Abstract
- Silicon-carbon tech permits extra space-efficient batteries, which may clear up the most important grievance about mini fashions.
- A brand new mini would additionally profit from extra power-efficient chip designs and dynamic show know-how.
- Nonetheless, Apple may not be capable to discover room for a brand new mini in its lineup except it makes it a foldable.
One thing I discover fascinating — encouraging, even — is that whereas there have not been any new mini iPhones because the iPhone 13 mini, some individuals are nonetheless clinging onto them for pricey life. These die-hards insist that life is healthier with a telephone underneath six inches, since you may truly use it with one hand. By no means thoughts that Minis are now not state-of-the-art, and launched with weak battery life that is solely degraded over time — the followers are making it work within the title of their most popular kind issue. It is a small act of revolt, actually.
There is no signal that Apple’s going to launch a brand new mini anytime quickly, because the one addition to the iPhone 17 lineup is rumored to be the iPhone 17 Air, emphasizing thinness as a substitute of display screen measurement. With latest developments and technological developments, nonetheless, the time may very well be ripe to rethink the thought, maybe in time for the iPhone 18 or 19.
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The important thing breakthrough
Kiss battery complaints goodbye
Probably the most vital growth is the arrival of silicon-carbon (Si-C) batteries. These are an evolution of the lithium-ion batteries we’re used to, however with an necessary change — elevated vitality density. Meaning it is potential to ship the identical quantity of vitality in a smaller battery pack, and even higher longevity from a standard-sized one.
We’re already seeing the fruits of this in some units. The perfect-known instance might be the OnePlus 13, which has a 6,000mAh capability. Whereas it is nonetheless greatest to cost it in a single day, the product can legitimately make it two days with gentle use. The identical is true of another Si-C telephones, that are being churned out by manufacturers like Oppo, Vivo, and Realme.
- Model
-
OnePlus
- SoC
-
Snapdragon 8 Elite
- Show
-
6.82-inch, 3168 × 1440 pixel decision (510ppi) 120Hz adaptive refresh
- RAM
-
12GB, 16GB
Si-C iPhones are solely a matter of time, and a brand new Mini could be the right use case.
Actually, what’s unusual in the mean time is that Apple and Samsung have not adopted swimsuit. Apple skipped the know-how for the iPhone 16 collection, and appears poised to do the identical with the iPhone 17 lineup, given rumors about how weak the iPhone 17 Air’s battery life has been in testing. Samsung, in the meantime, was anticipated to make use of Si-C within the Galaxy S25 Edge, however selected to not, regardless of charging a premium over the S25+. In the mean time, each corporations appear to suppose that clients care extra about thinness and weight than how lengthy their units run.
Si-C iPhones are solely a matter of time, fortunately, and a brand new mini could be the right use case. A hypothetical iPhone 18 mini would nonetheless lag behind the common iPhone 18 in runtime — assuming each improve to Si-C — however it will nonetheless be a really sensible system, capable of go from wake-up to bedtime with no need mid-day refueling. Should you’re holding onto an iPhone 12 mini as of late, an early-afternoon charging session might be unavoidable.
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How else may a brand new iPhone mini enhance?
Miniaturization to the rescue
A brand new Mini may additionally benefit from progress in different areas too, comparable to processor design. Apple’s important chip producer, TSMC, is rolling out a 2nm course of this yr — when you think about that the A15 Bionic processor within the iPhone 13 mini was constructed utilizing 5nm know-how, there’s potential for critical enhancements in part measurement and/or energy effectivity.
Each little bit counts if you’re attempting to compress a much bigger telephone design into the tiniest potential house.
One other factor you would depend on is Apple attempting to squeeze as a lot as potential into customized chips. Its first mobile modem, the C1, debuted on the iPhone 16e earlier this yr, and the corporate is allegedly engaged on an all-in-one wi-fi chip supporting Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and different protocols. If that occurs, it may bump effectivity up one other notch.
There’s potential for critical enhancements in part measurement and energy effectivity.
Apple may additionally be capable to shrink or fully remove the digital camera notch, maximizing house on a small show (small by fashionable requirements, anyway). Eliminating it will require utilizing under-display know-how, which has proved slightly flaky on competing {hardware} — but when there’s any firm that would make it work properly, it is most likely Apple.
One other support to battery life could be the adoption of a 120Hz ProMotion show. That is stated to be coming to non-Professional iPhones for the primary time with the iPhone 17, and it issues past simply easy scrolling — the tech permits screens to drop to as little as 1Hz based mostly on content material, saving energy in some circumstances whereas enabling always-on capabilities (comparable to StandBy) in others. Conceivably, an iPhone 18 mini with AOD tech disabled may final for a really very long time… sufficient to skip in a single day plug-ins at times, I am going to wager.
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What are the probabilities of a brand new iPhone mini?
Last ideas
Sadly, I am not relying on it. A brand new Mini may sit in an odd middleground in Apple’s future lineups, being dearer than an iPhone 18e, however with out the thinness benefit of an iPhone 18 Air. Alongside these strains, Apple appears newly re-committed to the thought of ultra-thin merchandise — simply take a look at the M4 iPad Professional, which was so skinny that it fueled worries a few second Bendgate (unfounded, fortunately). The corporate’s not going to shift focus away from the Air kind issue except the iPhone 17 Air is an entire catastrophe.
Niches nonetheless demand to be served, nonetheless.
Extra importantly, maybe, the smartphone trade typically has drifted away from screens underneath six inches. For no matter purpose, mini iPhones by no means bought properly, and the final flagship telephone of any variety with sub-6 dimensions was the ASUS Zenfone 10. Compact telephones have turn into a distinct segment, with most consumers selecting bigger screens even when it means two-handed texting, or sometimes struggling to suit their telephones of their pockets.
Niches nonetheless demand to be served, nonetheless. One strategy Apple may take is constructing a clamshell foldable, akin to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 — this would possibly allow one-handed texting from an exterior display screen, whereas conserving a much bigger major display screen obtainable for issues like YouTube and net searching. It is such an apparent concept, actually, that the actual query could also be when it is coming, not if. The primary folding iPhone is predicted to be a book-style mannequin due in 2026, so we’re most likely a few years out from a clamshell, no less than.
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