This week, Apple cut iPhone production by 20 percent by 2021, but it was the iPhone 12 Mini that took on the weight of the reduced numbers. The order book falls by about 70 percent. Given that new iPhone phones are expected to stay around 75 million a year, has the iPhone 12 Mini failed?
In raw numbers, yes, but in a way it may be the most successful failure Apple has seen
The Apple iPhone 12 Mini at Apple’s flagship store during a product launch event in Sydney, … [+]
© 2020 Bloomberg Finance LP
First, the fact that Apple is reducing production of the iPhone 12 Mini is a good sign that it did not meet Cupertino’s expectations. There will clearly be an impact on sales of COVID-19 not just to Apple, but to the entire industry. Apple’s order reduction has been specifically targeted at the mini.
It doesn’t cancel out production of the mini, so there’s clearly a demand for the smaller smartphone with the latest specs, but it’s clear that Apple overestimated the level of demand. With the launch in September, Apple had trends regarding summer sales of its smartphones, tablets and desktops, but long delivery times in an annoying world may have clouded the issue.
With Apple’s startling reading of other areas, such as larger iPhones and Macs with M1 technology, the call volume of the iPhone 12 Mini is inexplicable.
Perhaps the idea of a “small” iPhone can not be kept isolated. The iPhone 12 Mini was not the phone that unlocked the demand for a smaller iPhone that would bring crowds to (online) stores in Apple to meet their demand. It belonged to the second version of the iPhone SE that was launched in April 2021. With the same power and specifications as the current iPhone 11, any of Apple’s geekerati waiting for the small but powerful upgrade jumped to the SE.
What market was left for the iPhone 12 Mini? The iPhone SE took it out of the space of the cheapest modern iPhone. And, on top of the iPhone 12 Mini, there was the iPhone 12, with a slightly larger screen, better battery capacity, and a more traditional size of the headset (at least traditional back to the iPhone X). With only a $ 100 difference between the Mini and the normal 12, the Mini was squeezed down and out of the top.
For a long time, Apple had a very small portfolio of iPhone devices. By the end of 2020, there were five phones that were in the “new,” along with countess phones from previous years. At some point, any portfolio will reach saturation point. The iPhone 12 mini seems to be that point.
Apple is a very conservative company. It focuses on doing the basics very well, ensures that the hardware and software work together as smoothly as possible, and waits for the most advanced technology to mature before launching a branded cliché to give it a special coat of paint that only Apple can sell.
In this sense, the iPhone 12 mini could be considered the biggest success of Apple. It showed Apple exactly where the edge of the envelope for small phones was, reached all customers who wanted this size and allows Apple to calibrate orders for the iPhone 13 as the world reaches normal at the end of this year.
It may be a failure, but it is one of the best failures Apple could have in its books.
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