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ahh, you're right. I went back and compared the specs [1] and the battery is the biggest difference. Somehow, the marketing I always came across was for iPhone 13 and the Pro. Don't believe I saw marketing for the mini. Cellphone providers I checked (when I thought about upgrading) didn't have the mini (12 or 13) upfront and center on their home page.

1. https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone13mini...

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I suspect they just want more people to buy the more expensive pro devices, and there is no pro mini. You'd almost need entirely separate marketing for the mini to try to separate it from the rest as "interesting" and I suspect they knew this and didn't find it worth the time, effort, nor cost. Stick to "it exists" marketing and if people want it, they'll get it.

They do, in fact, have separate marketing for the SE though. Which is why I suspect the mini isn't necessarily going away, but they do need to update the SE beyond just the SoC, so the next SE (probably multiple revisions in the next several years) are likely to be based on the current mini. The SE does get underlying hardware bumps, what keeps them cheaper is they're using old tooling for the chassis, and other hardware that's been in production for a while (display, camera, battery, etc). Now that the mini has been around mostly unchanged through 2 revisions, they could definitely continue using that tooling for future SE models.

And I'll be honest...an SE based on the mini with iPhone 15 (or whatever they end up calling it) performance specs? I probably wouldn't pass on that.

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