Apple’s iPhone 12 Mini is a successful failure

This week, Apple cut its iPhone production by 20 percent for 2021, but it was the iPhone 12 Mini that received the biggest impact from the reduced numbers. The order book is falling by around 70%. Considering that the new iPhone devices are expected to remain at around the 75 million mark per year, has the iPhone 12 Mini failed?

In gross numbers, yes, but in a way it could be the most successful failure that Apple has ever seen

First, the fact that Apple is cutting production on the iPhone 12 Mini is a good sign that it has not met Cupertino’s expectations. There will clearly be an impact on the sales of COVID-19 not only to Apple, but across the industry. The reduction of orders from Apple is specifically targeted at the mini.

This does not cancel the production of the mini, so there is clearly a demand for the smaller smartphone with the latest specifications, but it is clear that Apple overestimated the level of demand. With a launch in September, Apple showed trends in summer sales of its smartphones, tablets and desktop computers, but long delivery times in an upside-down world may obscure the issue.

With Apple’s incredible reading of other areas, such as the larger iPhones and the Macs with M1, the volume of the iPhone 12 Mini’s call seems inexplicable.

Perhaps the idea of ​​a ‘small’ iPhone cannot be kept in isolation. The iPhone 12 Mini was not the device that unlocked the demand for a smaller iPhone that would bring the crowds to (online) Apple Stores to satisfy their demand. This belonged to the second version of the iPhone SE that was released in April 2021. Offering the same power and specifications as the then current iPhone 11, any Apple geekerati waiting for the small but powerful update has jumped into the SE.

What market is left for the iPhone 12 Mini? The iPhone SE squeezed it out of the space of the ‘cheapest modern iPhone’. And above the iPhone 12 Mini was the iPhone 12, with a slightly larger screen, better battery capacity and a more traditional device size (at least traditional back to the iPhone X). With only a $ 100 difference between the Mini and the regular 12, the Mini was squeezed down and off the top.

For a long time, Apple had a very narrow portfolio of iPhone devices. At the end of 2020, there were five devices that were in the ‘new’, along with the countess’ devices from previous years. At some point, any portfolio will reach saturation point. The iPhone 12 mini seems to be that point.

Apple is a very conservative company. He focuses on doing the basics very well, makes sure the hardware and software work together as smoothly as possible and waits for the cutting-edge technology to mature before putting a brand cliché on top of it to give a special coat of paint that only Apple can sell.

In that sense, the iPhone 12 mini can be seen as Apple’s greatest success. He demonstrated to Apple exactly where the edge of the envelope for small devices was, reached all customers who wanted that size and allowed Apple to calibrate orders for the iPhone 13 while the world hits normal later this year.

It may be a failure, but it is one of the best that Apple can have in its books.

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