The iPhone 13 mini is one of four upcoming iPhones for 2021. According to a new report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, it may very well be the last 'mini' iPhone that Apple ever releases.
Apple introduced the mini variant last year with the iPhone 12 mini. It offered the same design, processor, and camera as the regular iPhone 12, with the exception that it was much smaller. With just a 5.4-inch display, the iPhone 12 mini is among the tiniest smartphones available today. Critics and shoppers alike praised the iPhone 12 mini for being a welcome contrast to increasingly large handsets, especially for folks with smaller hands and/or lacking pocket space.
All rumors point to Apple continuing the mini family with the iPhone 13 mini later this fall, but unfortunately, that could be the last mini iPhone for quite a while. Per the recent Kuo report, Apple will ditch the mini lineup starting in 2022 and only offer two screen sizes — 6.1-inches for iPhone/iPhone Pro and 6.7-inches for iPhone Pro Max. Not only does that put fans of the iPhone mini in the dark, but it also means the 2022 iPhone family will likely have a higher starting price. For some context, the iPhone 12 mini starts at $699 while the regular iPhone 12 retails for $799 and up.
Why Apple Is Getting Rid Of the Mini iPhone
If the iPhone 12 mini was widely regarded as a good release from Apple, why is the company apparently getting rid of it next year? Despite good reviews and high praise on social media, that never translated into positive sales. This past January, it was reported that the mini iPhone accounted for a mere 6 percent of iPhone sales between October and November 2020. Another report from March claimed that Apple had to "slash" production of the iPhone 12 mini due to such poor sales numbers. Apple will keep the mini crowd happy for one more year with the iPhone 13 mini, but after that, it'll be laid to rest.
With no iPhone 14 mini in 2022, what's Apple going to focus on instead? Kuo suggests that Apple is preparing to launch a new version of the iPhone SE. The new SE should release at some point in the first half of 2022 and be marketed as the "cheapest 5G iPhone ever." Unfortunately, Kuo claims the 2022 iPhone SE will have the same design as the model that's currently available — which is modeled after the iPhone 7. While the point of the iPhone SE has never been to compete with Apple's mainline offerings, ditching the mini model in 2022 and not replacing it with something relatively similar is a shame. A modernized iPhone SE would be incredible, but if Kuo's reporting is accurate, that's not going to happen next year.
In any case, 2022 should prove to be an interesting year for the iPhone. The upcoming iPhone 13 series is widely expected to offer modest upgrades over the iPhone 12, meaning Apple could use the iPhone 14 lineup to offer more meaningful changes. Until then, mini loyalists have one more launch to look forward to when the iPhone 13 mini arrives this September or October.
Source: MacRumors