The iPhone 12 has finally been unveiled, albeit a month later than usual. But that’s not all Apple had to announce today. From four new iPhone 12 devices to a bunch of other gadgets, here’s everything Apple announced today.
HomePod Mini
Apple made us wait for it when it came to the new iPhone 12 line up. Instead, it kicked off the show with the new HomePod Mini. Unsurprisingly, it’s a baby version of the original HomPod and it’s powered by the same S5 chip as the Apple Watch. It also has a U1 chip that gives it ultrawide band functionality.
Apple reckons it has incredible sound as well as Siri upgrades. Let’s hope so on the latter because it was Not Great in the OG HomePod. In terms of compatibility, it will now work with third party apps like Pandora, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio. But there was absolutely no mention of Spotify.
Perhaps the most interesting addition is the new Intercom system. It lets you send a voice note to other HomePods in the home and can even be specified by room or zone. It also works with iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Car Play and is compatible with AirPods.
This little lad will cost $149 in Australia. It will go on pre-order at midnight November 7 and will be on sale from November 13.
You can read more about it here.
iPhone 12 Range
And now for the main event, the iPhone 12. And it turns out the rumours were true — this year there will be four devices.
The big iPhone 12 news this year was also its worst kept secret – mmWave 5G. It is indeed coming to the entire range and includes a Smart Data Mode. This apparently will allow the phones to automatically drop down to 4G if the device doesn’t think 5G is needed. This is supposedly in an effort to save on battery life.
As someone who has tested a few 5G phones at this point, this tracks. It does suck a lot of juice, particularly when searching for 5G and swapping between 4G and 5G. That being said, we don’t know the particulars of how this will actually work yet.
When it comes to aesthetics, the curvy edges are gone. Instead, the iPhone 12 series has a flatter and more rectangular ‘lewk’ that is more in line with modern iPads. Most of the devices are also slimmer and lighter than its iPhone 11 counterpart (or the same), but with some extra screen real estate
Another added bonus across the entire iPhone 12 range is Ceramic Shield. This is a new material co-developed with Gorilla Glass that makes sit tougher and allegedly four times more drop resistant.
And it wouldn’t be an iPhone 12 event without a new chipset. The A14 Bionic chip apparently has 50 per cent improved performance compared to the iPhone 11, as well as 40 per cent more transistors and 70 per cent faster machine learning capabilities. Apple also says the new chip is what allows for mmWave 5G and the Night Mode photography across every iPhone 12 device.
But not every iPhone 12 is created equal. Here are the key spec differences Apple announced today:
iPhone 12
First up we have the OG iPhone 12 which comes with 5G and has upgraded from an LCD to OLED display this year.
On the camera front it has a new dual-camera 12MP wide set up and 12MP ultra-wide setup with 120-degree field of view. It also has a new 7-element lens which, amongst other things, Apple says improves its lowlight performance.
Here’s all the key specs:
- A14 Bionic chip CPU
- 6.1-inch OLED display
- 64GB/128GB/256GB storage (no word on the RAM as Apple doesn’t disclose this)
- 5G connectivity
- Dual rear camera: 12MP Wide (Æ’/1.6 aperture) 12MP Ultra Wide (Æ’/2.4 aperture) and 12MP (Æ’/2.2 aperture) front facing camera.
- Up to 15 hours video playback with Qi and new MagSafe wireless charging (Apple doesn’t disclose battery mAH)
- 146.7 mm x 71.5 mm x 7.4 mm, 162g
- IP68 water resistance
- Black, white, project red, blue, and green colour options
The iPhone 12 will start at $1,349 in Australia. Pre-orders will begin on Friday, October 16 at 11pm. It will then go on sale on Friday, October 23.
iPhone 12 Mini
That’s right, we’re getting a fourth iPhone 12 this year, and it’s a babby. The iPhone 12 Mini has exactly the same specs as the regular iPhone 12 — it’s just smaller.
It starts at $1,199 in Australia and pre-orders will begin on Saturday, November 7 at midnight. It will then go on sale on Friday, November 13.
iPhone 12 Pro
The Pro series is back again, and with it comes some camera upgrades. This year the iPhone 12 Pro has 2.5x and the Pro Max is sporting 4x optical zoom. Apparently both cameras have 87 per cent better low light performance than the previous generation.
They also both have LiDAR support and a new ProRAW image format. There is also a slight difference in the telephoto lenses in both phones.
And when it comes to video, the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max can now record in HDR and supports Dolby Vision. These phones will be able to shoot in 4K at 60 fps, which is a first.
Here’s the key specs for the iPhone 12 Pro:
- A14 Bionic chip CPU
- 6.1-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display
- 128/256/512 GB storage (no word on RAM as Apple doesn’t disclose this)
- 5G connectivity
- Triple rear cameras – 12MP ultra wide (Æ’/2.4 aperture), 12MP wide (Æ’/1.6 aperture) and 12MP telephoto (Æ’/2.0). 12MP (Æ’/2.2 aperture) front-facing camera
- HDR 4K video recording
- Face ID
- Up to 17 hours video playback with Qi and new MagSafe wireless charging (Apple doesn’t disclosed the battery size)
- 146.7 mm x 71.5 mm x 7.4 mm, 187 grams
- Gold, silver, graphite, and blue colour options
The iPhone 12 Pro will start at $1,699 in Australia. Pre-orders will begin on Friday, October 16 at 11pm. It will then go on sale on Friday, October 23. So it’s going to release alongside the regular iPhone 12.
iPhone 12 Pro Max Specs
And here’s the specs for the iPhone 12 Pro Max:
- A14 Bionic chip CPU
- 6.7-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display
- 128/256/512 GB storage (no word on RAM as Apple doesn’t disclose this)
- 5G connectivity
- Triple rear cameras – 12MP ultra wide (Æ’/2.4 aperture), 12MP wide (Æ’/1.6 aperture) and 12MP telephoto (Æ’/2.2). 12MP (Æ’/2.2 aperture) front-facing camera
- 4K and HDR video recording
- Up to 20 hours video playback with Qi and new MagSafe wireless charging (Apple doesn’t disclosed the battery size)
- 160.8 mm x 78.1 mm x 7.4 mm, 226 grams
- Gold, silver, graphite, and blue colour options
The iPhone 12 Pro will start at $1,849 in Australia. Pre-orders will begin on Saturday, November 7 at midnight. It will then go on sale on Friday, November 13. This means it will release alongside the iPhone 12 Mini.
ProRaw
ProRaw is a new image format Apple announced on Wednesday, because of course it did. At the present time it seems to be exclusive to the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, though it would be cool if it was rolled out to older Pro devices.
It combines RAW photo format with multi-frame image processing through computational photography. This means the layers of photo data are held separately from one another. ProRAW then allows you to have control over and edit this separate elements (such as tone mapping and dynamic range) natively in the iPhone camera app.
We don’t have an exact release date yet but it will be sometime in what’s left of 2020.
MagSafe
Apple is bringing MagSafe back! Well, in a new way. Seasoned Apple stans may remember MagSafe from older MacBook Pros. Itr’s basically the magnectic charging system that allowed the cord to snap pleasingly into your laptop.
Now the MagSafe brand is being repurposed for wireless charging. The wireless MagSafe chargers snap onto the back of your phone to charge it. This new tech is also being baked into a a leather wallet that attaches to the back of the device, a phone pocket and a MagSafe DuoCharger that takes care of an iPhone and Apple Watch simultaneously.
It can charge at 15W, which is kind of a big deal for Apple. Up until this point, Qi wireless charging on iPhones has basically been capped at 7.5W. Doubling that is excellent, and a smart move by Apple.
Belkin is also bringing out some MagSafe accessories, including a car charger.
USB-C to Lightning Cable
While we’re talking about charging, it’s true that wired headphones and power adaptors will not come in iPhone 12 boxes. Much like the Apple Watch Series 7 before it, Apple is saying it is doing this to help the company become carbon neutral by 2030.
BUT you will still get a shiny new cable with the iPhone 12… a USB-C to lightning cable. Thank god.
Disclosure: the author owns 12 shares in Apple.