Apple is expected to kill the 5.4-inch ‘mini’ iPhone beginning next year with the iPhone 14, with rumors suggesting Apple will fill the gap in the lineup with a 6.7-inch non-Pro device.
Since the introduction of the iPhone 12 mini in 2020, multiple reports have pointed to the smallest of Apple’s iPhone models seeing lacklustre sales, with production numbers being cut as a result of higher than expected demand for the premium iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, and now a strong demand for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Despite weak interest in the iPhone 12 mini, Apple continued the ‘mini’ 5.4-inch iPhone with the iPhone 13 mini that launched in September, but according to sources, Apple will likely kill off the ‘mini’ beginning with the iPhone 14 next year, putting an end to the short-lived ‘mini’ series.
Well-respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported in April before the launch of the iPhone 13 that Apple would likely kill off the shrunken iPhone with the iPhone 14 in 2022 after it was claimed that the iPhone 12 mini was the only iPhone 12 model not to make it onto the list of the top 10 smartphones activated on Christmas Day in the United States that year.
Image: Apple
Sources claimed that the low interest in the iPhone 12 mini spurred Apple to switch two million units of Q1 production from the ‘mini’ to the iPhone 12 Pro, and it is understood that the same low consumer interest has continued with the new iPhone 13 mini.
To replace the ‘mini’ in next year’s iPhone lineup, rumors suggest Apple will offer a larger non-Pro 6.7-inch iPhone, giving customers who want a large iPhone display the option to get one without having to upgrade to the existing high-end 6.7-inch Pro models. This would leave the 2022 iPhone lineup comprising of four different models as it does now, however, the line would consist of only two different screen sizes in total: 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch.
