iPhone mini: Little hope for small Apple smartphone
The iPhone 12 and 13 still had compact devices, but Apple now has nothing smaller than 6.1 inches. According to a report, this could remain the case for longer.
iPhone 12 and 12 mini: No new small iPhone since the 13 mini.
(Image: Apple)
It's hard to imagine today: The very first iPhone had a screen measuring just 3.5 inches diagonally – and that seemed big to many users, as it was practically all screen, a novelty at the time. But today there are no more compact Apple smartphones: after the end of the iPhone SE 3 with its 4.7-inch screen, Apple has not sold a single model under 6.1 inches. And it seems to be staying that way: A well-known Apple journalist recently emphasized in a stream that there are currently no such projects (anymore) at Apple.
iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini: top target group
The last time current iPhones were truly compact was in 2020 and 2021, when the 12 mini and 13 mini models were released. They each had a screen diagonal of 5.4 inches at 2340 x 1080 pixels and with dimensions of 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4 mm and a weight of 133 g (12 mini, 13 mini slightly thicker and 7 g heavier), were shirt and trouser pocket-friendly. In 2022, Apple then decided – to replace the mini design with a Plus model, which had 6.7 inches, allegedly due to poor sales –. In fact, the 12 mini and 13 mini had quite a large target group, but even today – the devices continue to work properly with iOS 18 –.
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But it will probably stay that way, there is nothing more to come. As Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman claimed in a Q&A session with readers, Apple is “not currently working on anything” in the direction of a compact smartphone. “They're not working on a smaller iPhone right now.” Apple has "really moved away from that".
More in the width
In Gurman's opinion, the company is planning to use around 6 inches (i.e. 6.1) as the "base size" in future and then "get bigger and bigger and bigger" from there, rather than smaller again. “And the bigger they go, the smaller a 6-inch phone will feel.”
In fact, Apple's foldable plans (from 2026) , which for the first time appear to be really acute, seem to be going wider. The iPhone 17 Air, which will probably be released in fall 2025 and is expected to be particularly thin, will probably be at least 6.6 inches. Until then, we can hope that Apple will continue to support the old models. iOS 19 will probably still be available on the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini, at least according to current speculation.
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