6 ms·

Sidebar, apparently the Mini is a flop, but ironically in my social circle of engineers, 90% of iPhone users have a Mini. I hope it’s demise is just a rumor.

by ip26 5y ago

francisofascii 5y ago
Why is it a flop?
- ip26 5y ago
  It’s supposedly only 5-10% of iPhone sales.
mattgreenrocks 5y ago
Bunch of my non-engineer friends like the size and form factor as well. I imagine the SE will carry the mantle of the Mini going forward. That's fine with me, I've switched to upgrading my phone every 4-5 years anyway.
robin_reala 5y ago
Every engineer I know has a laptop or desktop for “proper computing” and most rely on their phone primarily for status updates and information. Whereas in the wider population the appeal of a full computer is more limited: people are more likely to throw cash at a bigger screen for better media consumption and gaming, and maybe have a cheap laptop for times where you really need a keyboard and desktop software.
- dagw 5y ago
  cash at a bigger screen for better media consumption and gaming I think you are underestimating how much people are using their phones for content creation. My daughter uses her phone for her entire video production pipeline. She records and edits videos, does compositing and animation, mixes audio, does photo editing etc. all on her iPhone. I've tried several times to show her the advantages of using a 'real' computer with 'real' software, but she just finds it slow and annoying.
  - robin_reala 5y ago
    I was assuming that most people aren’t doing media creation, but yes, that as well.
  - api 5y ago
    What tools does she use?
    - dagw 5y ago
      For video at least she mainly uses iMovie and KineMaster
teekert 5y ago
That is also my experience, plus many friends that have Android phones now eyeball the iPhone mini because no such thing exists in Android land... I myself made the switch because of this a year ago. I really like the size of my iPhone 12 mini, about the same screen as the OnePlus3 I came from but a lot smaller phone.
sylens 5y ago
I have a 12 Mini and while I really like the size, I am not sure I will get the next Mini (if it exists) because the battery life has been disappointing.
- criddell 5y ago
  I have a 13 Mini and the battery life is outstanding. I've heard that it's better than the full size iPhone 12 battery life.
  - wizee 5y ago
    Yup, battery life is great on my 13 mini. The narrower notch on the 13 compared to the 12 is nice too for the smaller screen.
- gonehome 5y ago
  They fixed the battery life with the 13 mini (I had both). Sadly it seems like the 13mini will be the last one.
- Angostura 5y ago
  The reason I got the 13 Mini over the 12 Mini was precisely the improved battery life.
unethical_ban 5y ago
I wish it had promotion. I wish they didn't associate "mini" with "non-pro" - I am sure battery life and space are the reasons, but I find it very hard to consider getting a phone with only 60hz refresh rate after having a 120hz screen.
rhines 5y ago
Even the mini is too large to use with one hand unless you have very large hands. Probably half of American men and the majority of women are not able to use their thumb to reach the top and bottom of the screen while holding the phone in one place securely. I'm pretty surprised that this doesn't seem to be a concern for most people, I guess everyone's content to use two hands on their phone whenever using it?
- brundolf 5y ago
  Yeah. I bought a 13 Mini recently so I could use my phone with one hand, discovered I still couldn't (and I have large hands), and returned it. I don't see much point in a small-ish phone that people can't use with one hand, so I'm not surprised it's flopping. IMO they needed to either commit to a truly small phone, or give up on it. Rumor is they're doing the latter. Guess it'll be pop-sockets for me from here on out!
  - teekert 5y ago
    You can swipe down on the very bottom of the screen (bit awkward at first), but then you pull down the whole screen to reach the top parts easily. Helpful video: [0]. This way you can really do everything with 1 hand. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfwgKRkyWcQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfwgKRkyWcQ
    - brundolf 5y ago
      Was hoping not to have to jump through any hoops; if I'm going to jump through hoops, I'm gonna stick with a pop-socket. They work great for what they do
    - rhines 5y ago
      Oh neat, thanks! I'll have to practice that a bit, but definitely see it coming in handy.
reasonabl_human 5y ago
Engineer with a 13 mini checking in. Favorite device in a while, really hope this form factor is around to stay.

Sidebar, apparently the Mini is a flop, but ironically in my social circle of engineers, 90% of iPhone users have a Mini. I hope it’s demise is just a rumor.

by ip26 5y ago

Sidebar, apparently the Mini is a flop, but ironically in my social circle of engineers, 90% of iPhone users have a Mini. I hope it’s demise is just a rumor.

francisofascii 5y ago

Why is it a flop?

ip26 5y ago
It’s supposedly only 5-10% of iPhone sales.

mattgreenrocks 5y ago

Bunch of my non-engineer friends like the size and form factor as well. I imagine the SE will carry the mantle of the Mini going forward. That's fine with me, I've switched to upgrading my phone every 4-5 years anyway.

robin_reala 5y ago

Every engineer I know has a laptop or desktop for “proper computing” and most rely on their phone primarily for status updates and information. Whereas in the wider population the appeal of a full computer is more limited: people are more likely to throw cash at a bigger screen for better media consumption and gaming, and maybe have a cheap laptop for times where you really need a keyboard and desktop software.

dagw 5y ago
cash at a bigger screen for better media consumption and gaming I think you are underestimating how much people are using their phones for content creation. My daughter uses her phone for her entire video production pipeline. She records and edits videos, does compositing and animation, mixes audio, does photo editing etc. all on her iPhone. I've tried several times to show her the advantages of using a 'real' computer with 'real' software, but she just finds it slow and annoying.
- robin_reala 5y ago
  I was assuming that most people aren’t doing media creation, but yes, that as well.
- api 5y ago
  What tools does she use?
  - dagw 5y ago
    For video at least she mainly uses iMovie and KineMaster

teekert 5y ago

That is also my experience, plus many friends that have Android phones now eyeball the iPhone mini because no such thing exists in Android land... I myself made the switch because of this a year ago. I really like the size of my iPhone 12 mini, about the same screen as the OnePlus3 I came from but a lot smaller phone.

sylens 5y ago

I have a 12 Mini and while I really like the size, I am not sure I will get the next Mini (if it exists) because the battery life has been disappointing.

criddell 5y ago
I have a 13 Mini and the battery life is outstanding. I've heard that it's better than the full size iPhone 12 battery life.
- wizee 5y ago
  Yup, battery life is great on my 13 mini. The narrower notch on the 13 compared to the 12 is nice too for the smaller screen.
gonehome 5y ago
They fixed the battery life with the 13 mini (I had both). Sadly it seems like the 13mini will be the last one.
Angostura 5y ago
The reason I got the 13 Mini over the 12 Mini was precisely the improved battery life.

unethical_ban 5y ago

I wish it had promotion. I wish they didn't associate "mini" with "non-pro" - I am sure battery life and space are the reasons, but I find it very hard to consider getting a phone with only 60hz refresh rate after having a 120hz screen.

rhines 5y ago

Even the mini is too large to use with one hand unless you have very large hands. Probably half of American men and the majority of women are not able to use their thumb to reach the top and bottom of the screen while holding the phone in one place securely. I'm pretty surprised that this doesn't seem to be a concern for most people, I guess everyone's content to use two hands on their phone whenever using it?

brundolf 5y ago
Yeah. I bought a 13 Mini recently so I could use my phone with one hand, discovered I still couldn't (and I have large hands), and returned it. I don't see much point in a small-ish phone that people can't use with one hand, so I'm not surprised it's flopping. IMO they needed to either commit to a truly small phone, or give up on it. Rumor is they're doing the latter. Guess it'll be pop-sockets for me from here on out!
- teekert 5y ago
  You can swipe down on the very bottom of the screen (bit awkward at first), but then you pull down the whole screen to reach the top parts easily. Helpful video: [0]. This way you can really do everything with 1 hand. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfwgKRkyWcQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfwgKRkyWcQ
  - brundolf 5y ago
    Was hoping not to have to jump through any hoops; if I'm going to jump through hoops, I'm gonna stick with a pop-socket. They work great for what they do
  - rhines 5y ago
    Oh neat, thanks! I'll have to practice that a bit, but definitely see it coming in handy.

reasonabl_human 5y ago

Engineer with a 13 mini checking in. Favorite device in a while, really hope this form factor is around to stay.