Is iPhone 13 mini discontinued? Apple Inc. manufactures a range of mobile phones under the name iPhone. On September 12, 2023, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Pro. Pre-orders for the new phones began on September 15, and they were readily available at retailers. The company also altered the iPhone lineup at the same time, though. More specifically, the iPhone 13 mini is no longer available, thus discontinuing the mini.
Since neither the iPhone 12 mini nor the iPhone 13 mini were commercial successes, the end of the iPhone mini is not shocking. In reality, during the years they were released, they were the least popular iPhone models. Let us know about the discontinued iPhone 13 in detail in this article.
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The launch of iPhone 13 Mini
On September 14, 2021, a livestream event was employed to launch the iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max. All those models had bigger camera sensors, longer-lasting batteries, and a “notch” screen cutout with a smaller width.
The iPhone 13 Mini, which debuted in September 2021, is equipped with an A15 Bionic chip. A 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen with 800 nits of brightness is featured. Additionally, ceramic shield glass is used to protect it.
The phone has iOS 15 pre-installed and provides IP68 protection. It has two back cameras, one with a 12 MP primary sensor and the other with an ultrawide 12 MP lens. Although Amazon does not sell the iPhone 13 mini’s base model, which has 128GB of storage, Flipkart does.
The only phone made by Apple that is smaller than 6 inches is the iPhone SE. It has a 4.7-inch LCD screen and uses the same A15 Bionic processor as the iPhone 13 mini. However, the phone lacks many features, including dual cameras and FaceID, to mention a few of them.
Why is the iPhone 13 Mini discontinued?
The iPhone 13 mini appears to mark the end of Apple’s “mini” line, with the company no longer selling any 5.4-inch smartphone. The iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini are the company’s least popular smartphones. So, this is not surprising given the exponential decline in interest in Apple’s mini lineup over the past few years.
With the release of the iPhone 12 Mini in 2020, Apple first debuted the 5.4-inch Mini phone. Apple had to cut back on the iPhone 12 Mini’s production by 70% less than a year later. Therefore, it was not surprising when Apple chose not to release an iPhone 14 Mini last year, leaving customers with only the iPhone 13 Mini from the year before.
Tech journalist Mark Gurman has a reputation for providing accurate information about Apple’s product plans. Apple’s Mark Gurman claims that a number of items are running low in the company’s retail outlets. This includes the iPhone 12, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 14 Pro, Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch bands, and leather iPhone cases.
After the release of the iPhone 15 series, Apple will keep offering the iPhone 14, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14 Plus models at a discount, according to 9to5Mac. The article also cited the likelihood of the discontinuation of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Mini.
Sales of the iPhone mini have lagged behind those of other iPhone models. This is according to data analysis from the research firm CIRP. Thus, by the first quarter of 2022, it had only made up approximately 3% of all iPhone 13 sales in the US.
Gurman also pointed out that a management call has been scheduled for the day following the tech giant’s merchandise reset. It was scheduled for the evening of September 12. Gurman noticed that this call is unusual on days when there are events.
Additionally, according to Mark Gurman, there is “low/no stock” at Apple Stores for many items that were scheduled to go out of production last week. This includes the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini. That strongly implies Apple will discontinue the 5.4-inch phone, as he claimed earlier.
According to the 9-to-5 Mac, this could be a signal that Apple intends to make at least some of the products introduced at Wonderlust immediately available in retail stores. They are the new accessories and improved AirPods Pro.
The business had already discontinued the iPhone 12 Mini the previous year. They only kept the model with the larger screen in stock for an additional year. Additionally, Apple no longer offers any 5.4-inch iPhones due to the discontinuation of the iPhone 13 mini.
Both the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 mini have launch prices of $799 and $699, respectively (both in 2021). Apple dropped the price of the iPhone 13 mini last year from $699 to $599, while the normal 13 remained at that price. Since the iPhone 13 mini is no longer available, the regular 13 now costs $599.
Conclusion
Since neither the iPhone 12 mini nor the iPhone 13 mini were commercial successes, the end of the iPhone mini is not shocking. In reality, during the years they were released, they were the least popular iPhone models. As of right now, the third-generation iPhone SE is the only iPhone that Apple sells that has a display smaller than 6 inches. It still has a 4.7-inch LCD screen.
As many people appear to prefer larger phones, rumors imply that the upcoming iPhone SE model will also include a larger screen. But there’s still some hope for fans of the little screen. Of course, the iPhone 13 Mini is still on sale at some online retailers, but that shouldn’t last for very long. Also, the affordable third-generation iPhone SE and various good compact Android phones are available.
As new gadgets are released, Apple regularly phases away older products from its inventory. September 12 didn’t just see the demise of smartphones. Apple also announced that it would discontinue selling leather accessories like Apple Watch bands and iPhone cases. This is done in order to lower greenhouse gas emissions.