The iPhone 14 series announced by Apple on September 8 (Japan time). There is no figure of "mini" in it.


The mini is the model with the smallest body and screen size in the iPhone lineup. The iPhone 12 series announced in October 2020 was the first model to join the lineup with that name. The product name is "iPhone 12 mini", a model with a 5.4-inch display in a 64.2mm wide body.

In September 2021, about a year after the introduction of the iPhone 12 series, the iPhone 13 mini, the successor to the iPhone 12 mini, will appear. Both width and height are the same, but the depth of the iPhone 13 mini is 0.25mm more than the iPhone 12 mini. Weight is 8.5g heavier.

  • iPhone 12 mini: about 64.2 (width) x 131.5 (height) x 7.4 (depth) mm, about 133g
  • iPhone 13 mini: about 64.2 (width) x 131.5 (height) x 7.65 (depth) mm, about 140g



General point card (left), iPhone 13 mini (center), passport (right)


Still, the features of small size and light weight do not change much.

Not only that, the mini is also characterized by being the most affordable in the lineup.

Like the high-end model iPhone 13 Pro, the iPhone 13 mini supports face authentication "Face ID" and "Mag Safe" that allows you to easily attach accessories with magnets, while the processor is equipped with "A15 Bionic". The price is 99,800 yen (including tax) for 128GB.




Mag Safe-compatible accessories can be attached to the back of the iPhone 13 mini/iPhone 12 mini

So why did the mini disappear from the iPhone 14 lineup? The main reason is the sluggish sales of the mini.

According to CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners), a US research firm, the iPhone 12 mini accounted for only 6% of the sales volume of the iPhone 12 series two months after its release. There have also been reports that sales of the iPhone 13 mini in the U.S. will be poor in 2021-2022.

In Japan, on the other hand, small smartphones such as the iPhone 13 mini are very popular, and many users probably prefer a size that can be held with one hand.

In fact, when I posted an article about the iPhone 13 mini being dumped for "actually 23 yen", I got the impression that readers were very enthusiastic, including the price and sales method.

However, the iPhone, which uses the same hardware in most of the world, can be said to be a universal smartphone. The detailed specifications differ from country to country, but you can have the same experience with an iPhone that has almost the same features. Therefore, it is hard to think that "I will bother to prepare a mini just for Japan".

Considering the recent circumstances, it can be said that it is a natural trend that the mini, which was expected in the iPhone 14 series, has disappeared. In addition, the iPhone SE (3rd generation) with a width of 67.3 mm also plays the role of a “small iPhone”, so it may be unnecessary to release a new mini product.
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