Hands-On With the New iPhone 12 Pro

[Ramchi]

I will replace by XS Max in 2022 December not before that

 

[smoking monkey]

I will replace by XS Max in 2022 December not before that

I'm with you, but 2021 for me. I'm guessing (hoping) that we'll see minimal or not notch, FaceID AND TouchID along with Promotion. That plus better cameras, faster processor etc, will be worth the upgrade.

I could have upgraded this year with a decent trade in on the Max, but I bought a Nintendo Switch instead. Cheaper too. I'm enjoying Golf Story and the old Nintendo games.

 

[RoelJuun]

All those wireless charger cables that are going to break or fry in the coming years. You can already see in the video how flimsy that cable is. And because you can't detach it from the charging component, you will have to throw it in the trash and buy a new one.

 

[Kylo83]

5G = Worse than LTE in the UK
DESIGN = beautiful but once in a case looks like any other iPhone
Bezels = bigger as the screen is flat so looks more out dated
Camera = isn’t much better and done a lot of testing and I’m a photographer
MagSafe = the biggest gimmick of 2020
Speed = same as the A13 in real use

In my honest opinion coming from someone that used to que up every year for hours just to get the new iPhones each year and still see my self as an apple sheep I’m mega disappointed, I’m waiting for the max but my misses got the pro yesterday and I really think it’s the worst upgrade ever on an iPhone, using it makes it feel like any other iPhone, like I said the design is much nicer but eveyone uses a case so you don’t even see it. The bezels on the 11 pro are nicer because it’s rounded these might say they are smaller but it doesn’t look like it, apple come on this isn’t the apple I love

 

[ediks]

Next year will always be better.

yes, but next year will be a lot better and not incrementaly better like this year, that’s the difference for me, for example look at the 12 Pro vs 11 Pro, it is better yes, but only by a little bit (battery is actually worse though), then take XS vs 11 Pro, that was a much bigger upgrade

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

 

[44267547]

I missed the included SIM ejection tool. That would have saved me those 5 minutes running around like a mad man looking for a pin or needle.

Pro Tip:

A paperclip (Which everyone has) works equally as efficient as an alternative to a sim tool.

 

[GuruZac]

You guys keep saying this but it’s simply not true. And if even those who tend to upgrade annually aren’t the targets then Apple is doing something wrong.

There’s a reason Apple focused on 5g and brought in Verizon who has the highest speeds. Then they focused on a14 and camera. And made sure to mention Pros a lot. How many “Pros” in apples mind do you think still use an older iPhone like 6S? Those old phone users are definitely not their target. Not for iPhone pros.

As an iPhone 11 Pro Max user I’m definitely upgrading and clearly see reason to. 5g. Brighter for hdr content screen. Bigger screen. Better form factor (I don’t use cases). HDR video recording. Bigger sensor. Sensor shift stabilization. More ram.

I’m good with this. But I’m definitely a small niche who cares about this stuff as are probably most of us in these forums along with reviewers. But we are the ones who, in turn, brag about how great this stuff is and get those other older buyers on the upgrade bandwagon. Apple knows this.

That people on here are disappointed in 12 or more likely the 12 pro just tells us that apple failed somewhere. Disappointing MagSafe? Overhyped 5g or camera in the little Pro? Needed that one feature that this hardware enables that just wows users? Maybe. That’s on Apple. Or perhaps they thought the redesign alone and flat edges was the icing on cake.

The displays, other than size are identical 11 Pro to 12 Pro. Both are rated to same brightness with and without HDR content - 800 and 1200 nits. The jury is still out on the Pro Max, but the 11 Pro to 12 Pro probably is one of the most incremental upgrades year over year.

 

[CVUSA]

I've got the 12 Pro coming today, as my 11 Pro Max is super large and heavy for me with the Apple battery case. With the camera improvements, though, I'm thinking maybe I should have gotten the 12 Pro Max - anyone have any thoughts?

I haven’t see anyone using battery care on 11pm so far . Yes 12p are great sizes But 12pm had more interesting camera if you like take photos.
For my experience first thing you gonna notice when you look at 12p small screen and tight , it takes sometime to get used to it as long you don’t look at iPhone 11 p max screen anymore. I had 12pm case for a week now so I ready for iPhone 12 pro max, coming from 11pm ,XSm,X,7+,6+,5,4S,4,3GS,1.

 

[notabadname]

I really see no difference between the 11 pro and 12 pro photo quality....

The portrait on the 12 did a better job of not blurring hair into the background. Looks better and more like the results from a large aperture DSLR lens.

 

[The Mercurian]

Is it just me or was there much worse lens flare in the video from the iphone12 vs the 11 ?

 

[Whathappened]

I can tell a difference in the lake scene shot.

Don’t think so. You think you can tell, but other than it’s slightly wider and a different tone it’s kind of the same amount of details.
No wonder the big outdoor picture is the only one where you might feel like there was a difference.
For normal circumstances Smartphone cameras already are kind of maxed out.

 

[Springman]

Were you able to activate it easily? Lots of people under all US carriers (don't know about other countries) are experiencing difficulties.

Sprint customer here and yeah it hung up a couple of times during activation which required hard resets. But eventually got er done.

 

[I7guy]

Don’t think so. You think you can tell, but other than it’s slightly wider and a different tone it’s kind of the same amount of details.
No wonder the big outdoor picture is the only one where you might feel like there was a difference.
For normal circumstances Smartphone cameras already are kind of maxed out.

A small side by side on a website that compresses the pictures is not the ideal venue to determine if there are camera differences.

 

[I7guy]

The portrait on the 12 did a better job of not blurring hair into the background. Looks better and more like the results from a large aperture DSLR lens.

Actually, I agree with you. The 12 looked like it did a better job with the background as well.

 

[crawfish963]

Apparently it scratches really easy boys and girls, be cautious.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1319750400405237

Apparently it scratches really easy boys and girls, be cautious.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1319750400405237760

The back camera lenses are sapphire and they will scratch screens. You shouldn’t stack phones on top of each other....

 

[arkmannj]

I came from a 6s+ to a 12pro

### first the downsides ####

* I do already miss touchID and a home button.

* I turned siri off from the power button

* I honestly haven’t found a case I love. I ended up getting the Otterbox Aura series just to have something until I do find a case I like. I’d like a case with a little higher lip for if the phone falls screen down. the current cases are very shallow and might protect against large grains of sand, but that’s about it. I’d Ideally like a case that holds 2 cards (drivers license until my state issues digital ones, and 1 credit card)

* I wish faceID could register 2+ faces. so my wife and I could both be registered on each other’s phones. the mask thing doesn’t bother me since it’s occasional for me, but people wearing them daily I can see how that’s a pain.

* It feels weird how much space is under the keyboard for the emoji and mic buttons. not a bad thing necessarily but feels weird.

* Is there a way to dim or hide the white line at the bottom of the screen telling me that I can pull up for app closing/switching?

* I miss being able to see the battery percentage with the battery charge indicator icon.

* repairing Ape watch was kind of unexpected, but went smoothly

* Got a MagSafe charger which is kind of neat but if I end up with a case that holds a couple cards I’m betting MagSafe will be kind of a “non-feature” for my personal usage. I’ve looked at the magsafe wallet attachments and they seem like they come off to easily and perhaps add more bulk than I need.


####### Now the good stuff ! ######

* setup was super easy, tell the 12 to transfer from my old phone, put the phones next to each other and wait a little while. It honestly doesn’t get any easier. (I also turned on iCloud sync)

* activation was simple, I just physically swapped SIM cards, this made it instant and no fuss about data plans, etc.

* I love that my phone is smaller than my old one yet has a bigger, clearer screen.

* So far I really like the build quality. I was concerned I’d be dissapointed in myself fir getting boring graphite color but, honestly I think it looks great and it’s in a case anyways

* lidar has been fun to play with, I’m not seeing a “free” app that does what I want to who knows maybe I’ll adventure away from my C# love into Swift to see if I can make something.

* I love how it feels in my hand compared to my old phone. I can pretty much hold and type with 1 hand.

* It’s zippy!

* I know other people hate the notch but I am kinda liking organizationally the dedicated space for status icons and pull downs.

* WiFi range is better in our house. we still use WiFi 5 so I can’t tell you WiFi 6 performance but for us WiFi on the 12 is way better than older phones we had. the 12 gets full signal in places my 6s+ would totally drop out.

* FaceID is quicker than I expected. I’m still adjusting to it automatically doing it’s thing rather than an intentional action of TouchID.

* The screen protector I got was the easiest one to date to install. It was the Belkin screen protector sold on Apple’s website. I’d totally buy it again assuming it performs well. easy install and don’t even notice it after that.

* We do have a ton of USB ports and lightning cables around the house but I still bought a USB-C brick for when I need faster charging.

* sound from the speakers is fantastic compared to my old phone, talking on speaker is much nicer.

* weight is good for me. fells light yet heavy enough to feel like good build quality. I plan to keep this phone for 5 years or more if possible and it “feels” like it should make it

* still testing the camera but so far I do like it better m. I’ve not tried Dolby Vision yet.

* web pages and scrolling are a dream compared to before.

* I don’t plan on getting my phone wet but it is nice to think if my toddler splashed that I might not kill my phone.


########################

I’m sure I could think of more things but there’s my initial thoughts

 

[posguy99]

Were you able to activate it easily? Lots of people under all US carriers (don't know about other countries) are experiencing difficulties.

VZW customer here. This was the first iPhone that didn't activate itself when I turned it on. Don't know whether it was because I did the wireless migration from my X (neat trick that, never had a phone that could do that before)... but I used the web site automation and it activated right away, never had to talk to a CSR.

 

[simonmet]

I’m going to upgrade to the 11 Pro Max in late 2021.

Assuming we make it that far! 🤣

 

[B4rbelith]

I came from a 6s+ to a 12pro

### first the downsides ####

* I do already miss touchID and a home button.

* I turned siri off from the power button

* I honestly haven’t found a case I love. I ended up getting the Otterbox Aura series just to have something until I do find a case I like. I’d like a case with a little higher lip for if the phone falls screen down. the current cases are very shallow and might protect against large grains of sand, but that’s about it. I’d Ideally like a case that holds 2 cards (drivers license until my state issues digital ones, and 1 credit card)

* I wish faceID could register 2+ faces. so my wife and I could both be registered on each other’s phones. the mask thing doesn’t bother me since it’s occasional for me, but people wearing them daily I can see how that’s a pain.

* It feels weird how much space is under the keyboard for the emoji and mic buttons. not a bad thing necessarily but feels weird.

* Is there a way to dim or hide the white line at the bottom of the screen telling me that I can pull up for app closing/switching?

* I miss being able to see the battery percentage with the battery charge indicator icon.

* repairing Ape watch was kind of unexpected, but went smoothly

* Got a MagSafe charger which is kind of neat but if I end up with a case that holds a couple cards I’m betting MagSafe will be kind of a “non-feature” for my personal usage. I’ve looked at the magsafe wallet attachments and they seem like they come off to easily and perhaps add more bulk than I need.


####### Now the good stuff ! ######

* setup was super easy, tell the 12 to transfer from my old phone, put the phones next to each other and wait a little while. It honestly doesn’t get any easier. (I also turned on iCloud sync)

* activation was simple, I just physically swapped SIM cards, this made it instant and no fuss about data plans, etc.

* I love that my phone is smaller than my old one yet has a bigger, clearer screen.

* So far I really like the build quality. I was concerned I’d be dissapointed in myself fir getting boring graphite color but, honestly I think it looks great and it’s in a case anyways

* lidar has been fun to play with, I’m not seeing a “free” app that does what I want to who knows maybe I’ll adventure away from my C# love into Swift to see if I can make something.

* I love how it feels in my hand compared to my old phone. I can pretty much hold and type with 1 hand.

* It’s zippy!

* I know other people hate the notch but I am kinda liking organizationally the dedicated space for status icons and pull downs.

* WiFi range is better in our house. we still use WiFi 5 so I can’t tell you WiFi 6 performance but for us WiFi on the 12 is way better than older phones we had. the 12 gets full signal in places my 6s+ would totally drop out.

* FaceID is quicker than I expected. I’m still adjusting to it automatically doing it’s thing rather than an intentional action of TouchID.

* The screen protector I got was the easiest one to date to install. It was the Belkin screen protector sold on Apple’s website. I’d totally buy it again assuming it performs well. easy install and don’t even notice it after that.

* We do have a ton of USB ports and lightning cables around the house but I still bought a USB-C brick for when I need faster charging.

* sound from the speakers is fantastic compared to my old phone, talking on speaker is much nicer.

* weight is good for me. fells light yet heavy enough to feel like good build quality. I plan to keep this phone for 5 years or more if possible and it “feels” like it should make it

* still testing the camera but so far I do like it better m. I’ve not tried Dolby Vision yet.

* web pages and scrolling are a dream compared to before.

* I don’t plan on getting my phone wet but it is nice to think if my toddler splashed that I might not kill my phone.


########################

I’m sure I could think of more things but there’s my initial thoughts

* I wish faceID could register 2+ faces. so my wife and I could both be registered on each other’s phones. the mask thing doesn’t bother me since it’s occasional for me, but people wearing them daily I can see how that’s a pain.

Pretty sure you can. It’s under ‘set up an alternate appearance’

* It feels weird how much space is under the keyboard for the emoji and mic buttons. not a bad thing necessarily but feels weird.

That’s so you can hold down the space key and move the cursor around easily over text to edit it

* Is there a way to dim or hide the white line at the bottom of the screen telling me that I can pull up for app closing/switching?

Nah, but it does change between black and white depending on what’s behind it. You stop noticing it after a while.

 

[arkmannj]

Pro Tip:

A paperclip (Which everyone has) works equally as efficient as an alternative to a sim tool.

My 12Pro came with a SIM eject tool. it was wrapped in the warranty stuff.
[automerge]1603552561[/automerge]

* I wish faceID could register 2+ faces. so my wife and I could both be registered on each other’s phones. the mask thing doesn’t bother me since it’s occasional for me, but people wearing them daily I can see how that’s a pain.

Pretty sure you can. It’s under ‘set up an alternate appearance’

* It feels weird how much space is under the keyboard for the emoji and mic buttons. not a bad thing necessarily but feels weird.

That’s so you can hold down the space key and move the cursor around easily over text to edit it

* Is there a way to dim or hide the white line at the bottom of the screen telling me that I can pull up for app closing/switching?

Nah, but it does change between black and white depending on what’s behind it. You stop noticing it after a while.

Thanks for the tips, very helpful!

 

[alex2792]

SIM ejector tool need to remove next time, because basically most of users already have that. That's good for environmental because of less metal used for making those. /s

I never bother unpacking those and just use a paper clip.

 

[paulvee]

I love it so far but, sadly, I had to initiate a return and replace. Mine came out of the box with a bright green vertical line on the right side of the screen. It has persisted through various troubleshooting steps, although it did seem to disappear for half an hour. (I hate intermittent problems the most, but it has been solidly green ever since.) I'm guessing it's hardware and now I just need Apple to send me the replacement. Ugh.

 

[Txcruiser]

I came from a 6s+ to a 12pro

### first the downsides ####

* I do already miss touchID and a home button.

* I turned siri off from the power button

* I honestly haven’t found a case I love. I ended up getting the Otterbox Aura series just to have something until I do find a case I like. I’d like a case with a little higher lip for if the phone falls screen down. the current cases are very shallow and might protect against large grains of sand, but that’s about it. I’d Ideally like a case that holds 2 cards (drivers license until my state issues digital ones, and 1 credit card)

* I wish faceID could register 2+ faces. so my wife and I could both be registered on each other’s phones. the mask thing doesn’t bother me since it’s occasional for me, but people wearing them daily I can see how that’s a pain.

* It feels weird how much space is under the keyboard for the emoji and mic buttons. not a bad thing necessarily but feels weird.

* Is there a way to dim or hide the white line at the bottom of the screen telling me that I can pull up for app closing/switching?

* I miss being able to see the battery percentage with the battery charge indicator icon.

* repairing Ape watch was kind of unexpected, but went smoothly

* Got a MagSafe charger which is kind of neat but if I end up with a case that holds a couple cards I’m betting MagSafe will be kind of a “non-feature” for my personal usage. I’ve looked at the magsafe wallet attachments and they seem like they come off to easily and perhaps add more bulk than I need.


####### Now the good stuff ! ######

* setup was super easy, tell the 12 to transfer from my old phone, put the phones next to each other and wait a little while. It honestly doesn’t get any easier. (I also turned on iCloud sync)

* activation was simple, I just physically swapped SIM cards, this made it instant and no fuss about data plans, etc.

* I love that my phone is smaller than my old one yet has a bigger, clearer screen.

* So far I really like the build quality. I was concerned I’d be dissapointed in myself fir getting boring graphite color but, honestly I think it looks great and it’s in a case anyways

* lidar has been fun to play with, I’m not seeing a “free” app that does what I want to who knows maybe I’ll adventure away from my C# love into Swift to see if I can make something.

* I love how it feels in my hand compared to my old phone. I can pretty much hold and type with 1 hand.

* It’s zippy!

* I know other people hate the notch but I am kinda liking organizationally the dedicated space for status icons and pull downs.

* WiFi range is better in our house. we still use WiFi 5 so I can’t tell you WiFi 6 performance but for us WiFi on the 12 is way better than older phones we had. the 12 gets full signal in places my 6s+ would totally drop out.

* FaceID is quicker than I expected. I’m still adjusting to it automatically doing it’s thing rather than an intentional action of TouchID.

* The screen protector I got was the easiest one to date to install. It was the Belkin screen protector sold on Apple’s website. I’d totally buy it again assuming it performs well. easy install and don’t even notice it after that.

* We do have a ton of USB ports and lightning cables around the house but I still bought a USB-C brick for when I need faster charging.

* sound from the speakers is fantastic compared to my old phone, talking on speaker is much nicer.

* weight is good for me. fells light yet heavy enough to feel like good build quality. I plan to keep this phone for 5 years or more if possible and it “feels” like it should make it

* still testing the camera but so far I do like it better m. I’ve not tried Dolby Vision yet.

* web pages and scrolling are a dream compared to before.

* I don’t plan on getting my phone wet but it is nice to think if my toddler splashed that I might not kill my phone.


########################

I’m sure I could think of more things but there’s my initial thoughts

I’m also looking to jump from a 6s+ to a 12 pro.
You mentioned you swapped your SIM card from the 6s+ to the 12 with no problems. I was going to do same when mine arrives but I’ve read that while the old SIM card from a 6s+ will work it will probably not get you the 5 G Speeds. So I’m now going to order the 12 with a new T-Mobile SIM card.

 

[Look i4k]

Thanks for your review. How much storage does 1 minute of 4K 60 frames DV HDR video take?

 

[5105973]

It’s an incremental upgrade from my 11 Pro, for sure. But coming from an SE 2 and an 11 Pro, it’s nice to have a larger display again like I had on my XR. Yet somehow even though it’s a gram heavier than my 11 Pro, it feels better in hand. And no more intel modem, whew! Already I’ve got an extra bar of LTE showing up. I can’t wait to see what improvements that change alone brings to my experience.

I’m happy so far that I decided to upgrade after all. I’ll probably upgrade again next year so I can get an even better modem and maybe see the pro max camera improvements trickle down to this size.