Apple hosted an online event, ‘Hi, Speed” event, where it announced four new iPhones, namely the iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 Mini. They have also launched a new product Apple HomePod Mini.
iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini
iPhone announced their base iPhone model, iPhone 12, keeping true to the naming scheme of last year. The base models have got significant improvements over last year’s iPhone 11. The major features and improvement over iPhone 11 are:
- Apple A14 Bionic: The fastest mobile processor on the market.
- Better Display: Both the iPhone 12 has an OLED screen, which is a big upgrade over the LCD screen of iPhone 11. They also have 2 times as many pixels as iPhone 11.
- Much Better Camera Performance: There’s a new seven-element lens for better detail, delivering 27% better low light performance. The new chip enables Smart HDR3 and intelligent photo adjustments. Night Mode is now available on all the cameras Primary, UltraWide, and even the selfie camera.
- 5G: One of the major focuses of this iPhone launch was 5G. Apple says that it works with more 5G bands than any other smartphone, including Verizon Ultra-Wideband (UWB) 5G, it also uses beam-focussing algorithms to improve signal and battery life.
- MagSafe: Don’t get too excited as it’s just Wireless Charging, however in Apple fashion it snaps into place perfectly and without much trouble. The charging case is also foldable, which is pretty neat.
Apart, from the impressive features and upgrades, there is also a new base model, iPhone 12 Mini. It has all the features of iPhone 12 but comes in a smaller form-factor with a display coming at 5.4”. However, fret not as it is the same size as the iPhone SE (2020). So, it will be a great joy to owners of small-sized phone and it also comes with a reduced-price tag. The iPhone 12 Mini will start at ₹69,990 and iPhone 12 will start at ₹79,990.
iPhone 12 Pro
The iPhone 12 Pro is the newest flagship phone of Apple. The iPhone 12 Pro also has got significant spec bumps over last year’s iPhone 11 Pro. Some of the major features and improvements over iPhone 11 Pro are:
- Apple A14 Bionic: The fastest mobile processor on the market.
- Bigger and Better Display: The iPhone 12 Pro has gotten a screen upgrade coming at 6.1”. They achieved this by making the bezels even smaller. It has a peak brightness of 1200 nits which is a major upgrade over the 800nits of last year, so your viewing the screen under direct sunlight will be easier and the HDR content will look much better.
- Much Better Camera Performance: Deep Fusion is supported on all four cameras, including the selfie camera. It supports 4X Optical Zoom. New Optical Image Stabilization – sensor-shift OIS system. This is the same optical image stabilization used in DSLR cameras. The iPhone 12 Pro can shoot Dolby Vision HDR and that too in 4K60FPS, just goes to show powerful their camera processing is.
- LiDAR: The LiDAR helps in object detection, room scanning, AR, and low-light image Autofocus. This is gonna be a major feature from this point onwards, as it was implemented first in iPad Pro, and this technology is now introduced in the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
- 5G: One of the major focuses of this iPhone launch was 5G. Apple says that it works with more 5G bands than any other smartphone, including Verizon Ultra-Wideband (UWB) 5G, it also uses beam-focussing algorithms to improve signal and battery life.
The iPhone 12 Pro will available in 4 colours, Pacific Blue, Gold, Graphite, and Silver. It will start at ₹1,19,900. Also, in Apple fashion Apple iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will not include charger and earphones. They are stating this move to be in the interest of environment but we don’t we know why they did it, BLING-BLING!
iPhone 12 Pro Max
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is the older brother of the iPhone 12 Pro and it is for camera enthusiasts. The iPhone 12 Pro Max just has some extra camera features than iPhone 12 Pro, otherwise, all the features and improvements are the same for iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The iPhone 12 Pro Max features 5X optical zoom over the 4X optical zoom of the iPhone 12 Pro. It also comes with a bigger battery and has better battery life than the iPhone 12 Pro. It also comes with a bigger screen than the iPhone 12 Pro. It will also come in 4 colours; Pacific Blue, Gold, Graphite, and Silver, and will start for ₹1,29,990.
HomePod Mini
The new HomePod mini is smaller than the original one, of course as the name suggests, ‘mini’ with a new rounded design. It has integration with Siri, touch controls, and comes in two colours; Space Grey and White. It’s powered by the S5 chip which also powers the Apple Watch Series 5. The HomePod Mini will launch in India for ₹9,900 and I could see it being a popular portable speaker in India for that price.
Overall, the iPhone event was pretty solid with great visuals and audio. The guy/gal that makes the video transition should get a raise for this scene, it was pretty epic!
The iPhone Launch was pretty great, they made significant upgrades over the previous iPhone’s and the launch lineup looks pretty good. The iPhone 12 Mini was a nice surprise and a lot of people will appreciate it for the smaller display and lower price.
