Apple used to make one iPhone per year, and then it upped that to two. In 2020, there are a plethora of iPhone models, including three (or four, depending on how you count) new models today. They all have a tweaked design reminiscent of older iPhones, and they’re also the first to have 5G connectivity. That will no doubt please carriers, but not really anyone else. Let’s go over the new models in descending order of size.
iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max
Apple’s top-of-the-line smartphones are the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max. The smaller of the two has a 6.1-inch 1170 x 2532 OLED display that goes almost edge-to-edge with the trademark notch at the top. The edges of the steel body are now squared-off instead of rounded, which makes the device look a bit more like the old iPhone 4. The Pro Max bumps the display to 6.7 inches and 1284 x 2778 resolution.
Around back, the phones have a trio of camera modules, all 12MP resolution. Like most high-end phones, you get a wide, ultrawide, and telephoto (2.5x). There’s also a new LIDAR sensor for AR functionality and better focus in low-light. There’s a 12MP front camera, along with the Face ID sensors in the notch.
Inside, the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max have the latest A14 Bionic, a chip with six CPU cores and four GPU cores. Apple says it’s 50 percent faster than other, non-Apple devices. It also supports both mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G networks. Apple is notoriously hesitant to provide real technical specifications, but we can say these phones will have 128, 256, and 512GB storage options. The iPhone 12 Pro starts at $1,000, and the Pro Max is $1,100. Pre-orders start on Friday this week, and the phones will ship on October 16th.
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 is Apple’s new middle-of-the-road smartphone, priced at $799 with 64GB of storage. There are also 128 and 256GB versions. It has the same overall shape as the Pro iPhones, but it’s aluminum instead of steel and comes in a few different colors. The display remains 6.1-inches, the same as the last non-pro iPhone. However, it’s now an OLED instead of LCD like the iPhone 11. In fact, it’s the same 1170 x 2532 panel as the iPhone 12 Pro.
You lose the telephoto camera and the LIDAR with this device. You just get the 12MP wide and 12MP ultrawide sensors on the back. There’s a 12MP selfie camera in the notch on the front, along with the Face ID sensors.
This device has the same A14 Bionic chip found in the more expensive phones, along with both sub-6 and mmWave 5G support. This makes the iPhone 12 one of the less expensive smartphones to support the faster but less stable 5G standard. Pre-orders go live this Friday, and the phone ships October 23rd.
iPhone 12 Mini
The iPhone 12 Mini is a completely new product in Apple’s lineup. It’s not as cheap as the iPhone SE 2 from earlier this year, but it offers a lot more functionality. It really does look like a shrunken down iPhone 12 with those same flat (aluminum) edges, but Apple managed to keep most of the same internals. There’s the A14 ARM chip with performance far above non-Apple smartphones and all the same 5G support as the more expensive versions. Apple says it’s the smallest and lightest 5G phone in the world, which sounds plausible based on the relative lack of small Android phones.
It all fits inside a phone with a 5.4-inch 1080 x 2340 OLED. While that screen is larger than the iPhone SE, the Mini is a bit smaller overall thanks to the slim bezels. There’s also no Touch ID—the Mini has Face ID like the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro.
Despite being smaller and less expensive than the other iPhones, the 12 Mini might be the star of the show—you just can’t get a tiny high-end phone like this from anyone else. Apple is only asking $699 for the iPhone 12 Mini, which you can pre-order on November 6th with shipping on November 13th.
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