iPhone 12 Review: Verdict
Im of two minds about the iPhone 12. Theres no question this is a great phone overall, and many of the changes Apple has made to its most popular iPhone are for the better. The new Super Retina XDR panel is a phenomenal improvement over the disappointing LCD panels in previous models at this price, even if it lacks a high refresh rate. And the design, MagSafe system and excellent dual-camera system all earn the iPhone 12 high marks.
But Apples resistance to change in key areas is still disappointing. Practically every major phone maker has stopped being stingy with base storage. The fact the iPhone 12 still only starts with 64GB is borderline criminal, especially in light of the iPhone 13’s expanded storage.
In fact, some should opt for the iPhone 13 instead , even though the iPhone 12 costs less. The iPhone 13 delivers faster performance, better cameras, and a smaller notch, plus longer battery life. But two years after its arrival, the iPhone 12 is still worth buying if you’re on a tight budget.
Night Mode Benefits From Deep Fusion And The Lidar Scanner
Apple introduced Night Mode an automatic feature to improve shots taken in dim and low-light conditions both indoors and out last year in a bid to better compete with the AI-powered tweaks Google and other rivals had integrated to their handsets to offset the difficulties that arise when shooting at night. This is made possible via the iPhone 12 Pros rear-facing sensor that detects when its dark and its new LiDAR scanner, positioned on the rear-facing camera bump.
The LiDAR scanner allows all three of the back-facing cameras to focus much more quickly in little or no light, removing the need to keep stabbing at the screen to try and establish a focus point, using pinpricks of light to establish the proximity of its subject so that Night Mode software can brighten and sharpen it for the final image.
The improvements mean that Night Mode is much less prone to bathing an entire outdoor scene in unnatural, ghostly light than it was on last years Pro range , creating subtly lit, gently-rendered night shots that equal similar shots taken on a DSLR. Colours are more representative of real-life, light is dispersed more naturally and pictures appear sharper without being over-saturated.
Night Mode on the iPhone 12 Pro is much improved thanks partially to the new wider aperture on the wide rear-facing camera and deep fusion AI tech, making neon lights pop in the darkness without over-saturating
Rhiannon Williams is on holiday
Screen The iPhone 12 Is A Massive Improvement Over The 11
Apple skimped on the display of the iPhone 11. It wasnt OLED like the Pro models, but LCD and it had a resolution that was only slightly above 720p. There was no HDR support either, leaving compatible media looking somewhat flat. With the iPhone 12, thats all changed.
The new display is up there with the biggest upgrades this year and if youre coming from an iPhone 11, iPhone XR or below youll notice it immediately. Apple might have some fantastic LCD displays, but the switch to OLED is welcome and the panel here is virtually indistinguishable from the one in the 12 Pro. Everything is more vivid, has better contrast and is generally more pleasing on the eye.
Using OLED also allows for the smaller bezel around the display and it enables HDR in formats like Dolby Vision and HLG. Its sharper too, now over 1080p, and just generally much better.
One minor thing to note is that the 12 Pro model gets ever-so-slightly brighter in regular use, giving whites less of a grey tinge. Youll really only notice this if you have the two side-by-side and they can both hit 1200 nits when youre playing back HDR content. Streaming Avengers: Endgame from Disney Plus in Dolby Vision is a great test for this screen and you notice that extra brightness in dark scenes heavy with gunfire and bright explosions.
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What Other Reviewers Are Saying About The iPhone 12 Series
We also summarize what reviewers from other publications say about the iPhone 12 series to give you a complete overview of the phones.
- Anand Techs Andrei Frumusanu says that in terms of design, the new iPhone 12 series are definitely a breath of fresh air for Apples device lineup. In his review of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, he also mentions that the iPhone 12 offers a lot more value than its Pro sibling. Youre still getting an excellent screen, the same performance, almost identical battery life, and otherwise identical everyday camera experience for $200 less, he says.
- On the other hand, Tech Crunchs Matthew Panzarino says that the iPhone 12 Mini is the most attractive choice in the lineup and isnt just for those that want a small phone. He says that the iPhone 12 Mini has no appreciable compromises in feature set from the iPhone 12, and offers a lot more bang for your buck. You might want the Pro iterations for camera performance, but the Mini is definitely up to the task for everything else.
- Cnets Patrick Holland says that the camera upgrades arent the only reason to get the iPhone 12 Pro Max. This is the phone for anyone who wants a huge display, even though he says that iOS doesnt do enough to take advantage of the screen real estate. He says that excellent battery life is another reason to get the phone, calling the large battery the sleeper feature of the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
iPhone 12 Review: Battery Life
We usually hope for year-on-year improvements to iPhone battery life, but compared to the iPhone 11, you’re not really getting one here.
Apple lists it and the 11 as having the same amount of battery life for watching video, though we actually saw especially strong battery life from it in our video test: watching an HDR movie on Netflix for two hours, with the brightness at maximum and the speaker volume at a third of full, reduced battery life by 14%. That was noticeably better than an iPhone 11 we ran the same rest on simultaneously, though the iPhone 11 wasn’t brand new, so we can’t call it an apples-to-apples comparison.
The iPhone 12 is perfectly solid for battery life, but not excellent. With light use you can make it through two days â with typical lockdown use, expect to recharge it every night. If you use 5G regularly, that will also bring things down a little.
The gist is: the battery life is fine. It’s just not an advance, and it’s pretty average compared to similarly priced phones.
One small note about power: Apple doesn’t officially include any word on reverse wireless charging, which many phone do these days. I don’t mind that â it’s a nice feature, but I’ve never personally found myself in need of it, even as someone who travels for work for days at a time . However, some people think they’ve uncovered that reverse charging may be included but hidden, ready for some future accessory â we’ll see.
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Truedepth Camera And Face Id
For biometric authentication, the iPhone 12 and 12 mini use Face ID, the facial recognition system that was first introduced in 2017. Face ID components are housed in the TrueDepth camera system in the display notch.
Face ID is used across iOS tasks for unlocking the iPhone, allowing access to third-party passcode-protected apps, confirming app purchases, and authenticating Apple Pay payments.
Face ID works through a set of sensors and cameras. A Dot Projector projects more than 30,000 invisible infrared dots onto the surface of the skin to create a 3D facial scan that maps the curves and planes of each face, with the scan read by an infrared camera.
The facial depth map is relayed to the A14 chip where it is transformed into a mathematical model that the iPhone uses to authenticate identity. Face ID works in low light and in the dark, and with hats, beards, glasses, sunglasses, scarves, and other accessories that partially obscure the face.
Face ID data is stored in the Secure Enclave, and it is not accessible to Apple, third-party apps, or anyone who has your phone. Authentication happens on-device and no Face ID data is uploaded to Apple.
The iPhone 12 Is For Most Of Us
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are more alike than the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. I often had a hard time telling the new models apart until I looked at the cameras on the back.
The first thing you’ll notice on the new iPhones is the super bright and colorful screen. It’s probably one of the highlight features outside of 5G. And, this year, Apple gave the regular iPhone 12 an OLED screen, instead of the LCD panel it used on the iPhone 11.
It’s just way, way better than LCD and matters for things such as viewing pictures, playing games and watching movies. A scene in “Mad Max: Fury Road” where a car explodes in a dust storm really stood out, since the orange flames contrast so well against the black smoke in the sky. The stereo speakers are great for watching movies, too. They sound full and get really loud.
I love the new blue color I reviewed. The iPhone 12 also comes in pale green, red, black and white. It has a premium feel, and is made from glass and aluminum. I love how light it is without feeling cheap.
Most new phones have excellent cameras. and Samsung phones always impress me. But it comes down to personal preference, and I still prefer the pictures and videos from an iPhone.
I took the iPhone 12 out for a walk in the park over the weekend and loved how both the regular wide-angle and the ultra-wide-angle lenses captured lots of detail and accurate colors, from the hair on my dog Mabel to trees against a deep blue sky.
Now for some bad news.
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iPhone 12 Review: Design
Apple rarely alters the physical design of the iPhone from generation to generation, and thus any change no matter how small is typically received with enthusiasm. You can chalk up the iPhone 12s flat-edge aesthetic as one of those more modest revisions from previous editions.
Sure, the flat edges look nice enough and offer a much appreciated change of pace from the last several consecutive years of rounded iPhones. Whats more, they improve the iPhone 12s durability in tandem with Apples new Ceramic Shield material, as the rounded frames of previous iPhones actually made them more fragile.
The Ceramic Shield display held up well in EverythingApplePro‘s torture test on YouTube. Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro did not crack at hip or shoulder height when dropped, and the display on the regular iPhone 12 didn’t even crack from 10 feet, though the back did.
All that said, I cant say my hands have really taken to the sharper design. Few smartphones employ flat sides these days, and the iPhone 12 reminds me why. The edges dig into your palm, and make the entire device a bit harder to grip. For example, the iPhone 12 measures 0.29 inches thick which is perceptibly identical to the 0.31-inch-thick Pixel 5. However, the Pixel 5 feels more slender in the hand, because it naturally fits the curvature of your palm.
A Few Specs And Testing Details
There are a few points to make clear before we start. I shot all the photos back-to-back using the standard Photo mode, without changing any settings, editing, or applying filters. Both phones have iOS 15 installed. I viewed the photos on a color-calibrated monitor, but the uploaded examples here have been resized for friendlier online viewing.
Regarding specifications, the iPhone 13 Pro has three 12-megapixel cameras. The main camera has an f/1.5 aperture, the telephoto provides a 3x zoom with an f/2.8 aperture, and the wide-angle camera has a 120-degree field of view and an f/1.8 aperture. The iPhone 12 Pro also has three 12MP cameras, but the specs are slightly different, with the main camera having an f/1.6 aperture, the telephoto camera providing a 2x optical zoom with an f/2.0 aperture, and the wide-angle camera an f/2.4 aperture. Both have electronic and optical stabilization and use lidar for night photography.
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What You Need To Know
- Apple’s iPhone 12 has already had the teardown treatment.
- A video posted to Twitter shows an iPhone 12 being taken apart.
- It looks…. like an iPhone.
Apple’s iPhone 12 will go on sale this coming Friday and people are getting excited to try out their new handsets. But some people already have the latest mid-range iPhone in-hand and they’re doing the only logical thing. They’re taking it apart.
iPhone 12 teardown video. iPhone 12 teardown video. DuanRui
This video takes us through the process of taking an iPhone 12 handset apart and then shows us the main parts that we’ve been hearing all about. That includes the MagSafe magic on the back glass which, of course, is Blue. Because all the iPhone 12 models we’ve seen seem to be Blue!
While few of us will ever see the insides of our iPhones hopefully! it’s always interesting to see how Apple crams all of the pits and pieces into something so small. Now we need to see an iPhone 12 mini to compare!
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models will go on sale this Friday, October 23. Those looking for iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max will need to wait for pre-orders to kick off on November 6, with availability the following Friday.
So Should You Buy The iPhone 12 Pro
Speaking during the online presentation, Apples recently-appointed senior vice president of worldwide marketing Greg Joswiak described the iPhone 12 Pro as being designed for our users wanting the absolute most from your iPhone. The Pro series are exactly that all the bells and whistles the iPhone has to offer superior quality materials, an additional telephoto lens, forthcoming ProRAW image support and LiDAR scanner in a beautifully-crafted package.
Given that the iPhone 12 is the screen size and resolution as this model, it narrows the gap between the standard and Pro ranges somewhat, and makes it difficult to work out who the iPhone 12 Pro quite appeals to. Customers who merely fancy an update will either opt for the iPhone 12 without feeling theyre missing out , while the die-hards that want the absolute top-of-the-range, best-of-the-best iPhone will wait for the iPhone 12 Pro Max . That aside, the iPhone 12 Pro boasts a truly incredible camera system that successfully addresses a lot of the niggles from last year and a fresh design. Photographers will go wild for it.
Rating: 4/5
- Beautiful, premium-feeling design that feels fresh
- Video footage is outstanding
Cons:
- 5G support alone isnt a sensible reason to invest, given the nascent state of the UKs infrastructure
- Incredibly expensive
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Top Performance Long Battery Life
The iPhone 12 has the same A14 Bionic processor as used to great effect in the new iPad Air and the iPhone 12 Pro. It is an extremely powerful chip that runs rings around most of the competition and can handle anything you would demand of an iPhone, including graphically intensive gaming, and will continue to do so for years to come.
Everything is snappy and slick but it doesnt feel night and day faster than last years iPhone 11 or the iPhone SE, although it will be a significant step up from older phones.
The iPhone 12 line is the first of Apples smartphones to have 5G. Performance was similar to the top Android smartphones, which have the same Qualcomm-made 5G modem, although indoor reception was slightly worse than the OnePlus 8T or Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. Note that only models sold in the US also support mmWave 5G on top of the more standard mid-band 5G used in the rest of the world.
Battery life was very good. The phone lasts about 40 hours between charges with the screen used for well over six hours in that time, which is longer than most similarly sized rivals. That means the phone made it from 7am on day one until 9pm on day two, spending four hours on 5G and the rest on wifi, while I used many different chat and social apps, various health apps, Safari, Gmail, OneNote, Google Maps, the Premier League app, six hours of Spotify over Bluetooth headphones, one hour of Netflix and shot about 20 photos.
Are The iPhone 12 Series Cameras Any Good
The camera system on the iPhone 12 Mini is the same youll find in the standard iPhone 12. That means youre getting two 12MP cameras on the rear of the device and a 12MP selfie camera hidden in the notch on the front.
You wont get the 2x telephoto camera of the iPhone 12 Pro and the 2.5x telephoto camera of the Pro Max. But the standard setup of the iPhone 12 Mini and 12 are still really good in most lighting conditions. Image quality from both the main and wide lens is great, with a nice balance of dynamic range and contrast, and there are no issues with color accuracy or sharpness. One thing you miss out on by opting for a non-pro iPhone this year is night portrait mode.
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The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max come with a new LIDAR sensor that improves focus in lower-light environments. They also get new software features like 4k 60fps Dolby vision HDR video capture and Night Mode Portrait Mode.
In total, there are three main lenses on the back, and one on the front. Youve got a main 12MP camera, a wide 12MP camera, and a 12MP 2x optical telephoto lens in the case of the Pro and a 2.5x telephoto lens with the Pro Max. Youve got a 12MP selfie camera embedded inside the Face ID 3D face unlock system on the front.
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