The iPhone mini will apparently be replaced by the iPhone Max.
Did you know that pants pockets are bigger these days than they were ten years ago? I’m not joking now. Especially when it comes to men’s trousers, the fashion industry has had to make significant strides in the last decade. The reason for this is simple: smartphones are getting bigger and bigger and because men don’t usually carry handbags, their trouser pockets had to grow with them.
A recent report from colleagues at the US magazine tech radar underscores that most of you prefer bigger and bigger phones: The iPhone 14 lineup could finally offer the model you want and can afford
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Accordingly, Apple wants to give the normal series a model with a 6.7-inch display for the first time: the iPhone 14 Max. So far, screens of this size were reserved for the Pro versions, such as the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The iPhone 14 mini falls victim to the cutbacks due to the apparent lack of demand. At least if you believe the escalating rumors. And that annoys me. But not just because the mini is so compact.
Alexander Köpf
@NebulaMutara
GameStar editor Alex didn’t own a smartphone at all for a long time. His first was a used Samsung Galaxy S6, which he modified with the help of custom ROMs the way he wanted it. Alex came to the iPhone by accident. He was also given the first SE used. Out of curiosity, he eventually got it up and running and hasn’t switched back to Android since.
Bigger isn’t always better
I can definitely understand why large screens are so popular: It’s much more comfortable to play on them, I don’t even have to start watching films and series, and they also have their advantages in everyday use. So, in the end, is Techradar right with its headline? Does everyone really want such a big smartphone?
I can only speak for myself: I definitely don’t want that. As many tech trends as I follow, when it comes to mobile phones, I live in a different era – at least in terms of size. Because of course I want good performance.
Mine are small, handy smartphones, not to say cell phones
just prefer – forgive me for the bad joke. I don’t like carrying a rectangular, bulky chunk of metal on my thigh, and my bike saddlebag is also much better for small devices.
Also, when I’m watching a movie on it, I just hold it a little closer under my nose and it’s definitely good for gaming. To be honest, I rarely do both with it. On long train journeys, I simply pack a laptop with a few episodes of a series in my backpack. And if I really want to play on the go, I’ll end up sticking with the Steam deck, although I find mobile play surprisingly good.
What used to be huge is now considered compact
The iPhone 12 mini can be easily operated with one hand thanks to the 5.4-inch display.
Alright
you will say there are small smartphones
: Be it the Google Pixel 5, the Asus Zenfone 8 or the iPhone SE, if it absolutely has to be Apple. It doesn’t have to be, by the way, quite the opposite. When it comes to a mobile phone, the main thing for me is practicality. Therefore it should be as small as possible. At the same time, however, I want the latest and greatest hardware and not a processor from the last or penultimate generation. That’s where the enthusiast in me comes through. So the iPhone SE falls flat.
Pixel 5 and Zenfone 8 disqualify themselves with their screen sizes of 6 and 5.9 inches respectively. It’s the same with other devices. For me, this is not compact, even if they are labeled as such and they can be found in almost every list for the smallest cell phones in 2021 and 2022. This shows again quite clearly where the journey is going.
Just for comparison: In 2014, the iPhone 6 plus and the Samsung Galaxy Mega presented pants manufacturers Levis, Lee and Co. with the task of accommodating a 5.5 or 6.3 inch display plus frame comfortably in a trouser pocket. The Huawei Mate20 X from 2018 with a 7.2-inch screen is about one centimeter wider and almost two centimeters higher.
By the way: What bothers me about the two new versions of the iPhone SE, in addition to the older processors compared to the larger models of the same year, is the shape and the display and home button that are not fitted into the housing. I liked the angular design of the first SE from 2016, although that still featured the then-fashionable thick button on the bottom. The flat, rounded concept of the second and third iteration plus the still framed screen doesn’t appeal to me at all.
opinion
The new MacBook Pro almost makes me swear off the PC
Small but mighty – the iPhone 12 Mini
The last of their kind
How fitting that Apple with the 12 series especially for me (!) mini
designed. This is exactly the smartphone I need. Beautifully angular, with a fitted 5.4-inch display without a home button and with the A14 Bionic, the same processor does its work in it as in the larger models. The battery life is significantly shorter than that of the regular 12 and the two Pro variants anyway. But I hardly ever play or watch it anyway.
There is even a successor with the 13 mini: Here the even newer A15 Bionic happily clocks along, the display is a bit brighter and the battery lasts a few hours longer. Unfortunately I have to return my test model soon. And as I said, another successor is not in sight.
I can only hope that at some point in the next three or four years, Apple will have the courage to offer an iPhone mini again, because then support for the current operating systems for the 12 mini should end. Or that another manufacturer is launching a high-end smartphone that meets my expectations. After all, I don’t give a damn whether it’s Android or iOS.
In view of the development towards ever larger mobile phones, however, I am not expecting anything for the time being. And that’s exactly why I will probably never give up my iPhone 12 mini again and I won’t buy a new iPhone either.
Tag: iphone design, iphone 14, apple iphone, iphone release