Last night we saw the debut of Apple’s new flagship smartphone series. While the entry well models – iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini – got quite a lot of fanfare, it’s the Pro series – iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max – that got the biggest upgrades. Let’s find out what all is new!
Design
iPhone 12 Pro series has received a near bezel-less display and sharp corners, which has helped Apple achieve bigger display sizes in a smaller form factor. The smaller iPhone 12 Pro has a 6.1-inch screen compared to the earlier 5.8-inch display of iPhone 11 Pro. And the bigger iPhone 12 Pro Max comes with a 6.7-inch screen (iPhone 11 Pro Max had a 6.5-inch display).
Both the Pro models are available in four new colour options – Pacific Blue (my favourite), Gold, Graphite, and Silver. These high-end iPhones have a matte finish for the rear glass and gloss on the sides. The aluminium chassis has been done away with, and Apple has added an all-new stainless steel frame.
The company claims that the iPhone 12 has a “Ceramic Shield” glass that’s four times tougher than any other smartphone screen. Both the devices are also IP68 rated for dust and water resistance.
Processor
The entire range of the iPhone 12 series sports Apple’s A14 Bionic Chipset. That’s about 50% faster than the previous A13 processor. That’ll help achieve faster download speeds and aid in multitasking. Applications will load faster, and gaming will be swifter.
Camera
Apple has added a LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12 Pro models that make them capable of taking Night Mode Portrait photos. Augmented Reality is faster and more accurate.
The iPhone 12 Pro will get the ProRAW photo formats via an OTA update later this year. ProRAW principally means the images are saved in a raw form and are not processed into JPEG or HEIF files. The raw photos can be edited to texture colours and filters without degrading the image quality. Once the edits are in place then the images can be shared in a processed JPEG or HEIF formats.
Battery Life
As always, we do not know the exact battery capacity of the latest iPhones yet. The mAH (milliampere-hour) capacities that give the basic idea on how powerful the battery is ‘hidden,’.
Though, on paper, the 12 Pro Max has the same duration of up to 20 hours of video playback and 12 hours for streamed visual media. Audio playback time of up to 80 hours also remains the same in comparison to its predecessor. Considering the similarities, we have a great expectation with the 12 Pro Max that may perform better than the previous generation model that was crowned, “the iPhone with the longest battery life.”
However, the iPhone 12 Pro has one less hour of video playback and can manage up to 17 hours of continuous entertainment.
Both the devices get the same amount of playback times for streaming video and audio playbacks of up to 11 and 65 hours respectively.
Wireless Charging – MagSafe
All iPhone 12 models come with Qi-based wireless charging capabilities with MagSafe installed within the back panel. Magsafe is a magnet-based clip-on system that’ll snap wireless chargers, back covers, and various other accessories. It will be pretty handy to attach it on a wireless charger and you need not worry about having the device placed correctly on a charging mat or pad. Apple has introduced multiple accessories using this technology, which you can view on Apple online store.
There’s one more notable detail that you should know. Apple will not include headphones and a power adapter in the box.
India Price and Availability
The latest 12 Pro series of the iPhone will be available in India from the 30th of October via Apple’s online store and offline channels. However, only 12 Pro will be available first. The Pro series starts with a 128GB standard variant and goes up to a maximum of 512GB storage option. Here’s the complere price list:
- iPhone 12 Pro 128GB: Rs.1,19,900/-
- iPhone 12 Pro 256GB: Rs.1,29,900/-
- iPhone 12 Pro 512GB: Rs.1,49,900/-
- iPhone 12 Pro Max 128GB: Rs.1,29,900/-
- iPhone 12 Pro Max 256GB: Rs.1,39,900/-
- iPhone 12 Pro Mac 512GB: Rs.1,59,900/-
While Apple has increased the basic storage option to 128GB, starting prices have seen a sharp increase as well.
With all the updates, the iPhone 12 Pro series is now more desirable than ever. If only the prices were more reasonable, there wouldn’t be anything holding them back.