Small-screen flagships have completely disappeared from Apple’s dictionary

Technology journalist Mark Gurman revealed that Apple currently has no plans to re-launch small-screen models below 6 inches. This news means that small-screen models like the iPhone mini have completely withdrawn from Apple’s product stage. Those users who are fond of small-screen mobile phones may only be able to pin their hopes on the Android camp in the future.

Even Apple’s once “cost-effective” SE series has now made changes in size. The screen size of the iPhone 16e has directly jumped to 6.1 inches, completely bidding farewell to the previous small-screen route.

The end of the iPhone mini series is not accidental. Looking back at the two generations of iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini, they can be called a “major failure” in Apple’s product strategy.

Before the launch of the first mini model, many users in the market strongly urged Apple to create a small-screen flagship phone. However, when the product was actually launched, it fell into the embarrassing situation of “good reviews but poor sales”, and few consumers were actually willing to pay for it.

Although these two generations of mini models are unambiguous in configuration and are equipped with the same high-end hardware such as processors as other models, the disadvantages brought by the small screen design are very prominent.

On the one hand, the internal space of small-screen mobile phones is limited, making it difficult to accommodate large-capacity batteries, resulting in extremely poor battery life and unable to meet the needs of users for long-term daily use; on the other hand, small-screen models are limited by body size and cannot support dual-SIM functions, which is undoubtedly a huge regret for many users who need to use multiple cards. These two major flaws discourage many small-screen enthusiasts.

Based on the above factors, starting from the iPhone 14 series, Apple made major adjustments, replacing the original mini product line with Plus models, officially ending the story of the mini version of the iPhone.

However, the performance of the Plus model in the market was also not satisfactory. Perhaps having learned from previous lessons, Apple has made new moves this year, planning to launch a new Air model to replace the Plus and continue to explore and try new product strategies.