The iPhone 12 is a massive hit for Apple, new research published by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) suggests---with the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 apparently proving to be the star of Apple's 2020 smartphone lineup. The iPhone 12 mini, by comparison, looks to be lagging behind.
The report, which was shared by 9to5Mac, claims that the iPhone 12 made up 76% of new iPhone sales in the October and November period in the United States.
iPhone 12 Mini May Have Disappointed
While that might sound like common sense, Apple continues manufacturing older handsets, often lowering the price on these to make them more compelling to customers. The fact that the iPhone 12 makes up such a large majority of iPhone sales is therefore pretty impressive. By comparison, last year's iPhone 11 devices made up 69% of sales during the comparable period in 2019.
The new CIRP report states that the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 represented 27% of new iPhone sales in the United States during the October and November 2020 period. In joint second place were the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Both high-end models of the Apple smartphones made up around 20% each of new iPhone sales.
In last place, the iPhone 12 mini supposedly carved out a relatively minuscule 6% of total iPhone sales. That may seem surprising since it is Apple's cheapest of the new handsets. But value for money is about more than just price, and analyst Mike Levin, CIRP partner and co-founder, believes the iPhone 12 mini might just not represent enough bang for the buck of buyers.
"The new iPhone mini likely disappointed Apple with only 6% of sales in the period," noted Levin. "It has most of the same features as the other iPhone 12 models, in a smaller form factor for $699. Its share was just above that of iPhone XR, launched in 2018 and now priced at $499, the one-year old iPhone 11, now selling for $599, and the 2nd generation iPhone SE, launched in April 2020 at $399. It seems that its higher price point compared to those three models limited the iPhone 12 mini appeal."
It's Still Early Days for iPhone 12
Of course, this is still early days for the iPhone 12. Customers who rush out to buy the new iPhones the moment they're released are more likely to be hardcore Apple fans, who may therefore be more inclined to splash out on the higher-end models, than the smallest, cheapest of the new wave of iPhones.
Nonetheless, it does add another data point to suggest that---for many people---the days of small iPhones are well and truly behind them.