As happens every year, the launch of the new iPhone 12 has sparked the usual debate: are its changes enough? Is Apple innovating? Even more so this year in which the apple firm has decided to recover an “old” design that we saw years ago. Well, after several weeks with him, it is time to get rid of your doubts, let us know its virtues, its defects and whether or not it is worth buying . Be comfortable. There is much to tell.
A matter of design
As I well tell in the video that you have just above these lines, a memory that I keep quite clearly is the first time I bought an iPhone. It was the iPhone 3G , the first to arrive in Spain, and the sensation when opening it was unique: I really felt that this team was taking a giant step forward in mobile telephony.
That fascination that that first iPhone caused me I have not had with subsequent generations, however, I must confess when I opened the iPhone 12 box, in a way I remembered that feeling a bit . His fault, of course, is his design.
At a time when all phones are more and more alike and it is more difficult to innovate than ever in that sense – the iPhone has not been free of that curse these years ago – finding a different form factor is appreciated. and a lot. What do I say, a lot.
Yes, I know, it has only recovered an old design, so what? Motorola did it last year around this time with its folding phone, a smartphone that was drawn in the image and likeness of the mythical RAZR of more than a decade ago and we all thought it was a great idea. Why not applaud the same decision at Apple? Either due to lack of fresh contributions or simply because they have blindly trusted in this return to the past, the truth is that the brand has recovered the best design that an iPhone has had in all its history , with that square and characteristic appearance that it makes it so special and that also helps a lot to make the grip much more comfortable if possible.
In fact, the presence of the notch seems much more objectionable . At this point, this element is still too large and as much as we get used to its presence, it is unforgivable that at this point Apple has not been able to reduce it -when the market is full of phones with much more discreet and reduced notch.
Important jump on screen and processor, is it noticeable?
A decrease in its proportions would undoubtedly make its screen, a 6.1-inch OLED Super Retina XDR , look even more if possible. This panel is an important leap compared to the iPhone 11 (remember that this is stuck on an HD LCD) and it looks incredibly good, with good colors, better definition, a more than correct behavior outdoors … It is a fantastic screen to consume content multimedia with a very adequate size so that it is not a device that is uncomfortable in the hand due to its dimensions.
Like a smaller notch, I would also have liked to find a panel with a higher refresh rate. Yes, the iPhone is very fluid and it is not something you are going to miss if you have never tried it, but it is still a detail to note considering that the 90 and 120 Hz panels have been standardized in the industry and numerous Android high and medium range (and even some entry) already bet on them. Considering the price of the iPhone, it’s only fair that we at least demand it.
As you already know if you usually follow the news about the new iPhone, this generation comes equipped with the new A14 Bionic processor . At an experiential level and from day-to-day use , you are hardly going to notice a huge jump if you come from an iPhone 11, although this is something that always happens. The 5 nanometer chip is a marvel, but really in practice, there will be few occasions when you will take advantage of it to its full potential. One of them will be for example during the most demanding games , where the phone performs really well without any kind of snag. The other is when using its cameras , where it obviously also plays an important role as a manager of all the processes that take place when capturing images.
The cameras are still his strong point
And since we talk about them, let’s stop at their photographic section. The iPhone 12 has two sensors of 12 megapixels each, the first, the main one, is what the brand calls “wide angle” while the second is the so-called ultra wide angle.
The photos that you will get now with the iPhone 12 are in a certain part very similar to those of the iPhone 11 during the day, although it is true that you will surely appreciate a better management of the white balance and even a little more detail in the scene. Color rendering is still very good, everything is perfectly balanced, its HDR works great, and color rendering is fantastic. The main sensor responds very well and as for the ultra-wide angle, without being the best on the market, it also gives satisfactory results.
Anyway, the big difference comes at night . Here the jump is more interesting in terms of capturing light and color, and you will notice it even more. The Night mode of the iPhone 11 was already quite good but here they have improved it, especially since it no longer tends to warm so much and it is a joy. In addition, it now works ON both lenses, although, it must be said, with the ultra-wide angle it is not as fine as the main sensor.
As for video recording , support for recording in 4K HDR with Dolby Vision has now been incorporated, which is also a very attractive extra addition if you are interested in creating this type of content. The stabilization is still one of the best I have seen in a phone and added to its new qualities make this iPhone 12 without a doubt one of the best smartphones you can have today for video capture.
You can see examples of all the photos taken with the iPhone 12 in the video you have at the beginning of this article – from minute 04:32 .
How about the battery?
Surely you have heard that the iPhone 12 has less battery than the iPhone 11, however, I can confirm that its autonomy is practically the same – I would say very slightly lower, but very little. How is it possible? Well, thanks to its processor that makes more efficient use of it. This means that you can use it for a whole day without the need for a plug and it will even reach part of the next day, but you will never reach the end of the second day as you can currently with other smartphones on the market. The autonomy is therefore correct and without surprises . No more.
As for your charger – I already spoke about the controversy of the absence of it in the box in our first contact , so I am not going to repeat myself – I have been using the new MagSafe solution , a wireless charging platform that I already eat. I noted at the time, it will not change your life but it works as it should and is expected of it. What is going to change it, if you forgive me this paragraph, is the case on the phone: this iPhone 12 gets dirty with amazing ease, due to its shiny finish back. If you want to stay all day cleaning up the tracks of your fingers, consider a case.
Should you buy the iPhone 12?
As you have seen, in this review I have not wanted to dwell on points that we have already commented thousands of times about iPhones and I have preferred to focus on what you are going to notice differently and how you are going to experience it when using it in your day to day life. I must clarify that the area in which I live does not have 5G, so this aspect I have not tested, although seeing the slow deployment of this technology today, I would say that I do not think it should be a crucial aspect for you to buy or not this smartphone. In fact, the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro are now cheaper and are still a fantastic option, so if the news that I just told you about this new generation does not mean something crucial, I encourage you to take a look at the 2019 models and you will continue to have a great phone in your hands.
Is the iPhone 12 a phone at the height of the high-end? Of course. Is it the best on the market? In certain technical aspects … certainly not. Even so, the iPhone continues to play with an asset that is difficult for other brands to combat: that ecosystem and solid framework that it offers, not only within this phone with iOS but also in relation to other Apple products, ultimately forming a joint experience that earns too many points, often even on top of other technical aspects that you can afford not to include.
It is up to you to decide what you give more importance to.
