iPhone 12 Review: Magsafe
While the miracle of magnets continues to baffle the worlds top minds, Apple has made them a fundamental aspect of the iPhone 12s design. A ring of magnets centrally placed on the back of the iPhone 12 enable Apples new MagSafe ecosystem of accessories, from wireless chargers to cases and wallet attachments that simply snap on and off.
Theres nothing inherently unique about Apples brand of wireless charging here. The companys own $30 MagSafe charging puck uses the very same Qi standard as any other wireless charger for any other phone it just incorporates magnets, too. Your iPhone 12 will still be compatible with whatever wireless chargers or Qi accessories you already have, though to get those peak 15-watt speeds, you’ll need a first- or third-party solution that incorporates MagSafe.
The bad news is that MagSafe is slower than Apple’s 20W wired charger. Much slower. In a third-party charging test, the iPhone 12 charges to 50% full in 28 minutes using the 20W fast charger. The 15W MagSafe charger took an hour.
Still, thats not to discredit the philosophy behind MagSafe, which makes a lot of sense. The magnets help localize the iPhone 12 on chargers and makes accessory attachment more convenient. And its surely easier to top off your phone by setting it down a puck that instantly aligns itself perfectly, rather than fumbling around at your bedside to plug in a tiny Lightning connector.
iPhone And The Environment
iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are designed with the following features to reduce their environmental impact.15See the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max Product Environmental Reports.
Made with better materials
- 100% recycled tungsten in the Taptic Engine, representing 99% of the tungsten in the device
- 100% recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, representing 98% of the rare earth elements in the device
- 100% recycled tin in the solder of the main logic board
- 35% or more recycled plastic in multiple components
Energy efficient
- Meets U.S. Department of Energy requirements for battery charger systems
Smarter chemistry16
Ravpower 30w Pd 30 Gan Usb C Wall Charger $1599
RAVPowers 30W PD 3.0 GaN Wall Charger not only offers fast charging but also supports Apples Power Delivery 3.0 technology.
All the above chargers listed above except for the MagSafe Charger are wired adapters which will need you to plug in the USB-C to Lightning cable that Apple has provided to connect the adapter to the iPhone 12. Like its predecessors, the new iPhone also supports charging via Qi-certified wireless chargers. You can thus buy the following two wireless chargers to juice up your iPhone 12 if you dont wish to get a MagSafe charger from Apple.
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iPhone 12 And iPhone 12 Mini Colors
The iPhone 12, which starts at $799 / $799 / AU$1,349, and the iPhone 12 mini, starting at $699 / £699 / AU$1,199, come in six different colors: white, black, green, red, blue and purple. The first four of those were also iPhone 11 colors, but purple and yellow have been dropped for the blue. Purple was added later, in April 2021.
Is There A Better Usb
While the included cable will be fine at first, Apple’s cables aren’t exactly known for their durability. Instead, you should get one of the many USB-C-to-Lightning cables out there right now. There are too many cables out there made of sturdier materials, like braided nylon, to settle for Apple’s default cord.
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Why Doesnt The iPhone Come With A Charger Anymore
Once people find out the iPhone no longer comes with a charger, the next question they as is why? The reason Apple gives is an environmental one. For example, on the iPhone 11s product page on Apples website, Apple states:
As part of our efforts to reach our environmental goals, iPhone 11 does not include a power adapter or EarPods. Included in the box is a USBC to Lightning cable that supports fast charging and is compatible with USBC power adapters and computer ports.
We encourage you to reuse your current USBA to Lightning cables, power adapters, and headphones which are compatible with this iPhone. But if you need any new Apple power adapters or headphones, they are available for purchase.
The reasoning is a good one. After all, most people have multiple unused chargers in their home so eliminating one from the box will save a ton of e-waste given the tens of millions of iPhone units Apple sells each year.
But the more cynical out there sometimes claim that Apples motivation isnt so much environmental as it is fiscal. Every charger Apple includes in the box costs the company money. And by not including a charger in the box, Apple saves money, and there is thus more profit per iPhone sold. Even if a charger only costs Apple a few bucks, given the sheer number of iPhones sold each year, not including a charger in the box can save the company hundreds of millions per year.
What Can You Do
If youre buying a new iPhone, there are different paths you can take when deciding how to charge your new device, including the following:
- You can use another USB-C power adapter in your home. If its a 20W adapter or higher, youll be able to fast-charge, which means youll get a 50% charge in around 30 minutes. You can also charge your iPhone using the new cord connected to a USB-C computer.
- Another solution is to ditch the new cable. Instead, use the Lightning to USB cable and 5W power adapter that came with your previous iPhone. In this case, however, you cant take advantage of fast-charging.
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Why Does iPhone 12 Have No Charger
As Apple explained during its iPhone 12 event, excluding the power adapter reduces the size of the box. This means 70% more devices can fit on a shipping palette, which means more iPhone 12 devices can ship to users. Smaller boxes also allow Apple to reduce yearly carbon emissions by 2 million metric tons, it says.
Are The Apple iPhone 12 Devices Worth Buying
Whether the iPhone 12 series is worth buying is a no-brainer for anyone locked into the Apple ecosystem and who doesnt need the latest and greatest from Apple. Things are understandably not as simple if youre pitting the latest iPhones against the best that the Android world has to offer.
Android flagships have a few advantages over last years iPhones. Many offer higher display refresh rates, giving the appearance of incredibly smooth performance. Some come with speedy charging, huge batteries, excellent cameras, and useful extras like reverse wireless charging.
However, the one thing youre guaranteed to get with the new iPhones is a fantastic performance. Apple called it the fastest chip ever in a smartphone at the time of launch. The iPhone 12 embarrassed the Snapdragon 865-toting OnePlus 8T in Garys Speed Test G challenge, and handily beat the Asus ROG Phone 3. It keeps a slight lead over 2021s flagship processor of choice, the Snapdragon 888, as well.
All four iPhone models take great-looking shots.
The four iPhone models come with different camera setups, but all of them are capable of taking great-looking shots. If smartphone photography is important for you though, you are better off getting one of the Pro models, which outperform quite a few Android flagships in the camera department.
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iPhone 12 / 12 Mini In Red
The iPhone 12 and 12 mini come in this ‘classic Apple’ red shade, or as Apple calls it, RED. Maybe it’s us, but it seems a little paler than we saw it on the iPhone XR either way, it’s arguably the most vibrant of the available colors. If you buy this version some of the money goes towards a global fund to combat Covid-19.
iPhone 13 Cameras: Ready To Go Pro
Every year, Apple makes notable updates to its camera hardware and software. All four iPhone 13 models can create some of the best photos you can shoot with a smartphone, but there are some major differences between the regular and Pro models.
For starters, the iPhone 13 models now have the same sensor-shift stabilization technology that was previously limited to the iPhone 12 Pro models. Sensor-shift stabilization physically moves camera sensors to remove vibrations that blur or distort photos. Night mode is also available on all the lenses.
In addition, there’s an improved 12MP primary lens with an f/1.6 aperture for better low-light photos. The 12MP ultra-wide lens has an f/2.4 aperture. Apple has also made updates to the ISP and its computational photography software.
The 13 Pro and Pro Max have the same cameras as each other. The rear module has a 12MP primary lens with an f/1.5 aperture, large 1.9-micron pixels, and is capable of macro photography. The telephoto lens clocks in at 12MP with an f/2.8 aperture. The 12MP ultra-wide lens has a large f/1.8 aperture for improved low-light performance.
Both Pro models support macro photography mode, 3x optical zoom, ProRaw images and, for the first time, Apple’s professional ProRes video capture. The non-Pro models don’t have those features.
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iPhone 12 Review: Release Date And Price
The iPhone 12 was released in October of 2021 and it remains available from Apple as well as a number of carriers. The newly reduced price is $699 for 64GB of storage. Upping that to 128GB costs $749 and 246GB costs $849.
In the U.K., the iPhone 12 now tarts at £679 for the 64GB model, but pay an extra £30 and you can get 128GB of storage for £849. The 256GB handset now costs £829.
If you want the lowest price, we continue to track iPhone 12 deals for all of Apple’s phones. You can save anywhere from $110 to $790 on an iPhone 12 when you buy from Apple and trade-in your current iPhone, assuming you’ve got an iPhone 8 or later.
Apple isnt shipping a charging adapter or headphones in box with the iPhone 12, so you’ll need to pay extra if you need one.
The Need For 5g Speed
5G wireless isn’t available everywhere and its capabilities have been a little overhyped. That said, the iPhone 12 was the first iPhone compatible with 5G. So if you have a burning desire to connect to 5G cellular networks and have access to one, then the iPhone 12 will scratch that itch immediately. Of course, the iPhone 13 also links to 5G, so opting for either would fulfill your 5G desires.
Living with a damaged iPhone screen is never fun.
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iPhone 12 Mini And iPhone 12 Pro Max Retail Contents Feature Just The Phone Itself And A Usb
Apple’s new lineup of smartphones are surprisingly powerful thanks to the A14 Bionic chip. But apart from all that muscle, Apple announced that it is reducing eWaste from its products by removing things from the retail box which the user might already have.
So, when you go ahead and pre-order the iPhone 12 or the iPhone 12 Pro, you can expect the phone to ship with the bare minimum – just the phone itself and a USB-C to Lightning cable. Apple expects you to use your old charger, if you still have it lying around with you.
As part of our efforts to reach our environmental goals, iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini do not include a power adapter or EarPods. Please use your current Apple power adapter and headphones, or purchase these accessories separately.
In its keynote, Apple said that they were able to reduce the size of the retail box of iPhone by up to 70%, just by removing the charger and EarPods alone. At this point, many of you are going to throw in a meme or two by saying they can take that number all the way up to 100% by charging the consumer and not shipping anything. We get it, that’s how the world is now.
If you are all up for reducing waste on the planet, then the iPhone 12 is something which should please you. Besides, we are certain that you countless chargers already lying around in some form or the other at home, so this omission should not bother you one bit.
What Are The Main Competitors To The iPhone 12
With all four iPhone 12 models offering different sizes and features at different prices, the competition is wide open.
iPhone 12 mini competition. Competing with the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini are such phones as the Samsung Galaxy S10e and the . Starting at $599, the Galaxy S10e offers a 5.8-inch AMOLED screen with two rear cameras , face recognition, and a fingerprint scanner. Starting at $799, the Google Pixel 4 comes with a 5.7-inch OLED display with wide-angle and telephoto cameras in the rear and facial recognition but no fingerprint sensor. Neither phone includes 5G connectivity.
iPhone 12 and 12 Pro competition. Rivals to the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro encompass several of Samsung’s Galaxy phones, including the S10, S10 Plus, S20, and S20 FE. Among these Galaxy phones, only the S20 and S20 FE are 5G models. Starting at $749, the Galaxy S10 has a 6.1-inch screen starting at $849, the S10 Plus bumps the screen size to 6.4 inches. The Galaxy S20 normally starts at $999 and offers a 6.2-inch screen, while the S20 FE starts at just $699 with a screen size of 6.5 inches.
Also built with 5G, and the upcoming Pixel 4A 5G are worth considering. The Google Pixel 5 starts at $699 and includes a 6-inch screen, while the Pixel 4A 5G starts at $499 and offers a screen size of 6.2 inches.
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What Are The Experts Saying About The iPhone 12 Series
In his iPhone 12 Mini review, our own David Imel called it one of the best small phones you can get. Of course, its not without its issues. The camera isnt as feature-packed as the one available with the Pro editions, and the phone is difficult to align on a wireless charging stand. Its biggest selling points are its size and price. As David says, getting great build quality and incredible performance in a phone this small, for this price, is great.
David was less impressed with the regular iPhone 12 in his review. Thats not because theres anything wrong with the phone itself. You will still get blazing fast performance, a beautiful display, and solid build quality. However, its awkwardly placed in the line-up and is hard to recommend over the iPhone 12 Pro, which offers more RAM, a better camera, and a more premium build.
The iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max are the way to go if you want the best experience, as David found when he reviewed these phones. The iPhone 12 Pro is $150 more than the iPhone 12, but features like the extra 2GB of RAM, 4K 60fps Dolby Vision video, extra camera sensor, LIDAR sensor, and better build quality are worth the surcharge.
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iPhone 12 Colors: Every Shade Explained Including iPhone 12 Mini 12 Pro And 12 Pro Max
ByTom Bedfordlast updated 2 December 21
Plenty of shades to choose between
Apple’s newest iPhone 12 phones come in plenty of different colors, so people who have a favorite shade can take their pick from a huge range.
There are actually four models of iPhone 12: the main one, the iPhone 12 mini, the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The first two of those come in the same colors as each other, while the latter two come in a different selection but also the same as each other.
We’ll run you through all the different shades of all four phones below so you can save yourself the trip to your local Apple store to see them all.
Price May Be The Deciding Factor
As the saying goes, money talks. The standard base model of the iPhone 13 costs $799 for 128GB of storage, which is $100 more than the starting price of the standard base model of the iPhone 12 with 64GB of storage. But, if you compare the current price of the 128GB storage option for both phones, there’s only a $50 difference between the iPhone 13 and $749 iPhone 12 and the new features on the iPhone 13 seem to justify the increase in price.
Here are the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 prices compared:
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What Is The Best Wireless Charger For iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 lineup can make use of any standard Qi charger, and there are several great wireless chargers for your new iPhone the choose from. Qi on iPhone 12 continues to support up to 7.5W charging.
Also new to iPhone 12 this year is MagSafe. MagSafe supports a proprietary inductive charging method that offers up to 15W charging.