iPhone 12 mini is smaller than this year's iPhone SE, but not the original

Iphone 12 Mini (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

Kate Matthews drew out the sizes of every iPhone in the current lineup.
The drawing shows that the new iPhone 12 Max will be the largest iPhone ever made.
It also shows that the iPhone 12 mini will be smaller than the 2020 iPhone SE.

Today, Apple announced the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, and the HomePod mini during its "Hi, Speed" event. With new display sizes for the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max, you might be wondering how the size of the actual phones compare. One architecture student had the same thought.

Kate Matthews, an architecture student from England, posted a drawing she had done showing the size differences between Apple's current iPhone lineup. In the second image, she compares all of Apple's 2020 lineup to the original iPhone SE, which still reigns supreme as the tiniest iPhone.

Here's a version of my iPhone sizes sketch with the ghost of the original SE, if anyone wants that size comparison. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/De1y7KFGvaHere's a version of my iPhone sizes sketch with the ghost of the original SE, if anyone wants that size comparison. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/De1y7KFGva— Kate Matthews (@rhl__) October 13, 2020 October 13, 2020

The images tell an interesting story about the history of iPhone sizes. The new iPhone 12 Pro Max will become the largest iPhone to ever be released. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, which both feature a 6.1-inch display, will be slightly smaller than the iPhone 11 which features a display of the same size.

Most notable is the new iPhone 12 mini, which will actually be smaller than the current iPhone SE that was released earlier this year. The original iPhone SE was unofficially known as the "mini" iPhone, but Apple has now brought a true iPhone mini to life.

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.