The base iPhone in the 12th line turned out to be the most interesting. Not as expensive as the Pro version. The difference is only in the camera and very insignificant little things. If the base iPhone 11 surprised with its huge bezels and low-resolution LCD screen from 2015, then the 12th comes with an OLED matrix, 5G support, and its deep blue color looks better than the flagship. All in all, this year we already have an answer for which iPhone to choose.
Everything new is well forgotten old
Around is full of people yearning for the good old “five”: flat edges, thin body, and so on. And even though all this has long been forgotten, the iPhone 12 looks still fresh and cool.
Feels too. Only one thickness of 7.4 millimeters (was 8.3 mm) does not weakly affect perception. By the way, the same glass is installed on the back as in the previous version. However, Apple claims that due to the flat design, the risk of damaging it if dropped is 2 times lower. The blow, in theory, should be taken by the aluminum side.
In front, the risk of banging the panel is even less – 4 times. In the glass production process, ceramic nano-particles are introduced, which increase the strength of the panel. The technology is proudly named CeramicShield. They say that such glass is very easy to scratch in the very first days of operation. We didn’t notice.
As always, the iPhone 12 is liquid-resistant. The device can be immersed in fresh – and only such – water to a depth of 6 meters for no more than 30 minutes. It used to be 4 meters – suddenly you were missing.
Ambiguous new colors
Not only are there a couple of new colors (Product RED and blue). The old ones have also changed. Black, for example, is bluish, and white is ivory. Green has become somehow completely pastel. However, he will definitely find his connoisseur.
The branded Product RED can hardly be called a rich scarlet, it is also slightly pastel. Although the same Apple Watch in red looks more cheerful against the background of the iPhone 12. The blue color turned out to be absolutely not for everybody. But, perhaps, we can do without subjectivity – it is better to see the iPhone with our own eyes and finally decide.
Finally OLED!
The conditional budget of the iPhone 11, in addition to the “popular” price, added an IPS panel. In fact, to use the smartphone for 50 – 60 thousand rubles increasingly outdated screen technology could only be Apple. People, however, willingly bought the previous generation and did not realize that they were using the screen “from the past”.
This year everything fell into place – the iPhone 12 received an OLED screen, which means that colors, black depth, and contrast (2,000,000: 1) have become truly flagship. Of all the differences from the previous generation, the “ice” is perhaps the most significant change.
The screen has gotten better on all fronts, including the bezels. The body is noticeably smaller, and the display area remains the same. Separately, we welcome the increased resolution of 2532 by 1170 pixels with a density of 460 dpi (it was 1792×828 and 326 dpi). In general, worthy.
No 120 hertz. Not scary
The first thing for which Android fans troll the novelty is the lack of a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The screens of all new iPhones work as before at 60 hertz. And this despite the fact that Apple was almost the first in the world to start the mass sale of mobile devices with 120 hertz screens – we are talking about the iPad Pro straight from 2017.
But! There is also such an unpopular thought: the iPhone 12 does not need this. Firstly, iOS works perfectly smoothly even not the previous generation. I will not say anything about new items with updated processors. All this almost negates the visual difference between 60 Hz on iOS and 120 Hz on Android devices.
In addition, the introduction of 120 hertz would lead to an accelerated battery drain, which some Android flagships cannot cope with. You don’t have to go far. Samsung Note20 Ultra decides for the user when to use 60 and when to use 120 Hz. And the other day, the announced Huawei Mate 40 Pro was generally limited to 90 Hz. According to Richard Yu (mobile unit gender), this is the optimal parameter in terms of visual beauty and energy efficiency.
The next most powerful chipset in the world
It’s no secret that Apple raises the bar on performance every year with the release of its next processor. And later, throughout the year, competitors such as Qualcomm, Samsung and Kirin (already in doubt) are trying to break through the once again raised ceiling. As a rule, give or take on the eve of the release of the next iPhone, they succeed.
And today Apple A14 Bionic has become the most powerful and breakthrough mobile processor on the market. The technical process is 5 nanometers, 6 main computing, and 16 neural cores (there were 8), as well as 11.8 trillion transistors in an area with a marigold. Phenomenal performance that is … unnecessary.
Obviously, the A14 Bionic will reveal itself in a couple of years, when there may be some tough production challenges. You shouldn’t count on the gaming industry in this regard. Nothing good has been happening there for three years now. Bloggers have tested smartphones in PUBG Mobile and Shadowgun Legends, and they are testing. Universal sadness.
But the A14 Bionic shows its agility in post-processing photos and in AR-reality. However, without LiDAR, which is only 12 Pro, it will not work as well. Well, we take Apple’s word for it, since we cannot check where and for what purpose the crazy performance of the A14 Bionic is used. Here are the tests.
5G is there, but then
We in Russia, including the CIS countries, fly like plywood over Paris. For now, anyway. So far, the Ministry of Defense and Roskomsvyaz have not decided on the frequencies.
However, when you buy an iPhone 12 today, you are laying down a 5G straw for tomorrow, because the band support is really overwhelming. Here are all the frequencies declared to work: n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n77, n78, n79. You can bookmark the article and later check it against the ranges of your operator someday.
Cameras are nothing new (almost)
The minority of the renewal is manifested primarily in the cameras. Relative to its predecessor in the iPhone 12, the changes are nothing at all:
- new lens (lighter) of the main camera with f / 1.6 aperture,
- Deep Fusion – forced (processor) sharpening and contrast enhancement is now available on all three cameras (previously only on the main one),
- the same with the night mode – all three modules are in action,
- correction of distortions in the photo from the ultra-wide-angle module.
That’s all. The iPhone 12 hasn’t received any new cameras. The main matrix, judging by its dimensions of ½.55 inches, has been in operation since 2018, that is, since the release of the iPhone XS. In comparison, the recently announced Huawei Mate 40 features a 1/28-inch module – the largest in the industry. The same Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra has a 1 / 1.33-inch camera. And yes, the iOS algorithms for processing photos are really good. However, physics cannot be fooled – there is almost nothing to squeeze out of the obsolete module. For the next leap, a fundamentally new matrix is needed. At least the same as in the iPhone 12 Pro Max – the approximate size is 1 / 1.85 inches.
Ani Wei, iPhone 12 shoots great. Yes, it does not have an optical zoom, there is no RAW shooting (unlike the Pro), but there is a Deep Fusion and a night mode everywhere and always (except for a night portrait). This is still one of the best solutions for the script: point, take a picture, post it on Instagram.
Unbeatable video recording
iPhone has been and remains the best smartphone for video shooting. And in the current generation, Apple has been able to go even further with advanced HDR imaging. We are talking about the Dolby Vision HDR format, which looks very good. The setting is active only at 4K resolution and 30 frames per second. Switching to 60 FPS disables Dolby Vision.
Lives the same
Away from the outlet, on a single battery charge. And this is despite the fact that the capacity has dropped from 3110 mAh in the iPhone 11 to 2815 mph in the new product. The OLED panel and the more energy-efficient chipset save power. So, everything is the same as before. If you raped your smartphone, then it will still be discharged during the day. If you followed the principles of “digital well-being”, then by the morning of the next day no more than 20% will splash in the battery. But be sure – 5 – 6 hours of screen time are provided to you.
Tricky accessories
Of course, the iPhone 12 supports fast charging. Previously, for this, it was necessary to separately buy an 18 W adapter, now they have brought in a new one – for 20 W. As before, the device is half-charged in 30 minutes – tested at 18 watts. Further, in order to avoid the rapid deterioration of the battery, the speed decreases, and the device is finally charged in 1 hour and 40 minutes.
There is also wireless charging. In the popular Qi standard, this is 7.5 watts and approximately an eternity for a full cycle (4 – 5 hours).
Everyone has already complained that there is no charger included. It would seem that it does not matter – there are a couple of unnecessary power supplies at home. Most likely no. The iPhone 12 comes with a Lightning USB Type-C cable, which doesn’t work with regular, full-size USB chargers. So you should buy a new adapter anyway. Plus 1999 rubles to the price of an iPhone, if that.
But the main feature is MagSafe branded accessories. The magnetic convector that migrated from laptops is supported only within the framework of the Made for iPhone party policy. So “left” chargers, cases, and other accessories from AliExpress will not work – the iPhone will reject them even on the way. But with the proprietary “ring” you can count on 15 watts of charging. So far, no numbers and tests, since there are almost no MagSafe accessories anywhere. But if anything, a separate station costs 3990 rubles – godly.
Opinion
iPhone 12 has risen in price significantly to 79,990 rubles for the 64-gigabyte version. In order to avoid buying additional space in the cloud after a month, it is wiser to choose 128 GB – 84,990 rubles. We add 1990 rubles for a 20-watt charge since you will probably float the previous one at a flea market complete with an old iPhone, and we get almost 90 thousand rubles on the exhaust.
Expensive? Highly. Like two or almost flagship Samsung, Xiaomi, or Honor. But the Pro version of the iPhone 12 is even more expensive, and differs, in fact, only in the camera, and then with a 2x zoom (competitors have an optical 10x zoom), so you can forget about this advantage. It turns out that the base iPhone 12, even at this price, will be the best choice for users of the Apple ecosystem. This year they were not “fooled” by the screen from the past and other imperfections of the iPhone 11.
Is the iPhone 12 worth that money – everyone decides for himself? In terms of “paper” characteristics, the new product loses in many respects to most top competitors. However, there are some really outstanding features like the no-compromise processor and video recording, where the iPhone is as good as ever. Otherwise, this is a smartphone for fans of the brand, who, even on the approach, reject any advantages and arguments from the opposing Android camp. And such people will not stop buying a new iPhone. Even the increased interest on the loan.
