Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
Hopes for small Android phones dashed by dismal US sales of iPhone 13 Mini
- If you are looking forward to small Android phones, you likely won’t get them any time soon.
- The iPhone 13 Mini is doing very poorly with US consumers.
- Apple’s lack of success here likely will push Android OEMs to focus on bigger models.
Here at Android Authority, we see commenters post all the time about how much they hate the lack of choice when it comes to the sizing of phones. “Why do all Android phones need to be huge slabs,” they ask again and again.
See also: What are the best compact Android phones available?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this problem will be going away anytime soon. According to Consumer Research Intelligence Partners (CIRP) (via MacRumors), the iPhone 13 Mini isn’t faring well with United States consumers. The phone’s lack of success likely means one thing: small Android phones aren’t going to be successful, either.
According to CIRP, the iPhone 13 Mini accounted for just 3% of all iPhone 13 sales in the US over the last quarter. It is, by far, the worst-selling of the iPhone 13 models. The iPhone 12 Mini didn’t do much better.
Small Android phones: Apple’s ‘Mini’ line says ‘nope’
Obviously, the Android consumer is very different from the Apple consumer. However, Android OEMs inevitably look to Apple to judge what the affluent smartphone buyer wants. Despite what many Android users would like to think, there is plenty of crossover between the desires of Apple fans and those of Android fans.
Related: Apple vs Android RAM management
Because the Mini line is basically failing for Apple, most Android OEMs won’t bother trying to produce small Android phones. In this cutthroat market, the competition is too fierce to waste time and resources creating phones that won’t be bonafide hits with consumers.
Granted, there will continue to be sizing differences within Android. The Galaxy S22, for example, is significantly smaller than the Galaxy S22 Ultra. However, if you were hoping for an Android phone to be even smaller than that, you might not want to hold your breath.