Apple iPhone 12

The purple version of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini follows the existing colours Blue, Green, Product RED, White and Black. This much colour is not common at Apple. We still remember when the iPhone was available in just only 1 colour.

The purple iPhone 12 will be available for pre-order starting Friday, April 23. Shipments start Friday, April 30. Prices will remain as you're used to. New colours for the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max were not announced.

New MagSafe Cases

In addition to a new colour iPhone, Apple also announced new colours for MagSafe accessories. These are MagSafe leather case, sleeve and silicone case. The first 2 will come in a matching purple colour called Deep Violet. The silicone case will be available in Capri Blue, Pistachio, Cantaloup and Amethyst.

Front runner of the series is the iPhone 12 which will be released in 5 colours; Black, White, Product Red, Green and Blue. The exterior has also been renewed and is now much rectangular and resembles the iPhone 5 of the good old days and the recently announced iPad Pro. The frame is made of matte aluminium but the front is now made of Ceramic Shield which was developed together with Corning and offers 4x better fall protection.

The Super Retina XDR screen of the iPhone 12 is 2x sharper thanks to a doubling of the number of pixels. The screen has a peak brightness of 1200 nits and supports HDR10. The dual camera has an ultra-wide-angle camera and this year also supports Nite Mode on the front selfie camera. New is the Nite Mode Time-Lapse, but you need to put your iPhone on a tripod. All iPhones support 5G but the faster mmWave supper only work in the US.

MagSafe for iPhone

Charging the iPhone wirelessly was already possible, but to aline it precisely with the charger, the iPhone 12 is now equipped with numerous magnets. This ensures that the iPhone clicks securely onto the charger, but there are also various accessories available such as cases and car chargers. There is no charger in the box this year, this is to save the environment. The box is also much smaller than before. New is that USB C to Lightning cable in the box.

iPhone 12 mini

Fans of a smaller iPhone can go for the iPhone 12 mini this year. With a 5.4-inch screen and thin edges, the 12 mini is more compact than an iPhone 8. Like the 12, the model features a Super Retina XDR screen with Ceramic Shield, an A14 Bionic chipset and 5G support. The smaller iPhone has a starting price of $699. That's $100 cheaper than the iPhone 12

iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max

Of course, an iPhone launch is not complete without a Pro version. The iPhone 12 Pro gets a glossy stainless steel side and is available in 4 colours; Silver, Graphite, Gold and the new Pacific Blue. The housing is IP68 waterproof and features the new Ceramic Shield front.

Both the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max get 3 rear cameras with improved performance due to new sensors and LiDAR depth recognition. The device is the first in the world to shoot Dolby Vision video and can edit it on the device. The Apple iPhone 12 Pro has a starting price of $999 and now comes with 128GB of storage. The iPhone 12 Pro Max starts at $1099. Orders start November 6, Apple will begin shipping one week later on November 13. This also applies to the iPhone 12 mini. The entry iPhone 12 can be ordered earlier; Friday 16 October with delivery starting on 23 October.

Because according to a new rumour, Apple would revive the term for its own wireless charger. The iPhone has been able to charge wirelessly since the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus but to date Apple has never released a wireless charger of its own. It's not necessary because any Qi-compatible charger will do. Apple was about to release its own charging mat but it was eventually cancelled. Instead we may get this.

A MagSafe Charger with a maximum power of 15 Watts. That's quite fast for wireless chargers (current iPhones don't accept more than 7.5 Watt) but there are now also 30 Watt wireless chargers on the market. Possibly there will also be a MagSafe Duo Charger where you can simultaneously charge 2 devices. This sounds familiar of the announced AirPower charging mat that was cancelled due to various problems.

MagSafe Charger

What does wireless charging have to do with MagSafe we hear you think? A common problem with wireless charging is that the device has to be placed fairly precisely on the charger. One millimetre too far and it does not charge. Pretty annoying if you wake up in the morning with an empty battery. To solve this problem, Apple might equip the iPhone 12 with magnets. These are placed in a circular pattern and aline with the MagSafe Charger. These magnets should automatically aline your iPhone.

Pictures of these magnets appeared earlier but then it was unclear what they were used for. Possibly Apple introduces next to the MagSafe charger also the possibility for the iPhone 12 to give away power wirelessly. Ideal to charge your AirPods via your iPhone. This feature has been available for Android users for a long time but has been missing for Apple customers until now. Tuesday October 13th we will hear what is true about these rumours. Then Apple officially announces the iPhone 12 series.

Source: Kang (via Weibo)

In the invitation Apple just sent, we can read "speed". Striking because up until now speed is not something about the iPhone 12 thats been discussed. The intended processor however is, the Apple A14 Bionic but that's mainly because it also has to find its way to Apple's first computer with its own chipset. Just like previous Apple Keynotes, the event can only be attended digitally. It starts at 10:00 PDT or 19:00 CEST.

The new iPhone 12 series is expected to be announced at the event. It may consist of the iPhone 12 (6.1 inch), the iPhone 12 Pro (6.1 inch), the iPhone 12 Pro Max (6.7 inch) and perhaps the iPhone 12 mini. The latter is a completely new addition to the portfolio and should appeal to a new audience with an expected screen size of 5.4 inches. Or perhaps an old audience that had difficulty adapting to ever-growing iPhone sizes.

Not a revolution but an evolution

Not many spectacular new features are expected from the new generation of iPhones. For example, there will still be a notch with Face ID and it is expected that between 2 and 3 camera sensors will be present. This year will mainly revolve around bringing 5G support to the masses. Apple will follow other manufacturers with this, but they are not that late either.

New this year is a braided Lightning/USB cable that will be included in the box. This should make up for the lack of an adaptor. Apple is abandoning it to save the environment. The idea behind this is that people already have a charger at home.

In hindsight you can conclude that removing the headphone jack was a good move for most people. Some indeed don't need one or they bought wireless earplugs. Good for Apple's profits, also because it could save on components. The word on the street is now that Apple has come up with another way to boost its profits.

Because by leaving out a headset and charger in the box, Apple can cut costs. Don't expect these to be passed on to consumers. Apple probably needs that money to buy 5G components. Is leaving out the charger a new scandal? It may be unusual, but it's not unique. Fairphone, the sustainable phone brand from the Netherlands, also doesn't supply a charger and cable with its phones. Not to save costs but to save the environment. Chances are you already have a charger at home.

Environmental benefits

Apple is a commercial company by nature, but every keynote it emphasises how environmentally friendly they are. This could be the next step, one that many other companies are likely to follow. Because let's be honest, how many cables and chargers do you have laying around? No more charger and cables would save a huge mountain of waste, especially when you consider the millions of iPhones being sold every year. We just hope Apple (finally) does something about the inferior quality of its cables. They are, especially compared to some USB alternatives, too thin side and therefore break easily.

In addition to environmental benefits, leaving out the charger and headphones could break way for a completely portless iPhone in 2021. That rumour has been going around for a long time. Wireless synching and listening to music is already commonplace and charging can be done wirelessly as well. So why don't leave out all ports? By starting leaving out a cable, charger and headphones Apple can prepare its fanbase.

Every year around autumn Apple announces a new generation of iPhones. Not long after these so-called Keynotes, you can buy the new iPhones in stores. In order to guaranty availability, Apple starts mass production months before the launch. However, this is now being delayed for all kinds of reasons. Production of the upcoming iPhone 12 may start in August according to a message on Digitimes.

We don't need to draw any conclusions from this delay at this stage. Apple's production machine is like clockwork and rarely stalls. That's partly because it has many component suppliers. Unlike last year, this year Apple may introduce 4 new models. Next to an iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max a smaller version of the iPhone 12 with a 5.4 inch screen will also be launched. We don't have a catchy name for that compact model yet.

Reason for delay

It is not exactly clear why Apple finds it difficult to get the production of its new iPhones up and running, but the reasons are obvious. The corona pandemic will undoubtedly play a part in this. But maybe some 5G components are more difficult to manufacture. As mentioned before, a delay in production does not necessarily mean that they will be in the shops later. It is possible though, so let's wait and see before we say something definite about that.

Via: Digitimes
Image: Macotakara

Apple has been equipping iPhones with the Lightning connecter ever since the iPhone 5. This 8-pin reversible cable is nice and small but has one problem; you can only use it for iPhones. Using the same cable to charge any Android phone or, for that matter, your power bank, is not possible. That's why USB-C was invented. Apple also uses it for her products for example MacBooks and even iPads but iPhones were still left out of the fun. Strange that also for the upcoming iPhone 12 the switch will not be made, at least according to today's rumour.

Shame the USB-c prototype iPhone 12's arent making it to production. 1 more year of lightning ?

Oh well, at least smart connecter on 13 series

- Fudge (@choco_bit) May 25, 2020

And we have to disappoint anyone who thinks Apple is waiting for the iPhone 13 to make the switch to USB-C. That one won't get any ports. By then, they won't be needed. Charging will be done wirelessly, listening to music wirelessly, and synching is done via the cloud. So how do you pair non-wireless accessories? The iPhone 13 may have the same Smart Connecter as the iPad. To equip the iPhone 12 in the meantime with USB-C to bridge the gap does not make sense. Especially because switching ports is subject to a lot of criticism. We also saw this at the time with the change of the 30-pin connecter to Lightning.

Personally, we applaud Apple's move. Not to force you to buy wireless earbuds, but because of the huge mountain of waste it saves. Because, let's be honost, who really uses them anyway? Usually they end up in the drawer or (worse) in the bin. Chances are that you already have better earbuds laying around or didn't intend to use them at all.

And that's why we're the last ones to mourn the disappearance of the wired EarPods in the iPhone box. As of the iPhone 12 it should already be happening according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He doesn't give a reason but we do have an idea. Apple is planning to release an iPhone without ports at all one day. And how should you plug in your headphones? You don't, so fans can already get used to it. The side effect of this decision is that it will boost sales of the AirPods even further. There are even rumours that Apple wants to sell the iPhone bundled with the AirPods. Whether it will really come to that by the end of 2020 when Apple announces the next generation of iPhones remains to be seen.

(via)