If reports are accurate, the iPhone 13 mini will be the last of its breed, substituted by a larger iPhone 14 Max this year. And for people who own and love an iPhone 13 mini, this makes them sad. So, the current iPhone 13 users might hold onto their mini for another year.
There’s no doubt that people love big mobiles. As a result, the iPhone went on a significant growth tear when Apple made larger screen models, starting with iPhone 6. Sales data seem to bear it out.
But do people really love big phones? I think they love big displays offering more content and playing movies on giant screens. I’m not sure they adore the extra weight, the added volume, the additional bulk in the pocket—but it’s worth the trade-off for that large, shining screen.
However, at 5.2 inches tall and 2.5 inches wide, iPhone 13 mini is small. It means it fits nicely in hand and pocket—yet it has a 5.4-inch screen that’s quite capable of giving apps adequate room to stretch out. Its design belongs to the iPhone 5 era, many users’ favorite era of iPhone design. But the iPhone mini’s screen is vastly bigger than the iPhone 5, thanks to its Face ID instead of the Fingerprint reader.
While battery life on the iPhone mini is certainly less than on other iPhones, Apple did an excellent job of extending the battery life on the iPhone 13 models. The iPhone 12 mini’s battery life was slightly inadequate. But with the iPhone 13 mini’s battery life, there is no problem.
Unfortunately, iPhone 14 mini is not a product that will exist. iPhone 13 mini was one of the best compact phones with all the flagship features Apple presented in its iPhone without the large size. Apple’s replacement of the mini, iPhone 14 Max, may shake up the smartphone landscape with all the flagship smarts in a larger phone. But the truth is, the iPhone mini is just too good a product for Apple to ignore entirely.
