- Apple Event - LIVE reaction
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Pro /iPhone 15 Pro Max
- Apple Watch Series 9 / Ultra 2
- iOS 17
- watchOS 10
In a bittersweet tradition, whenever Apple unveils its latest iPhones it tends to kill off at least one older model, and this year it’s much of the same.
Apple has brought us new iPhone 15 handsets but retired some older versions of its handsets, as we’d have expected, like previous Pro models, including the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
But in a more surprising move, it’s also got rid of a model that’s going to disappoint anyone who likes smaller phones because it’s the end of the iPhone 13 mini – and possibly the end of the mini line of iPhones as we know it. That means there’s no smaller 5.4-inch screen option currently sold by Apple.
So what does Apple's iPhone lineup look like now the older Pro models and mini models are out of the picture? These are the handsets you can currently buy from Apple:
Is bigger always better?
We’re not saying we’ll never get another smaller version of an iPhone ever again, but it doesn’t look likely and isn’t on the cards for the next year at least.
The iPhone mini models clearly weren’t as popular as regular-sized iPhones. For starters, battery life was a big problem with the iPhone 12 mini. And although Apple bumped up the battery life in the iPhone 13 mini, it still made up a fraction of the iPhone 13 sales compared to larger models.
You could argue that the reason they don't appeal to more people is simple: they’re just too small. But there were still dedicated iPhone mini fans. We even wrote a love letter to the iPhone mini. In it, we wondered whether the reason the iPhone mini failed isn’t because people don’t want small phones, but because they’re just not used to them.
“I think people have just forgotten how great a small iPhone is because they haven't had the option for a long time,” we wrote. “The benefit of a drastic change in phone size is something you have to feel in your hand; it can't be felt placing an order online.”
Unfortunately for the mini, it came out during the pandemic when few people could get one in their hands to realize that, yes, you really don’t need a phone the size of your face.
Of course, you’ll still be able to buy the iPhone mini from third-party retailers and second-hand sites for the time being. But we think there’ll be a number of people who will be disappointed that they can no longer opt for a little iPhone anymore.
We're covering all the Apple iPhone 15 event news and reactions now that Wonderlust is over. Don't miss all our iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, iOS 17and watchOS 10 coverage so far.
