When Apple unveiled the iPhone 12 Pro series in October, it promised a software update for these handsets with support for the new ProRAW format. That update will be iOS 14.3, as this feature is included in the first beta of this upcoming operating system update seeded to developers on Thursday. There are also mentions of AirTags and Apple Studio headphones.
In addition, Apple begin testing the first betas of iPadOS 14.3, watchOS 7.2 and tvOS 14.3.
Back in September 2012, Apple released what was arguably the best iPhone, the iPhone 5. It looked beautiful, felt great in hand, and signaled the shift from 3G to LTE.
Now, eight years later, Apple is revisiting that playbook with the iPhone 12 lineup. And after about a week of using the iPhone 12 Pro, and putting it to the test on my family’s vacation to Disney World, I think I can safely say this is both my new favorite iPhone, and possibly the new best iPhone of all time.
The new iPhone 12 Pro takes the crown as the fastest smartphone. It significantly beat the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in a speed test designed to evaluate real-world use.
Apple’s new processor and additional RAM helped push its handset over the top.
If you plan to preorder iPhone 12 mini or Pro Max on Friday, November 6, through the iPhone Upgrade Program, then do yourself a massive favor and get preapproved early. It will make the whole process quicker and easier.
We’ll show you how.
Apple was seemingly banking on the iPhone 12 being its most popular new handset this year. But it appears the company may have underestimated just how popular the new iPhone 12 Pro is with users.
According to Digitimes, Apple is ramping up orders for the LiDAR Scanner exclusive to the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max models.
The iPhone 12 display is no more likely to get scratched than its predecessors or competitors. A rigorous test disproves an early report that Apple’s latest is easily susceptible to this type of damage.
This should head off anyone declaring “scratchgate” in the spirit of the iPhone 6’s actually real Bendgate and the MacBook’s Flexgate.
Preorders for the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are “super high” in India, largely thanks to authorized resellers offering good trade-in deals and monthly installment payments, according to a report published Wednesday.
Apple doesn’t reveal iPhone sales figures anymore. That means Apple watchers must be on the lookout for other early signs to indicate how well new iPhones are doing. In India, at least, that appears to be pretty darn well for iPhone 12.
A new type of screen protection built into the iPhone 12 series helped it survive a brutal drop test better than its predecessor. Both the standard model and the Pro went through multiple drops directly onto the display without breaking.
That wasn’t the case when the identical test was done on the iPhone 11 Pro Max in 2019. But that model older doesn’t have Ceramic Shield.
Apple says the iPhone 12’s Ceramic Shield display makes it 4x less likely to break when dropped than previous iPhones. But, within days of the first iPhone 12 and 12 Pro handsets arriving, some buyers are complaining about scratches on their screens.
UPDATE: A rigorous test shows that Apple’s latest handsets are not easily scratched.
So what’s going on?
Open up the standard iPhone 12 and and you’d be hard pressed to find a difference between it and the iPhone 12 Pro. An iFixit teardown shows these handsets so similar internally that they can share many parts.
But the news isn’t all good. Another tidbit revealed by cracking open Apple’s latest is that that have smaller batteries than their predecessors.
As Apple faces increasing scrutiny from governments around the world, the company should take a lesson from Google. We think Apple really needs to implement its own “don’t be evil” policy — and stick with it.
Also, with the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro arriving this week alongside iPad Air 4 it’s time to take a look at reviewers’ first impressions. (It’s also a good time to revisit best practices for setting up and optimizing a new iPhone).
Read it all — along with reviews of new Apple TV+ movies On the Rocks and Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You — in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine.
This week on The CultCast: The reviews are in, so let’s talk about iPhone 12! Plus: The honest truth about iPhone 12’s 5G; the original HomePod gets powerful new features, and Jony Ive gets a brand-new job.
And now, The CultCast has video! Or subscribe to our audio episodes if you don’t like our faces.
The magnetic back for the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro models won’t damage your credit cards, although you may want to keep it away from direct contact with single use magnetic stripe cards, such as the swipe cards used in hotels.
That’s according to Kaiann Drance, Vice President of iPhone Marketing at Apple, who is interviewed in the latest “Rich on Tech” podcast.
It’s a big day for Apple fans as the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro with 5G have gone on sale, alongside the iPad Air 4 — marking a trio of devices with the new, breakthrough A14 chip.
As preorders arrive and Apple Stores open with the new handsets and tablet, Apple shared some images of satisfied customers, along with fulfillment workers gearing up to dispatch the new iPhones and iPads to stores.
Thanks to COVID-19, the idea of queuing up for an iPhone, huddling up with other people eager to get their hands on the latest Apple smartphone, seems like the stuff of another lifetime in 2020.
To ensure that as many people as possible can get the iPhone 12, 12 Pro or iPad Air 4 when they launch this week, Apple’s issued a press release Wednesday detailing the myriad ways would-be customers can give the company their hard-earned cash.
The new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro bring 5G to Apple’s smartphones for the first time. But it comes at a cost to your battery.
In the first published battery tests, Tom’s Guide tested the new iPhones on both 4G and 5G, running both on the same screen brightness and loading up new sites every 30 seconds until they ran out of battery. Their conclusion? That 5G usage has a pretty major impact on battery life.
The first reviews of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro landed online Tuesday, and the devices’ marquee feature — 5G wireless connectivity — largely went unnoticed.
Most reviewers said they could not properly take advantage of the next-gen networking, which Apple heavily promoted during last week’s iPhone 12 launch event. This makes 5G more of a hypothetical selling point than something the reviewers could personally recommend. (That’s not surprising, considering the current state of 5G in the United States.)
That said, the first impressions focus on both phones’ impressive new designs — and pay special attention to the premium feel of the iPhone 12 Pro. The reviewers also highlight MagSafe, the new magnetic connection system for cases, chargers and other accessories that Apple added to this year’s iPhones.
Here’s a look at the first iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 reviews.
iPhone 12 has seen twice as many preorders as last year’s iPhone 11, while iPhone 12 Pro is proving more popular than iPhone 11 Pro, according to new estimates from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple’s newest smartphone lineup — the first with 5G connectivity — is thought to have attracted between 1.7 million and 2 million orders during the first 24 hours of availability.
iPhone 12 users will have to cough up more cash should they need to replace the handset’s new Ceramic Shield display. The price of a new screen has risen by $80 compared to that for last year’s iPhone 11.
However, it should be more difficult to break iPhone 12’s screen, thanks to tougher glass. And you do get a lot more for your money.
Apple has begun shipping iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro preorders ahead of Friday’s launch. Many customers — though not all — can now track their shipments through UPS.
That doesn’t mean you can expect to receive your new handset early, however.
New iPhones (both “regular” and mini, as well as Pro and Pro Max). A new, pint-size HomePod mini. And the triumphant return of MagSafe … this week’s “Hi, Speed” event delivered the goods.
Read up on all the new Apple gear, and find out why we’re totally psyched about the iPhone 12 mini (and a bit less so about 5G), in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on your iOS device.
Oh, and don’t worry — we’ve got plenty of post-show analysis (and some even fresher Apple news and rumors, too) …
On your marks, get set, go, go, go! Apple preorders went live Friday at 5am Pacific time, giving customers the chance to order their new iPhone 12 handsets.
For the first time in history, Apple is this year offering four different iPhone models. The 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini are Apple’s two “regular” iPhones, while the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and monster 6.7-inch iPhone Pro Max are its premium handsets.
You can only order the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models today, though. The iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max, this year’s two size extremes, will be available for preorder November 6. Phones available for preorder today will ship October 23.
One of the biggest reasons to upgrade to iPhone 12 this year is for its 5G connectivity. It promises to be significantly faster than the 4G networks we’ve become accustomed to, making things like mobile gaming, content streaming, web browsing — basically everything you do online — better than ever.
You should be excited, but not too excited. 5G can be as spectacular as Apple led us to believe during this week’s iPhone 12 unveiling … but only if you can get good 5G coverage — and the right kind of 5G connection.
Allow us to explain what you need to know about 5G.
While it’s long been considered a fundamental spec for computers, Apple doesn’t publicize the amount of RAM its iPhones ship with. But newly published AnTuTu scores, referring to a popular Chinese benchmarking tool, appears to shed some light on this year’s iPhone 12 handsets.
They suggest that the iPhone 12 comes with 4GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the iPhone 12 Pro model comes with 6GB of RAM. If accurate, that would be an increase for the Pro models from the 4GB used for both variants of iPhone 11 last year.
The LiDAR Scanner in the iPhone 12 Pro makes Apple’s new flagship device an augmented reality powerhouse. It enables the handset to make an accurate 3D map of its location into which virtual objects can then be placed.
However, the scanner apparently has been added to the iPhone 12 Pro models in a “build it and they will come” strategy. Apple didn’t show many specific applications demonstrating the benefits of the tech during Tuesday’s launch event for the device.
