Apple iPhone 12 was launched in a virtual event which is the new normal these days.As usual the company claims it to be the best iPhone ever and it’s upon us to decide whether they are right.Well obviously there are somethings which are new like the chipset which is better than previous year’s and hence Apple can claim that the iPhone 12 range are the best.
But as you all know that only chipsets does not make a phone the best and to be honest we all know the A14 bionic chipset may be the best out there.The point is that the A13 is still a very very capable chipset and the question undoubtedly arises that should users upgrade to the new iPhone.
WHAT’S NEW
In total four iPhone 12 series phones have launched.The first to launch were the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro.Later two more the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini were announced.The new features in all of these phones are
- IOS 14 out of the box.
- A14 bionic chipset with 5nm technology and new neural engine
- 5G enabled.
Here I should remind you that IOS 14 is available in all Apple compatible devices.One more thing that though the A14 chip is better but the A13 chip in older iphones is still one of the very best available.The most striking feature is the following-
NO CHARGING BRICK
Yes you read it right.The box does not contain any charging brick a feature which only Apple can think of and even carry out.You get a lightning to USB C cable and if you don’t have any iPhone charger you will have to buy a new one.
Talking of charging all iPhone s have a magnetic coil inside situated below the Apple logo on the back.You can buy a magnetic charger like the Magsafe which Apple conveniently will sell you from their store.The wireless charging is faster.
DESIGN AND DISPLAY
For all those optimists hoping elsewise the iPhone 12 still houses the notch.Again the FaceID is also present because of that.The noticeable change in design is the box shaped phones.All of the phones in the series have it.Maybe it would be a bit difficult to get in terms with it for the first few days but I somehow like it.
Display sizes differ through the series but the common factor is the OLED displays.Yes no more LCD screens and this instantly makes the 12 phones better.One more common feature is the IP 68 water and dust resistance.
The display is coated with a ceramic shield and oleophobic coating which makes the phones 4times drop proof according to the company claims.
Now let’s have a look at the different iphones.
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 sports a 6.1″ Super Retina XDR OLED display with 1170×2532 resolution.The aspect ratio is 19.5:9 and pixel density is~460ppi.The advertised maximum typ. brightness is 625 nits.The display supports Dolby Vision.The dimensions of the phone are 146.7×71.5×7.4mm.The phone weighs 164g.The frame is aluminium.This time the back has a matte finish with glossy camera module the opposite and better than the previous year’s phones.
On the back is a dual camera module with a primary 12MP f/1.6 wide sensor and a 12MP f/2.4 ultra wide sensor with 120° field of view.There’s no point in explaining the quality of iPhone camera quality but I can say this much that the night mode which is available for all lenses is better.The primary camera has OIS.
The best part for any iPhone cameras is the video recording.This time it is enhanced as it can capture 4K Dolby Vision HDR videos at 30fps.Normally [email protected]/30/60 fps can be shot alongwith [email protected]/60/120/240fps.
The front camera is a 12MP f/2.2 sensor.4K videos can also be shot but this time no Dolby Vision.
The iPhone 12 has a RAM of 4GB and storage ranges from 64GB to 256GB.It comes in a lot of colours namely the Red, Green,Blue, Black and White.
iPhone 12 Pro
The iPhone 12 Pro is very similar to the iPhone 12.Infact both can have the same cases even.Well the difference is in the stainless steel frame which in turn increases the weight to 189g.Display sizes and features are identical though it boasts of a greater maximum brightness of 800nits.
The main difference is in the camera module.The iPhone 12 Pro houses a triple camera set-up.The additional camera to that of the 12 is a 12MP f/2.0 telephoto lens which supports upto 2X optical zoom.The main difference is the presence of LIDAR scanner which enhances the portrait shots.This also helps in some AR apps or games as the depth sensing is very accurate.Live focus even during night time is also enhanced by its presence.
In terms of videos the difference is that the iPhone 12 Pro can now shoot Dolby Vision [email protected]
The RAM is 6GB and the storage capacity ranges from 128 GB to 512 GB.Many colour variants are also available for this model – Silver, Graphite, Gold and Pacific Blue.
iPhone 12 Pro Max
The iPhone 12 Pro Max differs from the Pro model in having a bigger display of 6.7″.Rest all features are almost similar except for the telephoto lens which now has upto 2.5X optical zoom.Even the colour variants are similar.The big size though accounts for the increased weight of 228g.
iPhone 12 Mini
This phone is the miniature version of the original iPhone 12.The display is 5.4″ and rest all features are identical.Even the colours are similar and obviously the weight is smaller at 135g.
PRICE
iPhone is expensive.There’s no questioning that.The iPhone 12 starts from 79900INR (799$) and the Pro starts from 999$(119900 INR).The Pro Max starts from roughly 1100$ and may reach 1300$ while the Mini may start from 69900INR in India.
CONCLUSION
As you would have observed that there is no mention of the batteries.Well that’s because Apple hasn’t specified it yet though you can assume that the Max will have the largest and the Mini the smallest battery.One more thing you can rest assured is that you won’t get those huge above 4000mAH batteries in any of the iphones.
If you carefully observe with the launch of these new iphones now you get an iPhone in different price range.The iPhone SE is the lowest priced followed by the iPhone 12 Mini and the maximum priced is the 12 Pro Max.
Well in terms of performance you cannot doubt an iPhone.But if you start comparing it with Android devices then it’s a whole new issue.So I can’t recommend you to buy one but I can say that atleast once you should try an Apple device. iPhone 12 will not disappoint you if you are a first time user except for the absence of charging brick.
What are your thoughts? Please let me know in comments.