As other companies are trying to repeat the success of Apple presentation from June, they are going to the next level with the production of their events. This time the focus was even more on transitions and again, the event is much shorter, clocking at 1 hour and 10 minutes.
HomePod mini
The smallest announcement (no pun intended) was HomePod mini. Apple claims that it will have an amazing sound and for $99 it will be a very compelling device.
Two notable things — when talking about 3rd party services, Apple didn’t mention Spotify — the most popular music streaming service, but it will be supported in the new OS.
Second, Apple please stop showing HomePods without cords in the middle of the room, it’s misleading.
The Intercom feature could be potentially interesting, with the ability to ask Siri to communicate something to everyone in your family. What’s important it works not only on HomePods, but on iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Macs and even CarPlay.
iPhone
Watching presentation, you could have missed that the main feature of the new iPhones is 5G (powered by Verizon). It is fast (in ideal conditions), reliable (in ideal conditions), has low latency (in ideal conditions). Oh, and did I mention? The new iPhones will have 5G (powered by Verizon).
The 5G was all over the presentation in partnership with, you guessed it, Verizon. Nobody knows how much Verizon paid Apple for that commercial inside the commercial, but it was bad. It was the worst presentation for a long time because of that. One would think Apple is above such things, but no, today was the very low point in the history of Apple events.
The one good thing in Apple implementation of 5G is Smart Data Mode, which will use LTE to preserve battery when the high speed is not essential.
iPhone 12
The main difference from the iPhone 11 is of course the new flat design, similar to the iPad Pro (and iPhone 4 and 5).
There are 5 colors — black, white, red, green and blue. And the screen is a bit bigger at 6.1”, but it has smaller borders, so the difference in the physical size is non-existent. The screen itself is OLED now, instead of LCD in the previous year model. It has a new technology which Apple calls Ceramic Shield, which is new material for the screen for dramatical improvement in toughness. Apple claims it has 4x better drop performance. We’ll have to wait and see if it will improve scratch resistance.
The new A14 Bionic chip is better and faster and will be faster than competition for years to come, that is everything you need to know.
The main camera is a bit better, the processor also allows for Night Mode on all cameras including front one. And you can also shoot Night Mode Time-lapses now.
MagSafe
There are magnets in the iPhone and it looks very interesting. You can attach wireless charger (similar to the Apple Watch), Apple cases will now have magnets to easily snap on and off.
And Apple introduced wireless charger for Apple Watch and iPhone.
Oh, and there won’t be a power adaptor and headphones in the box.
iPhone 12 mini
The smallest iPhone in the lineup. Physically it is even smaller than iPhone SE, but it has 5.4” display.
It is the same as the iPhone 12 except for the screen, so you won’t compromise on anything, just need to choose the size.
iPhone 12 Pro
Pro phones also feature a new design, although the band is from stainless steel and there are 4 colors — Silver, Graphite, Gold and Blue.
The displays got a bit bigger 6.1” (instead of 5.8”) for iPhone 12 Pro and 6.7” (instead of 6.5”) for iPhone 12 Pro Max. As with the iPhone 12, the bezels are smaller, so the physical size of the phone is just a bit bigger.
The biggest improvements are with the camera. Deep Fusion is now available on all 4 cameras (including front one).
There is LiDAR for depth data. The biggest improvement is in low light autofocus. The camera will find focus at night 6x faster. It also allows making portraits at night.
Apple will now support RAW photography right in app and what is more importantly there will API for Apple ProRAW, which will help 3rd party developers (like Halide) to improve their processing.
The iPhone Pro Max will have even better camera sensor. Starting with a bit better Telephoto sensor, which will allow using up to 2.5x optical zoom. And the main camera will have a Sensor Shift technology, which shifts the whole sensor instead of the lens for more precise image stabilization.
Prices for the Pro models will remain the same, but it will now start at 128 GB storage capacity. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro will be available in a week, while iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max will be available in a month.
