Posts Tagged → iphone 12

iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini-Reviews

The reviews dropped today for the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini. There aren’t many surprises.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

The iPhone 12 Pro Max is taking better pictures than any other iPhone, which makes sense given that it has better camera components (bigger sensor, on-sensor stabilization). Matthew Panzarino discovered the telephoto lens on the iPhone 12 Pro Max also has stabilization, which produces noticeably better images. That said, having read multiple reviews, my take is the 12 Pro Max is only incrementally better than the iPhone 12 Pro. You’ll get better pictures indoors or in the dark. Your daylight outdoor photos will look mostly the same.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max is also, not surprisingly, getting better battery life but is awkward to carry. One bit of insight from nearly all reviewers is that the squared-off sizes make holding the larger iPhone more difficult. I hadn’t thought of that. I’ve been a big phone club member for years because I like the bigger screen. (Mine arrives Friday.)

Notable reviews on the iPhone 12 Pro Max are those from Matt Panzarino, Nilay Patel, Marques Brownlee,

iPhone 12 Mini

I feel like this phone has a self-selecting audience, just the exact opposite of the Max phone crowd. I’m pleased that Apple is intentionally making a small iPhone with the latest and greatest components. You will take a hit to battery life with a smaller phone. While the 12 Pro Max requires you to carry a big phone, the 12 Mini may require you to carry a battery on busy days.

Notable Reviews on the iPhone 12 Mini are those from Matt Panzarino, Dieter Bohn, Marques Brownlee

A Few Thoughts Following Today’s Apple Event

  • Every year Apple shows off its latest processor on a chip, and every year I’m impressed. What will it take for the competition to get closer to Apple? It seems like they have this massive lead, and they just keep running at full tilt. Moreover, it is that chip speed that drives so much of the innovation and features. Most of the new features announced today are possible because of processing power.

  • That was the first time that any carrier partner got any time at an Apple event in a long time. I’m curious to see how the real world numbers compare to the promises for 5G. Also, did you catch how many times they said or wrote “under ideal conditions”? It was a lot.

  • The new ceramic shield for iPhone glass sounds very interesting. I have a few predictions on this: a) your iPhone glass will break less often; b) your iPhone glass will scratch easier; c) there are going to be some crazy YouTube iPhone drop tests in the next few weeks.

  • One thing that stands out is how many new announcements (A14, XDR Display, Ceramic Shield, 5G) are all across the line on the iPhone 12. Apple is no longer holding the best stuff for only the Pro phones.

  • I’ve thought that this would be the year that I don’t get a Max sized iPhone for several months now. Then Apple announced the additional camera improvements with the 12 Max. When they explained an 87% improvement in low light, my smaller phone willpower evaporated. Instantly.

  • I think MagSafe might be a bigger deal than expected. We’ve all struggled with chargers and cases in the past. The modular nature of MagSafe will resonate with a lot of people (myself included). However, why’d they have to call it MagSafe? That still stings as I look at my MagSafe-less laptop.

  • It was no surprise that the iPhone is no longer shipping with a charger or EarPods. I get the reasoning, and lowering emissions is a good idea. I do wish they had an easy way for customers to buy these costly phones to click a box and get those things shipped to them if needed.

  • Did you catch that they will now ship a USB-C to Lightning cable? Finally.

  • When they said the iPhone was getting the most popular video game in the world, I thought we’d get Donkey Kong. I’d never heard of League of Legends.

  • You have to think that when Apple decided to make the HomePod mini, the starting point was someone standing in front of a whiteboard and writing, “$99”. I suspect the mini will be much more popular than its older sibling.

  • Speaking of HomePod, mine were going off like crazy with all of the “Hey Siri”s in the presentation. Apple needs to work on that. I’d like to see them let you create your own trigger phrase.

  • In hindsight, using HomePods and Apple devices as an intercom system seems such a no brainer. The question is whether anyone will use it, or it will become the next Walkie-Talkie that still exists on the Apple Watch, but nobody uses.

  • Finally, am I the only one that wants to move into the Apple Demo house?

Watching the Apple iPhone 12 Announcement

Apple’s big iPhone announcement is tomorrow at 10 AM Pacific. The event will stream at Apple’s website and YouTube. If you’d rather take it all in while in couch potato mode, it will also stream on the Apple TV app.

Just get your popcorn and buckle in for the new iPhone 12. Only a few more hours until my beautiful iPhone 11 feels like garbage. My kids are already dropping not-so-subtle hints about what I should do with last year’s model.

iPhone 12 Rumors Abound

It’s just a few days until Apple’s iPhone 12 event. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like there are a lot of leaks this year about the new hardware. We seem to know the sizes, colors, storage configurations, and even the cellular radios. 9to5 Mac has done a great job of keeping up with them all. The rumors could be wrong, but they sure don’t feel that way.


The saddest bit for me is that there seems to be no oxygen to the idea that the cool little TouchID button going in the new iPad Air is also going on the iPhone with all of these rumors. I get that Apple has to manufacture millions of iPhones, and when the iPhone 12 was being developed, Apple didn’t know that the universe would conspire to require all of us to wear face masks, but I was still hopeful. The lack of the TouchID button.

iPhone 12 Event on October 13


apple-iphone-12-event-invite-hi-speed.jpeg

Today Apple announced the ‘Hi, Speed’ event for October 13, at 10:00 AM Pacific. Apple’s made no secret of delaying the new iPhones’ release until October during this nutty year, and here we are in October.

No word on whether we’ll also see a new iPad Pro or Apple Silicon Macs, but if I had to bet a nickel, I’d say we won’t see any of that. The iPhone is Apple’s bread and butter, and I expect they want the iPhone to get all the attention next week.

The rumored new iPhone design looks like something between the iPhone 4 and the current iPad Pros and I’m all for it. Next week will be fun (and likely expensive).