Considering its lower price and the fact that it’s the smallest iPhone people have been asking for years, you wouldn’t be the only person to assume that the iPhone 12 mini would sell very well. But you would be very wrong.
New sales figures for Consumer intelligence research partners show that the iPhone 12 mini was the least popular model of the iPhone 12. This is probably not the kind of consumer reaction that Apple expected.
The entire iPhone 12 line has been quite successful, and in the United States, they accounted for 76% of all iPhone sales in October and November. This is more than 2019, where the iPhone 11 line accounted for only 69% of iPhone sales.
The standard iPhone 12 accounted for 27% of total sales, with the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max close behind. Surprisingly, the iPhone 12 mini was responsible for only 6% of sales and, judging by the graph below, was surpassed by the iPhone SE.
The CIRP notes that the iPhone SE may have been partly responsible for the weak sales of the iPhone 12 mini. The $ 399 SE is significantly cheaper than the $ 699 iPhone 12 mini and comes in an equally small format, although the 12 mini is slightly smaller and puts more screen space in its tiny frame.
The CIRP also notes that Apple’s staggered release schedule – launching the iPhone 12 mini and 12 Pro Max a month after the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro – makes it harder to compare early sales. After all, all three models of the iPhone 11 went on sale the same day. You should also take into account the availability of other cheaper devices, such as the iPhone XR and the newly discounted iPhone 11.
But those aren’t the only reasons why people gravitated away from the iPhone 12 mini. To begin with, its smaller design means it has a much worse battery life (7 hours and 28 minutes on the 5G), and touchscreen problems were discovered shortly after launch.
The unexpected initial popularity of the iPhone 12 Pro it probably played a role too, thanks to the phone’s stronger battery performance, updated camera features, and the 512GB storage option.
It’s unclear what this means for the future of the smaller iPhone, but let’s hope the iPhone 12 mini (and the supposed iPhone 13 mini) sells well enough that Apple will continue to give people the option of having a smaller phone.