Most likely, the market for a small phone from a mainstream manufacturer is more than strong enough to sustain itself and even be profitable. The real culprit here is that there’s been a shift in the industry — it’s not enough for products to “just” make a profit, they now have to also be smash hits and money printers. Niche audiences may as well not exist, no matter how dedicated they may be, everything must target the masses.

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aurareturn 6 days ago | parent [-]

I think Apple discontinued the Mini line because it's a bit like new software features makes the code harder to maintain over time. Every time Apple introduces a new generation of iPhones, they'd have to figure out how to make the upgrades fit in a much smaller chassis.

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layer8 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

The limiting factor for that is currently the more recent iPhone SE 3 (2022), so that argument isn't convincing. Regarding screen size, the Display Zoom resolution of the Pro Max is the same as the iPhone mini resolution, and the Display Zoom resolution of the Pro is the same as the Display Zoom resolution of the mini [0], so dropping the mini didn't actually remove any supported resolution. What's true is that the hardware design and layout is more constrained for the mini size, mostly regarding battery capacity, but I don't really see a limitation for the software. Even regarding battery capacity, the 16e has really great battery life, so a mini using similar tech should still be acceptable.

[0] https://www.ricsantos.net/2021/01/21/ios-device-resolution-g...

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cosmic_cheese 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I would expect the opposite, given continued miniaturazation, consolidation of functions into the SoC, and battery energy density improvements. The same advances that allow the iPhone Air to exist would also be helpful for a Mini model.

	▲	aurareturn 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		Chips are getting bigger physically because of the end of Moore's law. More power hungry too which means a better cooling system. Bigger camera sensors. Bigger battery. All these things rely on being physically larger.