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The iPhone 13 Mini lives. (image Credit: CNET) |
At its Tuesday event, Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 Mini, giving fans of smaller-sized phones yet another reason to be excited. The iPhone 13 Mini, like its predecessor, is a 5.4-inch version of Apple's flagship iPhone with all of the same features in a smaller package.
However, there's a chance that the $700 iPhone 13 Mini, which goes on sale on September 24, will be Apple's final smaller-sized iPhone. According to reports, last year's iPhone 12 Mini did not sell well, and recent rumours suggest that Apple may drop the Mini from the iPhone 14 lineup in 2022.
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iPhone 12 Mini is $100 less expensive than the iPhone 12 because of its pocket-friendly form, top-notch cameras, and 5G capability. So, what exactly is the issue? In Apple's iPhone lineup, the iPhone 12 Mini felt a little out of place. It was hardly a bargain phone when it arrived in 2020, at $729, especially considering Apple's other affordable options, such as the iPhone SE and iPhone 11. After years of promoting larger phones, the value of a little iPhone didn't seem as relevant as Apple had hoped.
iPhone 13 Mini could be Apple's last smaller, premium iPhone
According to a July report from Nikkei Asian Review, Apple will not release an iPhone 14 Mini next year. According to an April research note received by MacRumors from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple's 2022 iPhone lineup would not include a successor to the Mini.
It would be reasonable if Apple removed the iPhone Mini from its flagship lineup. People simply aren't interested in buying it, according to reports from the previous year. According to a recent Nikkei Asian Review storey, Apple cut orders for the iPhone 12 Mini in the first half of 2021 due to low demand. Similar statistics were revealed earlier this year by Counterpoint Research, which stated that the iPhone 12 Mini only accounted for 5% of iPhone 12 range sales in the first half of January in the United States.
Why would Apple bother releasing the iPhone 13 Mini if the iPhone 12 Mini isn't selling well? According to Ben Stanton, a research manager for research firm Canalys, this is due in part to the more than a year lead time for smartphone development. As a result, Apple most likely did not have enough time to integrate iPhone 12 Mini sales data into the development cycle for the iPhone 13 generation.
Apple is also not known for making significant modifications to its product selection so rapidly. Despite years of customer complaints, it kept the contentious butterfly keyboard in its MacBook notebooks for approximately five years before moving completely to the new Magic Keyboard. The Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro isn't everyone's favourite feature, but it's still on Apple's high-end laptops five years later.
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| iPhone 13 Mini could be Apple's last smaller, premium iPhone (Image Credit: CNET) |
Why the iPhone 12 Mini didn't catch on
There could be two simple explanations for why the iPhone 12 Mini struggled in 2020. For starters, Apple is battling against stiff competition inside its own product range.
Take, for example, the iPhone 11. When Apple released the iPhone 12 last year, it reduced the price of the iPhone 11 to $600, which was $100 cheaper than the beginning price of the iPhone 12 Mini. Despite the fact that it isn't Apple's most recent iPhone, there are a number of reasons why users may have been enticed to purchase the iPhone 11 over the iPhone 12 in the past year.
Apple's 2019 iPhone features a 6.1-inch screen, long battery life, superb cameras, and quick performance thanks to its A13 Bionic CPU. It doesn't have 5G connectivity, MagSafe support, or Apple's more robust Ceramic Shield coating, but it has many of the same features as the iPhone 12. (here are all the main differences between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12). Now that the iPhone 13 has arrived, it's even less expensive, coming in at $500.
The $399 iPhone SE is for those who want the cheapest iPhone available without sacrificing too much performance. It has a similar compact shape as the iPhone 8, although it lacks Face ID and Apple's more current bezel-free design. It is, however, the only current iPhone with Touch ID, and its A13 Bionic processor provides ample of power for a phone of its price and size.
In other words, the Mini didn't have a place in Apple's iPhone 12 portfolio. It wasn't quite cheap enough to be considered a budget phone like the iPhone SE, and it didn't have enough to distinguish it from the Phone 11.
This year, Apple is using a same approach, placing the iPhone 12 alongside the iPhone 13. The iPhone 12 Mini is now available for $600, while the iPhone 12 is now available for $700. That means the iPhone 12 costs the same as the iPhone 13 Mini, while the iPhone Mini from last year costs $100 less than this year's model.
However, there's one major reason why the iPhone 13 Mini may outperform its predecessor: carrier offers. This year, Apple's telecom partners are giving substantial discounts, which may make it difficult for iPhone buyers to pass up the iPhone 13 or its smaller sibling. As my colleague Eli Blumenthal points out, AT&T is effectively giving away the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini for free by offering up to $700 in discounts.
The iPhone 12 Mini's success was further hampered by the fact that people prefer phones with larger screens. The 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max was also the most popular of Apple's 2020 Phone models, according to reports from analytics firm Flurry and Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
Some people may find the iPhone 12 Mini's smaller screen less practical for typing, reading, and viewing documents, which are key functions that many people use their phones for on a daily basis. Because of the lower size, the battery was also smaller, resulting in a shorter battery life, which many consumers may not have been ready to accept. Apple recognises this, which is why the iPhone 13 Mini's battery life has been increased by an hour and a half over the iPhone 12 Mini. (However, the battery life of the iPhone 13 Mini will be shorter than that of the iPhone 13.)
Plus, during a year when many people spent most of their days at home, the iPhone 12 Mini's tiny form may have been less valuable. When you're not going anywhere, who cares if your phone is more portable?
The only time I have difficulty using my phone with one hand is during my morning commute, when I am usually gripping the subway pole. Otherwise, a phone with a 6.1-inch or larger screen is usually manageable. I also imagine that having a phone with a larger screen and a longer battery life was especially important over the last year, given how much time we spent on video calls in 2020.
Finally, because large smartphones aren't new, the majority of Apple's customers have most likely adapted to them. In 2014, a phone with a 6.1-inch screen was deemed huge, but now it's the standard. So, while you may have been hesitant in 2014, you are now accustomed to it and may even desire a larger screen.
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| iPhone 13 Mini will be shorter than that of the iPhone 13 (Image Credit: CNET) |
The iPhone 13 Mini and beyond
According to certain reports around the iPhone 14, Apple is aiming to focus on larger-sized phones for its flagship models. According to Nikkei Asian Review and Kuo, Apple's iPhone family in 2022 will still include four models. However, according to reports, Apple will replace the Mini with a new 6.7-inch model, implying that the iPhone 14 Pro Max would be available in two sizes.
Instead, Apple may concentrate its efforts on the iPhone SE, which is an inexpensive smartphone. According to Nikkei Asian Review, a new iPhone SE 3 model with 5G capability, the same A15 Bionic CPU as the iPhone 13, and a 4.7-inch LCD screen could be released in the first half of 2022.
The iPhone 13 Mini has much more features than the iPhone 12 Mini. Carriers are giving considerable discounts, which may make it a more appealing purchase than older, less expensive versions. By boosting the battery life of the iPhone 13 Mini, Apple has addressed one of the most common concerns about the iPhone 12 Mini. People may cherish a tiny phone even more now that the COVID-19 vaccine has made it safer to spend less time at home in 2020 than in 2020. Only time will tell if these tweaks are enough to set the iPhone 13 Mini apart from the rest of Apple's crowded iPhone lineup.