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iPhone 12 mini disaster — here's why Apple is slashing production

iPhone 12 mini disaster — here'southward why Apple is slashing production

iPhone 12 mini
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Apple's iPhone 12 launch has been a rip-roaring success, pushing the company to record-breaking sales during the vacation flavour and fueling talk of a phone upgrade super-cycle that volition last throughout this year. But 1 model seems to accept been left out of the party.

While Apple doesn't intermission down its sales figures by model, it seems like the iPhone 12 mini hasn't enjoyed the delinquent success of the residual of the iPhone lineup. How else to explain frequent reports that sales of the 5.iv-inch phone are tanking?

  • Here are the best iPhones
  • iPhone 12 mini vs. iPhone SE: Which modest phone should you lot get?
  • Plus: iPhone 13 leak revealed the battery upgrade we've been waiting for

The latest fuel for the "iPhone 12 mini is unpleasing" fire came from a Nikkei Asia report this week that Apple is slashing production on the iPhone 12 mini for the first half of this year. "The mildest estimate was that Apple will cut planned production by more than 70% for the vi months through June," Nikkei writes.

In fact, the mini makes upward the majority of the 20% drop in orders, as Apple adjusts its production plans, the report claims.

Ramon Llamas, IDC's research manager for devices and displays, cautions against reading too much into reports of production cuts for the iPhone 12 mini. "Consider the shortage of semi-conductors worldwide likewise," he said. "That is going to bear on Apple tree and other vendors. These adjacent few months could be a fleck tighter for companies than originally expected, but we're anticipating a recovery by the center of this yr."

Still, if y'all were handing out medals for iPhone 12 model sales, it'southward pretty clear the iPhone 12 mini wouldn't make it onto the podium, as consumers seem to exist snapping up the other members of the iPhone 12 family in great numbers.

"Permit'south face it: the iPhone mini was not destined to be a book leader," Llamas added. "The more expensive iPhone 12 models would do that. The mini was going to business relationship for a smaller proportion anyway."

Why the iPhone 12 mini hasn't been a striking

So if it's safe to assume that the iPhone 12 mini isn't the hit that Apple's other phones are — and fifty-fifty the Nikkei Asia report says that Apple tree plans to build 11% more iPhones this year than terminal — the question turns to why. You can point to iv reasons the iPhone 12 mini isn't taking off.

People like bigger phones: Finding a phone with a screen size that's less than vi inches is quite a claiming these days. The Galaxy Notation product line introduced people to the concept of phablets and over the concluding decade, large screens have gotten increasing popular, to the point that something like the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 feels positively compact when stacked upwardly against bigger handsets.

That'south not to say there isn't a dedicated following for the all-time minor phones, consisting of people with smaller hands or folks who simply want a phone that slips easily into a pocket. I count myself among that group, just permit's face facts — we're outnumbered by the big screen junkies who would never consider ownership a v.4-inch phone. The iPhone 12 mini was drawing interest from a smaller pool of potential customers from the outset.

"The larger form cistron appeals to many," Llamas said. "Bigger screen equals more to see and more to experience."

The iPhone 12 mini is cheap, but not that much cheaper: At $699, the iPhone 12 mini is the least expensive iPhone 12 model Apple introduced last fall. Merely it'south not the cheapest iPhone — that designation falls to the iPhone SE, which costs $399 and also offers a meaty pattern for small phone fans. The iPhone 11 and iPhone XR remain in Apple'south lineup, and both are cheaper than the iPhone 12 mini likewise, assuming you lot don't need the latest hardware.

iPhone 12 mini review

(Epitome credit: Tom'south Guide)

And there's not much of a price gap between the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 — simply $100. That gets you a bigger screen plus the aforementioned features as our iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 mini comparison found few differences betwixt the two phones.

To put it another mode, budget-witting iPhone shoppers have multiple options for their side by side phone, whether they adopt small screens or not.

The iPhone 12 mini's tiny bombardment: In that location's another big difference besides screen size between the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12. The former has the smallest battery of any iPhone 12 model. And that translates to some pretty disappointing bombardment life.

On our battery test, in which we set phones to surf the web continuously over cellular until they run out of power, the iPhone 12 mini lasted merely vii hours and 28 minutes. The iPhone 12, which roughshod well brusque of the devices on our all-time phone battery life list, still managed to beat the mini by an 60 minutes. In fact, simply the iPhone 12 Pro Max, with its 3,687 mAh battery, outperformed the boilerplate smartphone by lasting just shy of 11 hours.

iPhone 12 mini review

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Battery life is ane of the major considerations for people looking to buy a smart phone. And even the most agog Apple fan would concede that the iPhone 12 mini's  sub-eight hr battery doesn't cut it.

More features in the Pro models: If there's not much divergence between the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12, the aforementioned cannot exist said for the iPhone 12 vs. the iPhone 12 Pro. Apple'due south Pro phones have meliorate cameras, more memory and a more polished design.

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are also not that much more expensive than the Apple'due south other models, costing $999 and $1,099, respectively. That may be too much for some shoppers, but others will gladly pay the difference if information technology means more features.

"Let's not overlook all the bells and whistles that go into Apple's flagship products, and so who wants to be left without all the latest goodies even if they don't apply all of them?" Llamas said. "The iPhone 12 mini is a very good telephone, but for many it may seem just 'good enough,' and that may not fly with consumers who plan to go along their phone beyond 2 years."

The future of the iPhone mini

That doesn't mean the mini is in danger of being dropped from Apple's iPhone lineup anytime presently. iPhone 13 rumors suggest that Apple'south notwithstanding planning on coming out with four phones this autumn, in the same sizes equally the current iPhone 12 offerings.

In other words, Apple tree may make fewer iPhone mini models going forward, but wait the mini to stick effectually.

"I think Apple'south decision to offer a good/better/best lineup is a smart motility, allowing it to capture a broader audience with different feature sets and price points," Llamas said. "That's important considering the slow growth of the worldwide market and that vendors cannot ever rely on new greenfield opportunities to grow."

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom's Guide. He has potent opinions nearly Apple, the Oakland Athletics and quondam movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/iphone-12-mini-disaster-heres-why-apple-is-slashing-production

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