Apple iPhone 12 And iPhone 12 Preorders Open, T-Mobile Phones No Longer Face $30 Upcharge
The iPhone 12 is the cheaper of the two, priced from $799*, and features an aluminum body, dual cameras (wide, ultra-wide), and 4GB of RAM to feed the A14 Bionic SoC. The iPhone 12 Pro, on the other hand, is priced from $999, features a stainless-steel body, triple cameras (wide, ultra-wide, telephone), a LIDAR sensor and 6GB of RAM.
It should be noted that the iPhone 12 comes with just 64GB of internal storage, while the iPhone 12 Pro comes standard with 128GB. To get 128GB on the iPhone 12, you have to add $50, taking it to $849. So, if we're comparing apples to apples, the iPhone 12's value proposition starts to wane with a $150 spread between the two phones.
Apple is currently offering the smartphones via its website, and you can choose from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile as your carrier of choice. If you prefer to buy your phone unlocked, SIM-Free versions are also available to purchase.
We should also mention that Apple caused quite a stir earlier this week when it was revealed that the "true" price for the iPhone 12 is actually $829, and that AT&T and Verizon were providing a $30 "instant discount" to get the phones down to Apple's advertised $799 price point. But inexplicably, Sprint and T-Mobile versions of the smartphones were not listed as eligible for this discount at the time. This oversight has since been corrected and iPhone 12's purchased from all four carriers now show the $30 instant discount on Apple's website.
The big question, however, is why would Apple even mention the $829 price and the $30 instant discount in the first place? The company has never used such obfuscation in the past to advertise its iPhones; let alone announce its smartphones at one price, then promote another on its website. With that being said, we'd imagine that the $30 instant discount will also apply to the iPhone 12 mini when it launches early next month alongside the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
For those of you that want to purchase the iPhone 12 unlocked, you unfortunately will still be hit with the $30 upcharge, and there doesn't appear to be any way to get around it (at least not for now).