Slow iPhone 12 mini demand forces Apple to adjust production

Mar 10, 2021 16:14 GMT  ·  By

iPhone 12 is so successful it managed to push Apple to the leading place in terms of global smartphone sales, but as it turns out, there’s one model that’s impacting the entire new generation.

Sales of the iPhone 12 mini have so far been well below expectations, and reports that came out earlier this year indicated that Apple reduced the production for this particular model, instead directing more resources to iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max.

Now a report from Nikkei indicates that the dropping iPhone 12 mini has also forced Apple to adjust the production for the first half of the year, with the Cupertino-based tech giant reducing its orders from 100 million iPhones to 75 million units.

And it’s all because the iPhone 12 mini isn’t selling as strong as anticipated, with Apple now expecting to sell 230 million smartphones by the end of the year.

iPhone 13 mini still likely

The dropping demand for the iPhone 12 mini is expected to produce several other changes for the short-term iPhone strategy, and some people familiar with the matter said Apple was even considering killing off this model completely.

In other words, Apple wanted to give up on the mini model after just one year, instead choosing to continue its smartphone push with the standard model, the Pro, and the Pro Max.

But analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said an upgraded iPhone mini is still expected in the fall of this year, so for the time being, Apple isn’t ready for such a radical departure from its original strategy. Time will tell if Apple indeed wants to keep the iPhone mini around for one more year, as the new-generation iPhones are projected to launch in the fall of this year.