The iPhone mini series, which only included the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini, might officially be discontinued by Apple following the company’s iPhone 15 event that is slated to be held tomorrow. It has been three years since the two models were introduced, and their lack of popularity forced Apple not to introduce a compact handset when it announced the iPhone 14 family last year.
Lack of adoption means Apple will no longer sell any iPhone 12 mini or iPhone 13 mini models, with the 4-year-old iPhone 11 shown to be more popular
Apple’s online store in the U.S. is showing a 2-3 week shipping estimate for the iPhone 13 mini, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. While that shipping timeline is still bearable, MacRumors reports that some ‘mini’ models have a 6-8-week waiting time, suggesting that the 5.4-inch models may no longer be available to purchase from Apple’s side as the company makes room for a new lineup, with all of them having a display size of over six inches.
Despite some customers relishing pocketable devices that are not an encumbrance to carry around and are easily usable with a single hand, the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini did not cater to a broader market, so at least in Apple’s eyes, both models would be deemed a commercial failure. Even Omdia’s statistics revealed that no ‘mini’ version of the iPhone found its place in the top 10 list of most shipped smartphones for 2022 and 2023, with the iPhone 11 still being popular despite being older than the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini.
With compact iPhones no longer on Apple’s roadmap, the only other option for consumers is to settle for the 2022 iPhone SE, which flaunts a significantly smaller 4.7-inch IPS LCD screen, a dated design featuring a home button, and a downright disappointing 2,018mAh battery capacity. Even Apple’s competition does not see fit to release sub-6-inch smartphones, seeing as how the market for such offerings is non-existent and their launches will simply eat into their operating profits. Going forward, larger handsets will cement their position as the industry standard.
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