iPhone 14: The end of the line for "mini" phones?

 

The 6.1" iPhone 14 and 6.7" iPhone 14 Plus were launched on September 7, 2022

2022 has been a rather unusual year for Apple, with its best-selling product - the iPhone - getting the least possible annual update. The iPhone 14 is, in many ways, an iPhone 13 S. However, Apple hasn't used the "S" moniker since 2018 (so, maybe that was its "end of the line"?).

In terms of technical specifications, there isn't much that differentiates the iPhone 14 from the iPhone 13 (and yes, I'll come to the iPhone 14 Plus soon). Both phones share the same exterior design (including the 6.1" screen), same internals (including the A15 Bionic chip), and only differ in price by just $100. They also have slight differences in their main cameras, but it's something I doubt even those with the keenest eye for detail will hardly notice. Also, Emergency SOS and Crash Detection are not features I'd expect a new phone to tout (given that most new "connected" cars already have an SOS feature built into them anyway).

So, this naturally begs the question, have we reached "peak iPhone"? I would like to say, "yes", but let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? (yes, it's time to talk about the iPhone 14 Plus now)

This year, Apple brought back the Plus iPhone, a device we've not seen since the iPhone 8 Plus was released in 2017. However, the iPhone 14 Plus is much bigger than the 8 Plus, with a new 6.7" screen coming to the regular (non Pro Max) iPhone for the very first time. But, just as Apple did with the 8 Plus, there isn't any additional functionality gain in using iOS on a bigger phone. It's just bigger, period!

Many people were quick to dismiss 2020's iPhone 12 mini as a failure due to its low sales numbers and poor battery life. However, it was Apple first experiment with making a "small" phone since it went "bigger than bigger" with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in 2014. Apple even updated it in 2021 with the iPhone 13 mini getting a bigger battery and better cameras (which everyone loves, isn't it?). But, with the 14 Plus arriving on the iPhone product portfolio, it appeared to most that the days of the 13 mini were numbered.

However, I think Apple won't do away with the mini design entirely. My speculation (if I may) is that the 13 mini will be discontinued when the iPhone 15 arrives in September 2023. Apple will then recycle the 13 mini's design for the iPhone SE 4th generation, which will likely arrive in Spring 2024 (with the A17 Bionic chip from the iPhone 15). This seems to be the most plausible course of events, because by April 2024, the iPhone 8 design that the current SE uses will have long become obsolete.

Having a mini-sized iPhone become the next iPhone SE also makes sense, as it would be a great way to get kids and people in their first jobs into the Apple ecosystem. With Apple fast becoming a services company, rather than a product company, that "incentive for entry" makes perfect sense, as Apple can then sell Fitness+, News+, Music, TV, and iCloud to these users. Oh, and everyone upgrades their phone every few years, so the natural progression for these "iPhone SE mini" users will be to get the regular iPhones (or even the Pro iPhones for the really ambitious ones). And it would be wonderful for Apple from a product design standardization perspective (similar to how car manufacturers use the same design language for almost all the cars in their portfolio).

In conclusion, the iPhone 13 mini might appear to be selling in low numbers, but there are still a lot of people out there (including me) who want a small phone, and nothing more. And there will always be people looking for a "cheaper" iPhone, so the iPhone SE line will continue to stick around. For both those reasons, I think we will see an "iPhone SE mini" in the next few years (and if you do it Apple, I'll get to say, "I told you so!" :-D)