Also if a quick Google result is anything to go on, Apple sells hundreds of millions of iPhones a year. 3% of that is still a fuckload of people and IMO proves there is a market for it. Just maybe not a market that needs yearly attention. You also have to remember that’s split between tons of SKUs, so you would expect all of them to hover in the single digits to low teens.
I got my wife a 12 Mini - she loves it. The battery life is absolutely the worst thing about it, but it sounds like the 13 Mini was a huge upgrade in that regard and I had hopes it would continue to get better with future versions.
Something else that may not be taken in to account - the kinds of people buying the Mini are I would wager on a longer upgrade period than the kinds of people who buy e.g. a base iPhone or Pro model. The kind of person buying a Mini I would bet is closer to the kind of buyer that has historically bought the SE - they probably only upgrade every 3 or 4 years rather than the more stereotypical 2. Pro numbers are also skewed by the hyper fans who upgrade yearly and therefore show up in the stats a lot more, even though they’re both a firm Apple customer.
There is also this interesting note at the end of the article:
“Other reports … overwhelmingly presented the same picture of low iPhone 14 Plus sales, to the extent that Apple was forced to slash production, suggesting that the low sales of the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini may not have been caused by the device’s size after all.”
I think the Mini should become the new SE. Keep it on 2+ year old CPU, keep it 60Hz, at least the form factor and design language will match the rest of the lineup unlike now where the SE has a design from 2016. That would be perfect for people like my wife, who want the smallest cheapest phone that’s technically an iPhone, and are only going to upgrade every few years.
I would be fine with a longer refresh cycle, as long as they were transparent about it. We just need Tim Apple to say, “we hear you and we understand. Instead a yearly iPhone, we’ll release a mini phone every leap year on Feb 29th.” A little longer than I’d like, but I’d be ecstatic to have a clear upgrade path I could count on.
I don’t agree that people buying the mini are strictly budget buyers. There are plenty of phones with large screens for people on a budget. At this point, mini buyers are buying the mini because of the size, not the price.
I just bought a 13 mini for $78 the other day so I can upgrade from the 12 mini and hopefully get many more years or a reasonable phone. But if Apple would have dropped an iPhone 15 mini Pro for $2,000… I would have been refreshing the screen waiting for pre-orders to open up. What I can’t do is pay $1k+ for a phone I fundamentally dislike. I tied the iPhone 6; I tried the XS. I like the mini better, and it has everything to do with the size; the price is irrelevant. The 6 was my most hated iPhone of all time. I dumped it after a year, before my contract was up, and took the loss, so I could get the SE based on the 5S design. That was peak iPhone.
Apple may have lost my Vision Pro sale as well. I was pretty sure I was going to buy one, but now I see the only way to take those 3D memory videos (without looking like a creep videoing shit with a headset on) is to get an iPhone 15 Pro that is at least 6.1”. Nope. If they release a 5.4” phone with that 3D feature, I’ll buy that and the Vision Pro. Take my money…
Also if a quick Google result is anything to go on, Apple sells hundreds of millions of iPhones a year. 3% of that is still a fuckload of people and IMO proves there is a market for it. Just maybe not a market that needs yearly attention. You also have to remember that’s split between tons of SKUs, so you would expect all of them to hover in the single digits to low teens.
I got my wife a 12 Mini - she loves it. The battery life is absolutely the worst thing about it, but it sounds like the 13 Mini was a huge upgrade in that regard and I had hopes it would continue to get better with future versions.
Something else that may not be taken in to account - the kinds of people buying the Mini are I would wager on a longer upgrade period than the kinds of people who buy e.g. a base iPhone or Pro model. The kind of person buying a Mini I would bet is closer to the kind of buyer that has historically bought the SE - they probably only upgrade every 3 or 4 years rather than the more stereotypical 2. Pro numbers are also skewed by the hyper fans who upgrade yearly and therefore show up in the stats a lot more, even though they’re both a firm Apple customer.
There is also this interesting note at the end of the article:
I think the Mini should become the new SE. Keep it on 2+ year old CPU, keep it 60Hz, at least the form factor and design language will match the rest of the lineup unlike now where the SE has a design from 2016. That would be perfect for people like my wife, who want the smallest cheapest phone that’s technically an iPhone, and are only going to upgrade every few years.
I would be fine with a longer refresh cycle, as long as they were transparent about it. We just need Tim Apple to say, “we hear you and we understand. Instead a yearly iPhone, we’ll release a mini phone every leap year on Feb 29th.” A little longer than I’d like, but I’d be ecstatic to have a clear upgrade path I could count on.
I don’t agree that people buying the mini are strictly budget buyers. There are plenty of phones with large screens for people on a budget. At this point, mini buyers are buying the mini because of the size, not the price.
I just bought a 13 mini for $78 the other day so I can upgrade from the 12 mini and hopefully get many more years or a reasonable phone. But if Apple would have dropped an iPhone 15 mini Pro for $2,000… I would have been refreshing the screen waiting for pre-orders to open up. What I can’t do is pay $1k+ for a phone I fundamentally dislike. I tied the iPhone 6; I tried the XS. I like the mini better, and it has everything to do with the size; the price is irrelevant. The 6 was my most hated iPhone of all time. I dumped it after a year, before my contract was up, and took the loss, so I could get the SE based on the 5S design. That was peak iPhone.
Apple may have lost my Vision Pro sale as well. I was pretty sure I was going to buy one, but now I see the only way to take those 3D memory videos (without looking like a creep videoing shit with a headset on) is to get an iPhone 15 Pro that is at least 6.1”. Nope. If they release a 5.4” phone with that 3D feature, I’ll buy that and the Vision Pro. Take my money…
Where did you find that affordable used 13 mini by the way?
It was new from AT&T, I get deals every 2 years through work.
I upgraded from an SE to a 13 mini
Probably right about the rate of buying for people like me - I upgraded to the 13 Mini from the iPhone 7. Here’s to the iPhone 19 Mini :)