By Nicole Nguyen
The latest iPhone 12 lineup has landed with the most significant
design change in three years, support for high-speed 5G cellular
networks -- and a "mini" model for those of us who have felt that
these increasingly huge phones are getting harder to hold.
There are two new phones in Apple's midtier range: the iPhone 12
($699) and iPhone 12 Mini ($799). There are also two new models in
the high end: the iPhone 12 Pro ($999) and iPhone 12 Pro Max
($1,099). Confused? Check out my colleague Joanna Stern's helpful
guide, spelling out all of their differences, along with the rest
of the current lineup.
The focus of the event was 5G's ultrafast network speeds,
available on all the new iPhones. But that shouldn't be your sole
reason to upgrade, or necessarily your biggest reason.
Some of the more significant highlights of this year's Apple
handsets: cameras better suited for lowlight photography, tougher
display glass, a faster chip and built-in magnets to align the
phone with a wireless charger. The most expensive models, the
iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, include additional camera capabilities
-- although those are mostly aimed at actual pros, or at least
hard-core enthusiasts. As with every year, there's a faster
processor inside, and this year it's the A14 Bionic Chip.
To me, the most exciting news was aimed at my fellow
small-handed phone owners. The 12 Mini is even smaller, lighter and
thinner than the iPhone 6 or iPhone SE, yet it has most of the
features mentioned above.
Here's a closer look at what is and isn't upgrade-worthy in this
year's iPhones.
5G Connectivity
All of this year's iPhone 12 models support 5G sub-6 networks
and millimeter wave. The new cellular network is supposed to be
blazing fast, up to 10 times speedier than your home Wi-Fi.
Until now, however, we haven't seen enough evidence of 5G
coverage across the country to feel confident that those speeds are
what you'd experience if you bought these phones. 5G is available
only in select cities, mostly larger metro areas, it varies wildly
by carrier, and to take advantage of the fastest speeds, you
essentially need to be parked under a 5G tower.
As my colleague Joanna reported, even when you do grab a fast 5G
connection, it won't necessarily do anything for you, unless you
happen to be downloading a movie or video chatting. Apple knows
this and has built a feature called Smart Data Mode, which
automatically switches the iPhones to an LTE connection, when 5G
doesn't matter, to save on battery life.
Carriers will continue to build out their networks, so if you
need a new phone, it could be an investment in 5G. But for now, it
isn't a good enough reason on its own to upgrade. And it might cost
you extra each month, depending on your current data plan. You
typically need to be on a premium, unlimited cellular plan for 5G
access to be included.
Improved Cameras
What's unchanged: The midtier iPhones still have two cameras
(wide and ultrawide), and the premium Pros still have three cameras
(wide, ultrawide and telephoto).
However, there are incremental improvements depending on which
model you buy. On the midtier iPhone 12 models and the iPhone 12
Pro, the "wide" (aka normal) camera lens has a larger aperture for
better lowlight photography. And, for the first time, night mode, a
feature that can take clear photos in dark situations without
flash, works on the front-facing selfie camera and for time-lapse
videos.
The more significant changes are to the Pro models. They now
have a lidar scanner on board to sense depth by shooting out light
beams into space. The scanner is really designed for
augmented-reality experiences -- Apple showed off interior
designers moving 3-D furniture around a room -- but there's an
added photography benefit, too. The depth data helps the iPhone 12
Pros autofocus faster, even in lowlight conditions, and you can now
shoot night-mode portraits.
For photography buffs, the Pros are also capable of capturing,
editing and shooting high dynamic range Dolby Vision video at 60
frames per second and, soon via software update, shooting in Apple
ProRAW. If you don't know what that means, then these iPhones are
probably not for you.
The most-premium phone, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, has one standout
feature: It has a more powerful telephoto camera, so that you can
zoom in with an optical magnification 2.5X (vs. 2X on the 12 Pro
and last year's Pro models).
Sleeker Design
What's old is new again. The iPhones have a "new" design with
flat edges instead of rounded ones, harking back to the early part
of the last decade. It's as if the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 5 got
together and had really big babies. Familiar notches around the
metal banding accommodate the antenna array, necessary for 5G and
more.
The midtier iPhone 12 and 12 Mini get high-contrast OLED screens
that were previously exclusive to Apple's most expensive iPhones.
And the new Pro models have larger displays than their
predecessors, without feeling much bigger. In fact, across the
board, they're thinner. On all models, the glass is supposed to be
tougher -- what Apple markets as "ceramic shield" -- so the new
phones should be able to survive drops better than their
predecessors.
These changes, while relatively marginal to the phones' look and
feel, are certainly welcome. The design is more distinctively
Apple, and besides, anything that makes the devices more resilient
pays off in the long run.
MagSafe Accessories
For the first time, the new iPhones won't ship with earbuds or
power adapters. You might be disappointed by this, but Apple's
sustainability chief, Lisa Jackson, says the environmental impact
is equivalent to removing "450,000 cars from the world per year."
The only accessory in the box is a USB-C to Lightning cable. Bring
your own brick.
Instead, the new iPhones come with MagSafe, an array of embedded
magnets on the back that are designed to work with a new ecosystem
of snap-on accessories (read: a new revenue stream) made by Apple
and friends. The magnets are intended to fix wireless charging's
biggest flaw: having to place the device on exactly the right spot
for efficient charging.
Apple's new MagSafe charger will cost $39, and MagSafe-enabled
cases start at $49. The one that I'm looking forward to testing is
a dual folding charger for both your phone and Apple Watch; Apple
hasn't listed a price for that one yet. In case this got you
worried: The iPhone 12 models will work with other standard
Qi-enabled chargers, and the MagSafe charger will power other
Qi-enabled devices.
Battery
Battery life is an area where Apple isn't reporting any
improvement. This is cause for concern, as 5G connectivity can
require more power than 4G networks.
Apple says that the iPhone 12 has the same 17 hours of video
playback and 65 hours of audio playback that the iPhone 11 had. The
iPhone 12 is rated to stream video for an hour longer than its
predecessor, however.
The Pro models' battery life is also rated about the same as it
was last year. The iPhone 12 mini has the smallest battery of the
lineup announced today: Apple says it gets only 10 hours of
streaming video and 15 hours of video playback.
The Takeaway
From what we know about the iPhone 12 lineup, one thing is
certain: More products at more price points means choosing a new
iPhone could be confusing as heck.
In my view, Apple made a strong case to upgrade this year if 1)
you're looking for a smaller phone with premium features, 2) you
care a lot about high-end cameras and visual options, or 3) you
live under a 5G tower and want to benefit from your geographical
advantage. Of course, we won't be able to gauge these phones'
performance for real until we test them ourselves, so stay tuned
for a review.
(Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has
a commercial agreement to supply news through Apple services.)
For more WSJ Technology analysis, reviews, advice and
headlines,
sign up for our weekly newsletter
.
Write to Nicole Nguyen at nicole.nguyen@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 13, 2020 19:07 ET (23:07 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024