There Is No iPhone 14 Mini: Here's Why [Updated]

[techfirth]

I absolutely get the reasoning for an iPhone mini Pro that has the same capabilities as its larger kin. Unfortunately, I don't think it can be built easily without becoming more bulky or having abysmal battery life.

I agree with you in theory, but I’d rather see Apple try and fail than fob me off with a substandard set of features.

By try and fail I mean offer me a device. If they tell me it’s thicker than the non-Pro to accommodate battery life - GREAT. But the option would be nice.

 

[SoldOnApple]

Maybe for the kind of people that buy the mini tend to not the kind of people who would care about any of the improvements iPhone 14 brings, meaning Apple could sell the 13 mini for another year or two without losing any meaningful amounts of mini customers.

 

[azentropy]

Apple already pulled the price lever by selling iPhone 12 mini for $599. The demand simply isn’t there.

Look at the marketing for the XR or 11. There was virtually none yet both those ended up being the best selling smartphones globally in 2019 and 2020.

At this point, Apple has tried everything: price, performance, 5G. They even did a mid-cycle refresh by adding purple colors. Time to bid farewell and face reality. Most people want big phones for battery life and longer screen time.

Yes the lowered the price, but they also lowered the price for the regular 12 too. The problem wasn't necessarily the price but the price gap of only $100. That made it only appeal to those who specifically want a smaller iPhone as for just $100 more you could get a bigger screen and much better battery life. This is in contrast to what made the original SE so popular. There was a $250 price difference between it and the 6s AND it actually had better battery life that the 6s. They just weren't/aren't able to do that with the 12 or 13 mini.

It is going to be interesting to see how the new 14 Plus sells compared to the 14. Too bad they aren't being released at the same time. At what point does a "smaller" size outweigh a bigger screen and longer battery. There has to be a limit as if not then Apple should just add cellular calling to the iPad Pros and stop making iPhones! 😉

Personally I still hope that the mini makes a return as the next SE or Apple better yet decides to put the mini on its own ~2 year cycle like the SE. While the percentage of sales is low compared to other iPhones, they still sell a ton of them versus pretty much every other companies highest selling models.

 

[MrPresident]

The iPhone mini has been my favourite form factor that Apple have released. As some one has already commented it could be slightly smaller for me. The battery life has been a bit disappointing but understandable given the capacity it could fit.

The iPhone is too large for me to use one handed and the Max I find unwieldy. I would only consider a model of that size if I wanted to shoot high quality photos or videos. Obviously plenty of people enjoy the form factor but it’s not for me, especially as I find watching videos on a screen smaller than an 11” iPad unpleasant.

I will keep my mini as long as possible; I keep all my phones a minimum of four years, although I will take advantage of AppleCare to replace the battery. Strange thing is, within the first few months of ownership I got a day and a half out of my mini. After three months I was charging nightly and two years on I regularly need to charge it in the evening. The battery depreciation is a bit worrying even at 86% capacity.

Here’s hoping that the form factor is revived in the future!

 

[spartan1967]

Apple still had a positive ROI off the Mini. Enough said.

 

[bgalakazam]

I have the 13 mini. Even that is too big for one hand operations. I don't put that weird clip on the back or have cases.. Killing the mini effectively kills the one hand operated phones. I recently threw out a 5S case. The case was smaller than the mini... how times have changed. I don't think a phone or tablet will ever replace a laptop. I have the 12.9" iPad Pro and ever that is slow to operate and inconvenient compared to any laptop. Can't beat mouse and keyboard.

 

[techfirth]

Maybe for the kind of people that buy the mini tend to not the kind of people who would care about any of the improvements iPhone 14 brings, meaning Apple could sell the 13 mini for another year or two without losing any meaningful amounts of mini customers.

“Maybe”…but no. You can’t just lump the ’kind of people’ who prefer a reasonably sized phone into a one-size-fits-all category of luddite because they prefer a smaller screen. We are not some technophobic grandparents who need a phone to send an SMS that takes us 45 minutes to write just because we want a smaller phone - we’re ordinary users who want the best features in a pocket sized device - yet we’re forced to compromise on one or the other.

Just imagine if Apple jumped the price of the iPhone to $2000 (or made it iPad mini sized) because the ’kind of people’ who need a Pro device are professional photographers, videographers and quantity surveyors / architects. That would be ludicrous, and would alienate vast swathes of otherwise happy customers.

 

[klasma]

Even the current $600 USD feels too high.

And it’s still $800 tax included in Europe. 500-600 would be more appropriate.

 

[JPack]

Yes the lowered the price, but they also lowered the price for the regular 12 too. The problem wasn't necessarily the price but the price gap of only $100. That made it only appeal to those who specifically want a smaller iPhone as for just $100 more you could get a bigger screen and much better battery life. This is in contrast to what made the original SE so popular. There was a $250 price difference between it and the 6s AND it actually had better battery life that the 6s. They just weren't/aren't able to do that with the 12 or 13 mini.

It is going to be interesting to see how the new 14 Plus sells compared to the 14. Too bad they aren't being released at the same time. At what point does a "smaller" size outweigh a bigger screen and longer battery. There has to be a limit as if not then Apple should just add cellular calling to the iPad Pros and stop making iPhones! 😉

Personally I still hope that the mini makes a return as the next SE or Apple better yet decides to put the mini on its own ~2 year cycle like the SE. While the percentage of sales is low compared to other iPhones, they still sell a ton of them versus pretty much every other companies highest selling models.

Apple has always charged a $100 difference between sizes. We’ve seen it since iPhone 6. Today, the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are separated by a $100 gap. So are the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. So, I don’t see this as a valid argument.

 

[bgalakazam]

How is this small? I don't have small hands and there is no case.. I understand the one-size compromise mentality, but that doesn't mean cut off an entire line that was profitable, regardless of not selling a high % of phones...

 

[klasma]

It’s called physics. People already complained about the poor battery life, yet you want Apple to shrink the battery further to make room for a telephoto lens? The reality is, the form factor wasn’t appealing in 2020 and it won’t be in the future.

People were fine with the battery life on iPhone 4/5/6. What has changed? More background activity?

 

[Moonjumper]

I like the mini because the size in my pocket (where it spends most of the time) is more important than the screen size. However, it has spent most of the last few years sat on my desk alongside me as I work on my computer, because the pandemic dictated being at home most of the time. The mini was on sale when when the need for it’s size was diminished. Would it have sold better in more normal times? We’ll never find out now.

 

[RickDEGH]

Apple doesn’t have unlimited production capacity, engineering resources, and chips aren’t free. Why waste an A15 and Qualcomm radio in mini if nobody buys it?

What if without a mainstream 6.7-inch iPhone, buyers move to Android? Apple has clearly evaluated the risks and determined larger is more popular.

Clearly think all those Minis which were manufactured are going to go to landfills or something! My carrier still sells 12 Mini for a very high price 2 freaking years after the model was released. Heard of adjusting production volumes? Apple has sold over 100 million iPhones for Q1&Q2 alone. That is 3-6 million Minis. Call that wasting engineering resources? Apple is still selling the 13 Mini with A14 for 799€ in my country. That ain’t a waste either, is it?

 

[JPack]

People were fine with the battery life on iPhone 4/5/6. What has changed? More background activity?

Livestream shopping wasn’t a $500 billion market back then. Streaming video services was in its infancy. Screen time has increased significantly.

 

[SW3029]

The mini is a great example that the cries and desires of a small portion of readers on an Apple rumors site often don't gel with what tens of millions of consumers – who don't spend their time reading about tech or Apple – want.

 

[klasma]

Xr is just a bigger mini...we dont know that the next SE will have 6.1" or 5.4" like the current mini
The rumours are about the design language of the next SE but we dont know the display size...so if its an iPhone 5.4" it will be the next mini+SE combined. I dont see Apple to place 6.1" in the cheapest iphone, but maybe ill be wrong. But i do hope Apple to keep a smaller size in the line-up an iphone 5.4" Lcd panel starting from under $500

The current rumors for the next SE are for a 5.7" if not a 6.1" display: https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-se/#whats_next_for_the_iphone_se

Also, you can’t just replace OLED by LCD in the mini casing with notch, that requires a whole technical redesign and display sourcing, whereas SEs have always been largely unmodified existing designs.

I don’t see the mini as becoming an SE, even if I would wish for it, because it’s not a mainstream design like all previous SEs have been. It would be more plausible for Apple to turn it into an iPad-mini-like product and update it every 3 years or so. Although iPad mini sales are relatively higher than iPhone mini sales have been, I guess.

 

[JPack]

Clearly think all those Minis which were manufactured are going to go to landfills or something! My carrier still sells 12 Mini for a very high price 2 freaking years after the model was released. Heard of adjusting production volumes? Apple has sold over 100 million iPhones for Q1&Q2 alone. That is 3-6 million Minis. Call that wasting engineering resources? Apple is still selling the 13 Mini with A14 for 799€ in my country. That ain’t a waste either, is it?

Economies of scale don’t work when the units are too low. Apple isn’t a startup and their investors have expectations. Why should Apple waste an A15 chip in a $699 iPhone 13 mini when the same chip can sell in a $899 iPhone 14 Plus? ROI.

 

[tizeye]

Left out of the analyst rationale to drop the mini - competition. Where else are you going to get a sub 6" display? Certainly not Samsung with the smallest is 6.1" and while folded might be smaller, unfolded are significantly larger. With no competition in the 5.4" range, there was little risk to drop it.

 

[EnigmaticZee]

Mini is a perfect device for me and it will remain with me until Android or Apple launches another normal sized device (maximum 5.8").

If not I am gonna keep replacing batteries on my S10e and Mini as long as possible.

 

[EnigmaticZee]

Well, at least the 13 mini is a thing, because I will never buy a phone larger than it.

Same sentiment here mate

 

[EnigmaticZee]

I love the mini. And I don’t care if I’m in the minority. In Apple’s world, “minority” is several million units. Those kind of sales would be the envy of many other companies. Given Apple’s profit margins, it wouldn’t kill them to keep the mini in the product line for the millions of people who want it.

Maybe they can offer BTO? Because I would buy mini in a heartbeat

 

[Xand&Roby]

People were fine with the battery life on iPhone 4/5/6. What has changed? More background activity?

Worst IOS development 'cause Apple engineers probably are pay in peanuts.

 

[techfirth]

The mini is a great example that the cries and desires of a small portion of readers on an Apple rumors site often don't gel with what tens of millions of consumers – who don't spend their time reading about tech or Apple – want.

You’re right. Many of those consumers just walk into a phone store and say “I need a new iPhone”. At that point, the clerk says ”OK here’s the line up. If you’re size/budget sensitive you can have the mini, or here’s the Pro lineup with a much better feature set…”

What a mystery that mini sales lagged behind other devices! iPhone mini Pro is what’s required…

 

[techfirth]

Economies of scale don’t work when the units are too low. Apple isn’t a startup and their investors have expectations. Why should Apple waste an A15 chip in a $699 iPhone 13 mini when the same chip can sell in a $899 iPhone 14 Plus? ROI.

Because there are people who would buy it for $899 if it had the same feature-set as a Pro device. I’m not sure what you think mini users use their phones for, but spoiler alert, they aren’t sitting around looking at the Home Screen “wasting” an A15 chip.

 

[JPack]

Because there are people who would buy it for $899 if it had the same feature-set as a Pro device. I’m not sure what you think mini users use their phones for, but spoiler alert, they aren’t sitting around looking at the Home Screen “wasting” an A15 chip.

I’m sure there are, but the numbers are probably low. Just like there are probably people who would buy an 11-inch MacBook Air or a 9-inch iPhone Max. Apple isn’t about niche. They don’t market 50 smartphones like Samsung. They focus on a relatively small number of mainstream products.