14 DAY TRIAL // The smallest latest-generation iPhones you can get right now are the new iPhone SE with a 4.7-inch screen and the iPhone 13 mini with a 5.4-inch display.
Both, however, are believed to be selling well below expectations, with the iPhone mini, in particular, expected to be ditched later this year.
Loop Capital analyst John Donovan, says in a note to clients that Apple has finally realized that its smaller iPhones have limited appeal, and this is one of the reasons the company is getting ready to bet bigger on iPhone 13.
In other words, Donovan believes the iPhone SE is unlikely to become the major hit that Apple hoped it would become, especially because the wide availability of the iPhone 13.
“Despite this, clearly this lack of demand is surprising to AAPL and the pivot to more iPhone 13’s is underway,” Donovan noted according to Seeking Alpha.
The demise of the iPhone mini
2021 represented the second and the last refresh received by the iPhone mini, as Apple is getting ready to give up on the 5.4-inch iPhone once and for all.
The iPhone 14 lineup, which is due in September, will no longer include a mini form factor. Apple will stick with larger iPhones exclusively, and iPhone mini’s place in the lineup will be received by an all-new iPhone 14 Max that will sport a 6.7-inch display.
The iPhone 14 lineup will therefore include two 6.1-inch iPhones and two 6.7-inch models.
Of course, Apple is yet to confirm these changes, so you’d better take this information with a healthy pinch of salt for now. But on the other hand, giving up on the mini just makes sense, especially as it’s believed sales of this form factor have been well below expectations ever since the first model launched in 2022.