After much speculation, Apple unveiled four new 5G iPhones in it’s virtual October 2020 event. These devices include:
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
Keep reading for an explanation and review of the smartphones
iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini
Although all four devices differ greatly from each other, they all feature significant upgrades from the previous smartphone. First and foremost all of these iPhones now support 5G, secondly, they feature a ‘ceramic shield’ meaning they have four times as much drop protection, the screens also now have a higher resolution.
We’ve broken down all the extra features in detail:
Size and Screen
With four different models as opposed to the regular three, all models are quite different from one another. The device with the largest screen and best resolution would the iPhone 12 Pro Max – it’s 6.7 inches, weighs 226g and has a 1284 x 2778 resolution for 458 pixels per inch. On the opposite end of that, the smallest smartphone would be the iPhone 12 mini, coming in at 5.4 inches, weighing 133g, and packing a resolution of 1080 x 2340, for 476 pixels per inch. Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are 6.1 inches, and boast a resolution of 1170 x 2532 at 460 pixels. If weight is important for you, then note that the iPhone 12 Pro weighs 187g whereas the iPhone 12 only weighs 162g.
Ultimately, size is the biggest differentiating factor here, as all smartphones have an OLED screen, meaning they are quite similar to one another in both pixel density and resolution.
Design
One of the main differences between all smartphones is the design, or more specifically the color they come in. In terms of colors, the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 come in Black, White, Red, Green and Blue. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max come in Silver, Graphite, Gold and Pacific Blue. Additionally, for the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max you’re getting a ceramic shield with a textured matt glass back and stainless steel design. Although you also have the ceramic shield with the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12, the rear of the smartphone is an aluminium design with a glass back.
Camera
iPhone 12 and iPhone mini
- dual rear lens camera system: ultra-wide and wide cameras, offering a 120-degree view
- ultra-wide: 12MP F 2.4 lens
- wide: 12MP F 1.6 lens
- 2 x optical zoom
- OIS – optical image stabilization
iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Max
- triple lens camera system: ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto cameras
- ultra-wide: 12MP F 2.4 lens
- wide: 12MP F 1.6 lens
- Telephoto: F 2.0 (iPhone 12 Pro), F 2.2 (iPhone 12 Pro Max)
- 4 x optical zoom (iPhone 12 Pro), 5 x optical zoom (iPhone 12 Pro Max)
- liDAR scanner – which allows for excellent low light/night mode images and improves augmented reality
- ProRAW
Specs
iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12
- A14 Bionic chipset
- Storage: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB
iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
- A14 Bionic chipset
- Storage: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB
LiDAR
Although this technology is only available to the iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max, it is extremely useful. LiDAR, which stands for ‘Light Detection and Raging’ measures the length it takes for light to reflect back from objects, allowing the user to see the objects clearly, this creates more detailed images.
Apple ProRaw
Another feature exclusive to the iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max, this imaging format allows the users to combine photography features along with raw editing. It gives the user more flexibility and choice, rather than just having a processed image, the user can also take images in a raw format.
Dolby Vision
This feature allows the user to have better and improved video quality when recording. It offers cinema-grade HDR video recording at 60fps and is processed live. Again, this component is only available to the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
5G
All models support 5G and this is quite advantageous, this means that the applications and frameworks on the smartphone have been optimised to take advantage of 5G, which will allow for faster connectivity. Additionally, the applications will be able to use 5G without utilising additional power, and when the iPhone does not require the 5G speeds, it will automatically use 4G in order to save battery life.
Charger & Earphones
Unfortunately, none of these smartphones come with a power adaptor or earphones, although they do still come with the fast-charging USB-C to Lightning cable. Apple has removed these in order to shrink the packaging and ultimately reduce energy and carbon use.
Battery
As Apple doesn’t reveal its smartphones battery life we will have to wait a little bit longer to get the full specs. Nonetheless, we have heard that the iPhone 12 mini can last for up to 15 hours of video playback, with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro lasting 17 hours; and finally, the iPhone 12 Pro Max lasting 20 hours.
Overview
Certainly a significant improvement from the previous Apple smartphones, all four of these devices now support 5G and are all IP68 certified, with water resistance for up to 30 minutes and up to 6 metres instead of 3.