In 2011 there were rumors that said that Apple was developing a mini-sized iPhone nano. The rumor turned out to be true and was revealed via an email sent by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
This nano iPhone will be smaller and sold at a cheaper price than the iPhone 4 which was available at the time. Jobs' desire to make a mini-sized iPhone is not surprising considering he is a fan of small mobile phones.
Jobs' email was revealed through a collection of emails in a legal case between Epic Games and Apple. The email containing the idea for the nano iPhone was an agenda item for a strategy meeting that was sent in October 2010, but unfortunately there isn't much detailed information in it.
The email contains points such as the 'iPhone nano plan', with a sub-point on 'cost goals' and a sub-point on 'Jony', which is likely a reference to former Apple design boss Jony Ive, will show off the model or render, as quoted from The Verge, Friday (20/8/2021).
The previous point on '2011 Strategy' also had a sub-point that contained 'make an affordable iPhone model based on the iPod touch to replace the 3GS,' but it is not known whether that point refers to the iPhone nano or not.
Apple finally did not launch the iPhone nano. Although Apple is no longer using the name 'nano' for small products, they had just launched the sixth generation iPod nano when Jobs sent the email.
It's quite amused to imagine what the iPhone nano would look like if it was actually developed by Apple. Especially considering that the iPhone 4 at that time had a 3.5-inch screen which was very small compared to today's phones.
The iPhone nano isn't the only 'nano' Apple product that appears in emails sent by Steve Jobs. On August 5, 2007, Jobs sent an email referring to the 'Super nano,' possibly the newest version of the iPod nano planned for release in the first half of 2008.
Now Apple is no longer using the name nano in its product branding after turning off the iPod nano in 2017. The Cupertino, US-based company is now using the name 'mini' for the iPhone 12 mini and HomePod mini.