As we fast approach the September launch of the iPhone 16, you might well be wondering whether this year’s new flagship lineup could herald an iPhone 16 mini and the return of Apple’s diminutive smartphone form factor.
Apple’s iPhone mini has been something of an enigma since it launched in 2021. Apple’s iPhone 12 came with an iPhone 12 mini option sporting a small 5.4-inch display but otherwise all the features of its main handset.
The handset was a smash hit with the people who bought it, its small size lending itself to one-handed use and portability. The trouble was that so few people made the leap that by the time the iPhone 13 mini rolled around the writing was already on the wall. With the iPhone 14, Apple ditched the iPhone ‘mini’ altogether in favor of the larger iPhone 14 Plus.
iPhone 16 mini?
Let’s get right to it, there are no rumors or leaks indicating that Apple plans to bring back the mini iPhone with iPhone 16. So the iPhone 16 mini is a no-go, I’m afraid. All reliable signs point to Apple continuing its current lineup of an iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Indeed, the only expected change to the lineup is the advent of a slightly larger chassis for each of the Pro models, which should clock in at 6.3 and 6.9 inches respectively.
Why isn’t Apple bringing back the iPhone 16 mini?
There are a couple of reasons why I wouldn’t expect an iPhone 16 mini, or indeed another iPhone mini of any descript in the future of Apple’s smartphone arc. Firstly, from a commercial point of view, the iPhone mini was a bit of a disaster. Most reports indicated it only accounted for around 5% of sales in the lineup, suggesting it’s simply not popular enough for Apple to invest time and money into making it.
Furthermore, the iPhone mini wasn’t without its problems, most notably battery life. Where the iPhone 15 Plus shines because it offers the largest iPhone battery without many of the Pro’s power-hungry features, the iPhone mini suffered from the opposite problem. The mini’s chassis was so small the battery often wouldn’t survive a single day’s use, a key benchmark in today’s market.
With all that in mind, as with the prospect of the iPhone 15 mini, it looks like the iPhone mini is well and truly buried at this point. Even the rumored iPhone SE 4 isn’t expected to adopt a smaller form factor, with Apple well and truly putting small smartphones, at least for now, in the rearview mirror.
