iPhone 12 & iPhone 12 Pro
Apple announced four new iPhone models at their event in October, and they’re all very similar to one another. The easiest way to think of them is in two distinct groups: the 12 series (which consists of the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12), and the 12 Pro series (which includes the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max).
We’ll break down thew differences between these models, but first, it’s important to understand what they all have in common. There are three tentpole features that define the new iPhones, and they are the newdesign, the new processor, and 5G. In each of these areas, the new iPhones are all identical.
All of the new iPhones feature:
A new design. The form factor finally got a nice upgrade, having remained basically the same since the iPhone 6. This years models feature squared off edges, similar to the current iPad Pro models. It’s reminiscent of the iPhone 5, but a little more premium. They also have stronger glass on the front, which is supposed to be up to four times more shatter resistant.
Apple’s brand new processor, the A14 chip. The A14 is an absolute powerhouse that is faster than a significant number of PC laptops. These phones are fast, and they will be fast for years.
5G connectivity. While Apple spent a lot of time talking about 5G at their event, it’s not all its cracked up to be. Most people will notice a slight speed increase (roughly 20%) when doing things over a cellular connection like opening web pages or downloading apps. Still, it’s not a bad thing to have.
The 12 Series
The iPhones 12 have the exact same camera system, featuring two sensors (the normal camera and the ultra wide camera). These cameras are both improvements over the cameras in last years iPhones, but the differences are subtle. The iPhone 12 mini is the smallest X-class iPhone Apple has made (X-class, referring to the fullscreen design with Face ID and no Home button) with a 5.4” OLED display. The iPhone 12 is a 6.1” OLED display, but is otherwise exactly the same as the iPhone 12 mini. Both of these phones are solid upgrades over last year’s iPhone 11 models, and the new design makes them feel much more premium. They come in five colors, and they all look pretty nice (though I’m personally not a huge fan of the green).
The bang for your buck is strongest with these two models, and the only questions you need to answer here is which size you want and how much storage you need. For the vast majority of people, one of these iPhones would be a perfect choice.
The 12 Pro Series
Yours truly, from my pre-event thoughts: “I’m not a huge fan of massive phones, but I am a huge fan of great cameras, and with four new models, that doesn’t seem like a compromise I should be forced to make.”
Unfortunately, Apple does expect you to make that compromise this year, because only one model features the best camera system, and it is the iPhone 12 Pro Max. There are a few notable camera differences between these models and I’ll flesh them out below, but aside from the cameras, the battery life, and the size, they’re identical. A quick note on colors, though: these phones come in four colors: silver, gold, graphite, and pacific blue. I was excited for the pacific blue color and had hoped it would be a sort of metallic navy, but in person it was more of a shimmery, bluish teal, so I decided to go with a graphite model. It’s also worth pointing out that the stainless steel sides on the Pro model are absolute fingerprint magnets, and am constantly wiping the phone down to get rid of them.
iPhone 12 Pro
The biggest reason for my choosing this model was the third camera lens, which is its only real advantage over the iPhone 12. While the iPhone 12 has the normal camera lens and the ultra wide camera lens, the iPhone 12 Pro adds the telephoto lens which allows you to zoom in twice as far without losing any image quality.
iPhone 12 Pro Max
The iPhone 12 Pro Max has a 6.7” OLED display, and the same stainless steel and glass design of the 12 Pro. However, it does have the best camera by several metrics, though these improvements are mostly unnoticeable except for in situations with relatively low light where you’re trying to photograph a moving subject. The most attractive camera feature of the 12 Pro Max, to me, is the increased optical zoom of the telephoto lens, which is 2.5x instead of 2.0x. The primary camera also has some improvements, including a larger sensor and better image stabilization technology that moves the sensor as opposed to the lens, and these changes result in faster shutter speed, contributing to the 12 Pro Max’s better moving subject/low light performance.
I personally don’t feel like these changes are worth dealing with the increased size, and I sincerely hope that they stop the fragmentation between pro model camera systems in future years. I opted for the iPhone 12 Pro.
MagSafe
This is not my point, and I don’t remember who said it first, but Apple doesn’t have a great track record with getting proprietary connectors off the ground, and I wonder how successful MagSafe will be in the long run. As it currently stands, I like having MagSafe for iPhone, but it’s not exactly a game changer.
I’ve tried the most common MagSafe accessories, and they’re a mixed bag.
Let’s get this one out of the way: the wallet sucks. The magnets are no strong enough to hold it firmly on the phone, and this was particularly a problem with the frosted glass back of the Pro models. Retrieving a card requires you to remove the wallet; the magnets are not strong enough for you to get one out while leaving it attached. For $60, I was very disappointed with the wallet.
The phone case is an easy one. It’s a nice phone case, but MagSafe is practically useless. It’s not the magnets that attach the case, as some thought, its just the physical design of the case wrapping over the edges of the phone enough to stay attached. The only thing MagSafe does here is give you a little on-screen animation, color matched to the case when you first attach it.
Now, the MagSafe charger. This is certainly the best use of the MagSafe technology, and it is convenient that it lines it up perfectly for you. However, the situation with the charging brick is absurd, and for $40, they should really include the power adapter. I get not making being able to make it charge at the full 15 watts with an adapter below a certain threshold, but you would think that chargers above that threshold would still function properly and that isn’t the case. I used the MagSafe puck with my 61w MacBook Pro power adapter, and it charged incredibly slowly, far below the advertised 15w with the 20w adapter. That whole situation is just a mess. On another note, it should also come in a longer length; if they want people to use it while its connected, three feet is not nearly enough.
Daydreams
The ideal MagSafe product would’ve been if they could make this puck also charge the Apple Watch (I realize their discrete charging systems, but they seemingly had figured out how to get close to making it work with AirPower), and in a perfect world, it would’ve been a great little base for the HomePod mini (throw a thick battery in that sucker and give us a couple hours of unplugged playback).
I liked the size of the 12 mini a lot. If they made a Pro model that size, it would be very tempted to go for that one. I think my ideal device would be a Pro-level phone with a size somewhere between the 5.4” mini and the 6.1” Pro.
One More Paragraph
All in all, these iPhones are exciting because they look fresh. If you have last year’s models, you don’t really need to upgrade unless you’re just ready for something that looks a bit nicer and some incremental improvements. If you have an iPhone from 2018 or before, you’ll be really impressed by these devices.