I’m happy that you are trying. ...and would love to hear how it all turns out.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 12 My 12 has arrived!
- Thread starter ssledoux
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Uh oh. Our son texts me yesterday from work and asks for the passcode for our AT&T account because he wants to upgrade his iPhone 8. He’s handled my 12 and my wife’s 12 Pro and he said the 12 Pro was TOO heavy and seemed to like my 12.
So he comes home to my surprise with a 12 Mini! He’s a big boy 6’ 3” large hands. I was like what the heck. He said he much prefers a phone that’s comfortably pocketable and more compact. He also said after comparing the mini has a larger screen anyway vs the 8.
I haven’t had the desire to go out and handle the mini but when he came home I handled his.
Uh oh! This device is bad a*s. It’s so comfortably pocketable and the screen is nice. I’m able to whip around 1 handed with no problem and typing isn’t bad.
I seriously like the mini BUT battery life is a concern for me. Having an SE2020 the battery life was horrible. Yes a smaller phone = less battery life. When I had the SE2020 it would go down to 20% at least 2x in an 8 hour workday so I had to charge at least 2x within a work day and maybe 1x after. With the 12 I’m usually at 20% - 35% at 6-7 hours in. At work I’m mostly on cellular because where I’m at the WiFi doesn’t reach.
I get the mini has a smaller battery than the 12 because it’s a smaller device. But it’s such a pleasure to not really worry about the battery with the 12.
My situation is I spend 8 - 10 hours at work during the week mostly on cellular data and use the phone pretty heavily mostly streaming and other battery draining apps. Plus I don’t have access to power where I can plug in or wireless charge but I do have a USB C power bank that charges pretty fast. When I had my SE2020 the power bank I used a lot but the problem is since I’m mobile and needed a charge I would have to carry the SE2020 plugged into the power bank which was extremely inconvenient. With the 12 I don’t have to do that except 1/2 hour - 45 minutes before I leave work then I charge via the power bank or since I’m ready to punch out I then have access to a plug. Then my iPhone can to to 80% charge within 1/2 hour to 45 minutes and I’m good to go for the rest of the day when I get home because I’m mostly on WiFi.
Darn the mini would be perfect for me if the battery life was not significantly worse than the 12. However I’m pretty dialed into the 12 and it’s size.
Why did he come home with a mini!?
Last edited:
My 12 Pro Max arrived on Friday and I have been enjoying it so far:
Nice choice. I’m intrigued by these types of cases with loops and pop sockets. Obviously with the loopy laying the phone flat isn’t feasible?
In regards to the mini, use this work around and it should be pretty much smooth sailing util Apple releases a software update that addresses the mini touch capacity screen problem.Oh wow that Loopy looks fantastic! I’m probably going to end up with one eventually.
To my shock and horror my Mint Green Mini is due to arrive Monday! It wasn’t supposed to be here until the beginning of December. Very end of November at the earliest. So I had to scramble for cheap protector and case from Amazon. Lol but apparently there’s a problem with all minis and they don’t work with both a case and a screen protector on at the same time. Oh 2020.
And then other reports are that pwm is really bad on the mini. Oh well I won’t worry about it now.
My husband’s 12 Pro Max arrived yesterday. I immediately stole it from him. The display is smoooth. It’s a heavy and big phone but it’s so big that I hold it like a squirrel with a big acorn. And it oddly works.
So, I put in an order for a white/silver 12 Pro Max that should be here mid December. I own a Pixel 3XL that I have held squirrel style with good luck. So we will see how it goes. I’m not having the best of luck with my 11 Pro so I guess it’s worth a shot. I try holding my 11 Pro squirrel style but it’s too small and my left hand keeps slipping off and it’s a strain on my hand, too. Not nearly as bad as what I went through with the 12 Pro, but enough that I’m not going to cry when I trade it back to Apple.
So I’m going to have the mini for my pocket communicator on my main telephone number. The 12 Pro Max for my ebook and forum reading and emails and movie watching on the line that will soon be taken from my Samsung. The Samsung is going on trade for the mini. Unless the mini is really a hot mess for me.
My red 12 goes back next week. There is some issue where it randomly suddenly overheats. I’ll think it’s fine and not going to do it anymore and then it does. The display also was not as comfortable for me. It almost was. It was a nice size to hold one handed. If everything fails for me with the mini and 12 Pro Max combo I suppose I can go back to a different 12.
I would miss the 2x zooms for portraits. Wide angle portrait shots do mess with proportions and distort facial features a little bit. But I could get by.
At the end of all this I will have owned the entire 2020 lineup. I would feel sheepish about this, but my husband’s friends, who spend a lot of time on social media forums, say that this year returns and exchanges seem rampant. I can’t imagine what the executives at Apple are making of all this.
I do think they’ve had some quality control issues and quality variances this year. Not just in their phones but in the accessories, too. My Mag Safe clear case already has stress fractures in the polycarbonate toward the bottom from being taken off my 12 Pro and put on my red 12. It’s been removed and put on a phone about 8 times. It can’t take that much movement.
Okay well that’s my latest chapter in the ongoing saga of “The Undecided”. 🤣
Oh goodness, my husband just dropped his new phone off his lap. It’s okay. He’s got a Spigen Air Armor case on it and a Caudabe screen protector.
———————-
A temporary work around that bypasses Lock Screen swipe
Settings > Accessibility > Back Tap > toggle on > set to home
From Lock Screen double tap the back of your case, and it will take you directly to Home Screen with no swiping involved.
If you are prompted with the passcode screen, simply double tap the back of your case and your passcode will automatically be inputted and send you to Home Screen.
With this work around, you shouldn’t need to use tin foil on the side of the case or touch the camera circles.
Oh thank you! That’s a good workaround and I appreciate the work that went into finding it. Well I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that. I just hope the pwm won’t get me. I guess I find out this week.
That is a beautiful device for sure! Not sure if I’ll ever try the max size again, but it sure is pretty!
No. If I want mine to lay flat I have to put it face down, which is really no biggie for me because I always have a screen protector on it. What keeps me using the loopy is how it enables me to use even the larger devices one handed. I prefer it to the pop socket because a pop socket requires 2 fingers to grip, whereas the Loopy only needs one to go in the loop, which allows you to spread your hand out more over the back of the device. I don’t know how to really describe it other than it helps me have more control and reachability because I can shift my hand around a little better. I find it also helps me balance out weight over my entire hand.
The other thing that’s nice is if I’m walking out the door with my hands full, and realize my phone is still on the table, I can easily catch the loop with my pinky. Yeah that seems silly until it happens and you realize you don’t have to put everything down to grab your phone and put it in your purse or pocket. It comes in handy more often than one might think.
Reading through this thread has me really tempted to upgrade from my SE. I have the regular iPhone 11 as well, but the SE has been the phone I’ve been using mainly. Something about the phone keeps me going back to it.
The 12 and 12 mini both have me tempted though. No doubt.
The 12 and 12 mini both have me tempted though. No doubt.
It's a great looking phone. Really love the industrial look that the iPhone 12 has. I now feel like I am holding an actual phone and not an oversized piece of soap with rounded edges.
I had the SE2 between my 11 and this release. When I first got the 12, I was really torn - I really loved a lot about the SE. My biggest gripe though was my struggle to type on the SE, and after a lot of back and forth those first few days, I realized the 12 just made more sense for me - so much easier to type on. Then there are the perks of screen size, better camera, better battery life, etc. I still have a little twinge of nostalgia when I hold my old SE2, but all I have to do is try typing a text message on it, and it reminds me why I love the 12. ;-p
Oh, and if you have the 11, you’d likely enjoy having the screen size of the 11 in a slightly smaller, lighter weight device. I feel like it’s a really good middle ground (sizewise) between the SE2 and the 11.
For me I don’t have to worry about the battery as much. I just worry about the pwm being hard on my eyes.
I forgot to charge my 11Pro so I’m “borrowing back” my red 12 that I haven’t sent back yet. (I want to compare it to the mini first). I can definitely feel some eye strain there. If the mini is actually as bad as I have heard, I probably won’t spend enough time on it to worry about battery. It would just be the phone I keep in my pocket because I can’t really text or talk-text on my Apple Watch. I mean it’s possible, I just hate using the watch for that.
You’d think during the kind of pandemic lockdown we are observing (very strict) I wouldn’t need to keep a communication device on me. Well it’s actually much much worse now with kids learning at home via Zoom. When they were in class, they weren’t allowed to use phones. Now they can text me or dear old dad constantly. Mainly to freak out about a quiz or to ask where a comma is supposed to go or something zany like their teacher’s cat just took over the Zoom or something. Once it was to tell me there was a turtle on zoom. 😯Yes, a turtle. I didn’t ask for details. I do feel blessed that I’m kept in the loop like that. I’ve even been included on group texts with their friends. But yeah the phone is constantly alerting me these days.
Also now that he’s working permanently from home, my husband is texting me sort of like one would use an intercom. We could actually do that on our watches, too. Except I hate using my watch for that. I just don’t like sticking my wrist up to my face and try to talk into it. Feels weird
ugh after not using this phone much for a few days it’s hard to look at. Nice feel in the hand, though. So anyway if I keep the mini it will be used to keep track of my texts. And do quick snapshots.
I do hope that my Pro Max will be easy on my eyes. So far my husband’s phone has been okay with me. But I won’t really know until I try to use one full time.
As far as the weight goes, it’s awful. But it’s very much like handling my iPad mini. I handle them the same and so I avoid the concentrated strain on one hand that I am more or less forced to deal with on a slightly smaller 12 Pro. There’s comfortable room for both hands to be used
Rene Ritchie was showing off the mini, a 12 and a 12 Pro Max. They all had their displays on. I could see the mini did have really noticeable flicker. The 12 had moderate flicker. I barely saw any on the 12 Pro Max. I hope it works out. I wish I didn’t have to wait until middle of December to find out.
Last edited:
For the first time I can use Apple OLED iphones. The 12 Pro Max is the easiest on my eyes with some very slight eye fatigue. The iPhone 12 is a little harder on my eyes as it feels like the display is brighter - like I'm being hit with a little more direct light. The 12 is not as nice an experience due to the tall, narrow display but is a lot lighter but still awkward to handle. I have the same issue as you as I find the Pro Max is heavy and sharp on the hands so while I love the screen size its not comfortable but I'm a one hand phone user.
If I have to compromise on experience by downsizing to the 12 from PM then I feel I should go the extra step and get the 12 mini for ultimate hand comfort and couple it with an iPad. Being a 7 Plus user for so long makes any change difficult to adjust to due to muscle memory and the boxy design of the 12 series isn't helping.
Last edited:
It’s funny - I’ve had issues with OLED since trying the XS Max, but the 12 doesn’t bother me at all. I adjusted that white point setting and it seems to solve the issues. That and I keep the display brightness low when I’m reading on my phone in the dark (actually I keep it low unless I’m outside and need it a little brighter).
I was thinking you were struggling having the heavier phones, so I’m surprised you’re trying the max. It does look like a gorgeous device, but I can’t imagine having a device that big. I’m sure I’d get used to it over time, but the weight would pretty much negate my being able to hold in one hand and read in bed for any length of time.
I absolutely love the idea of the mini, but I just know I can’t go that small for typing purposes.
I’m thankful the 12 is working for me - kinda the best of both worlds with a larger screen and still fairly lightweight.
My dream phone? The 11 pro in aluminum with no notch. I think that would be perfection.
Yeah my going with a device the size of a small tablet is kind of surprising to my family, too. But I really love that camera and figure it’s worth a try. I was pleasantly reminded of my Nexus 7 tablet when I tried it. It’s a lot lighter than the Nexus 7 was, though.
I figured it was worth a try because I can’t go back to the SE. My 11 Pro has the specs I want and the display my eyes can work with but a lot of weight concentrated into a compact form that’s hard to use two-handed. And now that I’ve seen the low light pictures taken by 12’s it’s hard to stay put.
I’ll see how it goes with the mini-Max combo. My Mini is still out for delivery.
I was thinking if I can’t read ebooks on anything anymore and try to go back to paper books or a non illuminated Kindle, I’m still out of luck, because all of our lights are now LED or fluorescent and they all have a bit of flicker I can feel some strain from. I am going to have to confine my reading to daytime! I am trying to move my schedule to follow the sun. The problem is that my family is free to spend time together mostly after sunset (this time of year).
If it helps at all, I started out with the 12 Pro and was quite put off initially by the increase in size but slowly got used to it over the course of a couple of weeks. I picked up the mini on Saturday and was immediately enamored by it. It is a little weird typing two handed but once I started one-handing everything and using the swipe typing functionality I think I'm actually faster with the mini. Also, now that I've been using it for a few days the 12 Pro is not comfortable at all.
Too bad I missed my return window. Guess I'll have to second-hand market it
My green mini is here. I did put a case and screen protector on it and so far I am not seeing the reported problem with the screen not responding. I have lots more to test and need more time with it but initial impression is it is a nice size for me. Better than I expected and doesn’t feel quite as restrictive as my SE did. I type about as badly on it as I do on all my iPhones! Lol.
oh the tint of the screen seems perfect. I can’t tell about pwm yet.
oh the tint of the screen seems perfect. I can’t tell about pwm yet.
Oh I know I would love the mini, just as I loved the SE2, but I also know I’d get frustrated typing on it. If I wouldn’t have had typing issues on a small phone, I’d likely still have my SE.
If you call apple they (maybe) extend the return window and accept the devolution. They made it once for me with the imac.
Have you tried?
So far typing isn’t as bad as it is on my Pixel 2, which is also a narrow phone. I make a lot of mistakes anyway on any of these phones. Probably because I keep switching around so much.
I still can’t tell about pwm. On some phones it smacks you in the face as soon as you look at the display. On the 12 Pro my eyes watered right away and stayed that way, unfortunately. On the 12 it really manifested when I watched videos and I had some trouble focusing on text.
On the mini I don’t notice anything in particular at all, yet. But that doesn’t mean after two or three days I won’t notice a problem. It’s the same way with my husband’s 12 Pro Max.
It really is. It’s blue glass camera housing compliments my new blue smartish case well.
[mention]ssledoux [/mention] I have to ask, still rocking the iPhone 12 or have you since moved to another device?