October Apple Event Reaction: iPhone 12 and Mini

 

The October iPhone event has aired, and shipping dates, pricing, and features have all been announced.  Apple is at Maximum Hype, seems like a normal Apple event, let's get into it. 

 

 

So, let's talk about the all the iPhones announced at this event, the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max.  I'll start with the regular iPhones and work our way down to the Pros.  The iPhone 12 and Mini are the lower-end mainstream phones released at the event, much like the strategy employed in years past with the iPhone XR and iPhone 11. The iPhone 12 brings a new aluminum design reminiscent of the iPhone 4 and 5, with sharp edges and distinct difference between the front and back of the phone. The materials are aluminum and glass that bring IP68 water and dust resistance and wireless charging.  Another improvement is OLED on every iPhone 12 model, Apple's "Super retina XDR" screens also bring reduced bezels on every model. The new screens are brighter and support Dolby Vision, HDR 10, and HLG. LCD was great for some, but OLED just brings so much quality and experience improvements that this transition was a no-brainer for Apple. 

 

 

Now before we tackle the A14 and cameras I want to talk about 5G and its role in the presentation and new iPhones (warning: rant imminent), every iPhone announced has support for 5G. All iPhone 12 models support mid-band Sub-6 5G and mm wave 5G from Verizon.  I can understand making a moderate deal out of 5G, I can cringe at Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg coming on to make an even bigger deal out of 5G, I am outraged at seeing Apple include 5G in almost every other announcement.  5G is not ready for mainstream use yet, Sub-6 is barely nationwide, and mm wave.... is not even relevant.   

 

 

I don't know if there's some kind of Verizon sponsorship but there better be because there is no way Apple voluntarily marketed 5G every 60 Seconds onstage (yes, I know I'm exaggerating but I'm still mad).  At one point they show the advantage of Apple Lidar by showing how someone can use it to map a room for planning an office, okay?, then they say that with 5G you can collaborate with your team to plan in real-time. I'm not the only one to say that that is a terrible use of 5G, and this example isn't realistic at all.  They mention the use of 5G, that doesn't make sense at because mm wave simply cannot be used indoors unless the tower is inside the building (in theory) because of the fragility of the signal, Sub-6 simply isn't powerful enough to be better than LTE to make the difference Apple claims, at this point the normal person would just use Wi-Fi. Please stop talking about a technology that most of your customers will not be able to use, I get it 5G is coming, it's just not here yet. (Rant Over) Ok I'm done talking about 5G, let us talk about the A14 bionic chipset. 

 

I think it’s safe to say that Apple owns the Mobile silicon space, the A14 brings a shotgun to a pillow fight.  The A14 is the first 5nm chipset built with 6 CPU cores and 4 GPU cores, 5nm is a huge leap in efficiency meaning Apple can make more powerful chipsets that won't destroy your battery life. Apple is promising a 50% performance increase in CPU performance and a 50% increase for the GPU as well, mind you these "increases" are compared to the A13 Bionic. At this point Apple's silicon lead is crumbling with its closest competitor, the Snapdragon 865, going neck-and-neck with the A13....sometimes, Android authority had a great Article explaining this at this link: 

https://www.androidauthority.com/snapdragon-865-beats-apple-a13-1066243/#:~:text=But%20when%20you%20use%20all%20of%20the%20CPU,neck-and-neck.%20However%2C%20AnTuTu%208%20gives%20a%20different%20result.

Honestly, it's a mixed bag until reviewers get a hold of the phones.

There are two cameras on both the iPhone 12 and Mini, one main, and one ultra-wide.  Marginally the same cameras seen on the iPhone 11. 

Then there's the iPhone 12 Mini, unlike the regular 12 the Mini swaps a 6.1-inch display for a 5.4-inch display.  I'm proud of Apple for making this phone because not everyone likes big phones, many don't like the bulge in their pockets, and others just can't get used to it.  The Mini is the phone for those people, it’s the cheapest iPhone 12 as well offering smaller phone at a smaller price.  If I weren't an Android loyalist, I would consider buying this for my brother, my grandpa, even my dad, all of which love their smaller phones.  I've actually been using the Pixel 2 for the better part of a year, so I know what it's like to have a smaller phone, sometimes its liberating and other times it's just inconvenient.

One more thing.... ceramic shield, ceramic shield is basically a switch to glass panels that have been reinforced with ceramic. The Verge reports:

|"Corning’s new material consists of nano ceramic crystals embedded in the glass |matrix. The crystals embedded in the glass matrix are an order of magnitude |smaller than the wavelength of light, and index matched to the glass. This makes |the material highly transparent, unlike other glass ceramics. Additionally, the |crystals form interlocked structures that result in high flaw resistance and provide a |mechanism to deflect and arrest cracks. The glass matrix is strengthened by ion |exchange to provide a high degree of retained strength after damage."

Yeah, cool stuff, honestly, I love this initiative to go beyond Gorilla glass and take matters into your own hands to protect the most important part of phone. From the moment you take it out of the box your phone is protected, that is a great feeling, especially since screen protectors do take time to come in the mail.  More testing and so many, just so many, drop tests will help see how strong this ceramic shield really is but for now it’s better than most.

This entire article might seem like praise to Apple from an Android perspective, but it's not praises.  It's respect for the quality and distinctiveness that Apple brings to everything it touches, that quality pushes Android and others to do better, and that push is what keeps the industry going.

Next up is the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max.

Best, BenTechCoder