The 5.4-inch iPhone 13 mini remains unpopular with customers, according to US iPhone sales data for the March quarter, which was shared by Consumer Research Intelligence Partners (CIRP).
The iPhone 13 mini had the smallest share of sales of all iPhone 13 models, accounting for only three percent of total iPhone sales in the quarter. In comparison, the other iPhone 13 models were much more popular and had the largest share of US sales for several years.
Together, all four iPhone 13 models accounted for 71 percent of iPhone sales, with the standard 6.1-inch iPhone 13 accounting for 38 percent of sales. iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max were not quite as popular as iPhone 13, but sold much better than iPhone 13 mini.
In the quarter of last year, the iPhone 12 models accounted for 61 percent of total iPhone sales, so the iPhone 13 models perform better. IPhone 13 also saw the strongest sales of any iPhone model in the March quarter, beating the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 when they were Apple’s flagship iPhones.
According to CIRP, the iPhone 13 models, apart from the mini, are seeing strong sales because buyers are replacing their phones more often.
After several years where buyers have kept an earlier phone longer, buyers in the past year have now kept an earlier phone for a shorter time. In the March 2022 quarter, 20% of buyers reported having their previous phone for three years or longer, compared to 34% in March 2021. In the March 2022 quarter, 47% of buyers had their previous phone for two years or less compared to 35% in the March 2021 quarter.
Apple’s 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini have been relatively unpopular since launch, and the poor sales have made it clear that most consumers do not want smaller iPhones.
In 2022 with the iPhone 14 series, Apple will stop with 5.4-inch iPhone size. There will be no iPhone 14 mini, with Apple instead releasing a 6.1-inch iPhone 14, a 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro, a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max and a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max.