As an iPhone Mini owner, I have not experienced any poor or broken UX in apps, but ofc I am n=1.

Make it n=2.

n=3

n++

n=4

n=5

n=6

n=7

+=1

UX cannot possibly be why Apple axed the mini since they have scalable layout APIs that did work on it. Even video-heavy social media and games worked in it just fine. It’s really just business—they make more sales out of bigger phones, so bigger phones it is.

This is false. The mini logical screen resolution still exists as the Display Zoom resolution of the Pro Max and the Pro. Developers would still need to test for those resolutions even if the mini never existed.

The simulator gives you a lot of screen resolution choices, but sometimes, you need to run on-device (like for Bluetooth).

I have an old original SE, that I used to use for low-end testing, but it tops out at iOS15.

Currently, my Mini13 is my low-end test, but I’ll probably need to get a new phone, sooner or later (“later” works for me).

Never had that experience, and I’m willing to risk it going forward, too.

I have a mini and I love it. I will not get rid of it until I have to, or can get another mini.