Apple iPhone 12 Family To Arrive During October 13 Virtual Keynote: Here's What To Expect
Apple isn't giving many hints with its invite, other than to say "Hi, Speed". We take this to mean the new A14 Bionic SoC, which was first introduced with the 4th generation iPad Air. According to benchmarks that leaked over the weekend, the A14 Bionic offers roughly a 20 percent uplift in performance over the A13 Bionic in the iPhone 11 Pro in both single- and multi-threaded operations.
A14 Bionic, OLED Displays, And 5G… Oh My!
So, what do we do know so far about the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro families? Here's how the specs are lining up so far according to leaks:
- iPhone 12 mini: 5.4-inch OLED display, A14 Bionic, dual cameras, aluminum chassis
- iPhone 12: 6.1-inch OLED display, A14 Bionic, dual cameras, aluminum chassis
- iPhone 12 Pro: 6.1-inch OLED display, A14 Bionic, triple cameras, LiDAR sensor, stainless steel chassis
- iPhone 12 Pro Max: 6.7-inch OLED display, A14 Bionic, triple cameras, LiDAR sensor, stainless steel chassis
As you can see, the A14 Bionic will be standard across the entire range, although it's expected that the Pro models might come with more RAM attached. Rumors suggest that the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 will have 4GB of RAM (as found in the new iPad Air), while the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max could bump that to 6GB (or even 8GB).
As for the display situation, all of the smartphones will continue to have a rather large notch to accommodate Face ID biometric authentication hardware, but it’s possible that the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max will feature a 120Hz display option. There has been some confusion about this spec in the rumor mill, and some have said that the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro wouldn't get the features at all, while other have said that it might not even be a "go" for the iPhone 12 Pro Max due to supply issues. We guess we'll just have to wait and see for sure next week.
Both the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 will have dual cameras, while the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will sport triple cameras (just like last year's models). The big difference here is that the Pro models are expected to include a LiDAR sensor for enhancing photos and augmented reality applications.
The big upgrade though will come in the form of 5G connectivity for all iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models. All are expected to adopt the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G modem, but rumors have suggested that only the Pro models will have mmWave 5G support. We have doubts about that claim, however. Verizon currently only supports mmWave 5G in the United States, which means that customers would be forced with going with at least the iPhone 12 Pro to have 5G access. That could be an untenable situation for the wireless carrier – but then again, so is its current position of only supporting mmWave and not sub-6GHz 5G spectrum, but we digress...
Rumored Pricing For The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro Families
Given that Apple is expanding its lineup this year, there's a pretty large pricing spread for the smartphones, starting at $649 for the iPhone 12 mini (64GB) and topping out at $1,399 for the iPhone 12 Pro Max with 512GB of internal storage:
iPhone 12 mini
- 64GB $649
- 128GB $699
- 256GB $799
iPhone 12
- 64GB $749
- 128GB $799
- 256GB $899
iPhone 12 Pro
- 128GB $999
- 256GB $1,099
- 512GB $1,299
iPhone 12 Pro Max
- 128GB $1,099
- 256GB $1,199
- 512GB $1,399
It would be disappointing (if true) if Apple goes back to the 64GB storage well for the base iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 as rumored. For a $600+ device, 64GB is woefully inadequate and Apple should be rightly called out if the rumors turn out to be true.
With that being said, we'll be covering Apple's keynote event next week, so stay tuned for more official information (and leaks) as they come down the pipe.
