The iPhone 12 Mini Was Apple's 2020 Sales Flop (arstechnica.com) 73
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Bad news for lovers of smaller phones: the iPhone 12 mini has sold poorly compared to other phones in the iPhone 12 lineup -- poorly enough that analysts wonder whether Apple will remain committed to the smaller phone design moving forward. A data firm called Counterpoint Research found that the iPhone 12 mini accounted for just 5 percent of overall sales from the company's smartphone lineup in early January. And J.P. Morgan analyst William Yang told Reuters that screens under 6 inches now account for only 10 percent of smartphones sold industry-wide.
The data from Counterpoint is not the first to tell this story. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) broke down iPhone 12 lineup sales in detail last month. They found that the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max made up about 20 percent of sales from the larger iPhone 12 lineup during the launch window, while the non-Pro, 6.1-inch iPhone 12 accounted for 27 percent. But they also said the iPhone 12 mini "likely disappointed Apple" with only 6 percent of sales during the period measured -- pretty close to the number Counterpoint shared a couple of months later.
While all this data shows that the iPhone 12 mini has underperformed, it doesn't tell us why. According to CIRP's data, the also-small iPhone SE performed a little better (likely due to its significantly lower price) but it still didn't make up a huge chunk of sales. So while it's possible that the iPhone 12 mini's slow sales are partially a result of cannibalization by the cheaper SE, small phones are clearly not doing well in general. There are a lot of reasons small phones are less popular now. For one thing, users are consuming more rich media content. Many people watch as much TV and film on their phones as they do on their TVs now, and some social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat are focused on rich media that may be more enjoyable to some on a larger display. But if anything, these sales numbers make the future of one-handed smartphones look even dimmer than before.
The data from Counterpoint is not the first to tell this story. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) broke down iPhone 12 lineup sales in detail last month. They found that the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max made up about 20 percent of sales from the larger iPhone 12 lineup during the launch window, while the non-Pro, 6.1-inch iPhone 12 accounted for 27 percent. But they also said the iPhone 12 mini "likely disappointed Apple" with only 6 percent of sales during the period measured -- pretty close to the number Counterpoint shared a couple of months later.
While all this data shows that the iPhone 12 mini has underperformed, it doesn't tell us why. According to CIRP's data, the also-small iPhone SE performed a little better (likely due to its significantly lower price) but it still didn't make up a huge chunk of sales. So while it's possible that the iPhone 12 mini's slow sales are partially a result of cannibalization by the cheaper SE, small phones are clearly not doing well in general. There are a lot of reasons small phones are less popular now. For one thing, users are consuming more rich media content. Many people watch as much TV and film on their phones as they do on their TVs now, and some social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat are focused on rich media that may be more enjoyable to some on a larger display. But if anything, these sales numbers make the future of one-handed smartphones look even dimmer than before.
I think staying at home was a factor (Score:5, Interesting)
There are a lot of reasons small phones are less popular now. For one thing, users are consuming more rich media content.
Outside of the content angle, a big reason why people may have not opted for smaller phones as much as they might have is - if you are not going anywhere, size of phone is way less important. If it doesn't have to fit in a small packet on the go, or a purse then when not have a bit larger phone.
Also - it was not really possible to feel how small the phone was. If you are just comparing phones online, it could well have been that a smaller phone that felt great in the hand, just seemed kind of pointless looking at specs on a web browser.
Maybe tastes have just shifted though, and people are mostly just eager to have as large a phone as it is possible to have.
Re: (Score:1)
Also - it was not really possible to feel how small the phone was. If you are just comparing phones online, it could well have been that a smaller phone that felt great in the hand, just seemed kind of pointless looking at specs on a web browser.
If only there was a way for someone to get a feel for the phone before buying it rather than having to rely on a small, insignificant picture in a web browser. Some way to get your hands on the phone and gauge its weight, its size, how it operates.
I guess we'll neve
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Forgot 2020 already did you? (Score:3, Interesting)
If only there was a way for someone to get a feel for the phone before buying it
There normally is but was not in 2020. Maybe where you live nothing was shut down, but almost everywhere in the U.S. at least was mostly shut down because of Covid. Even now, I don't know if you can go into an Apple Store to examine products.
That lack of physical ability to try different sizes could easily lead to lower sales for something that might have been more popular.
Re: (Score:2)
I think that a lot of people had extra money in their pockets during the pandemic, thanks to the economic stimulus checks and lower commuting costs thanks to working from home. For those folks, the extra $200 for the Pro model probably wasn't a big stretch.
Great point (Score:1)
I think that a lot of people had extra money in their pockets during the pandemic,
Between that and not being able to go out to eat/drink as much, or travel... great point that people had more money so could go fo ra pro phone they might not have otherwise with competing budgetary concerns.
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I agree, and indeed the need to upgrade at all is somewhat diminished as you're probably not taking as many photos, nor do you need your phone to store music to listen to right now - and maybe you don't even need your phone as much as you do when you're sat on public transport for hours on end.
However, the most glaring reason (to me) is that I don't remember ever seeing anything about the "mini"!? Usually when Apple farts there are a slew of slick TV adverts, EE trots out Kevin Bacon to talk about it for th
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Also - it was not really possible to feel how small the phone was.
I had to go out to Best Buy recently and finally had a chance to hold one. The mini will be my next phone. I forgot how great it was to hold a phone that doesn't feel like it's about to hop out of my hand or require finger contortions to use with one hand.
I'll buy one used if I have to (Score:2)
This year wasn't an upgrade year for me, so I skipped it. But the only phone I wanted out of the lineup was the 12 mini, and it would be replacing a comparatively huge iPhone XR.
If Apple discontinues the 12 mini next year, I'll buy it from someone used rather than buy yet another phone that's larger than I want. Portability is my main concern—I want a phone that fits easily in my cycling jersey or saddle bag. I use the phone for communication, and that sort of thing is fine for me on small screens. I
Re: (Score:2)
I don't want 'just a phone'. I said I use my phone for communication, not for talking on. I have at least 3 different chat apps that I communicate with people on, as well as twitter and email. In fact, my phone app isn't on any of my main screens, it's buried in one of the container folders because I use it so rarely.
It's not my fault that you're stuck in a 1980s mindset of what 'communication' entails.
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But it is your fault you can't imagine anybody else in the world not being exactly like you.
Chat apps would work fine on a smaller phone, all it needs is smaller pixels.
I don't think that chopping an inch off the height of my current phone would make much difference either. It's about 2:1 ratio right now but I'm sure 1.5:1 would be perfectly OK for "chat apps" and everything else, too.
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I didn't say that everyone should have a phone like that. I said *I* want a phone like that because *I* use it for communication. I didn't say they shouldn't make the other sizes, just that if they stop making this size, I will go out of my way to get it because *I* want a smaller, more portable device.
Seriously, do you people actually read the things I say, or just make something up and then respond to a random post?
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You want me (70 years old dude) to talk about my Nokia? You asked for it!
I loved my Nokia, replaced the battery once (take that, modern phones!), and only gave it up when Microsoft stopped supporting Windows on it. I now have an iPhone (6s+), and while I have a lot more apps on it, I hardly ever use most of them. And I feel like the Nokia's camera was better, although I haven't done a fair comparison.
And yes, I used to have a flip phone, but I do grok the advantage of a smart phone. So I won't bore you
Analysts Suck (Score:2)
I have the SE2 and was going to probably get the 13 mini if it also supported fingerprint unlock. (yes I'm that ugly).
However this is probably the only time I'm hoping that Apple ignores the Analysts and for once keeps bringing out a small phone. I have no idea if they will since they do a lot of (IMHO) stupid stuff (like killed the 11" air).
Of course the competition will follow Apples lead so maybe we'll have some decent small Android phones in the future.
(and yes I know that the copy the competition go
Released too close to the SE (Score:5, Insightful)
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Had the mini been known when the SE2 was released at least I would've waited (and bought a more expensive device). And i know of other people with "small hands" that were also holding on to their old SE phones.
Sure this is entirely anecdotal but people with smaller hands that actually want to use their phone with one hand exist
Re: (Score:1)
Amen!
I really do not like the big phones. I was very happy with my SE but it was getting a bit long in the tooth. So when they announced the SE2 which was much larger than I liked, I hestitated a bit but then bit the bullet. Ordered the 256GB version in April.
It's still larger than I want, but didn't had much choice.
And in October they release the phone I would have wanted.
Yeah, sorry. Not buying the 12, I already got a phone earlier the same year.
Maybe the 13...
smaller != mini (Score:3, Interesting)
There's no doubt that bigger screens are better. Given any size display, ten percent bigger is always better.
No one chooses a mini phone because we want a smaller screen.
The benefits of a smaller phone have absolutely nothing to do with the screen. The screen is the sacrifice.
I've been using a tiny phone for five years. Just bought a modern jam-like-brand tiny phone, the size of a credit card.
The benefits are enormous. But they only exist because the phone is exceptionally small. Two inch screen.
What's the biggest thing in your pants?
The correct answer is: my wallet.
Re:smaller != mini (Score:5, Funny)
Your wallet is in my pants? SCORE! Time to go buy myself the iPhone mini!
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She's hoping the biggest thing isn't your phone or your wallet.
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My wallet is huge and I don't see a problem with that.
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Costanza?
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She's placating you. Ask her again. It really is the wallet.
Bad Timing (Score:5, Insightful)
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"Sold poorly compared to" (Score:2)
Was it even intended to be just as popular as the larger phones?
You might well ask, why don't manufacturers build just one model of phone which is what they think a phone should be? The obvious answer is because not everyone has the same idea of what a phone should be. It's a question of market segmentation. Where are the sales coming from? People who would have bought a different iPhone if this one weren't offered, or people who would have bought a small Android phone?
Not every product has to be a smash
Probably much more of a flop (Score:2)
when you consider most of the free Apple phones carriers "give away" to their customers are IPhone Minis.
Re: (Score:2)
This isn't how it works, what are you talking about? Carriers don't subsidize, and even when they did they only partially subsidized.
Oh really?
https://www.t-mobile.com/news/... [t-mobile.com]
wrong price (Score:2)
It cost too much compared to the SE.
Once again proving the market desire (Score:2)
We constantly hear on Slashdot how these device makers are forcing large phones with feature x ever thinner, and more fragile down the unwilling throats of the users and yet here we are, once again showing that the free market provides alternatives and that people don't want them.
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Either that or the marketing people aren't really listening and haven't put the right combination of features into the 'small phone'.
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Yeah. Consumers want a small phone with a big screen, that is edge to edge clear glass while also being indestructible covered with ports everywhere, except not the ports we currently use because they break, a replaceable battery which they will never replace, a headphone jack with bundled BLE 5.0 headphones, and a camera with a 1-1000mm lens and goddamn if there's more than one lens visible on the device they will rage.
Also it has to come in gold, platinum, needs to be shiny but somewhat matte, completely
I'll say it again Apple - Go rugged! (Score:1)
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Fuck small. Go rugged and I'm in.
If you don't care about bulk, you should have been "in" long ago.
Wrap it in an Otterbox Defender and go. I've yet to break a phone in one. 3 phones, 7~ years, not even a crack.
Re: (Score:2)
Fuck small. Go rugged and I'm in.
Thankyou singular person. May we suggest a case? Or maybe a rugged Android phone, the market which has shown quite definitively that rugged phones don't sell well?
Bad branding (Score:2)
Apple tried to call it "mini" to emphasize the larger screens as the new normal. What they didn't do is make it clear that "mini" just means the same old size as always and not a new smaller form factor.
Because of the SE 2, obviously. (Score:4, Interesting)
I have to wonder what planet analysts are on most of the time, or perhaps more importantly, why anyone listens to them.
I was waiting to upgrade my original SE. And waiting. And waiting, and waiting some more. And finally, the most crappy, lazy-arse bag of crap ever arrives in the form of the "SE 2" - which was just the iPhone 6 form factor, several years on. The very same form factor I had explicitly not purchased in favour of the more compact SE, way-back-when.
So, I gave up. With the SE 2, Apple signalled that they weren't doing small factor phones anymore. I didn't want some half-arsed iPhone 6-like effort, big chassis and small screen; got a 2nd hand 11 Pro, because then I'd at least have OLED and half-decent cameras (in practice they're marred by unbelievably aggressive noise reduction and most of the time the results are inferior to my much older SE in detail, even if far superior in tone/HDR). It's too big and heavy but it looked like I had no alternative and at the battery life is epic.
Next minute, 12 Mini turns up out of nowhere. Once again - thanks analysts - predicting for years that SE 2 was happening; wrong, wrong, wrong again; then missing the 12 Mini until it was almost released, and only spotting it from factory leaks a few weeks prior AFAICT.
If there's still a high spec Mini after 3-4 years of lifetime I'm expecting from my absurdly overpriced 11 Pro, then I'll "upgrade" to that. For now, I've already spent more than is sane on Tim Cook's ever-increasingly-expensive shiny stuff and although the hardware is good, the software seems to get worse by the month with macOS and iOS now so buggy, cumbersome, inconsistent, ugly and all-round irritating that moving to Android before the next phone update seems almost inevitable.
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What the heck are you talking about? Are you high? The mini is smaller than the iphone 6-8 size, and the same power as the standard iPhone 12.
It's not like nobody bought the 12 mini because there weren't enough rumors ahead of time about it ahead of time.
The phone isn't selling that well and it seems most people don't want it (although 5% of a very large number shows there are people who do).
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What the heck are you talking about? Are you high? The mini is smaller than the iphone 6-8 size, and the same power as the standard iPhone 12.
I think you need to re-read my comment again, as you've wildly misunderstood and at no point did I ever say or suggest that the Mini is a large device. I think you're forgetting that iPhone SE 2nd gen exists.
TL;DR: iPhone SE small & good. Waited for SE 2. SE 2 arrives, but it's iPhone 6 size, so not small at all. People bought the SE 1st gen when iPhone 6-sized devices were on sale because they didn't want something iPhone 6-sized. So I gave up waiting, since Apple's many-year-awaited SE successor turns
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I have to wonder what planet analysts are on most of the time, or perhaps more importantly, why anyone listens to them.
If analysts knew what they were doing, they'd be doing instead of guessing.
And it still made more profit (Score:2)
The 12 mini may have been the worst selling iPhone, but it still made more profit than all the other handset makers except Samsung - combined.
price (Score:2)
If it's selling badly, how about reducing the price? Seems to be the same as forever ($729) on StraightTalk.
Is Apple unhappy? (Score:4, Insightful)
But what a clever company cares about is not how much they sold of each device, but the total. And lots of people go to stores because they want to buy a phone with a small screen. And in the store they see a phone with a big screen and end up buying that. But the small screen got them into the store in the first place. By giving customers a choice, they increase the total number of sales.
You could see that to an extreme with the first MacBook Air. It was beautifully light. It also cost more compared to what it delivered than other MacBooks. It brought people in the store, and then they bought something else. A good deal for Apple.
numbers (Score:1)
That's a bummer. (Score:3)
I've been pretty annoyed at the ever-growing size of phones these last several years myself. To my mind, if it can fit comfortably in my front hip pocket, it's too damn big. And I really liked the size of the 12 mini. I would have bought it instead of my Pro too, if Apple hadn't decided to cripple it by leaving off the long-distance camera. (Well, they left off the LIDAR too. But I have not had a use for that yet. The third camera is very handy though.) And I would be happy to upgrade to a 13 or 14 mini if they still release them and of they deign to launch them full-featured.
I just don't get the attitude Apple adopted a while back that people who buy the small iPhones/MacBooks do so only because (they presume) we can't afford the large ones, not because we prefer small. But it's goddamned annoying. I want full-featured kit, dammit. But the whole point of portable devices like phones and laptops is... well... portability. So I want them as small as possible too. I just don't want them crippled because they wrongly assume I'm too poor to buy the big-screened versions. *sigh*
I have one, it's meh. (Score:5, Informative)
1 - Battery life is just abysmal for a brand new phone. The mini, brand new, just barely lasts as long as my 5 year old beater SE. In two years I expect that I will have to replace the battery to be able to continue using it.
2 - The edge-to-edge screen is pretty and all, but between the larger screen size and the slightly larger chassis size, one handed use can be perilous when reaching for the top left corner. I would have been just fine if they had skipped the notch and went with a larger top/bottom bezel. "Being Small" should be the mini's core competency, and it fails at it.
3 - I have never taken so many accidental screenshots in my life. Why move the power button from the top to the side?
4 - I have a bunch of high end headphones and I HATE having to use a friggin dongle to make them work. But I guess that's the whole industry now. Get off my lawn.
5 - I've had two store gift cards get their stripe erased by the Magsafe connector magnets. I assume my credit cards have also had their stripes erased, but the only place that I know that still uses a stripe reader is the gas station, and I haven't had to fill up in months. I don't even use the magsafe charger, because it's a lot more annoying than a generic Qi charging pad without magnets.
The 5G is nice and fast fast (110MBPS sustained downloads on AT&T), but only useful on the rare times I tether to my laptop. All I really wanted was a device with original SE form factor, more memory and a better battery. The new camera is pretty sweet, but I would have been just fine with a single lens version. I never use the wide angle function.
Re: (Score:2)
2. Agreed, the lack of bezels while pretty aren't necessary and makes it difficult to use with a single hand (the primary selling point)
3. Linked to the bezels, they probably didn't have enough room due to extending the screen to the top.
4. Sadly, that's just any new iphones
5. Partially disagree, it's wonderful that you don't have to hunt around to make sure it's connected and chargin
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That accidental screenshot problem is endemic to all iPhones right now. It's a terrible design decision.
Appleusers like big shiny things (Score:2)
Let Apple sheeple waste their mobey on thin, fragile phablets.
Normal people still buy small, convenient, rugged phones .
Re: (Score:2)
Mobey is a new cryptocurrency only for Apple sheep.
iPhone 12 Mini is larger than the SE (Score:2)
and people forget to rotate (Score:1)
Chump change? (Score:1)
5% of apple's sales is nothing to scoff at and hardly a flop.
Definition of flop (Score:1)
How could this be called a flop? Oh no, customers up-sold themselves to the bigger-margin models, poor Apple. Apple made money on the product, I'm sure, and I wouldn't be surprised if the 12 mini by itself was more profitable than most of the Android market.
FaceID in a pandemic (Score:2)
Not at that price. Not now. (Score:2)
I have an iPhone 7 and would like the 12 mini... but not at the price of $700 (retail) and not during a pandemic when my employer's revenue has dropped 75%. I'll go ahead and suggest that most people are make at least slightly more expense-conscious decisions during the pandemic and resulting recession.
Hell, I'd be happy with an upgrade to the new iPhone SE (only $400), but I'm not looking to spend even that on an unnecessary expense until the recession levels out for me.
If only there was a way to know.... (Score:2)
Is it a flop for Apple or the market? (Score:2)
Without knowing how many units Apple had targeted to sell it is hard to say whether it was a flop for Apple,
One thing I do feel Apple got wrong is that they released too many variants of the iPhone 12. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple the first thing he did was thin the product line and refocus. It almost feels like Apple has forgotten how that helped and instead trying to dilute its offering with the number of variants it is trying to sell of the iPhone.
Apple magic gone (Score:1)
Departure of SJ is kicking in. Now watch apple stock go down. Especially with the crazy venture with Kia. Glad I don't own apple!
Let's play "Big Number or Small Number" (Score:2)
iPhone 12 mini was estimated to be 5% of all iPhone 12 sales. Is that bad? Is that good? What number was Apples expecting? Is it large enough that 5% would be a disappointment?
What could boost sales... (Score:2)
Then the iPhone mini Pro. All the features, less battery life.
Both need one special feature that Apple could negotiate with the carriers. E-Sim clone mode. Where the mini is a clone using the same number as your regular iPhone. The idea is when out for some occasion, take the mini. When out working take the normal one. Maybe cover it
Damn (Score:2)
I got one to replace my iPhone 6 because it was the first significant improvement that would fit in my shirt pocket. The new phone is faster and the battery lasts about twice as long (although, the battery in the iPhone 6 was close to needing replacement). I guess I won't be replacing it any time soon.