It's no secret that cell phones are getting bigger and bigger every year, but for those who long for the days of compact, power-sparing handsets, the iPhone 12 mini is a revelation, packing all the power of the regular iPhone 12 into a tiny 5.4-inch frame.

Unfortunately for fans of this design philosophy, they seem to be in the minority; according to analysts at Wave7 Research, the iPhone 12 mini has struggled to sell compared to its siblings.

According to PCMag, Wave7's research shows that only 4-5% of the iPhone 12 mini's sales at major carriers are for the regular iPhone 12, compared to 24-33% for the iPhone 12, despite its additional $100 cost. According to interviews with in-store salespeople, the mini device was the "softest demand" and people instead opted for the larger screen device.

This is consistent with the findings of another firm, Flurry Analytics. According to the company's research, the installed base of the iPhone 12 in the U.S. during its launch week was 0.94% for the iPhone 12 Pro Max, 0.40% for the iPhone 12 Pro, and 0.41% for the iPhone 12, compared to just 0.12% for the iPhone 12 mini.

A possible reason for this is that iOS fans looking for something more pocketable already have an alternative: the 2020 iPhone SE is not as powerful as the iPhone 12 mini and does not offer 5G connectivity, but it has a compact design and is $300 Cheaper. Perhaps for many, the biggest appeal of smaller phones is saving money, and if so, why not save even more?

This may help explain why the market for small phones with the highest specifications is so limited. If even Apple and its huge sales force cannot attract significant consumer interest, what hope is there for Android device makers other than Samsung? And Samsung does not have a small Android flagship. The smallest current Galaxy S and Note devices are 6.2 inches wide, which is hard to fit in a pocket.

That's a real shame, because we're big fans of the smallest iPhone 12. As our iPhone 12 mini review explains: "In some ways, it's the most impressive model in the iPhone 12 lineup. Because it does everything the larger, more expensive models can do, but surprisingly, it manages to fit all of its features into an impossibly small frame.

Unfortunately, if the initial sales numbers hold, this technological marvel does not seem to be attracting buyers in the same way.