In 2007, Apple released the first-ever iPhone with a 3.5-inch touchscreen. Competing manufacturers saw an opening and launched a growth spurt that our hands saw coming. Four inches. Five inches. Six. Resume. Inches. Display technology was advancing and screens were getting bigger every year. Apple had been on the same journey, but there were two infamous oddities that broke the pattern: the iPhone 12 Mini and the iPhone 13 Mini. There they were in glorious one-handed size…and then they were gone. For what?
For starters, the company never treats its value-oriented iPhone models like its mainstream models. The iPhone 5c sold in numbers as other iPhones had done up to that point, but it was a critical failure due to its plastic and cheap vibe. The iPhone XR excelled as an affordable version of the all-screen iPhone X, but it didn’t exactly spawn a lineage. And each of the three iPhone SEs was based on designs and parts from older generations of iPhone, so the company was able to continue using old supply lines to serve a price-sensitive segment of the audience. In this sense, the reasonably successful iPhone e series has taken the place of the SE.
You could see how the iPhone Minis were carrying the spiritual torch in a relay of cheap iPhones. Unfortunately, they tripped and fell. Unlike their brothers, the 12 Mini and 13 Mini failed to meet sales expectations. Apple saw enough and cut bait.
The iPhone Mini led a brief revival of small smartphones
Six months into the iPhone 12 Mini’s life cycle, Nikkei Asia reported that Apple has reduced its production targets for the phone. CIRP researchers claimed in the summer quarter of 2021 that the iPhone 12 Mini accounted for 4% of all iPhone sales while the iPhone 13 Mini brought in 2% – to be fair, the latter device was only available less than a week before the end of September. A year later, these figures increased to 1% and 4% respectively. Additionally, Apple had designed a unique 5.4-inch chassis and therefore had to dedicate additional supply and production capacity on top of its existing popular 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch models. Apple halted iPhone mini sales in September 2023, and there has been no indication of a resumption since.
There were only a few competitors that were also in the small phone business around the same time. In 2018, mobile brand Palm introduced a 3.3-inch “smartphone companion” rather than something that looks like a good idea. And in 2021, Asus scaled back its ZenFone series with three generations of Android devices using a 5.9-inch screen. The company has opted not to launch any new smartphones for 2026. It’s a shame that we’ve left 5-inch phones behind seemingly for good at this point, but there’s some grace in seeing that we’re not actively playing in the 7-inch zone, unless we’re talking about foldables like the Motorola Razr Ultra.
