10 Big Things To Know About The Apple iPhone 12

Apple unveils the new iPhone 12 as the successor to the popular iPhone 11, but featuring the addition of 5G and a number of other upgrades.

The iPhone For Most People

The arrival of high-speed 5G connectivity for the iPhone is finally here—once Apple’s new iPhone 12 models start shipping later this month. On Tuesday, Apple announced an expanded fall iPhone lineup with four new models, and all of them will support 5G. This time, there’s a smaller-screen model (the iPhone 12 Mini) in addition to the two higher end “pro” models (the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max). But most likely, the iPhone you’re waiting for is the standard iPhone 12. It’s the successor to the iPhone 11, the most popular current iPhone, and it has the mix of features and pricing that the majority of iPhone users gravitate toward. Along with the addition of 5G, there are plenty of other updates and new features on the iPhone 12—as well as a price increase over the iPhone 11.

What follows are 10 big things to know about the Apple iPhone 12 on new features, specs and price.

Connectivity

Notably, the iPhone 12 not only will support 5G—but it will support the higher-speed variant of 5G, known as millimeter wave (or mmWave). “5G just got real,” said Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, in comments during Apple’s pre-recorded iPhone announcement event on Tuesday. Apple was clearly pushing Verizon’s 5G offerings the hardest during the announcement. Not only did Apple give Vestberg the chance to speak--and promote Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, a mmWave service now offered in 55 cities--but Verizon also made a second appearance. That occurred when Apple pointed to testing of the iPhone 12 on Verizon’s 5G network, which has recorded speeds of 4 Gbps in “ideal conditions” and 1 Gbps in “typical conditions.” Meanwhile, Verizon on Tuesday also announced availability of its 5G Nationwide service in 1,800 U.S. cities.

Display

Apple is sticking with the 6.1-inch display size on the iPhone 12, but there are lots of updates on the display this time. The “Super Retina XDR” display will switch to vibrant OLED technology, instead of LCD as on past entry-level iPhone models. The resolution has also gotten a big bump to 460 pixels per inch (ppi), versus 326 ppi on the iPhone 11. One of the few differences for the iPhone 12 Mini is that the display size will come in at 5.4 inches, but it will also be OLED and have higher resolution than many past iPhones, at 476 ppi.

Body

The iPhone 12 body has also gotten a redesign. Apple is now going with a new flat-edge design for the device—enabling the aluminum enclosure and glass to stay flush--and has also reduced the bezels around the display on the iPhone 12. The design changes have allowed for a more compact iPhone model this time—which is 15 percent smaller in volume, 11 percent thinner and 16 percent lighter than the iPhone 11, Apple said.

Durability

The redesign on the iPhone 12 has also improved durability. The display will feature what Apple is calling “Ceramic Shield” material, which involves using high- temperature crystallization to improve toughness. The drop protection on the iPhone 12 is now 4X better, Apple said. The device also gets improved water resistance (with a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529)—signifying protection against a plunge into a depth of 6 meters for 30 minutes. By comparison, the iPhone 11’s rating (IP68 under IEC standard 60529) denoted water resistance to a depth of 2 meters for a half hour.

Processor

The iPhone 12 will be powered by the A14 Bionic, which includes a six-core CPU and four-core GPU. Apple is touting the A14 as the first smartphone chip built using a 5-nanometer process, as well as calling it the “fastest chip in a smartphone.” CPU and GPU performance can reach as much as 50-percent faster speeds than “the fastest competing smartphone chips,” according to Apple. That enables “console-quality gaming experiences, powerful computational photography, and more,” Apple said.

Battery

On battery life, the iPhone 12 will offer up to 17 hours of video playback, identical to the iPhone 11. The bigger announcement related to the iPhone 12 battery was the introduction of new MagSafe accessories--which snap magnetically onto the back of the phone, as a new way to provide wireless charging.

Cameras

The iPhone 12’s rear camera system includes dual 12-megapixel cameras—consisting of an ultra-wide camera and a new wide camera. The wide camera will offer an ƒ/1.6 aperture, which can take in 27 percent more light than the iPhone 11, Apple said. Key camera features include support for Night Mode on every camera, including the 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front. Night Mode is also getting improvements with “brighter pictures and better contrast for photos shot in low-light settings,” Apple said.

Storage

Options for internal storage on the iPhone 12 will remain the same as on the iPhone 11—with Apple launching 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB variants of the iPhone 12.

Colors

Apple is actually paring down its color choices for the iPhone 12 a bit from the iPhone 11, which had offered six color options. The iPhone 12 will offer five colors to pick from—black, white, red, green and blue. The blue color option for the iPhone 12 is a new addition.

Price And Availability

The starting price for Apple’s iPhone 12 is $799—representing a $100 increase over the original starting price for the iPhone 11, which was $699. Apple said that iPhone 12 pre-orders begin on Friday (Oct. 16), and the device will be shipping on Oct. 23.

There’s a later launch schedule for the iPhone 12 Mini, which will be opened for pre-orders starting on Nov. 6 and will be shipping on Nov. 13. The iPhone Mini price will start at $699.