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Comment by jmkni | Hacker News Reader

Gutted that the iPhone mini is essentially dead. I don't want a phone any bigger.

I'll hang onto my 13 Mini for as long as I can, hopefully they will update the SE to basically be the new Mini.

Still using an SE 2016 because it has the perfect size and still works fine. I would happily buy a new version if it would come with usb C and have a similar size, but I don’t hold my breath. Small phones don’t seem that popular :(

The 2016 SE was "peak iPhone" for me. Still has a headphone jack. Has a lightning connector (albeit, like you, I'd prefer USB-C). The size is wonderful. (I cannot understand the obsession with gigantic phones.)

Jack, home button, small screen. It's rare that I prefer an old device today, but here it is, the SE1 is still the best iPhone.

All that plus a flush rear casing with no camera wart. Form factor perfection.

iPhone 3GS is still my favorite form factor and MAYBE even favorite screen resolution in some respects. It's all been downhill from there.

I ran a 3GS for a very, very long time. I really liked that phone. The fragility of 30-pin cables was its major downside to me.

I loved my SE 2016 and used it from launch to the SE 2020. Are you worried about patches at all?

Apple just released update for SE 2016. I wouldn’t worry.

I still get security updates

I'd be using one right now if anyone (including Apple) tested their goddamn UIs on that screen res anymore. It started getting really bad back in like 2018, and today even the 13 mini will awkwardly cut off views here and there. I imagine using the OG SE must be torturous.

Not really. A few websites make it hard to navigate on small screens but I haven’t faced blocking issues.

Three most baffling thing about it is I see this comment in almost every iphone thread. I know so many people irl who have the same opinion including myself.

If there are any Apple execs in this thread: please listen to your customers! We are screaming for a flagship mini!

Apple is listening to its customers – by way of sales data rather than a few comments on a niche techy forum.

They are listening to their sales numbers and the numbers say that customers are, in fact, not interested in Mini.

I'm on Team Mini as well, but I can see why Apple canned it: https://www.macrumors.com/2022/04/21/iphone-13-mini-unpopula...

The SE also doesn’t do amazingly. The markup on the mini must have been way higher though. Its a shame

I'd argue the opposite! The segment is a minority, but the need within that segment is strong. It is not a 1 size fits all product, and 2-3% of your customer base might leave if a competitor fulfills that need. For your main revenue generator, that's not insignificant. See the Prego pasta sauce story https://www.enablemarketing.ie/can-business-learn-spaghetti-...

Assuming that there is a fixed cost associated with the mini production line, and assuming they sales and service based revenue from mini users isn’t a lot, it doesn’t make financial sense to have the mini line.

Also, where exactly are the users gonna go? The smallest is probably one of those Samsung foldable ones. But you’re really underestimating how bad android ecosystem can be (this is coming from someone who’s been hardcore android fan until recently). Maybe I’m getting older, but I really like the part where a lot of things with apple just work.

> Also, where exactly are the users gonna go?

Exactly. Apple can influence what their customers want to some degree, rather than listening. Only has to be better than Android.

A cleaner example is Bluetooth audio vs jack. iPhones had both forever, but BT wasn't popular. One day Apple coaxed everyone onto BT, probably realizing they can make a killing selling AirPods that way. Samsung thought maybe this would send a few customers their way, so they started advertising that they still have a jack, but nope.

> The segment is a minority, but the need within that segment is strong.

The only issue I see with this argument is that it doesn't matter to Corp if a small minority really wants Thing, it only matters if selling Thing makes more money than not selling Thing.

I think the problem is that the same people who care a lot about their phone's form factor also care about features. We need an iPhone Mini Pro with high end cameras. I'm not going to settle for so-so pics of my toddler.

most manufacturers gimp their smaller phones so its not surprising that the larger versions sell more

Given the continued poor sales of the mini phones, it seems like only a vocal minority wants them.

They had to cut the Mini line because it was bankrupting the company. It's not like Apple can afford to have a product that only sells a few hundred thousands units a year, are you kidding?

If a product line loses money it’s pretty logical to cut it, is that controversial or did you mistake Apple for a charity?

Price is flexible. We have no insight on Apple's finances, but how much is that line losing money by? And is it losing money at all, or is it a strategic decision?

At the scale Apple operates at, and the egregious margins on their products, I wouldn't be so sure it was a financial decision.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough of us to merit it. The 12 mini was a trial balloon for how well a smaller sized phone would sell, and people didn't show up for it. On the plus side (no pun intended), it looks like the yearly increase in average phone sizes has halted.

It's worth nothing that there are practical costs for a smaller phone: You can't fit as much battery into a smaller package, but people want to use a smaller phone the same way they'd use a larger phone.

It sold a single digit percentage of total iPhones the quarter after the 12 series dropped, which is... millions of units. Not to mention the 2020 SE came out a few months prior to the 12 lineup's announcement, so a lot of people who wanted a small phone had just got one.

The idea that nobody bought it isn't true. It sold under Apple's expectations, but if they set their expectations correctly and didn't cannibalize a large portion of potential buyers a few months before announcing it, I think it could work.

The real story here is that they don't have to make them because people will buy whatever is available. When my 13 mini is getting old, I'll buy a standard size phone because it's all I can do.

I'm really bummed there isn't a Mini - I'd be happy with getting one every third generation, even. For the size of my hands, the center-of-gravity is too high in the 6.1" phones, so I can't comfortably hold it with one hand.

Writing this on an iPhone mini. It’s the best form factor for me. I don’t want to lug an iPad mini everywhere, and that’s what big phones feel like to me.

There was a time for a year or so that I carried an actual cellular-enabled iPad Mini in my front right pocket instead of an iPhone. I had to stop because it has no SMS app for the SIM card (or vibrate motor, or ability to host an Apple Watch) so I ended up carrying an iPhone as well alongside.

Then the XL or Pro Max or whatever (huge phablet) came out and I used that for a while. The added battery life is lovely.

I finally settled on the non-max Pro, because it is as large as you can go and still be operable with one hand. The Pro Max is a two-hands-always device. If I'm going to do that I might as well carry an iPad Mini.

The small phone in general seems dead. Android phones don't even have good small options anymore.

I'm hoping that folding phones are here to save the day in a "the king is dead long live the king moment" as screens have become so big, they're now overflowing to being small again.

The only reason I can see for the ubiquitous big phones is addiction, which is widespread now. If you're using your phone all the time, yeah the bigger screen makes sense so you can do more on it. If you're only pulling it out rarely for a few necessary things, better if it fits in the pocket easily.

I have a 13 mini now. Even if they still made mini phones, my next one would be larger simply because as I get older (I'm 53), my eyesight is getting worse.

I suspect I'm not alone. I think the population of iPhone users is getting older.

> Android phones don't even have good small options anymore.

The Zenfone 10 looks fantastic.

I agree, unfortunately their decision to only provide two years of software updates is a deal breaker for me.

I've got a 12 mini and I'm disappointed that they wholly discontinued the line. Unfortunately those of us who preferred smaller phones were apparently in the minority.

I liked the size of the Mini, but wanted all the features of the Pro which likely won't fit. So I bought the Pro instead and thus am the problem.

I was hoping they'd use the smaller bezels and newer materials to make the 13 Pro smaller with the same screen size, but they did the opposite (bigger screen, same physical dimension). Wouldn't have been mini sized, but anything to reduce size would be nice.

If I could buy up-to-date iPhone mini, I'd actually buy an iPad too. The phones are so large now I don't need an iPad.

100% agree. I have a 12 mini and love it.

There are dozens of us! Seriously though, I am not going to buy another iPhone unless they bring it back.

We hold ! My hope is that they only make one every 4-5 years. That'd be perfect to ride the wave.

This ^ my hand are hurting due to the iPhone 12 pro max. I want a folding phone now.

I bought a 12 mini and a 13 mini for this reason

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