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The iPhone 12 series has been a huge success for Apple, per several reports over the last month. However, the iPhone 12 mini sales purportedly tell a different story. Now, the company is predicted to stop its production altogether in the coming months.
Apple could stop iPhone 12 mini production in Q2 2021
The report comes from a research note of JP Morgan analyst William Yang (via MyDrivers), who predicts Apple will reduce the production numbers for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini by 9 million and 11 million units, respectively. This appears to correspond with an earlier report that Apple plans to offset 2 million production units from the mini and transfer it to the iPhone 12 Pro production.
Recent analysis has also suggested quite a shocking fate for the iPhone 12 mini. After only being in the market for a few months, Apple is predicted to discontinue its production sometime in the second quarter of the year. When that happens, the “smallest 5G device” is bound to become the iPhone with the shortest in-production lifespan.
Apple launched a four-device lineup for the first time last year with the addition of the iPhone 12 mini. It has the same features as the base iPhone 12 model other than its 5.4-inch screen. Its dimensions of 5.18 x 2.53 x 0.29 inch make it a tad smaller device than the latest iPhone SE.
Having the latest features, which include 5G, OLED display, and MagSafe support, and the lowest price in the series, iPhone 12 mini may have been anticipated to perform better than it did. That was not the case, though.
The Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reported that the iPhone 12 series accounted for 76% of the iPhone sales last November and December, a jump from iPhone 11’s 69% after it launched in 2019. However, the iPhone 12 mini’s numbers were not as impressive as the three other models. The same report noted that the mini version only accounted for 6% of the total iPhone 12 sales in the same period.
What does this mean for iPhone 13?
One of the first leaks about the iPhone 13 is that Apple plans to maintain a four-device lineup this year. That most likely means an iPhone 13 mini, base iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max are in the works.
However, with the numbers the iPhone 12 mini has posted so far in terms of sales, it is interesting if Apple would opt for a different route. While sources of the four-device iPhone 13 series are reliable ones, the devices are still around seven months away from launch and have yet to enter mass production. Apple could still switch up its plans.
Featured photo by Thai Nguyen on Unsplash
