Last night, Tim Cook took to the stage at Apple’s Cupertino campus for the moment we’ve all been waiting for: he finally announced the new iPhone 12 series. It’s the successor to last year’s iPhone 11, and has gotten some serious upgrades.
First things first, the iPhone 12 series now has four distinct models: the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 mini, the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone Pro Max. The iPhone 12 mini starts at $1,149, the iPhone 12 at $1,299, the iPhone 12 Pro at $1,649 and the iPhone 12 Pro Max at $1,799. All four models come with 5G capabilities.
The iPhone 12 series boasts a new Ceramic Shield front cover, which is touted to be four times as durable and resistant to drops—if you’ve ever dropped your phone while getting out of the car at fashion week, you’ll know this is music to our ears.
The iPhone 12 series also has a new A14 Bionic processor, which is the fastest chip in a smartphone, according to Apple. Coupled with the iPhone 12’s 5G network capabilities, this can only mean one thing: speed. Whether it’s livestreaming fashion shows on the go, or downloading runway images, the processor’s Neural Engine is now able to perform 11 trillion operations per second, double that of the previous A13.
Another thing that’s new for the iPhone 12 is the introduction of MagSafe, which was previously only used for MacBooks. The introduction of MagSafe for mobile promises several things: one, faster charging speeds—wireless charging of the iPhone 12 is now almost two times as fast; and two, it opens up new possibilities for a range of stylish accessories that can be added to your iPhone—we spotted an especially chic leather sleeve that can be worn around the neck or across the body.
If you’re curious to know more about the new iPhone 12, here’s what we learned at the Apple Special Event.
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iPhone 12
Price: Starts from $$1,299
Storage: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB
Display size: 6.1-inch
Colours: Blue, green, black, white, and (PRODUCT)RED, aluminium finish
Key capabilities: 5G, A14 Bionic processor, Super Retina XDR display, Ceramic Shield front cover, MagSafe charging
Camera: 12MP, 12 MP Wide
The dual-camera system is top in class, with an Ultra Wide camera and Wide camera with an ƒ/1.6 aperture. This allows 27 per cent more light, allowing those low-light selfies to look amazing. What’s more: the Deep Fusion technology on both the front-facing and back cameras allow for more natural-looking photos.
Video-wise, the iPhone 12 is now able to shoot HDR video with Dolby Vision, which lets users shoot, edit and share cinema-grade videos right on your phone. Check out this video shot by three-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, to get a sense of what the iPhone 12 is able to do. Trust us, it’s mind-blowing.
Available: Pre-orders begin 16 October 2020, available from 23 October 2020
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iPhone 12 mini
Price: Starts from $$1,149
Storage: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB
Display size: 5.4-inch
Colours: Blue, green, black, white, and (PRODUCT)RED, aluminium finish
Key capabilities: Same as the iPhone 12
Camera: 12MP, 12 MP Wide
Available: Pre-orders begin 16 November 2020, available from 12 November 2020
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iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
Price: Starts from $1,649 for the iPhone 12 Pro and $1,799 for the iPhone 12 Pro Max
Storage: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB
Display size: 6.1-inch (iPhone 12 Pro); 6.7-inch (iPhone 12 Pro Max)
Colours: Graphite, silver, gold, and pacific blue, stainless steel finish
Key capabilities: 5G, A14 Bionic processor, Super Retina XDR display, Ceramic Shield front cover, MagSafe charging
Camera: 12MP, 12 MP Wide and 12MP Telephoto, with the new addition of the LiDAR Scanner
The iPhone 12 Pro boasts a Wide camera with an ƒ/1.6 aperture, which allows for 27 per cent improved performance in low-light conditions; an Ultra Wide camera with a 120-degree field of view; and a 52 mm focal length Telephoto camera, bringing its optical zoom range up to 4x.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max takes it one step further with an ƒ/1.6 aperture Wide camera and a 47 per cent larger sensor with 1.7μm pixels for an 87 per cent improvement in low-light conditions; an Ultra Wide camera; and a 65 mm focal length Telephoto camera, bringin its optical zoom range up to 5x.
The brand new LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) Scanner is a new revolutionary addition. It allows the cameras to measure light distance and use pixel depth information of a scene for more realistic AR experiences and improves autofocus up to 6x in low-light settings.
The iPhone 12 Pro models also allow for recording with HDR video with Dolby Vision, up to 60 fps, ensuring better image stabilisation and quality, cinema-grade videos.
Available: For the iPhone 12 Pro, pre-orders begin 16 October 2020, and will be available from 23 October 2020
For the iPhone 12 Pro Max, pre-orders begin 6 November 2020, and will be available from 13 November 2020
