Leaker: iPhone 12 Lineup to Feature Faster Face ID, Improved Zoom, and Longer Battery Life

[twocents]

Unfortunately they won’t last for years to come if you don’t update the software. At which point 3D Touch and force touch will be gone from both devices.

Apple struck a decent compromise with iOS where hard pressing like 3D Touch registers it in the system nearly instantly. watchOS though goes to redo-ing some UI behavior present since version 1.0.

To clarify I run latest OS, just saw a lot of potential in a feature I used countless time. but had friends even yesterday discover it on an 11. Sam folks are longtime iPhone users

 

[Momof2.1107]

My #1 reason for upgrading my XS Max to the 12 Pro Max is for the Qualcomm modem. The Intel modem is garbage and so bad, I had to switch carriers in August to get better coverage until the 12 Pro Max launches.

 

[faithfulFrank]

So..i'm and old guy...62 and not all that techy. I HAVE to get a new phone now, because I just upgraded my watch to the new iwatch6 w/cellular. My current iphone is a 6plus...so it will NOT work with my new watch. I read a lot on my phone, so a bigger screen would be nice. I can get the 6.1 inch Pro and enjoy a bigger screen than I have now in a smaller size phone....OR, I can get the huge iphone12ProMax. Iy will probably be one of those. I might say no to the MAX, simply because I'll have to wait longer it looks like. Perhaps the common sense compromise would be the 6.1 inch pro. I bet it will be a good upgrade to my perfect condition but now outdated iphone6+

So, my old man rant is that NONE of the iwatches really tell you when you forgot your phone at home. Yes, there is a little red phone picture on the watch, but you never see it until it is too late. This is the reason I'm getting the cellular one this time. The !@#$$% iwatch tells you when to breathe but not when you left your phone at home. Sigh.

So...is it better to buy right from Apple as soon as you can order, or buy it at Verizon? I'll probably take both the new phone and new iwatch to verizon or Apple store by appt and just say, "Make it all work"

If the wait between the two is not too much, I either get the 6.1 inch for the reasons stated above, or spurge on the 6.7 MaxPro....since it is only a tad larger than what I'm currently used to with a WAY bigger screen. Having 3 lenses has to be better than what I have now. I never thought i'd pay $1000 for a phone, but when I keep them 5 years, it really is not a big deal. I can write it off. From what most of you say, I am more than justified upgrading from a 6plus....

Sorry for my long post. I envy most all of you who know so much more about this stuff than I do. Thank you.

 

[ececlv]

Since I have on my iPhone 8 Plus:

- 1920x1080 pixels at 401ppi (I don't need more than that)
- Home Button and Touch ID
- 3D Touch
- Control Center accessible from all the bottom of the screen, via swipe up
- Telephoto camera
- No notch

I really don't know how people can live with a Control Center accessible from the top-right edge... that's OK on my iPad Pro 11" with a large screen, but on an iPhone? My thumb is always near the bottom, the Control Center is always easily accessible for me from the bottom via swipe up. So I deleted the Calculator app from the home screen and added it to the Control Center.

And the Home Button helps a lot when I'm using my iPhone on landscape orientation.

My Control center is accessible by tapping on the back of my phone (back tap option). Also works on your 8.

 

[Taz Mangus]

What I really like, if the rumors are correct, is that the iPhone 12 mini is going to be $599 for the 64 GB model. For comparison, I paid $768 for my 64GB iPhone 6s+ through T-Mobile in 2015 (full retail price through Apple $850). I can live with a .1" smaller screen in a package that is smaller then the iPhone SE 2020.

 

[ececlv]

So if prosser is to be believed (I know, I know) they ditched 120hz screen because of battery life? Maybe they should have stuck a larger battery in, make it a little thicker and have the option for 120hz to be turned on/off.

The iphone X and 11 are already too heavy. I love long battery life, but I don't want my phone to get any heavier.

 

[0924487]

And 5G is available on most networks now.

Most of the 5G towers on the planet are in China right now, unless you live in China, the world is not set up with 5G signals outside of a few pockets in major city centers.

China will have around 750K towers by the end of 2020, the EU will have around 25K, and the US will have around 45K.

 

[joeblow7777]

I would have updated just to have Touch ID. In the mask world we live in its ridiculous Apple hasn't implemented this. There is no excuse outside of pure laziness to not do it.

Hardware features like that have to be planned, designed, and engineered several months in advance at least. I think you’re seriously underestimating how far in advance Apple would have had to have planned TouchID on this year’s phone. Likely long before they could have known that mask wearing would be the norm in 2020.

 

[Donnation]

Hardware features like that have to be planned, designed, and engineered several months in advance at least. I think you’re seriously underestimating how far in advance Apple would have had to have planned TouchID on this year’s phone. Likely long before they could have known that mask wearing would be the norm in 2020.

Yes I’m aware of that and as I explained before, Apple should have already implemented this. They planned ahead for the iPad Air so they obviously see Touch ID has value. People have been asking for it since it was eliminated with Face ID and every other manufacturer offers it. COVID has nothing to do with it except making them look foolish for not having it on the iPhone 12, if it in fact doesn’t have it. They could have easily done it by now but have just chosen not too because they don’t like adding features back that they’ve removed. If the 12 doesn’t have it, its a big miss for them this year and you can bet that the 13 will have it.

 

[Taz Mangus]

...I think I am gonna be stuck with my 10S Max for a long time.

I stuck with my iPhone 6s+ for 5 years. And I will probably do the same with the iPhone 12.

 

[MartyvH]

Re notch... Wow. When you would prefer a rumor not to be true. The same as the 2017 X, except narrower and taller in the Mini? Whaaa?

Whereas I don't have much of a concern over battery life in the Mini, unlike many people here. Apple usually has component miniaturisation and efficiency tricks to deploy.

But that power button Touch ID as per the iPad Air - couldn't they have just slotted it in? I mean the iOS code is already there. Couldn't they? It would be the Apple thing to do. Come through with innovations quickly. Steve Jobs and all that.

 

[Taz Mangus]

Hardware features like that have to be planned, designed, and engineered several months in advance at least. I think you’re seriously underestimating how far in advance Apple would have had to have planned TouchID on this year’s phone. Likely long before they could have known that mask wearing would be the norm in 2020.

Considering that Apple introduced the Touch ID on the new iPad Air power button it would not be out the realm of possibility that it could be introduced on the lowest priced iPhone 12 mini.

 

[vhayda]

isn’t anyone considering that apple will improve Face ID to work with a mask?

 

[iMEric984]

To everyone complaining about Face ID and no Touch ID. Call the wambulance, and don’t upgrade. Get an iPhone SE. This iPhone was prob finalized before covid happened. Touch ID sucked for me. I’d have to reset it at least once a week.

 

[scupking]

I don’t get way Apple doesn’t put Touch ID under the display. My OnePlus 7pro has it and it works just as well as my iPad.

 

[falainber]

isn’t anyone considering that apple will improve Face ID to work with a mask?

What type of mask? It is likely that if face recognition works with the mask the phone may be unlocked by every second dude out there.

 

[dumastudetto]

If the pro models don’t have a 120hz screen then there isn’t much point upgrading from my 10S Max.

You do realise this feature is available on a bunch of Android phones, but it's frequently turned off by default because it chews up the battery so badly?

Apple isn't going to introduce a flagship feature and turn it off by default. When they ship it, it will an out-of-the-box experience that doesn't destroy the battery. We should all be happy to wait until Apple has perfected the experience.

There's still going to be a billion other reasons to upgrade this year.

 

[joeblow7777]

Considering that Apple introduced the Touch ID on the new iPad Air power button it would not be out the realm of possibility that it could be introduced on the lowest priced iPhone 12 mini.

It’s not impossible, but unlikely knowledge of it wouldn’t have leaked.

 

[dumastudetto]

I can see the headlines now. “Man dies because iPhone Control Center was on the top-right edge.”

Admittedly it was annoying when I first experienced this change. You just adjust to change and it becomes second nature to you. It wasn't long before I found the old method more annoying when encountering an older iPhone.

 

[MrMaxwell]

Releasing the iPad Air with Touch ID but not the iPhone is just silly. Face ID is great is many situations but not all, and now in pandemic times they have backed themselves into a corner.

No customer would ever complain 'why does this iPhone have Touch ID as an option - terrible'

 

[fbr$]

My Control center is accessible by tapping on the back of my phone (back tap option). Also works on your 8.

Good to know, thank you for telling me that, but why would I use this workaround when I have the real thing (swipe up from the bottom with my thumb)?

 

[JM]

I think it is a little too early to categorically say “rubbish.” We will have to wait and see if the battery is the same size as the current SE, which is 1,821 mAh. Given the smaller form factor of the 5.4”, I am not going to assume Apple will put anything bigger in the phone. The 11 model has a 3,110 mAh and the article says worse than that. For all we know, the battery could be 2100 mAh. If it is the same size as the current SE, a lot of people are going to be disappointed and frustrated.

I have the current SE and it was getting excellent battery life on iOS 13. I am a light user with the phone and I could get almost 1.5 days between charges. With iOS 14 and setting up as new several times, a lot of the time the phone is down to 20 - 30% before the full day is over. I have gone to using a Apple Smart Battery Case. I am using the same apps as I was with iOS 13. It may be a bug with iOS 14.

Oh no 🤦‍♂️ I was considering the SE but after seeing that you're a light user and getting that much of a reduction in battery on iOS 14... that's a problem.

top of the list reason for me to get a new phone from iPhone 7 is better battery. I'm tired of charging my phone during the day even using low power mode. I just don't want to have to think about battery life

 

[I7guy]

I don’t get way Apple doesn’t put Touch ID under the display. My OnePlus 7pro has it and it works just as well as my iPad.

Just some thoughts. Maybe fingerprint recognition doesn’t work as well under the screen as apple wants and hardware designs are finalized way in advance of manufacturing (so posters here say). Can’t shoehorn hardware at the last minute and force changes in the supply chain and hope everything goes well.

 

[Woochoo]

These iPhones were finalized before the "mask world we live in" started.

They literally had 7-8 months since the covid thing started hitting the whole world to include the same they already had designed and tested for their already released iPad Air: the touchID in the power button. If there was just nothing really new to put in the iPhone 12 (same story as 11), they at least could've put that and call it a day, otherwise what have been the whole iPhone division (designers, not the SoC engineers) doing this last 2 years?

 

[wigby]

I would have updated just to have Touch ID. In the mask world we live in its ridiculous Apple hasn't implemented this. There is no excuse outside of pure laziness to not do it.

This phone was designed over a year ago. The prognosis for Covid changes every other week so it’s unreasonable to expect Apple to have a solution for your approval ready. They’re having enough issues sourcing components from a struggling Chinese supply chain to build 100 million phones and you want them to source new components long after they finalized the designs?