Although you cannot purchase an iPhone 12 or an iPhone 12 Pro until this Friday, Apple seeded a few journalists with review units, and yesterday they started to post their reviews. I am very excited about the “new” design — a word I use in quotes because the flat edges remind me of an older design, the iPhone 4 / iPhone 5 design that I loved so much — and the initial reviews seem to agree that it looks great and makes it much easier to hold an iPhone without a case. If you want to learn more about the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro from folks who have actually used them, here are the reviews that jumped out at me. Note that the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max don’t go on sale until next month so the smallest and largest new models have not been reviewed yet.
- You need to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal to read Joanna Stern’s review, but anyone can view the video at the top of her review and I absolutely recommend it.
- Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch does a great job of explaining and showing off what is new and different about the cameras as well as many other new features such as MagSafe, but he didn’t test 5G. He noted that because of the magnets on the back of the iPhone 12, it may not be a good idea to put a hotel key card right next to the iPhone 12 in your pocket.
- Dieter Bohn of the Verge prepared an excellent video review of the iPhone 12 along with his written review. He noted that the design of the iPhone 12 is better than any iPhone we have had in years. He says that, compared to the iPhone 11, the iPhone 12 has less noise and better colors in photos. And in challenging shots, the iPhone 12 is better than the iPhone 11 in every single shot. As for the new A14 processor, he says: “The real reason to care isn’t that the iPhone 12 is fast now, it’s that it will still be fast in three or even five years. That’s the kind of longevity that no Android phone can really match.”
- Attorney Nilay Patel of The Verge produced a video and written review of the iPhone 12 Pro. I learned a lot from his description of the video features, including the new Dolby Vision feature.
- Chris Velazco of Engadget says that the iPhone 12 line is the “beginning of a new era at Apple.” He adds: “The iPhone 11 was chunky in a cute way, but this year’s model is 11 percent thinner and 16 percent lighter, according to Apple. While those might not sound like dramatic changes, you can really feel the difference.” He also said that there are fewer differences between the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro than in previous years.
- Julian Chokattu of Wired says that LiDAR is the best feature of the iPhone 12 Pro because it “does a lot to improve the camera system on the iPhone 12 Pro.” He notes that “it enables faster autofocus and the ability to capture portrait photos in Night mode. The latter has been my favorite camera feature to test. I no longer encounter that ‘Not enough light’ message when taking a Portrait mode photo in low light.”
- Todd Haselton of CNBC likes the new iPhone 12 line, saying: “The iPhone 12 has great cameras, an awesome screen, excellent battery life and future-proofs you with 5G.”
- Raymond Wong of Input likes the new design of the iPhone 12 line. “I could spend all day waxing poetic about the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro’s gorgeous homage to the iPhone 4, but no amount of words or photos can replace the experience of holding them in your own hands. More than any iPhone in recent years, you really have to touch the materials to appreciate their balanced elegance. Making them thinner and shrinking their volume (compared to the iPhone XR/11) only adds to their luxurious look and feel.” I love the time-lapse video that he posted of Grand Central Station.
- And finally, if you want to watch an excellent but extensive video review, Rene Ritchie prepared a 45 minute video that goes deep on every aspect of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. Whether you watch the whole thing or skip around to the parts that interest you, you will learn a lot:
There’s a lot of good information here…and it turns out I’ll have time to review all of it before my phone arrives. I ordered a new 12 Pro for my wife and one for me last Friday morning through Verizon. I was done with both orders in just a few minutes, and it looked like both phones would arrive on 10/23. Today I checked for a tracking number. My wife’s phone will arrive on the 23rd, but my order simply says it’s being processed still. Perhaps this is a sign of high demand? (Anecdotes are not data, of course.) I’m curious if this is something wide spread–or perhaps I’m just lucky.
As always, keep up the great work, and thanks for continuing to provide such a valuable resource!