iPhone 12 Pro Dissapointed in iPhone 12 Pro (coming from 6S)

[ian87w]

So I got my iPhone 12 Pro to replace my iPhone 6S. There was no particular problem with 6S, just thinking that after 5 generations of iPhones maybe it is time to upgrade and see the new world. Mostly I have been interested in the cameras & computational photography.

I've been now using the phone for under six hours and I feel dissapointed. Here are some of my rants:

- Unlocking with Face ID. I thought it works so that you look at the phone and it unlocks AND goes to home screen. But no! You need to wipe up to access home screen. WTF, seriously? Touch ID is much easier, just place your thumb and off you go. No need to hit in the border with finger and then swipe. I was sure I was doing something wrong since I didn't believe it works this way. Outside I need to take my glove out. If my finger is wet or dirty I still need to touch the glass.

- Camera performance in low light. The images are colorful and overall nice when looking at 50% zoom level but at 100% the image looks horrible smushy. I sure hope the cameras perform better tomorrow in daylight. The night mode is just a gimmick, the outcome images are not usable for prints or anything serious. Maybe the quality increases if one uses a tripod but then it is really the same to bring a decent DSLR and get sharp images.

- Telephoto lens flare. I hope my camera is flawed but I don't think so. In low light it is totally common to get lens flare from bright lights. And those flares aren't beautiful, more like getting reflections from dirty window glass.

- Home screen display usage; why there isn't an extra row of icons on such tall screen? The space is wasted with those dots and there is some space below top bar and first row of app icons. I need to grab my 6S and compare, I'm pretty sure the screen space is just totally wasted.

- I took some photographs of kids in normal night indoor lightning. Camera selected exposure 1/17 and aperture f2. I cannot find used ISO anywhere but I'm sure under 800. On my DSLR I can use ISO 6400 and the pictures look great. So if someone is saying smart phones are replacing DSLR I will laugh all the way out..

It is freaking 1200 euros phone and currently I think the photos are from some ancient iPhone! Also I cannot see any significant performance boost anywhere. It is unbelievable close to my iPhone 6S. Five generations and this little difference?

I'm seriously considering returning this and maybe getting SE - or even returning back to 6S.

Sorry for the rant, I needed to steam somewhere.

The swipe to home is there so you can see your notifications first instead of going to the home screen everytime you look at your phone. I can see this is being more convenient than TouchID. Example, I have the 7+, and set notifications to not show their contents unless I unlock the phone. When a notification comes in and I unlock the phone and go to the home screen, I have to go back to the notification to see what it was about since TouchID completely blows through it. That's 2 steps just to check my notifications. I imagine with FaceID, this is reduced to one step as I just look at the phone, FaceID automatically recognizes my face, unlocks the phone and show the notification, and then I can decide what to do next. For a heavy smartphone user, notifications is the number one quick access to the respective apps, so blowing through it and having to get back to it on a TouchID system imo is actually less efficient.

Not sure why you're looking at your photos at 100%. I have seen my friends' iPhone 11, and night mode is not a joke. It's real useful. Pretty much most Android phones also have night modes nowadays. Try getting a shot in low light with your 6s and see what you get. And Why are you even comparing this to your DSLR? Shouldn't you be comparing it to your iPhone 6s? I mean your DSLR cannot make phone calls nor fit inside your pocket, no?

If you think your 6s is still fine (despite most people here are complaining about its battery life), maybe your smartphone usage doesn't justify buying a $1000 phone. So yes, return the phone and save the money. It's common sense.

 

[Sam in SoCal]

Thanks for the info. I am in the same situation, considering to replace my 6s. I might keep waiting a bit longer.

Whhhaaaaaat. Some dude on macrumors who’s a penny pincher convinced you not to move from your ip 6s? Go check it out somewhere on display and experience it for yourself. Now apple has iPhones at all different price points. If the 12 is too much they have last years ip 11 at 599$. Come on now

 

[JohnnyGo]

Thanks for the info. I am in the same situation, considering to replace my 6s. I might keep waiting a bit longer.

It’s hard to feel the difference between one generation to the other BUT it’s easy to notice differences from two or three generations jump.

I have been on a 2 year replacement cycle, so I had the iPhone 6, skip 6s, got the 7, skipped the iPhone X/8, got the iPhone XR and skipped the iPhone 11/11 Pro.

I can tell you that each phone felt faster and the cameras worked better. Battery improved upon changing and usually decayed a little overtime (my iPhone 7 went to 91%, my XR is at 93% health right now at 2 years).

I’m ready to move to my first OLED as I have been using dark mode for the last two years. My plan is to spend the extra money (first phone at $1k) but to try to move to a 3 year usage ($1 per day for 1000 days of use).

I respect the OP’s opinion but I think his lack of enthusiasm for the 12 Pro is more an outlier/exception rather than the average user’s feedback

 

[ian87w]

It’s hard to feel the difference between one generation to the other BUT it’s easy to notice differences from two or three generations jump.

I have been on a 2 year replacement cycle, so I had the iPhone 6, skip 6s, got the 7, skipped the iPhone X/8, got the iPhone XR and skipped the iPhone 11/11 Pro.

I can tell you that each phone felt faster and the cameras worked better. Battery improved upon changing and usually decayed a little overtime (my iPhone 7 went to 91%, my XR is at 93% health right now at 2 years).

I’m ready to move to my first OLED as I have been using dark mode for the last two years. My plan is to spend the extra money (first phone at $1k) but to try to move to a 3 year usage ($1 per day for 1000 days of use).

I respect the OP’s opinion but I think his lack of enthusiasm for the 12 Pro is more an outlier/exception rather than the average user’s feedback

You can tell that someone who is still satisfied with a 6s today means that the person's usage of the phone is fairly light. The 6s has the smallest battery ever on an iPhone from the iPhone 6 onwards. Most people on it complained about the battery life. Clearly the OP can be served better by sticking with the 6s or getting the 2020 SE and save some money. None of the 12 features will wow him/her.

 

[JohnnyGo]

You can tell that someone who is still satisfied with a 6s today means that the person's usage of the phone is fairly light. The 6s has the smallest battery ever on an iPhone from the iPhone 6 onwards. Most people on it complained about the battery life. Clearly the OP can be served better by sticking with the 6s or getting the 2020 SE and save some money. None of the 12 features will wow him/her.

That seems about right. I would still try to upgrade to the iPhone SE to get a new battery and faster performance/better camera system.

This is macrumors hands on with the iPhone 12 Pro

Hands-On With the New iPhone 12 Pro

Happy launch day! The new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are arriving to pre-order customers as of today and are hitting stores worldwide. We picked up...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Isamilis]

I am just thinking, is 20:80 Pareto playing here? I mean, we might have to pay 80 for an increase of 20. I also just bought 2 macbook Air 2020 (i3 and i5), and found that even the i5 compared to my old rMBP 13” 2014, the speed is similar for daily use.

 

[Strelok]

So you asked side-by-side comparison. Here are some. Now I wish I should haven't done this.

Sure (and thank god!) 12 Pro has better dynamic range. Sure the field picture has a more vibrant colors. But otherwise .. uhm ..

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I don’t know what to say. Were you expecting some kind of magic with a similar sized sensor? Phones will always look like garbage when you zoom in that much. On the 12 Pro you can get to 2X zoom without any real loss while the 6S is stuck at 1X. They will both look like trash at 10X.

 

[The Game 161]

You must have a defective unit as the difference going from 6s to 12 pro would be massive.

 

[ediks]

I don’t know what to say. Were you expecting some kind of magic with a similar sized sensor? Phones will always look like garbage when you zoom in that much. On the 12 Pro you can get to 2X zoom without any real loss while the 6S is stuck at 1X. They will both look like trash at 10X.

But i guess he’s right that the quality isn’t that mindblowing but that’s not 12 Pros fault but apple’s for not improving the zoom for 3 years straight and keeping the same sensor size compared to the competition with better detail and zoom, that’s why i think that next years iphone will be a much better upgrade

https://twitter.com/x/status/1312013153547452418

 

[Taco1933]

The phones are holding up better than they used to. Back in the days of the iPhone 4 or 5, I couldn’t wait to get rid of them after two years. This cycle, it was less about needing to upgrade and more about just wanting to and having it already in the budget.

I like the 12 pro. It isn’t a revolutionary difference when compared to my X, but it has some nice upgrades. But if you find it disappointing, send it back. No big deal.

 

[jonppa]

Thanks for the info. I am in the same situation, considering to replace my 6s. I might keep waiting a bit longer.
Just curious, which iOS version running on your 6s? Mine stay at iOS 12 and it still speedy & minimal lag.

I have 14.1 on 6S - no problems. Runs smooth.

 

[Samut]

Night mode does not work on the 2x lens, it just crops the 1x lens.



You Really think this sucks op, for a cell phone (Night mode on 11 pro max)? I don’t, and I also have Sony mirrorless full frame cameras with GM and Zeiss lenses.

View attachment 972623

Thanks for testing the telephoto with night mode. Its a pity they don't allow it to be used with the night mode as it should have been nice when using it with tripod.

 

[Samut]

But i guess he’s right that the quality isn’t that mindblowing but that’s not 12 Pros fault but apple’s for not improving the zoom for 3 years straight and keeping the same sensor size compared to the competition with better detail and zoom, that’s why i think that next years iphone will be a much better upgrade

https://twitter.com/x/status/1312013153547452418

That's what I have been thinking and I was speculating that since Apple did not really upgrade the sensors this year there must be a larger refresh coming next year. Looks like I was on right track if this source is valid.

This is upgrade year for me and after seeing that tweet I wish even more that Apple would have already caught up with the competition and upgraded the sensor sizes already.

 

[Samut]

So you asked side-by-side comparison. Here are some. Now I wish I should haven't done this.

Sure (and thank god!) 12 Pro has better dynamic range. Sure the field picture has a more vibrant colors. But otherwise .. uhm ..

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I was surprised how similar these photos look like and even the darker areas look quite a bit the same. Did you have HDR on and are those zoomed in parts crops from a larger photo or did you use digital zoom?

 

[jonppa]

I am just thinking, is 20:80 Pareto playing here? I mean, we might have to pay 80 for an increase of 20. I also just bought 2 macbook Air 2020 (i3 and i5), and found that even the i5 compared to my old rMBP 13” 2014, the speed is similar for daily use.

You might be right. The relation is smaller between models. I would say 30-40% more "everything" from 6S->12 Pro.

You must have a defective unit as the difference going from 6s to 12 pro would be massive.

I feel these are subjective things. I wouldn't ever call this upgrade massive. (well, that is probably obvious now)

You can tell that someone who is still satisfied with a 6s today means that the person's usage of the phone is fairly light.

May I ask you what is heavy use? I check my emails, check news, browse some sites, take photographs, use photography apps and more every day. My phone is not glued to my hand and I try to keep phone in my pocket as much as possible. Maybe heavy use is constant FB/Insta scrolling?

BTW what is actually the "heavy" use where you take the crap out of your phones performance like the A14 which is performance monster?

I was surprised how similar these photos look like and even the darker areas look quite a bit the same. Did you have HDR on and are those zoomed in parts crops from a larger photo or did you use digital zoom?

I am suprised too. No digital zoom. Just open camera app and take photo. The zooming was done on laptop by zooming in. Both cameras at default (at least 12). For 6S I cannot remember have I turned HDR off. On 12 I used the "wide" lens - it seems to be same focal length as 6S.

 

[jonppa]

I don’t know what to say. Were you expecting some kind of magic with a similar sized sensor?

I was expecting far more larger difference after 5 releases (6S->7, 7->8, 8->10, 10->11, 11->12). And based on Apples promotion I was expecting some sort of magic because of the processing cababilities.

It’s hard to feel the difference between one generation to the other BUT it’s easy to notice differences from two or three generations jump.

I'm not claiming that there isn't any difference. The question is what kind of difference there should be between models? And maybe the largest question; how is it possible that there is so little difference? Maybe one reason (which was said before) that 6S is actually pretty good, still.

I'm also not saying that 6S has same night mode capabilities; surely not. That feature is missing from 6S. I don't need to test this out; 6S photo comes totally black and 12 photo comes out exposed pretty well & colorful (but probably smushy).

 

[zhenya]

I am suprised too. No digital zoom. Just open camera app and take photo. The zooming was done on laptop by zooming in. Both cameras at default (at least 12). For 6S I cannot remember have I turned HDR off. On 12 I used the "wide" lens - it seems to be same focal length as 6S.

Why did you zoom in the comparison pictures at all? This seems designed to get the result you want. Yes, we all know that pictures taken from a phone will look terrible when zoomed way in by cropping.

As mentioned though, the 12 can zoom in optically 2x with no loss in quality, plus zoom out with some negatives - but this very clearly allows the camera to take pictures that you could not take with a 6s.

Post some original size, original quality side by side images taken at night. When we went from a 6s to an 11 last year, the difference under these conditions was astounding - previously we basically could not take indoor pictures of our kids after dark. With the 11 we could immediately take pictures that came out reasonably sharp and were enjoyable to look at even if all three of them were actively moving (try getting 3 kids to hold still long enough for a 6s to capture them sharply in anything other than full daylight...)

Comparisons to DSLR's are not helpful. Nobody carries a DSLR with them everywhere they go, and most people don't print out large prints from their phone pictures. They look at them on screens, where they want the subject to look good. The new iPhones are unquestionably a huge leap from the 6s in this regard.

 

[Samut]

Why did you zoom in the comparison pictures at all? This seems designed to get the result you want. Yes, we all know that pictures taken from a phone will look terrible when zoomed way in by cropping.

As mentioned though, the 12 can zoom in optically 2x with no loss in quality, plus zoom out with some negatives - but this very clearly allows the camera to take pictures that you could not take with a 6s.

Post some original size, original quality side by side images taken at night. When we went from a 6s to an 11 last year, the difference under these conditions was astounding - previously we basically could not take indoor pictures of our kids after dark. With the 11 we could immediately take pictures that came out reasonably sharp and were enjoyable to look at even if all three of them were actively moving (try getting 3 kids to hold still long enough for a 6s to capture them sharply in anything other than full daylight...)

Comparisons to DSLR's are not helpful. Nobody carries a DSLR with them everywhere they go, and most people don't print out large prints from their phone pictures. They look at them on screens, where they want the subject to look good. The new iPhones are unquestionably a huge leap from the 6s in this regard.

Zooming in is the right way to go if you want to compare the absolute image quality between the pictures. This forum resizes the photos and compresses them so without zoomed in photos they would be impossible to compare against each other.

We should all be thankful to original poster for his efforts to give us meaningful comparison between the cameras on iPhone 12 pro and iPhone 6s.

 

[Strelok]

Zooming in is the right way to go if you want to compare the absolute image quality between the pictures. This forum resizes the photos and compresses them so without zoomed in photos they would be impossible to compare against each other.

We should all be thankful to original poster for his efforts to give us meaningful comparison between the cameras on iPhone 12 pro and iPhone 6s.

All phone pictures look like garbage when zoomed in. It's a limitation of the size, you will never get great picture quality zooming in so far. If you have to zoom into every picture and still have good detail, get a real camera.

 

[Samut]

All phone pictures look like garbage when zoomed in. It's a limitation of the size, you will never get great picture quality zooming in so far. If you have to zoom into every picture and still have good detail, get a real camera.

Thank you but I actually do already have a Sony A7iii. Unfortunately I don't always have it me and that's when having a mobile phone with decent sensor would come handy.

Sensor size often gives dramatic improvements to detail and that's where Apple is lacking compared to the competition. While other flagships are already at sensor size of 1/1.33" which is already three times the area compared to iPhone 12 pro's 1/2.55" main sensor.

 

[zhenya]

Zooming in is the right way to go if you want to compare the absolute image quality between the pictures. This forum resizes the photos and compresses them so without zoomed in photos they would be impossible to compare against each other.

We should all be thankful to original poster for his efforts to give us meaningful comparison between the cameras on iPhone 12 pro and iPhone 6s.

Maybe so, but I don't find the comparisons posted very useful. In the real world, for people who have reasonable expectations, and no axe to grind, the differences even last year between a 6s (on left) and 11 Pro (right) are substantial and obvious. This was a quick snap in actually pretty decent indoor morning light - just beyond the upper bound of the frame is a huge south facing window 6' tall by 9' wide. The differences are only magnified as the light gets worse.

 

[jonppa]

Why did you zoom in the comparison pictures at all?

I wanted to see the details like shadows and overall sharpness. Also I wanted to see how these compare to DSLR sharpness/resolution.

Post some original size, original quality side by side images taken at night.

I have never argued that 6S has same low-light capabilities as 12. I was dissapointed to the quality of the low-light photos I got from last night.

Here is the field picture in 100% (the originals are so big that they don't fit my screen).

Thank you but I actually do already have a Sony A7iii. Unfortunately I don't always have it me and that's when having a mobile phone with decent sensor would come handy.

I have X-T30 and Fujinon lens and those new DSLR / mirrorless cameras have amazing dynamic range and sharpness. Same thing; I would like to shoot some of my photos with mobile phone / replace DSLR shooting. BTW: Why I'm interested in the smushyness / blurriness is that I like to make prints out of digital files.

 

[Strelok]

Thank you but I actually do already have a Sony A7iii. Unfortunately I don't always have it me and that's when having a mobile phone with decent sensor would come handy.

Sensor size often gives dramatic improvements to detail and that's where Apple is lacking compared to the competition. At sensor size of 1/1.33" they are already at three times the area compared to iPhone 12 pro for the main sensor.

It's a decent sensor when viewed on the proper devices. On Phones and tablets it looks great, on laptops it can look OK until you start to really zoom in. Like I said, if you really care about blowing images up and possibly printing them to hang up, I would suggest taking your main camera. I have a bunch of pictures from an iPhone 5 about 7 years when I visited Europe, they look fine on my phone and tablet but if I look closer they can be very messy too.

 

[Samut]

I wanted to see the details like shadows and overall sharpness. Also I wanted to see how these compare to DSLR sharpness/resolution.



I have never argued that 6S has same low-light capabilities as 12. I was dissapointed to the quality of the low-light photos I got from last night.

Here is the field picture in 100% (the originals are so big that they don't fit my screen).

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I have X-T30 and Fujinon lens and those new DSLR / mirrorless cameras have amazing dynamic range and sharpness. Same thing; I would like to shoot some of my photos with mobile phone / replace DSLR shooting. BTW: Why I'm interested in the smushyness / blurriness is that I like to make prints out of digital files.

Exactly the same reason here. While many of the photos taken on iPhone look great on screen of the mobile device they start to break down due to all the processing when viewed on monitor, TV or if you print them. That's why I believe that a larger sensor would be hugely useful to improve the input from the sensor.

 

[Johnny907]

The swipe to open with Face Id is so you can see and read the notifications on your lock screen. Lock screen notifications would be completely useless if every time you looked at your phone it opened to the homepage.

Lock Screen notifications are already useless to many people. If my phone is open why do I need them? I’m with the OP: I would love for a toggle to eliminate the need for swipe up to open after unlock.
The fact that I don’t even have the option is due to the Apple philosophy of “our way is the only way,” and is my biggest and only real gripe about the company.