Apple introduces iPhones 12 series, plus mini model

Apple CEO Tim Cook during his virtual keynote from Apple Park.

Apple on Tuesday introduced its latest iPhone line-up, finally entering the high-speed 5G race and banking on it to sustain its crazy momentum it has enjoyed despite this year's coronavirus pandemic.
The world's most valuable company with a $2 trillion market capitalisation revealed the new iPhone 12 models - including the iPhone 12, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, plus a new iPhone 12 mini, at a virtual event from Apple Park, which would mark the most number of iPhones introduced at a single event, surpassing the past three years that saw three models launched each time.
CEO Tim Cook kicked off the event with his usual keynote, then followed it up with the first product, the HomePod mini home speaker.

The HomePod mini has been enhanced with improved Siri interaction, enabling it to integrate seamlessly with other Apple devices and connect to the entire ecosystem from the home to the car. It will be priced at $99.

Yes, it's real. Cook talking up the benefits of 5G connectivity - super speeds, better responsiveness, unprecedented performance and enhanced security.

There we go, it's official: iPhone 12 with 5G. Same 6.1 inches with new colours. While with the same screen size, Apple says it's 11 per cent slimmer. They also say it has the toughest glass ever on an iPhone coupled with a 'ceramic shield' - would have four times unlikely to break.

Apple says the iPhone 12's 5G capability is intelligent, automatically detecting if you need to use 5G; if not, it'll switch to LTE, thereby saving both on data use and battery.
Throwback design, reminiscent of the last iPhones with a geometric shape, the iPhone 5.


 


Powering the iPhone 12 is the new Apple A14 Bionic chip - the world's first 5nm smartphone chip with 11.8 billion transistors crammed in, enabling it to carry out over 11 trillion computations per second. Across-the-board improvements, including up to 50 per cent faster performance and graphics.
And as an added bonus and to prove the new iPhone's gaming capabilities, League of Legends is coming to the iPhone 12.


Improved camera as well. The iPhone 12 has a dual camera similar to the iPhone 11, but with improved aperture and night mode.

 

 
And introducing MagSafe, a new technology that makes wirelessly charging the iPhone more flexible. With it, you can snap on a MagSafe-compatible magnetic charger (similar to that used by the Apple Watch) or a wallet-type charger and safely charge the iPhone.

And looks like we'll still be using a Lightning port for it. Only this time, there's a USB-C connector on the other end for faster transfers and charging.

And there it is - the iPhone 12 mini.

All the goodies - as in everything - of the iPhone 12 will also be on the iPhone mini, with the only difference being its 5.4-inch screen. Apple says it's the lightest and smallest 5G phone in the world.


And on to the iPhone 12 Pro. There's a new Pacific Blue colour.

Apple says it's the best resolution on an iPhone by far. It's also confirmed that the iPhone 12 Pro Max comes with a 6.7-inch screen - the biggest iPhone display ever.


The cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple says, has an 87 per cent improvement in light-gathering. Its new hardware also allows it have an optical zoom of up to 5x.
Apple says the iPhone 12 Pro is the world's first smartphone that can edit and play Dolby Vision movies, a big leap in mobile video editing.

Another expected feature is official: The iPhone 12 Pros have Lidar - light detection and ranging - first seen in the iPad Pros launched earlier this year. This will enable the iPhone 12 Pro to map out 3D images from its cameras.
And that's about it. Check out our round-up after this.
And before we forget, the prices for the iPhone 12 mini, 12, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max start at Dh2,999, Dh3,399, Dh4,199 and Dh4,699. Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro start on October 16 (this Friday) and shipping begins on October 23; for the iPhone 12 mini and 12 Pro Max, the dates are November 6 and 13, respectively.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com