After reporting that Apple is overseeing a two million unit iPhone 12 mini production cut to offset growing demand for the iPhone 12 Pro, the company may have informed its supplier to follow the same task in an updated report. However, this production cut is due to the pandemic COVID-19, and not to the weak demand for the compact device.
Poor sales of the iPhone 12 mini in the US and Europe led to this decision
Pegatron, one of Apple’s suppliers, is forced to cut production on the iPhone 12 mini, as weak sales of the 5.4-inch model are being seen in the US and Europe. DigiTimes reports that weak sales are due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although an earlier report pointed out that this version is not as successful as Apple would like. Assuming the news is true, Apple could have informed Pegatron to increase production of the more expensive iPhone 12 models, thereby increasing its margins, although this was not mentioned in the report.
Although the pandemic has negatively impacted sales, what is strange to read about this report is Apple cutting only the production of the iPhone 12 mini. It would be assumed that the production cut would be observed for the remaining three models, but this is not mentioned by DigiTimes. It is more than likely that the iPhone 12 mini is not doing well because there is no big market for compact devices like this. Customers are looking at smartphones with larger screens as they offer more screen space and longer battery life.
A previous report talked about how the iPhone 12 mini was the best-selling of all four in the United States during the period from October to November. In contrast, the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 was the most popular 5G-ready smartphone in October 2020 worldwide. These statistics alone represent what customers are attracted to. For 2021, while Apple is due to launch four iPhone 13 models with the same screen sizes as last year, it may review its strategy for the iPhone 13 mini in production.
Do you think the poor sales of the iPhone 12 mini are due to the COVID-19 pandemic or weak demand? Do you think demand will increase soon? Tell us in the comments.
News Source: DigiTimes