (just one little extra swipe) to have the "best of both worlds" if you're keen on using your iPhone with one hand.
I own a 13 mini and it's the perfect form factor for a phone for the majority of people. The biggest flaws with the "mini" lineup I think come down to two things:
1. Calling it "mini" automatically turned off a large portion of the market. There's a reason most women were intrigued and most men looked right past it from the ones I talked to. "Mini" implies that it's super small and made for "small" people, that it's too "dainty" for a man to carry. Seriously bad branding on that one. It should have simply been iPhone Air, iPhone SE, iPhone 13C, iPhone 13s, something besides recycling the mini branding that applies to a device that doesn't have a screen. It would have been awesome to have it adopt the SE name and get some throwback colors like Jet Black and maybe rethinking the aluminum/black look for glass backed phones.
2. Not offering a Pro mini really hampers the excitement. I want Pro features, I don't want a phablet to get them. I understand there may be some technology limitations at that size, but you can add a few millimeters to the thickness to pack a bit more battery capacity. It doesn't need to be the same thickness as the rest of the Pro lineup. I plan to stick with my 13 mini for a while, but I really, really miss my 11 Pro camera when I go to take a photo.
1. Calling it "mini" automatically turned off a large portion of the market. There's a reason most women were intrigued and most men looked right past it from the ones I talked to. "Mini" implies that it's super small and made for "small" people, that it's too "dainty" for a man to carry. Seriously bad branding on that one. It should have simply been iPhone Air, iPhone SE, iPhone 13C, iPhone 13s, something besides recycling the mini branding that applies to a device that doesn't have a screen. It would have been awesome to have it adopt the SE name and get some throwback colors like Jet Black and maybe rethinking the aluminum/black look for glass backed phones.
2. Not offering a Pro mini really hampers the excitement. I want Pro features, I don't want a phablet to get them. I understand there may be some technology limitations at that size, but you can add a few millimeters to the thickness to pack a bit more battery capacity. It doesn't need to be the same thickness as the rest of the Pro lineup. I plan to stick with my 13 mini for a while, but I really, really miss my 11 Pro camera when I go to take a photo.
Will keep my mini until Apple returns to this size. Even if it means no new Iphone... I used to buy new Iphones on launch day.
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Yes. It's slow and counter-intuitive compared to moving your thumb to where you'd like to tap.
People who use their phones as mobile devices.
Hardly. Sounds like you just need to practice. I literally just did it and it felt very natural and fast. Yes, obviously it's not 100% as fast/natural as simply moving your thumb, but it's pretty darn close and it's the best you're going to get an iPhone 14 and a great compromise for those who want/need a larger screen but still be able to use it one-handed when needed.
Wow, so if I'm holding my phone in one hand, it's a mobile device, but if I touch it with my other hand, it's no longer a mobile device? Fascinating! Never knew people lost the function of one hand when they're going mobile. /s
And as I've been explaining to iRockMan1, you can indeed use the larger phones one-handed if you want to.
I love the mini form factor. For me it feels like a return to form after dealing with the slightly too large 6/7/8/SE202x form factor for the past 8 years or so.
Smaller than an SE physically, bigger screen. What’s not to like?