Following reports that the iPhone 12 mini hasn’t been selling well – apparently accounting for 5% of iPhone sales in the US in January and leading Apple to decide to stop production of the handset – you might have thought that Apple would never make another iPhone mini. But apparently that’s not the case.
According to leaker Jon Prosser Apple will launch an iPhone 13 mini this autumn. In his latest edition of Front Page Tech Prosser reveals that “There will in fact be an iPhone 13 mini – or a 12s mini”.
It’s probable that the unexpectedly low interest in the iPhone 12 mini relates to the fact that customers are choosing the similarly small iPhone SE, or the iPhone XR and iPhone 11, as they are significantly cheaper. As Prosser says: “In 2020 the demographic who wanted small phones just bought the SE”.
Prosser also adds that: “There is no iPhone SE planned for this year – at least not the current size”. So that should help sales of the 2021 iPhone mini.
There are many users who have requested a smaller mobile phone with modern components, so if Apple stops selling the iPhone XR and iPhone 11, Apple may see increased sales for the mini model.
According to a report from the American investment bank Morgan Stanley in January 2021, Apple has decided to produce fewer units of the iPhone 12 mini in order to free up capacity to produce more copies of the iPhone 12 Pro, a model for which there is higher demand. Apple is stopping production of the iPhone 12 mini – but that doesn’t mean it is discontinuing the handset: Apple will continue to sell the iPhone 12 mini.
However, there are also suggestions that the battery in the iPhone 12 mini is the main reason why buyers are staying away from it.
During the last financial results conference call, Tim Cook and Luca Maestri confirmed that Apple had underestimated demand for the iPhone 12 Pro and the Max version.
