Came the day. After more than a year with the iPhone 11 as Apple‘s star devices, it is the turn of the new iPhone 12 of this 2020. The Cupertino company is already in full broadcast of its special event this Tuesday, October 13. It is expected that there will be a few surprises in the form of other products. We will tell you all of this in real time in this article. Keep reading to know more.
First part of the event
As is usual in these Apple online events, we see an introduction in which the shapes and colors of the invitation that was sent for the keynote is very present. Later a transition from night to day. The camera approaches the Steve Jobs Theater and Tim Cook appears on stage welcoming this special event and recalling the previous keynote.
New HomePod mini
Apple highlighted wanting to bring Siri to every home after announcing the arrival of a new smart speaker from the company. This is a HomePod much smaller than the classic, but retaining a similar aesthetic in terms of materials, although not in shape. It consists of a Maya coating material and a fully backlit top touch surface with volume and playback controls.
Inside this device we find a sophisticated full-range dynamic speaker system capable of 360-degree sound. It also incorporates two bass speakers capable of considerably improving sound quality.
Perhaps the main thing this HomePod mini has stood out for is that it can sync with other HomePods to deliver a great stereo sound experience. It also incorporates the U1 chip present in the last generations of iPhone and that is capable, among other things, of connecting devices to each other even when they are turned off.
New animations and adjustments will now appear from the iPhone that will allow access to an equalizer that will serve to optimize the volume and quality, adjusting to the dynamic range. Syncing with HomeKit- compatible devices is also better thanks to its S5 chip, the main brain of this HomePod mini that debuted on the Apple Watch Series 5 and continued on the Apple Watch SE earlier this year.
There has also been an emphasis on other features such as the improvement in Siri voice recognition , although we still do not know if this will also be available in Spanish. Apple also wanted to once again be a champion of security and privacy with this small speaker.
A striking aspect that we understand will reach the rest of HomePod is the possibility of sending messages between these HomePod mini through iMessage. All this from a new function called Intercom that is present in HomeKit and that will also allow this exchange with iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and CarPlay.
It will be available in black and white colors, being able to reserve from November 6 . Shipments and official sale will be on November 16 . Its price is groundbreaking for the brand, although it will be necessary to see how the competition with Amazon and Google is doing: 99 euros .
Hello speed, hello 5G
If the Apple event has stood out for something for more minutes, it is because of 5G connectivity . Already in 2019 they were forced to delay it due to problems with their suppliers, but this year in which this technology has also begun its expansion, it has served as a starting signal. All new iPhones will be compatible with it, without 4G versions.
The Californian company extensively explained the agreements it has reached with dozens of operators around the world to offer higher speed with this 5G. Navigation, gameplay, downloads and more can be done faster, significantly reducing latency. There is even talk of operators that will guarantee up to 40 Gbps in the new phones.
iPhone 12 and 12 mini: a leap more than interesting
They may look the same on the back and front, but the iPhone 12 have incorporated considerably interesting improvements over its predecessor, the iPhone 11. And we speak in the plural because this year two versions have been presented: iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12. Both share everything except size, 5.4 inches for the smallest of the family and 6.1 inches for the other.
Again, this is the phone with the most colors, although it leaves out the characteristic yellow, teal and purple. In short, its colors are: black, white, green, blue and red (PRODUCT) Red.
On its edges we find a certain longing for the classic iPhone 4, with flat lines that also resemble the iPad Pro of last generations. They are made of aluminum and a glass adapted to new technologies. The issue of edges also helps improve coverage for the arrival of 5G. In general terms, it has been explained that it is 11% thinner and 16% lighter .
The resistance to bumps and scratches has been considerably improved, incorporating a rear glass that Apple has said is the most resistant on the market.
In terms of battery management, there is a new internal mode that will make it possible to go from 5G to LTE connectivity to save battery when so much connection speed is not necessary.
The screen is probably where we find the most change. These devices now completely leave the IPS panels behind to host an OLED screen that Apple calls Super Retina XDR. This has a resolution of 2,532 x 1,170 and a contrast 2,000,000: 1.
In his brain we find the new A14 Bionic processor that they already introduced with the iPad Air 2020. This is 40% faster than the A13 Bionic, with a 6-core GPU that is 50% faster. The CPU for its part incorporates four cores. The Neural Engine is composed of 16 cores, leaving behind the 8 of the previous generation and being 80% faster.
In its rear we do not see apparent changes with its double camera , but the truth is that it has improved. It consists of a 12 Mpx wide angle and f / 1.6 aperture and a 12 Mpx ultra wide angle as well and with f / 2.4 aperture. Perhaps the highlight is the considerable improvement in night mode , which results in a 27% greater brightness in low light conditions.
Computational photography also gets a major leap thanks, among others, to the intelligent HDR 3 that achieves better photo processing. Scenes will now be well understood by the device and will be automatically adjusted for the best result. A time-lapse mode is also included for low-light photography when using a tripod.
The biggest controversy was confirmed and is that this iPhone, like the rest of those that are still being sold, will not bring a power adapter , although it will include a Lightning to USB-C cable as the ‘Pro’ models incorporated last year . Neither will EarPods . This will make the box smaller and they can be transported better. Apple hid itself in an environmental issue for these eliminations.
Wireless charging is still present and has even improved with the incorporation of new magnets that facilitate use in any charging base. However, the company has resurrected the MagSafe brand that will serve as a magnetized, albeit wired, wireless charger. Also fast charging improves with power up to 15w.
They have also presented magnetic covers for the MagSafe that will be sold separately for 120 euros and that will also serve to store cards. All this with various colors in a leather design that is really elegant on the device.
The prices and capacities of these devices are as follows:
- iPhone 12 mini
- 64 GB: 809 euros.
- 128 GB: 859 euros.
- 256 GB: 979 euros.
- iPhone 12
- 64 GB: 909 euros.
- 128 GB: 959 euros.
- 256 GB: 1,079 euros.
The reservation and sale dates vary in each one:
- iPhone 12 mini: November 6 (pre-orders) and November 13 (launch).
- iPhone 12: October 16 (pre-orders) and October 23 (launch).
iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max: the jewel in the crown
After the arrival of the ‘Pro’ models last year, there was desire to know the successors of 2020. In this case there are two again, although different in size compared to the previous year. The ‘Pro’ model has a 6.1-inch screen the same as the 12 and the ‘Pro Max’ a 6.7-inch screen which is the largest iPhone to date.
Aesthetically they incorporate the same straight frames as the iPhone 12 and front and back as the iPhone 11 Pro. Of course, they add a LiDAR sensor to its triple camera that we will talk about later. The displays are also Super Retina Display XDR with OLED technology. The colors are graphite, silver, gold and a new blue that is a shade darker than the 12.
Other similarities with the cheaper models are also found in the compatibility with MagSafe and all the aforementioned improvements in aspects of wireless charging. And yes, also in not including EarPods and power adapter. The wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses share specifications of 12MP and f / 1.6 and f / 2.4 respectively. It is added a telephoto lens of also 12 Mpx and aperture f / 2.2.
The night mode has improved by 47% compared to the iPhone 11 Pro, even having improvements when taking freehand photographs with exposure times that could now be 2 seconds. In addition, Deep Fusion has been added to the front camera, this being the advanced computational treatment that we already saw in the rear in 2019.
The A14 Bionic processor offers identical performance to the iPhone 12, although in its case it also helps to take photos and videos with a new trigger control function called Apple ProRAW . This technology is capable of processing images in CPU, GPU, ISP and also in the Neural Engine. Also included are enhancements for post-capture photo editing.
In video recording we also find better image stabilization, HDR for the first time in video to capture up to 700 million colors. The result can be seen even live without the need to wait for processing. And all this with 4K recordings of up to 60 frames per second.
The new LiDAR sensor incorporates technologies practically the same as the iPad Pro. Although in this case it not only improves the augmented reality functions, but also serves to add improvements in taking pictures in portrait mode by being able to detect objects and people. The overall focus is improved as a result.
In price we find the pleasant surprise that they are still at the same price, but with the addition of leaving the 64 GB behind to have a 128 GB base.
- iPhone 12 Pro
- 128 GB: 1,159 euros.
- 256 GB: 1,279 euros.
- 512 GB: 1,509 euros.
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- 128 GB: 1,259 euros.
- 256 GB: 1,379 euros.
- 512 GB: 1,609 euros.
Reservations and launches will occur these days:
- iPhone 12 Pro: Pre-order October 16 and launch October 23.
- iPhone 12 Pro Max: Pre-order on November 6 and launch on November 13.
In short, we could classify this event as interesting on a visual and novelty level. Although to tell the truth the new iPhone could have been called ’11s’ for not having been revolutionary or breaking too much with the above, the truth is that it represents a considerable improvement over the advances that already existed. We will continue to analyze what is new on this page in these coming days and weeks to bring the best information about these new devices, including the HomePod mini.