The cute little iPhone 12 mini is struggling to find an audience
There is a dearth of small-sized premium smartphones on the market, and if data collected by Wave7 Research (via PCMag) is to go by, the arrival of the iPhone 12 mini isn't going to change that.
According to interviews of carrier sales representatives carried out by Wave7, the iPhone 12 mini is the least popular of all the new iPhone models in the US. In the first month of sales, the phone accounted for only 4 to 5 percent of sales at each of the major carriers.
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The iPhone 12, on the other hand, made up 24 to 33 percent of sales at the three major American carriers, which makes it the most popular model in the lineup.
The iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 are virtually the same phones, and the only key difference between them is that the mini sports a 5.4-inch OLED panel, and the standard model is equipped with a 6.1-inches screen.
At $799, the iPhone 12 is $100 more expensive than the iPhone 12 mini, and it appears that most people are willing to pay more for a bigger display.
The iPhone 12 mini doesn't seem to be doing well at prepaid carriers either. At Metro and Boost, its sales appear to have been cannibalized by the iPhone SE 2020, which costs $300 less.
This is in line with a recent report from Flurry. The analytics platform does add, however, that the iPhone 12 mini could gain momentum toward the end of 2020 as a holiday season gift. Apple's premium phones usually perform well at launch, thanks to early adopters, but lower-priced devices eventually take over.
If the iPhone 12 mini fails to get traction, there would be no incentive for Android manufacturers to launch compact flagships. We might still see small midrangers though, and Sony is already believed to be working on one.
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