The iPhone 12 may not be forthcoming till at least fall of this year though that isn’t stopping the Apple phone from making waves already. The iPhone 12 seem to be hitting the headlines with alarming regularity revealing key aspects of the phone in the process.
Mentioned here is a compilation of all that we know of the next generation iPhone coming our way.
Four new models:
The new iPhone 12 series is going to be more comprehensive than ever before, with no less than 4 new models set to be launched. That include two entry level models – iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max – along with two Pro models – iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Of these, the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max can be considered the successors to the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max while the iPhone 12 Max will be succeeding iPhone 11. The base iPhone 12 is going to be the newest addition to the fall iPhone line-up and will essentially be an iPhone SE but with a more updated build and functionality.
So far as display size is concerned, the iPhone 12 will have a 5.4-inch display while the iPhone 12 Max will have 6.1-inch panel. For the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, it is going to be 6.1-inch and 6.4-inch respectively.
New design:
The iPhone 12 this time is going to have a fresh new design makeover, which again is going to be distinct than what it was with the iPhone 1,1 which again borrowed design cues heavily from the iPhone X. primary among the changes expected to be introduced with the iPhone 12 include a markedly reduced notch.
According to Jon Prosser who has been quite vocal with his iPhone 12 revelations this year, Apple will be moving the speaker into the top bezel, thereby making it possible to reduce the bezel size considerably. That apart, iPhone 12 might also mark the return of the flat edge design, something corroborated by YouTuber EverythingApplePro who again got inputs from the usually reliable leaker Max Weinbach.
Another interesting design aspect with the new iPhone 12 is going to be its super compact dimensions. As mentioned by EverythingApplePro, the entry-level iPhone is going to be smaller than the 4.7-inch iPhone SE. That will be achieved with a full-screen display sans the bezel, which means it is going to be practically a 5.4-inch phone as well and will be well suited for one-handed operation.
Meanwhile, there is another school of thought claiming Apple might do with the notch completely this time. Instead, according to a render revealed by Benjamin Geskin, there might be a thin bezel at the top housing the face ID components and other paraphernalia.
As for its construction, it is going to be aluminum for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max while the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will have a stainless steel build.
Pro Motion display:
There also rumors of iPhone 12 coming with a Pro Motion display which is Apple’s way of describing a high refresh rate, to the tune of about 120 Hz. Or maybe it is going to be a display that offers users the option to switch from 60 Hz to 120 Hz refresh rate, something put forth by leaker Ice Universe. It’s something that the Samsung Galaxy S20 is already capable of doing.
Ice Universe further opined Apple might have started negotiating with Samsung and LG for the said display as well. Unfortunately, there also are rumors of Apple offering the Pro Motion display in only the Pro models with the base iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max missing out on the same. Or to make things more drastic, there might be no Pro Motion display on any of the iPhone 12 models at all owing to battery considerations.
In any case, a recent spec leak suggested it is going to be an OLED panel on all of the iPhone 12 models. In contrast, it has been only the iPhone 11 Pro models that featured OLED display while the base iPhone 11 coming with an LCD screen.
Apple’s first 5G phone:
This, no doubt, would be another interesting development given the manner competition already has 5G phones to offer. Not only does this apply to flagship phones but even budget flagship phones or those sitting a rung lower in order too have started to offer 5G feature. Qualcomm’s latest chip offering, the Snapdragon 768G is specially aimed at allowing even mid-range phone to be 5G enabled while offer performance that is a notch lower than that of the flagship SD 865.
However, with Apple’s own 5G modem nowhere in sight, it did the right thing by mending its ways with Qualcomm. This paved the way for the fitment of Qualcomm’s 5G modems in the forthcoming iPhone 12 models itself, which otherwise would have taken another year, or two more had Apple stuck with developing its own 5G modem.
Optics:
The iPhone 11 made history by being the first from Apple to have a triple cam set up at the rear. And that was a huge improvement as the picture quality is just amazing. Now, if rumors on this are to be believed, iPhone 12 too will be scripting its own history by becoming the first Apple device to have a quad-cam setup, with there being a LIDAR time-of-flight sensor getting accommodated at the rear this time.
That apart, there also are indications of Apple opting for a periscope like telephoto lens that would be capable of achieving higher zoom. As things stand at the moment, there is a race among the flagships to offer the highest zoom. The Galaxy S20 Ultra offers 4x optical zoom while the Huawei P40 Pro has twin zoom settings of 3x and 10 x optical zoom.
Face ID:
Face ID has evolved as the standard Apple feature for user authentication, replacing Touch ID in the process. However, while it is going to remain the same with iPhone 12 series as well, AppleInsider is claiming it is going to have a new sensor with a wider sweep this time to power Face ID. This should allow users to unlock their phone from more extreme angles, like with the phone lying on the table without you having to look at it directly in the face.
USB Type-C port:
This has been one of the long-standing demands from even the most ardent Apple fans. Surprisingly, the company already offers the USB-C ort on the latest iPad Pro devices and it is believed Apple might finally decide to swap its proprietary Lightening port on the iPhone 12 with the USB-C port this time.
Performance:
It is going to be the new A14 Bionic chip powering all iPhone 12 models. Also, the base iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max will be having 4 GB of RAM while the two Pro models will have 6 gigs of it. Base storage is going to start at 128 GB and will include a 256 GB model as well for the base iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max models. The two Pro models will have an extra version offering 256 GB of storage.
Price:
That is going to start at a quite affordable $649, claims Jon Prosser, which is exactly the reason Apple has chosen to have four iPhone 12 models to offer.
Specifically, the starting prices for each model is expected to be like this:
iPhone 12 128 GB – $649
iPhone 12 256 GB – $749
iPhone 12 Max 128 GB – $749
iPhone 12 Max 256 GB – $849
iPhone 12 Pro 128 GB – $999
iPhone 12 Pro 256 GB – $1,099
iPhone 12 Pro 512 GB – $1,299
iPhone 12 Pro Max 128 GB – $1,099
iPhone 12 Pro Max 256 GB – $1,199
iPhone 12 Pro Max 512 GB – $1.399
Release date:
That usually happens during the fall season, with Apple launching the iPhone 11 series on September 10 last year. However, things are a lot different his time given the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic the world is reeling under at the moment. If Apple is able to cope with the aftermaths of the pandemic well enough, expect the phone to launch around the first half of September, with a market debut sometime around October. Else, there might be delays if the Covid 9 induced disturbance continues.
