RIP to the iPhone Mini — not useless however not up to date

Well, that’s it then — after simply two iterations, Apple appears to be executed with the iPhone Mini. Sure, it’ll nonetheless promote you a brand new one; final 12 months’s 128GB iPhone 13 Mini is currently available for $599, however the brand new iPhone 14 lineup doesn’t embody any fashions with the smaller 5.4-inch display that some individuals have come to like.

I could also be upset, however I’m not stunned. Rumors of the Mini’s dying have been swirling nearly because it debuted in 2020. In early 2021, reviews began to floor that Apple had vastly overestimated demand for the telephone and needed to slash manufacturing of it and that it solely accounted for single-digit percentages of all iPhone gross sales.

Perhaps that’s as a result of most individuals simply need cheap telephones with huge screens. According to estimates from Statista, telephones with 5- to five.5-inch screens accounted for round 13.5 p.c of items shipped by producers in 2022. Phones with screens greater than 6 inches, in the meantime, made up 40 p.c of shipments. Statista’s knowledge additionally exhibits that, over the previous few years, fewer and fewer small telephones have been shipped, whereas huge telephones have been on the rise.

When we right here at The Verge first reviewed the iPhone 12 Mini, we predicted that it was “going to be a favorite for many.” It looks like the “many” solely turned out to be a number of, however the bit about being a favourite was dead-on — these of us who just like the Mini actually prefer it. It managed to be a 2020-tier flagship telephone crammed into the footprint of a mid-2010s gadget. After years of options, like a number of unbelievable cameras, 512GB of storage, and brilliant, HDR shows, solely being accessible in telephones with 5.8-inch or (a lot) bigger screens, the Mini lastly made all of them accessible in a tool you possibly can comfortably use with one hand.

Yes, the Mini had downsides. Even with the 9 p.c bump in battery capability that got here with the 13 mannequin, it was by no means a telephone that would get you thru a full day of heavy use. And whereas it might have been in a position to go function for function with its greater mainline counterpart, it’s laborious to think about that Apple might’ve made a Pro model that was sensible.

Still, it was nice to have as an choice for individuals who didn’t thoughts these tradeoffs (or who didn’t thoughts carrying a bit additional bulk within the type of battery banks on the uncommon events after they wanted to). And that’s the actual magic of the Mini — it fills (or crammed, I suppose) a distinct segment that was mainly fully deserted by different producers.

Sure, there are some nice Android telephones with moderately sized screens, however they’re not mini. The Asus Zenfone 9 has a 5.9-inch display, and the Pixel 6A rocks a 6.1-inch show (which my co-worker Allison Johnson lately declared as “the ideal smartphone screen size”). But the Mini’s 5.4-inch display out-compacts all of these. It’s like evaluating a Smart automobile to a contemporary Corolla — yeah, Toyota’s model of compact might be what most individuals would like, however if you would like one thing that’s really small, you’re not going to be happy with it.

Technically, Apple does nonetheless promote a telephone that’s across the identical measurement because the Mini: the 2022 iPhone SE (although, imagine it or not, the iPhone 6-era design is definitely greater than the Mini regardless of having a considerably smaller 4.7-inch display). But whereas the SE has a good bit to advocate it — iMessage, years upon years of OS updates, Apple’s extremely quick flagship processor — it’s nonetheless clearly a funds mannequin in a method that the iPhone Mini wasn’t. The SE doesn’t get options like twin cameras, MagSafe, Ultra Wideband 5G, or FaceID, and its show is totally outclassed by Apple’s newest tech.

My level is that when you’ve got an iPhone 13 Mini and need to improve whereas nonetheless preserving the small measurement, you mainly don’t have any choices accessible. And, frankly, that sucks! Sure, it might not be an enormous deal now as a result of the iPhone 12 and 13 are nonetheless completely wonderful. But what about in two or three years after they’re starting to point out their age? If Apple sticks with its present lineup and no Android producer steps in to fill the small gap available in the market, the place are us Mini followers going to go?

I’ve seen the argument that foldables just like the Galaxy Z Flip will substitute the Mini. And to a sure extent, I perceive this viewpoint. Even current-gen ones take up much less vertical house in your pocket than the iPhone Mini, they usually might get even slimmer as time goes on.

Pocket really feel is simply a part of the story, although. The Z Flip 4’s foremost display is 6.7 inches. While I notice that with the ability to get such a giant display with a tool that doesn’t take up a lot room is just about the whole enchantment of the telephone for most individuals, I personally don’t need one thing that measurement. Make enjoyable of me if you’ll (my ego is stronger than my wrists), however I merely discover reaching the sides of 6-inch-plus screens to be very uncomfortable. And I’m certain I’m not the one Mini person who discovered themself always flirting with or succumbing to repetitive pressure harm points earlier than switching away from greater telephones.

I’m nonetheless hanging on to at least one shred of hope. Earlier this 12 months, my colleague Sean Hollister wrote an article that begged urged that Apple do one among two issues with the iPhone Mini: both begin updating it as soon as each two or three years or use its design for the subsequent iPhone SE. Yes, the Mini turning into the funds mannequin would definitely take away a few of its allure — however at the least it could nonetheless get new processors each on occasion, and, as Sean famous, many people could be prepared to commerce having absolutely the newest and best for a telephone that really works with our anatomy.

If Apple is plotting that kind of transfer, it in all probability gained’t present up in provide chains for a number of years. Until it does, or till sufficient time has handed to actually snuff out any hope, Mini homeowners can take solace in understanding that our telephones will proceed to get updates for some time — and in remembering the fantastic, if transient, time when Apple introduced again the small telephone.