Well, it looks like Apple is done with a ‘Mini’ after a brief spell of just two years. The iPhone 12 Mini was hailed as the ‘best compact phone’ and ‘the compact iPhone you’ve been wanting for years’ among many other names, but the sales performance narrated a different story. And it appears that Apple has not been too happy about it. As per TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, there won’t be a 5.4-inch ‘Mini’ iPhone next year, at least not in the core iPhone 14 lineup.

“We predict that the new 2H22 iPhone will have 4 models, namely the high-end 6.7-inch and 6.1-inch models, and the lower-end 6.7-inch and 6.1-inch models,” Kuo was quoted as saying in a research note (via iMore). Apple is apparently going after size uniformity with the iPhone 14 line-up, with the Pro models coming in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch flavors, while the cheaper variants will also be available in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes next year. iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max, maybe? 

As to why, well, the iPhone 12 Mini simply didn’t sell as many units as Apple had hoped. Back in January, it was reported that Apple is cutting down on iPhone 12 Mini orders and was giving a boost to iPhone 12 Pro production due to higher demand for the latter. And last month, Nikkei Asia reported that iPhone 12 Mini sales have been far lower than what Apple had initially expected, and that it was going to affect the late 2021 production run.

Why did the iPhone 12 Mini fail?

Apple misjudged how many people enjoy viewing content on phones.

The Mini is a great idea in practice and for reviewers who ain’t gotta pay for it and can use it as a SECOND phone.

As a MAIN phone that you BUY? Once it comes down to choosing you just rather get more screen https://t.co/UR79xlpySV

— ben (@bencsin) March 11, 2021

As for the reasons, well, there are many. Yes, the iPhone 12 Mini is $100 cheaper than the iPhone 12, despite offering the same camera and SoC. However, battery life proved to a major issue for the tiny phone. Plus, that 5.4-inch OLED display, despite being sharp and bright, is not particularly well-suited for content consumption, especially when it comes to games with a lot of on-screen buttons. Apple also appears to have misfired when it comes to assessing the ground reality of the phone market, and focused more on the appeal rather than functionality. 

Pocketnow’s Jaime Rivera also echoed similar sentiments in his review as tech expert Ben Sin from XDA-Developers, with the latter pointing out how the demand for ‘larger’ iPhones with better specs was higher in the Asian market, while the iPhone 12 Mini was relegated to an enthusiast or niche class that didn’t sell as much as the vanilla iPhone 12 or the Pro models despite being significantly cheaper.

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