It looks like a legitimate successor to the original iPhone SE1. Having FaceID and MagSafe added helps to justify the price increase, not to mention the OLED screen and performance improvements. It would be nice to get hands on at an Apple Store but this is almost certainly a compelling “proper size” iPhone.
Since it is an "iPhone mini", it hopefully implies that it is a permanent edition to the lineup, and will be updated every year. Yes, it looks like a good option for iPhone 5 form factor lovers. Just a little bit bigger, but it's a modern phone with modern components.
Just a guess - I doubt that the mini will be refreshed every year. Most likely scenario - the mini does not get refreshed every year due to not so high amount of sales (say <10 million every year). And the next SE in 2023 or 2024 gets the current iPhone 12 design (including ALL the exact same components except SoC) and swaps out the A14 with A16 or A17.
This phone is the same size as my old SE with a case on it. That'll work. I'll just skip the case. What could go wrong .
I love that the sides are flat, though it looks like there are buttons on both sides. I'll have to check that out in person. Now to see if/when Boost mobile has a SIM for it...
Very excited about the iPhone 12 mini, but noticed that the real cost is $729 (and not $699 as advertised) even if I buy it directly from Apple. Comes across as a sleazy move, and certainly not a good look for Apple. It would have cost them nothing to admit that the actual price is $729. FWIW, I sent a note to Apple about this.
Especially on top of the removal of the charger and earphones. It looks quite dodgy. Dodgy as.
Yep they took out $40 worth of accessories (and made shipping costs a little less) and put in a whole slew of new expensive tech and kept the prices more or less the same. Of course they should have kept those accessories in and hiked the prices instead so we can all pay extra for crap most of us don't need instead of having the choice. Greedy bastards.
Nope. I’m a little shocked they didn’t bring the touch ID power button from the new iPad as a secondary authentication option. They probably couldn’t make enough of them since the iPhone is at a whole other scale compared to the iPad, but it’s still a disappointing miss.
The media has everyone world wide so whipped into a frenzy over this stupid virus that many people are going to be wearing facemasks for a long time; Apple needs to get it together and adapt to where we are in the world today.
tht said: Yea, hopefully the mini will have 4 GB of RAM. I think that would seal the deal for me. Unfortunately, all the Apple Stores in my area are COVID closed, so I can't inspect the feel of the different sizes, materials, and design.
Just a reminder for everyone - other stores will have them in stock. The Carrier stores often have them and so will major retailers like BestBuy and Walmart.
I’m quite impressed by the non-pro iPhones this year - with OLED displays adoped across the line, the only differentiator of the Pros that remains seems to be the camera technology. The iPhone 6/7/8 was the perfect smartphone size for me - having a larger display in an even smaller size is pretty neat. Makes me wonder what took Apple so long to design a mini version. Both I and my wife will be getting this and so are a couple of friends. It’s hard to for me to believe that there is less demand for smaller iPhones as some people have commented.
Apple was very deceptive with their pricing. The mini and 12 is not $699 and $799. The real price is $729 and $829. They intentionally left out carrier discounts from AT&T and Verizon. They want to lock people into higher priced cell plans.
Claiming to be saving the environment by leaving out $40 of accessories, but increasing the price of the phones by $130, including a USB-C to lightning cable that won’t work with all previous chargers, and after the event release a new $19 USB-C charger for people to buy to use with their new phone. Well played Apple...for really sticking it to your customers. Pretty lousy thing to do.
Very excited about the iPhone 12 mini, but noticed that the real cost is $729 (and not $699 as advertised) even if I buy it directly from Apple. Comes across as a sleazy move, and certainly not a good look for Apple. It would have cost them nothing to admit that the actual price is $729. FWIW, I sent a note to Apple about this.
Especially on top of the removal of the charger and earphones. It looks quite dodgy. Dodgy as.
Yeah Im really surprised more blogs etc aren't picking up on this. Taking that into account and the fact Im upgrading from the last phone to use that form factor Im going to need a new power brick so its more like $750! And thats not including the headphones but I never took them out the box anyway!
tht said: Yea, hopefully the mini will have 4 GB of RAM. I think that would seal the deal for me. Unfortunately, all the Apple Stores in my area are COVID closed, so I can't inspect the feel of the different sizes, materials, and design.
Just a reminder for everyone - other stores will have them in stock. The Carrier stores often have them and so will major retailers like BestBuy and Walmart.
My local Best Buy has a mostly unreliable mini Apple Store experience. It's frustrating. Devices are often out of battery or inoperable and the selection is often incomplete. But it's likely my only option if the Apple Stores are closed. Probably a bad idea to go the Apple Stores even if they decided to open them up. It's going to be a mad house during the holiday shopping season, and they will hopefully strictly enforce lower occupancy limits.
Walmart and Target often have devices locked down and you can't get a feel for the devices. Not worth the effort.
I've got too many choices! Argh. I could see myself getting all variants of the iPhone 12 models.
I don't get the appeal of the middle-size options at all. Worst-of-both-worlds.
Too big to use one-handed, but at least they don't have the good camera? Cool bro
There isn't much to it. Different people have different hands, different priorities, different habits. Offering a range of 4 covers a lot of different people. Apple can go one more: offer a SE Plus for people who want a large display, but don't need the performance or the cameras. I think all the Plus iPhones are out of the lineup now.
For me, I can provide rationale for all 4.
iPhone 12 mini: my pockets and hands will really appreciate it iPhone 12: 6.1" display is 28% larger than the 5.4" mini. That matters. iPhone 12 Pro: Steel. Denser feel. Better cameras. Likely more RAM. Premium. iPhone 12 Pro Max: 21% larger screen than the 6.1, 54% larger than the 5.4. Best cameras.
Of course there are negatives to them all too. Since I'll be using this device for 4 to 5 years, do I want to have a 5.4" display for all that time? The likely RAM difference between the 12 and 12 Pro will be a big player in the longevity of the device too. Decisions to make.
It looks like a legitimate successor to the original iPhone SE1. Having FaceID and MagSafe added helps to justify the price increase, not to mention the OLED screen and performance improvements. It would be nice to get hands on at an Apple Store but this is almost certainly a compelling “proper size” iPhone.
Since it is an "iPhone mini", it hopefully implies that it is a permanent edition to the lineup, and will be updated every year.
I admire the optimism, but have you met the Mac Mini and/or iPad Mini?
It looks like a legitimate successor to the original iPhone SE1. Having FaceID and MagSafe added helps to justify the price increase, not to mention the OLED screen and performance improvements. It would be nice to get hands on at an Apple Store but this is almost certainly a compelling “proper size” iPhone.
Since it is an "iPhone mini", it hopefully implies that it is a permanent edition to the lineup, and will be updated every year.
I admire the optimism, but have you met the Mac Mini and/or iPad Mini?
Yes, but always have guarded optimism. It's healthier, at least for me, that way.
It's better than the prior scenario with the iPhone SE where they are using 3 or 4 year designs and just putting modern chips inside. This at least has all the modern accoutrements: OLED, Face ID industrial design, chips, 5G, etc.
Comments
I love that the sides are flat, though it looks like there are buttons on both sides. I'll have to check that out in person.
Now to see if/when Boost mobile has a SIM for it...
/s
i can see it now, matching AW6, iPhone 12 mini, and HP dragonfly.
all I need will be a iPad Pro in blue.
I’ll take a blue mini please and thank you!
The media has everyone world wide so whipped into a frenzy over this stupid virus that many people are going to be wearing facemasks for a long time; Apple needs to get it together and adapt to where we are in the world today.
Just a reminder for everyone - other stores will have them in stock. The Carrier stores often have them and so will major retailers like BestBuy and Walmart.
The iPhone 6/7/8 was the perfect smartphone size for me - having a larger display in an even smaller size is pretty neat. Makes me wonder what took Apple so long to design a mini version. Both I and my wife will be getting this and so are a couple of friends. It’s hard to for me to believe that there is less demand for smaller iPhones as some people have commented.
Too big to use one-handed, but at least they don't have the good camera? Cool bro
Walmart and Target often have devices locked down and you can't get a feel for the devices. Not worth the effort.
There isn't much to it. Different people have different hands, different priorities, different habits. Offering a range of 4 covers a lot of different people. Apple can go one more: offer a SE Plus for people who want a large display, but don't need the performance or the cameras. I think all the Plus iPhones are out of the lineup now.
For me, I can provide rationale for all 4.
iPhone 12 mini: my pockets and hands will really appreciate it
iPhone 12: 6.1" display is 28% larger than the 5.4" mini. That matters.
iPhone 12 Pro: Steel. Denser feel. Better cameras. Likely more RAM. Premium.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 21% larger screen than the 6.1, 54% larger than the 5.4. Best cameras.
Of course there are negatives to them all too. Since I'll be using this device for 4 to 5 years, do I want to have a 5.4" display for all that time? The likely RAM difference between the 12 and 12 Pro will be a big player in the longevity of the device too. Decisions to make.
It's better than the prior scenario with the iPhone SE where they are using 3 or 4 year designs and just putting modern chips inside. This at least has all the modern accoutrements: OLED, Face ID industrial design, chips, 5G, etc.