The iPhone 12 mini appears to be the biggest disappointment of the otherwise enormously successful iPhone 12 series. By contrast, demand for the iPhone 12 Pro seems to be stronger than even Apple imagined.
That's based on a new Morgan Stanley investment note, shared by PED30. According to the report, Apple has switched planned production of two million units of its smallest iPhone 12 handset over to the iPhone 12 Pro---meaning that it will produce two million fewer iPhone 12 minis and two million more iPhone 12 Pros in the first quarter of 2021 than originally forecast.
iPhone 12 Mini vs. iPhone 12 Pro
On paper, the iPhone 12 mini was a (and is) a strong handset. Almost unanimously praised in reviews, it offers a premium iPhone flagship experience in a dainty, diminutive form factor. Users get the latest all-screen OLED display, Face ID, A14 Bionic processor, and 5G connectivity, all packed into an iPhone the size of the company's older iPhones. At a starting price of $699, it's Apple's most affordable new iPhone model.
But it seems that it hasn't necessarily struck a chord with customers---at least, not to the extent of its larger siblings. This isn't the first time something similar has been reported. In a list of the top smartphone activations on Christmas Day in the United States, nine out of the top 10 models were all iPhones.
The only iPhone out of the iPhone 12 series not to make the cut was the iPhone 12 mini---which was beaten out by older handsets including the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, among others.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 12 Pro in some ways seems to be punching above its weight in terms of success. While undoubtedly a top-end phone, there's less to distinguish the "Pro" iPhone models from the regular ones this year.
The iPhone 12 Pro, which starts at $999, most notably offers superior photographic capabilities. Even then, however, it lacks some of the features (namely the larger image sensor for low-light images, sensor-shift stabilization tech, and better telephoto camera) of the even pricier iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Still, it seems that this handset has won over enough customers that Apple's now having to make changes to supply to keep up with demand.
Possible Impact on Future iPhones
Apple doesn't break out the individual unit sales of its different iPhone models for competitive reasons. All of this third party analysis should therefore be taken to be rumor to some extent. Nonetheless, the more reports that seem to confirm similar findings, the more faith you can put in the fact that they are likely to be accurate.
It will be interesting to see whether next year's iPhone line-up makes any changes to reflect these findings. Only nine months to wait to find out!
