Apple’s iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max officially go on sale around the world today.
The two devices were delayed, with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro released first, to both reduce strain on the company and to alleviate supply chain issues amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, all four of Apple’s new iPhones, announced in September, are available to buy.
During September’s keynote, Apple lifted the lid on a more affordable iPhone experience – the iPhone 12 mini. Packed with all of the same great features as the iPhone 12, minus the same screen real estate, the new iPhone 12 mini is the ideal choice for those who have smaller hands or prefer a smaller handset in the same size as the iPhone 8 or iPhone SE 2.
Available for $699 in the United States, it’s the cheapest way to access 5G on iPhone, and truly packs its punch. Early benchmarks suggest that the smaller handset offers up to 15 hours of video playback compared to 17 on the iPhone 12, 10 hours of streamed video playback, compared to 11 on the 12, and 50 hours of audio playback, compared to up to 65 hours on the iPhone 12 – that’s still more than the iPhone SE and comparable to the iPhone XR, demonstrating the technological strides Apple has made.
Alongside all of the features that come packaged in the iPhone 12 chassis, the iPhone 12 Pro Max takes it up a notch. Speaking of the launch, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said: “This is a huge leap for iPhone, bringing the best 5G experience in the market and delivering our most advanced technologies to users who want the absolute most from their iPhone. Each generation of iPhone has changed what we expect from a smartphone, and now with 5G, iPhone 12 Pro provides a new generation of performance. Our tight integration of hardware and software enables incredible computational photography features like the expansion of Night mode to more cameras and introduces support for HDR video with Dolby Vision. A state-of-the-art LiDAR Scanner means users can experience AR like never before, and also offers benefits to the camera with faster autofocus in low light and the introduction of Night mode portraits. These experiences and much more make this the best iPhone lineup ever.”
One of the biggest differences between the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the premium materials used. iPhone 12 Pro models boast a sophisticated flat-edge design that features a gorgeous surgical-grade stainless steel band paired with a precision-milled matte glass back, and they’re available in graphite, silver, gold, and pacific blue.
Thanks to reduced borders, the edge-to-edge displays on the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max feature Super Retina XDR displays, with the Pro Max offering the largest display ever on an iPhone and the highest resolution featuring 3.5 million pixels for a remarkable, true-to-life viewing experience.
The OLED displays reach 1200 nits peak brightness. Both devices feature an industry-leading IP68 rating to withstand water, coffee, soda, and more.
Apple’s Pro and Pro Max cameras have been supercharged for 2020, and alongside a new image signal processor (ISP), the A14 Bionic chip drives increased image quality, enabling powerful computational photography capabilities not possible with traditional cameras. Both Pro models also come with Apple ProRAW, which combines Apple’s multi-frame image processing and computational photography with the versatility of a RAW format.
The Pro model comes with a new seven-element lens Wide camera with an ƒ/1.6 aperture, the fastest ever on an iPhone, and a 52 mm focal length Telephoto camera, great for framing portraits, bringing the optical zoom range to 4x. With the iPhone 12 Pro Max, a new ƒ/1.6 aperture Wide camera boasts a 47 percent larger sensor with 1.7μm pixels for a massive 87 percent improvement in low-light conditions. The Pro Max features an Ultra-Wide camera and a 65 mm focal length Telephoto camera for increased flexibility with closer shots and tighter crops, including five-times optical zoom; it’s the most impressive smartphone camera.
Are you looking forward to the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max? Let us know and check back soon for more news and rumors on everything Apple, every week.
