Boladadu.com- The iPhone 12 is like an album of Apple’s greatest iPhone
hits. It combines the well-regarded design aesthetic of the iPhone 5, the
promised generational leap in wireless technology of the iPhone 3G, and the
dense camera system and large OLED screen of more modern flagships.
The iPhone 12 wraps up so many attractive features, in fact, that it makes it
hard to recommend the iPhone 12 Pro to any but a very small number of people.
There’s just not much to differentiate them, and that’s a good thing. The
cheaper iPhone 12 is more than good enough for just about anyone.
That’s where things stand today, anyway. But it will all change again in a few
weeks. The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are the middle children between the two models
that will later generate the most buzz, I think—the iPhone 12 mini and the
iPhone 12 Pro Max.
I say that because, in my experience, most people fall into one of two camps:
they either want the largest phone screen they can get their (two) hands on
(the 12 Pro Max), or they want their phones to be as small and
one-hand-friendly as possible (the 12 mini).
Unfortunately, we don’t yet have those phones in hand to review. But apart
from screen size differences and some camera improvements on the 12 Pro Max,
they won’t differ much from the two 6.1-inch phones we’re reviewing today.
Specifications
All the new iPhones sport Apple’s A14 system-on-a-chip, which includes a CPU,
a GPU, the Neural Engine, and more.
Manufactured on a 5nm process—likely the same that will be used for upcoming
Apple Silicon Macs—the A14 is an iterative step forward in terms of CPU and
GPU speeds, but it's a big leap (Apple says) for the Neural Engine, which
handles most machine learning processing. (Some is done on the CPU or GPU,
depending on the task.)
Apple has doubled the cores in the Neural Engine from eight to 16, and the
company claims a 70-percent increase in performance as such.
The iPhone 12 claims up to 17 hours of battery life for local video playback
and just 11 hours for streaming video for both devices. That’s roughly
comparable to other recent high-end iPhones, but it's just a bit below what
the iPhone 11 promised.
Ports
As far as ports go, there’s still just one, and it’s still Apple’s
proprietary Lightning connector—even as almost everyone else in the industry
has adopted USB-C, including Apple’s own Mac and iPad teams.
Combined with the introduction of MagSafe, Apple's doggedness in sticking
with Lightning for yet another year makes me think that the company's next
play is to forgo the charging cable entirely. If they were going to switch
to USB-C, it feels like this would have been the design to do so. The fact
it wasn’t suggests that Apple may try to skip USB-C and go straight to fully
wireless. If that happens, there will obviously be some big pros and big
cons.
We'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it. For now, the bright side
is that if you're coming from a previous iPhone model, you don't have to
replace your existing wired accessories and charging cables.
Screens
Moving on to the displays, both the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have 6.1-inch,
2,532×1,170-pixel OLED screens. Both support HDR (though like other recent
iPhones, the panels are 8-bit, not the 10-bit typically associated with HDR
panels) and have a maximum HDR brightness of 1,200 cd/m2. They’re not
exactly the same, though, because the maximum typical brightness (when not
viewing HDR content) for the iPhone 12 is 625 cd/m2. It’s 800 for the iPhone
12 Pro.
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The 12’s display is an enormous step up over the lower-resolution LCD screen
of the iPhone 11. But even though I’m an obsessive videophile and a display
tech geek, I couldn’t see a significant difference anecdotally between the
iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro screens in normal usage.
I all but sneered with derision at last year’s iPhone 11 screen in my review
when comparing it to the 11 Pro, even as I acknowledged most people won’t
care so much. If I don’t see a significant difference this time around, I
imagine few will.
Much noise will be made about the fact that the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro do not
have 120Hz screens, while many Android competitors do, in some form or
another (albeit often with some big compromises). A 120Hz display—which
refreshes twice as fast as the 60Hz displays that have been standard for
years—feels a bit nicer when scrolling through websites and the like, but
it’s a subtle difference. If you’re used to 60Hz, you won’t miss it. In the
unlikely event you’re already used to 120Hz, you’ll probably adjust, but
it’s a compromise.
Often, Android phones running in 120Hz mode take a significant hit to
battery life; the screen is usually the #1 battery drainer, and it’s working
twice as hard in this mode, after all. My guess is that Apple skipped 120Hz
because it’s already hitting battery life pretty hard with 5G, and it deemed
5G a higher priority. The combination of 5G and a 120Hz display might have
been too much to bear at once for the iPhone’s battery life, in Apple’s
estimation.
So while 120Hz would have been nice, no one really needs it. Still, it would
have been cool.
That aside, Apple’s displays are top-notch. DisplayMate’s deep dives give
them the best possible marks, and while they are beaten in some specific
measures by Samsung’s best, they have a commitment to color accuracy and
tuning that Samsung’s don’t. It’s a matter of preference, but it suffices to
say that the iPhone 12’s display is as good as it gets.
Storage
If you’re looking for a differentiator between these two devices, look no
further than the storage options. The iPhone 12 comes in 64GB, 128GB, and
256GB configurations. For the 12 Pro, it’s 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB.
64GB is not going to be enough for a lot of people, while 128GB or 256GB
will be optimal for most people. But for a few select users, even 256GB
won’t be enough—those folks will have to consider splurging for the Pro.
Apart from a few additional camera features, this is the best reason I can
think of to spend extra for the Pro.
Cameras
Speaking of cameras: the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro share many of the same
specs. The difference, primarily, is the Pro’s inclusion of a third
telephoto lens—and its ability to capture HDR video at 60 frames per second
(the iPhone 12 is limited to 30fps when HDR is enabled).
On both phones, you have a 12MP wide-angle lens (ƒ/1.6 aperture,
seven-element) and a 12MP ultra-wide angle (ƒ/2.4, 5-element). The latter is
for use cases like photographing groups of friends in tight spaces, since it
enables 2x optical zoom out. The iPhone 12 Pro adds that 12MP telephoto lens
(ƒ/2.0 aperture, six-element) to enable 2x optical zoom in.
The 12 Pro also adds a lidar scanner, which can be used both for more
realistic augmented reality experiences and to improve some features like
the speed of autofocus in dark environs.
As for video capture, both phones support HDR video in Dolby Vision—Apple
claims these are the first smartphones to do so—but as noted above, the
iPhone 12 Pro can do this at 60fps while the iPhone 12 is limited to 30fps.
Otherwise, the video capture features are quite similar. Both can shoot 4K
video at 24fps, 30fps, or 60fps, and 1080p at 30 or 60fps. They can also
capture slow-motion video at 1080p and either 120fps or 240fps.
Finally, both phones include a front-facing camera at 12MP (ƒ/2.2 aperture),
as well as the TrueDepth sensor array found in flagship phones since the
iPhone X, which facilitates the phones’ face recognition features.
We’ll move beyond the specs and get more into the cameras and their
differentiating features in the cameras section of the review.
Wireless and 5G
Spoiler alert: We're not going to talk about 5G as much as you might expect,
given that it was Apple's main focus when announcing these phones. That's
mainly because most people can't take very much advantage of it.
5G is positioned as the next-generation cellular network technology, and
its proposed final form promises dramatically faster downloads,
competitive gaming-worthy latency, and (perhaps most practically) much
better performance in crowded areas like football stadiums—that last bit
is not a concern now, obviously, but we're all hoping it will be again
someday. (I can't tell you how sad I was to not be able to attend my
beloved Dodgers' long-deserved World Series win in person, but I digress.)
The real promise of 5G lies in the high-frequency mmWave spectrum, but
carrier networks have a long, long—seriously, very long—way to go before
the majority of iPhone owners have access to that. The iPhone 12 supports
this, but whether it's useful to you will be super hit-and-miss. It might
even come down to individual city blocks and street corners at this stage.
We'll use Verizon as an example here, both because it was the carrier
Apple highlighted when it announced the phones, and because it's my
carrier, for better or worse. Here's a map of Verizon's 5G coverage in two
US cities that are fairly close to each other:
Verizon's "5G Ultra-Wideband" network—the one represented by the deepest
crimson on the map—is essentially the mmWave option. As you can see, an
alpha world city has spotty but respectable service in its deepest urban
core, but a respectably-sized nearby city can make no such claim. Like I
said: we've got a ways to go.
On the bright side, the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro support a ton of 5G bands,
including:
- 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79)
- 5G NR mmWave (Bands n260, n261)
So you're probably set, whatever ends up in your area, though, if you're
on certain carriers (like Verizon), you'll need a special new SIM card
to take advantage of this. But there's another problem, too: 5G seems to
have a big impact on battery life, especially when you're riding that
ultra-fast mmWave.
I don't recommend buying the iPhone 12 or 12 Pro just for the 5G
features yet. I'm hoping 5G support will be expanded to more users, and
future hardware iterations will surely make 5G data usage more
efficient, lowering the negative impact on battery life.
If you aren't in a 5G-rich area, the phone will just use LTE like
always. And there's also a feature called smart data mode (which you can
disable, though it's on by default) that often uses LTE anyway when your
current task doesn't clearly demand the maximum bandwidth possible. This
is key for keeping battery life in check.
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5G has the potential to really impress in its fastest form. But I think
we're still at least a year or two away from starting to really reap
those benefits—longer for a whole lot of people who aren't in major
urban centers in developed nations.
So what else is there in terms of wireless tech besides 5G? There's
Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5, obviously; those were both present last year.
But I think it's also worth mentioning that Wi-Fi tethering is much
faster than it used to be, thanks to the phone's ability to act as a
5GHz hotspot. It can even be faster than tethering with a USB/Lightning
cable. And that could be a boon for those who later have access to 5G
(which is not the same thing as 5GHz Wi-Fi, for the unfamiliar; ain't
high-tech alphabet soup grand?).
Now, with specs mostly out of the way, let's move on to the iPhone 12's
design.
Design
I’ve written multiple times before that my personal favorite iPhone
design was the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 5. Internet polls and articles
often surface the same preference.
It will please many besides myself, then, to know that the iPhone 12
borrows heavily from the design aesthetic of the iPhone 4 and 5—the 5 in
particular. This new phone is just a lot bigger, and it obviously has
smaller bezels and uses Face ID instead of Touch ID. (It also doesn’t
have a headphone jack, natch—but hey, it still has that Lightning port,
which was actually introduced in the iPhone 5 back in 2012.)
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| By Apple.com |
Like the iPhone 5, the 12 has flat edges (also similar to those in
recent iPad Pro and Air designs) made of aluminum. Unlike the iPhone 5,
it has a glass back to facilitate wireless charging. The front is glass
and what Apple calls a “Ceramic Shield.” Cupertino claims this solution
is four times better at dealing with a drop. Initial drop tests around
the Web today show that Apple’s not kidding around: the front of the
phone is much more durable than what we got in previous phones.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the flat edges design lessens the likelihood
of serious damage in a drop, too. Keep in mind, though, that we’re
talking about the phone surviving a drop here—scratches may still be
easy to acquire, and the phone is of course a fingerprint magnet.
(On another plus side for durability, though, IP68 water resistance
returns.)
The iPhone 12 Pro has stainless steel edges that use the same PVD
process that made those shiny edges for other recent high-end iPhones.
It looks really nice. Also, it has a slightly different texture on the
back that’s similar to what you might have felt on the iPhone 11 Pro
last year.
The iPhone 12 just doesn’t feel quite as nice as the Pro does, and
that’s because of the materials. Apple does a good job of making its
higher-end phones feel appealing for the sort of people who like
products that feel expensive to hold. Obviously, there’s no advantage to
the Pro’s materials beyond aesthetic impressions, though.
Most people understandably won’t want to (or be able to) spend an extra
few hundred dollars to have something that works the same but “feels
premium.” Some people will eat it up, though; you probably already know
which group you belong to.
So for those who care: yes, the iPhone 12 Pro feels much more premium in
your hand than the iPhone 12. And to be clear, the iPhone 12 doesn’t
feel cheap.
The iPhone 12 Pro’s camera bump is machined from the same slab of glass
as the rest of its back, whereas the camera array in the iPhone 12 is
nested in a separate piece of material. Most people won’t notice this,
but as I said when reviewing the iPhone 11 Pro last year, the
single-glass-piece design of the back is attractive.
Questions about which iPhone is the best-looking or best-feeling are
always going to be subjective, but I have a feeling Apple has a winner
here because the iPhone 4 and 5 come up so often when people are asked
about their favorite designs. The iPhone 12 is essentially the iPhone 5
with a modern size and features. For many, that’s going to be quite
welcome.
What's in the box?
If you’ve read one thing about the new iPhones on social media over the
past two weeks, it might be this: the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro do not
include either wired headphones or charging bricks in the box. All you
get is a Lighting-to-USB-C cable.
Apple’s 20-watt USB-C power adapter costs $19, and its mediocre EarPods
wired earbuds also cost $19—though it’s clear that Apple sees AirPods
($159) or AirPods Pro ($249) as the truly ideal solutions.
I'm about to do something unthinkable for many: I'm going to take a
moment to defend Apple's removal of the headphones and charging brick.
Bear with me. I promise to talk about the pain points and other motives,
too.
While tech enthusiasts and consumers used Twitter to express their rage
or Schadenfreude over the move, many environmentalists and
sustainability experts have praised Apple’s choice. In fact, they’re
calling on Apple to go further—but mostly in ways that consumers won’t
find as irritating or costly.
Apple backed up its decision to exclude these two accessories from the
box with arguments for the environment. A few of the key arguments
include:
Removing these allows Apple to put the iPhones in smaller boxes, meaning
they can ship 70-percent more iPhones on the same shipping pallet,
reducing their global operation’s carbon footprint.
Many or maybe even most people buying new iPhones already have
headphones or charging bricks from prior purchases, so this simply
avoids introducing superfluous waste. To this point, Apple believes
there are already two billion of its own iPhone-compatible power
adapters in circulation and 700 million pairs of EarPods.
Some users will opt to use wireless AirPods anyway, leading them to
simply discard the EarPods even if they didn’t already have some.
Performance
According to Apple's presentation last month, the new A14 system-on-a-chip
isn't really about huge leaps in CPU and GPU performance over last year's
A13. Cupertino's promises on that front are modest. Rather, the A14
emphasizes machine learning—something we know Apple has been thinking
increasingly about.
As was said in the specs section of this review, the Neural Engine sports
twice as many cores as before, and Apple promises up to 70-percent faster
performance for machine learning tasks. That's usually going to be
invisible to users, but it will open up new doors for app developers and
future iOS features.
As usual, though, we're running our standard suite of synthetic benchmarks
to compare the new iPhones to other recent Apple devices. The graphs below
compare three generations of iPhone and iPad chips, including one beefed
up iPad Pro variant. The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have the A14; the iPhone 11
Pro has the A13; the 2020 iPad has the A12; and the 2020 iPad Pro has the
A12Z
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