While it is the iPhone 12 Pro that is the maxed out, most powerful iPhone money can buy, it is the more affordable iPhone 12 which has seen a more significant upgrade. While everyone knows about the addition of the new and cute iPhone 12 Mini, there are tons of new features in the iPhone 12 lineup along with it.
New Super Retina XDR Display!
Perhaps the biggest downside of the iPhone 11 was the lower resolution LCD panel it used which was just not upto the mark of the OLED panels used by the competition. That has changed now, as the iPhone 12 includes an OLED Super Retina XDR Display which is just as good as the display panel on the iPhone 12 Pro. It has support for up to 1200 nits of HDR brightness and an astonishing 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio for inky blacks and bright whites. The display alone makes the iPhone 12 a serious upgrade from the iPhone 11.
The glass on the front is the same Ceramic Shield as the iPhone 12 Pro. Apple claims that it is the toughest glass on any smartphone and that its chances of surviving a drop are 4 times better.
The smaller iPhone 12 Mini has a 5.4” panel with a resolution of 2340 by 1080 which gives 476 PPI. The larger iPhone 12 has a 6.1” panel with a resolution of 2532 by 1170 which gives 460 PPI. Both these phones have significantly lesser bezels than the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR and are a huge step up which means they are closer than ever to the iPhone 12 Pro.
All New Design!
The iPhone 12 sports an all new design which is inspired by the flat edges of the beloved iPhone 4 and iPhone 5. The frame of the iPhone 12 is made from aluminium and the edges are flat now making a squared off design which looks incredibly refined and industrial. Apple claims that they’ve used Aerospace-grade aluminium on these phones and from what we see, it does look incredible. There is IP68 certification for dust and water resistance.
Another new addition to the iPhone 12 is MagSafe. For the uninitiated, MagSafe used to be a magnetic connector used by Apple as a charging solution on their Macbooks. In the back of the new iPhones, there is an array of magnets which can be used to align properly and snap on to MagSafe compatible accessories. MagSafe on the iPhone 12 can be used to fix alignment issues faced by usual wireless chargers and also design accessories that fit perfectly. MagSafe support also enables fast wireless charging on the iPhone 12.
Apple has designed a variety of accessories centered around the iPhone 12 and MagSafe which can be used to mix and match to create a unique look.
Both the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Mini come in 5 colours- White, Black, Red, Green and Blue.
Processor Bump: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
The iPhone 12 lineup comes with the A14 Bionic CPU which is a bump up from the A13 bionic that came on the iPhone 11 last year. The A14 Bionic is the first 5-nanometer chip in the industry, which Apple claims is upto 50% faster than any other smartphone CPU. There is a huge bump of up to a 16-core Neural Engine which is 80% faster, a new machine learning accelerators which is upto 70% faster. There’s also an all new Image Signal Processor and support for 4K HDR Recording with Dolby Vision.
If all that went above your head, it basically means that the A14 Bionic is insanely capable and performance is going to be one of the strongest suits of the iPhone 12.
5G Support
The iPhone 12 is the first iPhone to support 5G and Apple has added a number of smart improvements to enhance the experience. The iPhone 12 has the most bands for 5G out of any smartphone. The software is also optimised to keep a balance between the high 5G speeds and battery consumption. There’s also a new Smart Data Mode which automatically switches between 5G and LTE depending on the internet speed requirements at that moment. Of course, you can override it if you want to constantly stay on 5G or LTE.
A New Dual Camera Setup
The iPhone 12 includes newer Wide and Ultra Wide cameras, both having support for Night Mode, which means they can now take incredible pictures in low-light situations. The new Wide Camera is the same sensor as the smaller iPhone 12 Pro, which means that it can bring in 27% more light for more detail and better colours.
Of course, all this combined with the new ISP of the A14 Bionic processor means that we have enhanced Night Mode, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 3 and a machine learning powered Portrait Mode.
The low-light advantages are not limited to just photography, with low-light videos getting even better than before. There is also support for 4K HDR video recording with Dolby Vision support.
The front facing TrueDepth camera on the iPhone 12 has also been upgraded to support Night Mode, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 3 and Dolby Vision recording.
What’s In The Box? Less than Ever!
The iPhone 12, like the iPhone 12 Pro, comes bundled only with a USB Type C to Lightning cable. Apple says this is a move to reduce their carbon footprint by having carbon savings equal to 450,000 lesser cars on roads per year. So your new, expensive iPhone 12 will not come with an included Charging Brick and wired EarPods. You can buy these separately or opt to use an older power adapter instead.
With the new enhancements in the iPhone 12, especially in the display department, it seems that the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 are closer than ever. But unlike the iPhone 12 Pro, the iPhone 12 starts off at the same 64GB of storage which is a bummer. The iPhone 12 Mini starts at $699 for the 64GB variant while the larger iPhone 12 starts at $799 for 64GB.
Also read: Best Fast Chargers for iPhone 12 Mini
