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

ErzWolf said:
Maybe they should take a Pro approach for the Mini, even putting a higher price tag on it than the normal pro.
I would die for an Iphone 15 Pro Mini, with all screen display and magic island, stainless steel frame, just one camera lense with a Periscopic telephoto camera, and in that awesome space black Color.
Would even pay as much as for a Pro Max.
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OK “magic island” made me laugh 🤣
 
Maybe Apple should go all-in on small size and create a new "iPhone nano" that's about the same size as an AirPods case. Imagine a little block of plastic that has no screen at all, just antenna and battery and basic phone bits, with the idea that it connects to your AppleWatch, iPad, or Mac to provide phone service on any/all of those devices.

In the meantime, I'll be holding on to my 13 mini for as long as I can.
 
SW3029 said:
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.
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Yeah, people are here in denial. People, for the most part, want bigger phones and the mini clearly has not sold that well to merit a new model. Regardless of how much money Apple has, it's not going to play fast and lose with it. It's not complicated.
 
one more said:
“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…”

You guys are seriously adventurous today! :p iPhone 14 Plus, in fact, is entirely opposite of mini, being bigger, heavier and more expensive.
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Watch out, it’s Dark Mini 🤣
 
JM said:
Hate to agree, but yeah that’s a really good point about why the mini didn’t sell as well.
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I think that it’s both the reason the mini didn’t sell as well and also what the mini form factor will eventually become. When SE goes to FaceID and ditches home button form factor, I think it’ll be the mini form factor. It’ll hold out on the notch long after the digital island is on all new iPhone models, same as home button model is right now during FaceID
 
Years ago, I had both a 6S and a 6S Plus at the same time. The first being personal and the second work.

I loved the bigger screen size of the Plus. It's physical size in my hand was fine. But it was just too big to fit my pockets, and to place somewhere sensible in my car.

Eventually I went for a 12 Pro - bigger screen but shorter and narrower overall. Probably the largest I'd ever want.

But what I might accept, even leap at, is a small phone (like a 13 mini) which worked in close cooperation with an iPad - even a 6". The phone being used more literally for its phone attributes and the iPad for things that benefit from the larger display.
 
one more said:
This is when it all gets confusing. SE has never been anything “combined”, “redesigned”, etc. So far it has always reused the previous generations chassis. I guess it could be either XR or XS bodies with fresher internals. Then, if the next SE is XS-based, changing the screen tech from OLED to LCD would imply buying additional panels for a device that might not sell so well. Mini 12-13 won’t do either, as they are quite expensive to make and 13 mini is still being sold for 599$. So XR chassis are quite likely, as Apple could have a sub-500$ phone that is cheap to make, has a good battery, offers an LCD screen for people preferring it over OLED and is “big enough”, adding to the feeling that one gets “more for less”, which has been SE philosophy.

As a 12 mini user, I am planning to wait until next spring to see what that new SE is like and then probably get either that or 13 mini.
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Another consideration is that the 13 mini next year would be $499.

The SE right now is $429. It’s feasible that Apple would increase the price of the SE to $499 next year, and have no $429 device.
 
5.4” is mini in name only. My niece who has iPhone 12 and tried my 12 mini: “oh, it’s not really mini”.

I think it should be 5.6” and not called mini. There should be a 6.2” called Plus and a 6.8” called Max. Mini should be 5”. I’ll keep using my SE1. I’m buying a spare soon.
 
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People seem to be confusing mini and budget, the reason I like the mini is because of its size, it is the number one concern for me.

I speak to loads of SE users who buy it because it’s small and cheap. So hopefully in the future the SE can just use the Mini chassis instead of the iPhone 6 chassis.
 
MrPresident said:
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!
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Is it a 12 mini? I noticed rapid battery degradation with my regular iPhone 12 within the first several months of ownership. Luckily my 13 mini seems to be holding up much better thus far, but I have AppleCare at the ready if anything should start going south.
 
Since struggling with a 64gb X for awhile I really cut down my phone use and apps.

I got a 12PM when it came out but hated the size and I mostly had nothing on my phone despite having 256gb.

I bought a 13 mini a few months ago and absolutely love it. I was so over the max the mini is amazing. Even after a week my wife’s normal sized 12 felt like a huge phone. I’m keeping this thing as long as I can. Unless Apple gives me something the same size.
 
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The mini is/was a fantastic feeling device to hold in the hand. I loved it, though I didn't personally use one myself. I do get the sense that many people feel that way, and I guess it wasn't enough to keep sales strong, unfortunately.

My one gripe with it, was these UIs seem to be evolving for larger displays, and the mini (along with iPad mini for that matter), have what seems like a scaled down UI - smaller touch targets, widgets not as native looking (for lack of a better description). I do think it would be nice for them to keep a mini in the lineup, even if it isn't refreshed every year.

And in fairness, the 13 mini, which is still available, isn't much different from what the new 14 has.
 
JM said:
Another consideration is that the 13 mini next year would be $499.

The SE right now is $429. It’s feasible that Apple would increase the price of the SE to $499 next year, and have no $429 device.
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Apple would not be making much then. Mini’s sharp OLED screen, good cameras, etc., plus quite a complex assembly, must all cost quite a bit. Besides, this new SE should be coming in the spring 2023. If Apple stops selling 13 mini at 599$ then and just starts selling it for 499$, this will be quite odd, I reckon. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
So Apple sold in 2020 230 Million iPhones, the article says around 6% are iPhone 12 mini, that’s stlll around 13 million iPhone 12 minis .

13 million iPhone customers wanted a smaller iPhone in 2020. With the money Apple has is it really that hard to keep 1 mini size in the lineup and keep it up to date?

My iPhone mini 12 is still going strong , so cannot justify upgrading it yet, but will likely get a mini 13 in the next 12 months before they disappear.
 
How iPhone mini sales turned out made it clear, that MacRumors readers don't represent the larger Apple audience.

I was on the mini bandwagon, and went to a store to buy one when it came out, after using it for a bit it became clear its just too small.

Believe it or not bigger screen are a selling point, if you're gonna stare at something most of your day, might as well be big. I'm eyeing a plus model for the next upgrade, oh and the battery life is a plus.
 
“the market share is low so it must die”

Then what justifies the existence of niche products like the Mac Pro, or even the new Apple Watch Ultra.

Also it’s easy to scoff when you see numbers like 5% or 3%, but considering how many iPhones are sold in total, that’s still millions of people that bought iPhone minis.
 
Most companies strive for sales numbers that are 3-6% of iPhones (one of the best selling products ever). It’s not like they lost money on it (most of the r&d is the same as the other phones). I don’t think there is any reason why Apple won’t offer it other than silly things like product line simplicity and their inability to focus on too many things at once. As ATP put it, the product line is mature; at this point there is opportunities to address smaller niches like mini fans, and instead they only focus on what they think will be blockbusters.
 
techfirth said:
No, no no - you’ve succumbed to Apple’s flawed thinking on the mini. The solution isn’t to dumb the phone down further to make it even less desirable for current users, it needs to be an equal among the range. It needs a Pro option with a telephoto lens and the same cosmetic touches.

I reluctantly bought the 13 mini knowing the rumours about its demise because I love the form factor, but it kills me every time I use it to take a photo that it has no pro photography potential. The way to get it in the hands of users is not to foster the mindset at the point of purchase that you can have “pro or mini” - that approach is effectively killing 50% of its potential market.
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Absolutely not. The appeal of the Mini is the size. It didn’t fail because it lacked anything. It failed because it’s a niche device and it was too close in price to the iPhone 12/13. A Pro Mini is an even more niche device.
 
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