Other Why has Apple cancelled the Mini series

[Useless Touchbar]

I absolutely love the Mini form factor, for me that's the perfect phone size. And I wouldn't mind at all if they increased the thickness by tiny bit in order to fit in a larger battery.

But yeah, whatever, clearly many people just don't want this type of a phone. For me the only requirements for a phone were that it a) fits into my hand b) has decent camera c) doesn't just suck overall. iPhone mini is the only phone on the market that fits those criteria

 

[Steve121178]

Totally disagree. I have my iPhone mini for calls, light browsing, stock checking, etc. I have an iPad mini because it’s the most portable iPad. These minis are amazing for their battery life and usefulness. I have an iPad Air that I hardly use and will probably be just used for running the smart house. I have an M1 MacBook Air and it’s awesome, but I have an old 12” rmb that my “to go” computer. It’s so light and functional….it’s perfect for a notebook.

I know 5 people that thought I was crazy for getting the mini, but when they saw the size and felt the weight they needed to have it. I may be a teacher, but I don’t watch all my tv exclusively on a phone like a teen. Since they exclusively consume content on a phone, I get why they want a bigger screen. Heck, I basically watch nothing on my phone and it’s primarily as a phone, texting device, and light information

Doesn't really matter if you disagree. It's been discontinued as no one really bought it. At some point you will need to migrate to a bigger screen when you upgrade.

 

[Cognizant.]

Doesn't really matter if you disagree. It's been discontinued as no one really bought it. At some point you will need to migrate to a bigger screen when you upgrade.

There's a rumor it's being discontinued. That remains to me seen. They might halt production like they did with the 12, but canceling it entirely ... I'm not so sure. They might just make less of them for the 14.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I don't think they are cancelling it, but rather migrating to a 2-3 year cycle and possibly renaming it to just "iPhone Mini (XX Generation)"

It doesn't sell well enough to justify annual upgrades, but it does sell

 

[Cognizant.]

I don't think they are cancelling it, but rather migrating to a 2-3 year cycle and possibly renaming it to just "iPhone Mini (XX Generation)"

It doesn't sell well enough to justify annual upgrades, but it does sell

Kind of like how the iPhone SE is right now. I think we should just wait and see.

 

[Abazigal]

People would have bought it in greater numbers if the price was set appropriately. The form factor is/was great, the price wasn’t.

It’s par the course for a brand new iPhone. It likely isn’t that much cheaper to make than the iPhone 13, it still cost the same amount of money to design, fixed costs like labour or machinery don’t really care whether you are making a smaller or larger device and one wonders about the limitations it also imposed on other MagSafe accessories having to accommodate its size.

In short, we have an issue where the iPhone mini isn’t that much cheaper than the pro or pro max versions to make, but customers are willing to pay a premium for it. All other things equal, it stands to reason that Apple should funnel their resources towards the more lucrative models, especially since we are still in the midst of a chip shortage.

Were people genuinely expecting it to cost around the same as the iPhone SE, a product which has had 4 years to amortise the immense fixed costs that went into manufacturing it?

 

[jav6454]

I don't think they are cancelling it, but rather migrating to a 2-3 year cycle and possibly renaming it to just "iPhone Mini (XX Generation)"

It doesn't sell well enough to justify annual upgrades, but it does sell

Better yet, get rid of the Mini and have the SE be that bridge.

 

[Psychicbob]

It’s par the course for a brand new iPhone. It likely isn’t that much cheaper to make than the iPhone 13, it still cost the same amount of money to design, fixed costs like labour or machinery don’t really care whether you are making a smaller or larger device and one wonders about the limitations it also imposed on other MagSafe accessories having to accommodate its size.

In short, we have an issue where the iPhone mini isn’t that much cheaper than the pro or pro max versions to make, but customers are willing to pay a premium for it. All other things equal, it stands to reason that Apple should funnel their resources towards the more lucrative models, especially since we are still in the midst of a chip shortage.

Were people genuinely expecting it to cost around the same as the iPhone SE, a product which has had 4 years to amortise the immense fixed costs that went into manufacturing it?

All true. However, Apple did all that and priced it how they wanted it, and then pulled it when it didn’t sell as well as they’d hoped. They seem to be as caught out by your points as much as the consumer.

 

[Abazigal]

All true. However, Apple did all that and priced it how they wanted it, and then pulled it when it didn’t sell as well as they’d hoped. They seem to be as caught out by your points as much as the consumer.

Apple seems to have been genuinely blindsided by the apparently lacklustre demand for the mini iPhone. Not sure if this was always the case (eg: a vocal minority making demand seem way higher than it really is), competition with the SE, or the pandemic cooling demand for one (eg: less people able to go to an apple store to try one out in person, thus making it seem like a worse value proposition compared to the pro max models).

 

[jeremydc]

I've been a 13 Mini user since launch and haven't fully committed either way. If the regular 14 is +/- 25 grams heavier then I'll give it a shot. Portability is key as I'm pretty much always on the go. The magsafe battery pack is used probably once a month when I'm on the road.


If Apple brings back the form factor in a future SE iteration, I'll downgrade back.

 

[Steve121178]

There's a rumor it's being discontinued. That remains to me seen. They might halt production like they did with the 12, but canceling it entirely ... I'm not so sure. They might just make less of them for the 14.

It's 100% cancelled. We've all seen the iPhone 14 line-up and the CAD leaks are never ever wrong:

iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Max
iPhone 14

 

[Barbareren]

Apple seems to have been genuinely blindsided by the apparently lacklustre demand for the mini iPhone.

Blindsided? It’s like they wanted it to fail. Where was the advertising? On the Apple Store online you can’t even see the Mini unless you pick the ‘regular’ 13 first. It was the same with the 12 and 12 mini. Zero effort put into advertising. Some people think the only reason for the Mini’s existence was to drive up the price of the regular and Pro models. That theory no longer seems far fetched to me…

Besides all that, as many people have pointed out, people are used to bigger phones now, and for many it’s their only (or main) ‘computer’, so a small phone just doesn’t have much appeal in today’s market, unfortunately.

I’m still hopeful that we’ll see a new Mini every 2-3 years, though. Much like the iPad mini.

 

[Cognizant.]

It's 100% cancelled. We've all seen the iPhone 14 line-up and the CAD leaks are never ever wrong:

iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Max
iPhone 14

Yes, I've seen that, and there's a good possibility they're ending it. I just can't believe anything until it officially happens.

 

[Saturn007]

I looked for the 13 mini the other day at Apple's website and couldn't find it. Figured they had discontinued it, along with the 12 mini.

That's why Barbareren's comment is so apt.

Blindsided? It’s like they wanted it to fail. Where was the advertising? On the Apple Store online you can’t even see the Mini unless you pick the ‘regular’ 13 first. It was the same with the 12 and 12 mini

Never would have thought to look under the 13 to find the mini. After all, the other 13 model, the Pro has its own link. Truly bizarre. Had they priced it at $599 rather than $699 sales would have been higher.

 

[IT Troll]

In the U.K. the Mini is being discounted by £50 at many retailers. Also out of stock at most. Managed to find a couple in stock for me and my partner though.

 

[Cognizant.]

I looked for the 13 mini the other day at Apple's website and couldn't find it. Figured they had discontinued it, along with the 12 mini.

That's why Barbareren's comment is so apt.



Never would have thought to look under the 13 to find the mini. After all, the other 13 model, the Pro has its own link. Truly bizarre. Had they priced it at $599 rather than $699 sales would have been higher.

Yeah it's a bit odd that they put it there as a sub option.

 

[antonrg]

In the U.K. the Mini is being discounted by £50 at many retailers. Also out of stock at most. Managed to find a couple in stock for me and my partner though.

Same thing in France. Almost impossible to get one. I managed to grab one before it was out of stock again.

 

[snipr125]

In the U.K. the Mini is being discounted by £50 at many retailers. Also out of stock at most. Managed to find a couple in stock for me and my partner though.

Yes I am seeing this as well, hardly any stock anywhere at the moment with third party retailers. Amazon UK have some 512 GB versions, but even they are going. Maybe scalpers are buying up a lot of stock to sell later at higher prices like PS5's, Xbox Series X and Nike Air Jordan 4's.

Apple Store UK have them in stock in all colours though...

 

[JPack]

I looked for the 13 mini the other day at Apple's website and couldn't find it. Figured they had discontinued it, along with the 12 mini.

That's why Barbareren's comment is so apt.



Never would have thought to look under the 13 to find the mini. After all, the other 13 model, the Pro has its own link. Truly bizarre. Had they priced it at $599 rather than $699 sales would have been higher.

The comment doesn’t make any sense.

The mini is part of the iPhone 13 and 12 series. So you obviously have to click into iPhone 13 to get to iPhone 13 mini.

You have to follow the same sequence to reach iPhone 13 Pro Max. Yet, the Pro Max was the best selling iPhone during the launch period.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Maybe scalpers are buying up a lot of stock to sell later at higher prices like PS5's, Xbox Series X and Nike Air Jordan 4's.

For their sake, I hope they are more intelligent than that - ha!

I highly doubt there will be a deep market of margin profiteering on the Mini phones.

 

[snipr125]

For their sake, I hope they are more intelligent than that - ha!

I highly doubt there will be a deep market of margin profiteering on the Mini phones.

Maybe, but once something is hard to get, then it becomes exclusive and thus more desirable and people are prepared to pay more for exclusivity. Here in the UK, PS5's are being sold for £600-700. Nike Air Jordan 4, which have RRP of around £200 are being sold between £500-£1000 depending on the colour by scalpers, and are more desirable than Balenciaga shoes, just purely based on the exclusivity.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Maybe, but once something is hard to get, then it becomes exclusive and thus more desirable and people are prepared to pay more for exclusivity. Here in the UK, PS5's are being sold for £600-700. Nike Air Jordan 4, which have RRP of around £200 are being sold between £500-£1000 depending on the colour by scalpers, and are more desirable than Balenciaga shoes, just purely based on the exclusivity.

Yeah - for sure, I just think the target market of interest for your other examples dramatically dwarfs that of an iPhone Mini