The compact iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini were supposed to bring small smartphones back to the market, but turned out to be a nail in their coffin. Therefore, it is not surprising that failed models will not receive a direct successor.
Too few people are willing to buy small smartphones
Looking at the numerous comments on the Internet, we can conclude that a smartphone with good features and a small screen should sell well. Of course, there will be those who want to buy it, but in fact, the vast majority of people are looking for devices with screens of 6 inches or more. Just take a look at what the leading smartphone brands are producing – mostly phablets with large displays. And the reason is clear – such models are in the greatest demand.
Many hoped that other manufacturers would follow Apple with its iPhone 12 mini. For this to happen, small iPhones had to sell very well, but, unfortunately, it quickly became clear that interest in them was far from what Tim Cook and his team were counting on.
A report by CIRP analysts, published two months after the iPhone 12 mini was released, indicated that the most compact model is also the least popular. It accounted for only 6% of all sales of Apple smartphones. For comparison, the iPhone 12 was 27%, while the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max were 20% each. Moreover, in some periods, even older models – XR, 11 or SE – achieved better results.
The release of the successor, the iPhone 13 mini, did not change anything in terms of sales. Even a noticeably longer battery life did not help; improvement of one of the main shortcomings of the predecessor. According to the latest data published by CIRP, which covers the beginning of 2022, the iPhone 13 mini accounts for a ridiculous 3% of all Apple smartphone sales.
We won’t see the iPhone 14 mini
The exception is Japan, where the mini series models are very popular, but this is clearly not enough to convince the Cupertino company to release a successor to the market. Instead, the iPhone lineup this year will only consist of devices with screens larger than 6 inches – 14, 14 Max, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max.
Will Apple ever return to 5.4-inch iPhone screens? Rumor has it that such a display could be on board the next SE model. However, this is not credible, because the new SE, in order to have higher sales, is likely to be the “reincarnation” of the hit iPhone XR or 11.
