Considering the lower price, and the fact that it’s the smaller iPhone that people have been asking for for years, you would not be the only person to assume that the iPhone 12 mini would sell pretty well. But you will be very wrong.
New sales numbers from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners shows that the iPhone 12 mini was the most popular iPhone 12 model. This is probably not the kind of consumer reaction Apple has been hoping for.
The entire iPhone 12 series was quite successful and in the United States, they accounted for 76% of all iPhone sales in October and November. This is higher than in 2019, where the iPhone 11 series accounted for only 69% of iPhone sales.
The standard iPhone 12 accounted for 27% of total sales, and the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max lagged far behind. Surprisingly, the iPhone 12 mini accounted for only 6% of sales, and judging by the chart below, the iPhone SE was sold out.
CIRP notes that the iPhone SE may have been partly responsible for the poor sales of the iPhone 12 mini. The $ 399 SE is significantly cheaper than the $ 699 iPhone 12 mini and comes in a similarly small form factor, though the 12 mini is slightly smaller and packs more screen space in its small frame.
CIRP also notes that Apple’s spread schedule – the launch of 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 iPhone 11 models were offered for sale on 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 that’s not the only reason why people have turned away from the iPhone 12 mini. To begin with, the smaller design means it has a much worse battery life (7 hours 28 minutes on 5G), and touch screen issues were discovered shortly after launch.
The unexpected early popularity of the iPhone 12 Pro probably also played a role thanks to the phone’s stronger battery performance, upgraded camera capabilities and the 512 GB storage option.
It’s not clear what this means for the future of the smaller iPhone flagship, but let’s hope that the iPhone 12 mini (and the rumors on the iPhone 13 mini) will sell well enough for Apple to give people the option to to have a smaller phone.