Apple Alerts EU Regulators That Apple Ads and Maps Meet DMA Gatekeeper Thresholds 
Nexperia Urges China Division to Resume Chip Production as Supply Risks Mount 
Hikvision Challenges FCC Rule Tightening Restrictions on Chinese Telecom Equipment 
Australia Releases New National AI Plan, Opts for Existing Laws to Manage Risks 
Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation 
Intel Boosts Malaysia Operations with Additional RM860 Million Investment 
Firelight Launches as First XRP Staking Platform on Flare, Introduces DeFi Cover Feature 
Australia Moves Forward With Teen Social Media Ban as Platforms Begin Lockouts 
Norway’s Wealth Fund Backs Shareholder Push for Microsoft Human-Rights Risk Report 
Banks Consider $38 Billion Funding Boost for Oracle, Vantage, and OpenAI Expansion 
ByteDance Unveils New AI Voice Assistant for ZTE Smartphones 
Coupang Apologizes After Massive Data Breach Affecting 33.7 Million Users 
EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp 
Sam Altman Reportedly Explored Funding for Rocket Venture in Potential Challenge to SpaceX 
Baidu Cuts Jobs as AI Competition and Ad Revenue Slump Intensify 
OpenAI Moves to Acquire Neptune as It Expands AI Training Capabilities 
Apple Appoints Amar Subramanya as New Vice President of AI Amid Push to Accelerate Innovation 
The first months of 2021 have been filled with reports that the iPhone 12 mini did not sell as much as Apple expected. Now, the Cupertino, California tech giant is reportedly largely reducing production orders for the 5.4-inch smartphone.
Apple drastically reduces iPhone 12 mini production orders
There was a huge interest in the iPhone 12 mini months before the smartphone series was launched. It may have been due to the success of the second-generation iPhone SE’s launched months prior. And the mini’s addition also marked the first time Apple unveiled a four-device iPhone lineup.
However, analyst reports have claimed that the interest over the smallest iPhone 12 apparently did not convert into actual sales. It now seems like Apple is making massive adjustments as it has reportedly decided to cut down the production of the mini by 70% or more, Nikkei Asia (via The Verge) reported.
Apple is said to be reducing iPhone production by 20% but a large segment of that figure is reportedly caused by the iPhone 12 mini numbers for the first half of the year. Overall, Apple’s smartphones are still performing well in the market and the company is expected to have 230 million units assembled in 2021, 75 million of which are to be produced in the first half.
The same report also claimed that Apple has asked suppliers to stop making iPhone 12 mini-specific parts while others are being redirected to be used on the two iPhone 12 Pro models. A report from January can be recalled where Apple was purported to have offset the production of two million iPhone 12 mini units and reallocated the resources to the iPhone 12 Pro devices.
Despite what appears to be an underwhelming iPhone 12 mini reception, Apple was still named the top smartphone vendor of 2020. After four years, Apple climbed back to first place after research firm Gartner reported it shipped almost 80 million iPhones last year.
iPhone 13 mini still planned for 2021 release, reports claim
Following these reports on iPhone 12 mini sales and production, it seems like the way to go for Apple is to revert to a three-device lineup for the launch of iPhone 13 later this year. But that is not what is being reported by reliable sources.
Renowned supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested that the 2021 iPhone series will still have four models, including a direct follow-up to the iPhone 12 mini that has a 5.4-inch screen. The company is also expected to maintain the screen sizes for other upcoming phones. That would mean a 6.1-inch iPhone 13, 6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max expected to launch in fall.
Featured photo by Thai Nguyen on Unsplash
