The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s designed, developed, and marketed by
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
They are the flagship smartphones in the
fourteenth generation of the
iPhone, succeeding the
iPhone 11 Pro
The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Serving as the Apple's flagship models of the List of iOS devices, 13th-generation of iPhones, they succeeded the iPhone XS and iPhone XS M ...
and iPhone 11 Pro Max, respectively. They were unveiled alongside the
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini (stylized and marketed as iPhone 12 mini) are a range of smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the fourteenth-generation, "affordable flagship" iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 1 ...
and iPhone 12 Mini at an
Apple Special Event at
Apple Park
Apple Park is the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc., located in Cupertino, California, United States. It was opened to employees in April 2017, while construction was still underway, and superseded the original headquarters at Apple Campus, ...
in
Cupertino, California
Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,82 ...
on October 13, 2020, with the iPhone 12 Pro being released on October 23, 2020, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max on November 13, 2020. They were discontinued on September 14, 2021, along with the
iPhone XR
The iPhone XR (stylized and marketed as iPhone Xʀ; Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten") is a smartphone designed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It is part of the twelfth generation of the iPhone. Pre-orders began on October 19, 2018, with an ...
, following the announcement of the
iPhone 13
The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini (stylized as iPhone 13 mini) are smartphones designed, developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. They are the fifteenth generation of iPhones (succeeding the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini respectively). They ...
and
iPhone 13 Pro
The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the flagship smartphones in the fifteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max respective ...
.
Major upgrades over the
iPhone 11 Pro
The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Serving as the Apple's flagship models of the List of iOS devices, 13th-generation of iPhones, they succeeded the iPhone XS and iPhone XS M ...
and iPhone 11 Pro Max include the addition of
5G support, the
LiDAR sensor, ProRAW (
DNG) allowing high quality lossless 12-bit image capture in the native photos app with the use of the new
DNG v1.6 specification, the introduction of the
MagSafe
MagSafe is a series of proprietary magnetically attached power connectors developed by Apple Inc. for Mac laptops. MagSafe was introduced on January 10, 2006, in conjunction with the MacBook Pro, the first Intel-based Mac laptop, at the Ma ...
wireless charging
Inductive charging (also known as wireless charging or cordless charging) is a type of wireless power transfer. It uses electromagnetic induction to provide electricity to portable devices. Inductive charging is also used in vehicles, power too ...
and accessory system, the
Apple A14 Bionic system on a chip (SoC),
high-dynamic-range video Dolby Vision
Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the ...
10-bit 4:2:0
4K video recording at 30 or 60
fps
FPS may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* "F.P.S." (''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''), an episode of the TV show ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''
* '' fps magazine'', a defunct magazine about animation
* ''The Fabulous Picture Show'', a televi ...
, larger 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, respectively, and the move to a base capacity of 128
GB from the prior base capacity of 64 GB, while retaining the other storage capacities of 256 and 512 GB. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, like the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini, are the first iPhone models from Apple to no longer include a power adapter or
EarPods headphones found in prior iPhone models; however, a
USB-C
USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conn ...
to
Lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...
cable is still included, and this change was retroactively applied to other iPhone models sold by Apple including the
iPhone XR
The iPhone XR (stylized and marketed as iPhone Xʀ; Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten") is a smartphone designed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It is part of the twelfth generation of the iPhone. Pre-orders began on October 19, 2018, with an ...
,
iPhone 11
The iPhone 11 is a smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the 13th generation of iPhone, succeeding the iPhone XR, and was unveiled on September 10, 2019 alongside the iPhone 11 Pro at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple ...
, and
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
The second-generation iPhone SE (also known as the iPhone SE 2 or the iPhone SE 2020) is a smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the 13th generation of the iPhone, alongside the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro/Pro ...
.
History
The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max were officially announced alongside the
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini (stylized and marketed as iPhone 12 mini) are a range of smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the fourteenth-generation, "affordable flagship" iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 1 ...
and iPhone 12 Mini and
HomePod Mini via a virtual press event filmed and recorded at
Steve Jobs Theater at
Apple Park
Apple Park is the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc., located in Cupertino, California, United States. It was opened to employees in April 2017, while construction was still underway, and superseded the original headquarters at Apple Campus, ...
in
Cupertino
Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,8 ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, on October 13, 2020. Pre-orders began for the iPhone 12 Pro on October 16, 2020, and it was released on October 23, 2020, alongside the
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini (stylized and marketed as iPhone 12 mini) are a range of smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the fourteenth-generation, "affordable flagship" iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 1 ...
and
fourth-generation iPad Air, with pre-orders for the iPhone 12 Pro Max beginning on November 6, 2020, with a full release on November 13, 2020, alongside the
iPhone 12 Mini
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini (stylized and marketed as iPhone 12 mini) are a range of smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the fourteenth-generation, "affordable flagship" iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 1 ...
.
This marked the first time since the release of the
iPhone XS and
iPhone XR
The iPhone XR (stylized and marketed as iPhone Xʀ; Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten") is a smartphone designed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It is part of the twelfth generation of the iPhone. Pre-orders began on October 19, 2018, with an ...
where a new iPhone was not released simultaneously on the same date as other announced models. Pricing starts at US$999 for the iPhone 12 Pro and US$1099 for the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
On September 14, 2021, following the announcement of the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max were removed from sale on Apple's official website.
In March 2022, Apple started selling refurbished iPhone 12 Pro models starting at $759 but not its Max variant.
Design
It is the first major redesign since the
iPhone X
The iPhone X (Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten", also known as iPhone 10) is a smartphone designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from October 27, 2017, it was re ...
, similar to that of
iPad Pro
The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system.
The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad P ...
s since 2018 and the
4th-generation iPad Air. The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max feature a flat chassis, a design seen with the
iPhone 4
The iPhone 4 is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation of the iPhone lineup, succeeding the iPhone 3GS and preceding the 4S. Following a number of notable leaks, the iPhone 4 was first unvei ...
through the
iPhone 5S and the first generation iPhone SE. The notch size is similar to previous models. The
bezels are around 35% thinner than the iPhone 11 Pro and previous models. The new design also comes with
Corning Inc
Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The co ...
’s custom ceramic-hardened i.e
glass ceramic
Glass-ceramics are polycrystalline materials produced through controlled crystallization of base glass, producing a fine uniform dispersion of crystals throughout the bulk material. Crystallization is accomplished by subjecting suitable glasses to ...
front glass, "Ceramic Shield", while the back retains the previous generation of Corning Inc's custom Dual-Ion Exchange strengthened glass.
On the back is the same three-camera configuration found on the
iPhone 11 Pro
The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Serving as the Apple's flagship models of the List of iOS devices, 13th-generation of iPhones, they succeeded the iPhone XS and iPhone XS M ...
, but with larger apertures and an added
LiDAR scanner.
The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max is available in four colors: Silver, Graphite, Gold, and Pacific Blue. Pacific Blue is a new color replacing Midnight Green, while Graphite is a renaming of Space Grey.
Specifications
Hardware
The iPhone 12 Pro uses Apple's six-core
A14 Bionic
The Apple A14 Bionic is a 64-bit ARMv8.5-A system on a chip (SoC), designed by Apple Inc. It appears in the fourth generation iPad Air and tenth generation iPad, as well as iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. App ...
processor, which contains a 16-core neural engine. It has three internal storage options: 128, 256, and 512 GB. The iPhone 12 Pro has an IP68 water and dust-resistant rating along with dirt and grime, and is water-resistant up to for 30 minutes. However, the manufacturer warranty does not cover liquid damage to the phone.
The iPhone 12 Pro, like the iPhone 12, is not supplied with
EarPods (except in France) or the
power adapter
An AC adapter or AC/DC adapter is a type of external power supply, often enclosed in a case similar to an AC plug. Other common names include wall wart, power brick, wall charger, and power adapter. Adapters for battery-powered equipment may ...
included with prior iPhone models. Apple claims this will reduce
carbon emissions and that most users already own these items. Apple still supplies the USB-C to Lightning cable that was introduced with the iPhone 11 Pro. In addition to Lightning and
Qi wireless charging, the phones introduce
MagSafe
MagSafe is a series of proprietary magnetically attached power connectors developed by Apple Inc. for Mac laptops. MagSafe was introduced on January 10, 2006, in conjunction with the MacBook Pro, the first Intel-based Mac laptop, at the Ma ...
wireless charging
Inductive charging (also known as wireless charging or cordless charging) is a type of wireless power transfer. It uses electromagnetic induction to provide electricity to portable devices. Inductive charging is also used in vehicles, power too ...
, a new magnet-based charging and accessory system that allow accessories such as chargers and cases to snap onto the back of the phones. MagSafe wireless charging supports up to 15 watts, is fast-charge capable, and is a reimagining of the
MagSafe
MagSafe is a series of proprietary magnetically attached power connectors developed by Apple Inc. for Mac laptops. MagSafe was introduced on January 10, 2006, in conjunction with the MacBook Pro, the first Intel-based Mac laptop, at the Ma ...
brand that was introduced in 2006 with the original
MacBook Pro. The MagSafe Charger can be purchased separately, along with a variety of cases and other accessories.
The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max support
5G cellular communications. This allows upload speeds of up to 200 Mbit/s (1 Mbit/s = 1 million bits per second) and download speeds of up to 4 Gbit/s. However, only models sold in the U.S. support the faster
mmWave
Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It lies between the super high frequency band and the ...
technology; those sold elsewhere in the world, including Canada, only support sub-6 GHz frequency bands. A new feature called Smart Data Mode enables 5G only when necessary to preserve battery life and data usage.
Displays
The iPhone 12 Pro has a 6.06 inch (154 mm) (marketed as 6.1 inch)
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
display with a resolution of 2532 × 1170 pixels (2.9 megapixels) at 460 ppi, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a 6.68 inch (170 mm) (marketed as 6.7 inch) OLED display with a resolution of 2778 × 1284 pixels (3.5 megapixels) at 458 ppi. Both models have the Super Retina XDR OLED display with thinner bezels than previous generation iPhones. The iPhone 12 Pro Max features the largest display on any iPhone to date. The phones also introduce a new
glass-ceramic
Glass-ceramics are polycrystalline materials produced through controlled crystallization of base glass, producing a fine uniform dispersion of crystals throughout the bulk material. Crystallization is accomplished by subjecting suitable glasses to ...
covering, named 'Ceramic Shield', which was co-developed with
Corning Inc. Apple claims the Ceramic Shield has "4 times better drop performance" and that it is "tougher than any smartphone glass".
Batteries
The iPhone 12 Pro is supplied with a 10.78 Wh (2,815 mAh) battery, a slight decrease from the 11.67 Wh (3,046 mAh) battery found in the
iPhone 11 Pro
The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Serving as the Apple's flagship models of the List of iOS devices, 13th-generation of iPhones, they succeeded the iPhone XS and iPhone XS M ...
, and is identical to the battery found in the standard iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 Pro Max has a 14.13 Wh (3,687 mAh) battery, another slight decrease from the 15.04 Wh (3,969 mAh) battery found in the
iPhone 11 Pro Max
The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Serving as the Apple's flagship models of the 13th-generation of iPhones, they succeeded the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, respectively, ...
. The battery is not user-replaceable.
Chipsets
Both the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are supplied with the
Apple A14 Bionic, the first
ARM
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between th ...
-based smartphone
system-on-a-chip
A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memory ...
(SoC) manufactured on the
5 nm process
In semiconductor manufacturing, the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems defines the 5 nm process as the MOSFET technology node following the 7 nm node. In 2020, Samsung and TSMC entered volume production of 5 nm chip ...
node.
However, unlike previous years, the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are not the first Apple devices to receive the newest A-series processor, with the
fourth-generation iPad Air being the first device from Apple to contain the A14 Bionic chip.
The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max also contain the
Apple M14 motion coprocessor. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max use
Qualcomm's
X55 5G modem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
.
Cameras
The iPhone 12 Pro features four cameras: one front-facing camera and three back-facing cameras, including a telephoto, wide, and ultra-wide camera. The iPhone 12 Pro also features a
LiDAR scanner for
AR and computer-aided photo enhancement services. The iPhone 12 Pro also adds Night Mode for time-lapse video recording on all four cameras.
Unlike the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max where the only difference was the screen size and battery capacity, the iPhone 12 Pro Max adds a 47% larger sensor and sensor-shift image stabilization to the main camera lens, and replaces the f/2.0 aperture 52 mm telephoto camera lens with a f/2.2 aperture 65 mm lens, allowing for a 2.5x optical zoom. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are the first smartphones capable of shooting in 10-bit
high dynamic range
High dynamic range (HDR) is a dynamic range higher than usual, synonyms are wide dynamic range, extended dynamic range, expanded dynamic range.
The term is often used in discussing the dynamic range of various signals such as images, videos, au ...
Dolby Vision
Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the ...
4K video at up to 60 frames per second.
Sensors
The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max include mostly the same sensors found on prior iPhone models going back to the
iPhone X
The iPhone X (Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten", also known as iPhone 10) is a smartphone designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from October 27, 2017, it was re ...
. These include an
accelerometer
An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is acc ...
,
gyroscope,
barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
,
proximity sensor
A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact.
A proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic field or a beam of electromagnetic radiation (infrared, for instance), and looks for ...
,
ambient light sensor
An ambient light sensor is a component in smartphones, notebooks, other mobile devices, automotive displays and LCD TVs. It is a photodetector that is used to sense the amount of ambient light present, and appropriately dim the device's screen to ...
, and a digital compass.
The devices also include the
Face ID
Face ID is a facial recognition system designed and developed by Apple Inc. for the iPhone and iPad Pro. The system allows biometric authentication for unlocking a device, making payments, accessing sensitive data, providing detailed facial ex ...
facial recognition system, which is made up of several sensors: mainly a dot projector, flood illuminator, and an infrared camera, allowing a user's face to be scanned and stored by the
Secure Enclave.
A
LiDAR scanner is the new sensor included in the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, similar to that of the
fourth-generation iPad Pro, allowing additional
augmented reality (AR) features to be supported, such as the ability to measure a user's approximate height from the Measure app.
Software
The feature
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
, Apple's
mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on ...
.
The
user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
of iOS is based on the concept of
direct manipulation
In computer science, human–computer interaction, and interaction design, direct manipulation is an approach to interfaces which involves continuous representation of objects of interest together with rapid, reversible, and incremental action ...
, using
multi-touch gestures
In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CERN, MIT, University of ...
. Interface control elements consist of sliders, switches, and buttons.
Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as ''swipe'', ''tap'', ''pinch'', and ''reverse pinch'', all of which have specific definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch interface. Internal
accelerometer
An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is acc ...
s are used by some applications to respond to shaking the device (one common result is the undo command) or rotating it vertically (one common result is switching from portrait to landscape mode).
The iPhone 12 Pro was first supplied with
iOS 14
iOS 14 is the fourteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for their iPhone and iPod Touch lines. Announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 22, 2020 as the successor to iOS 13 ...
.1 alongside the
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini (stylized and marketed as iPhone 12 mini) are a range of smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the fourteenth-generation, "affordable flagship" iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 1 ...
while the iPhone 12 Pro Max was supplied with
iOS 14
iOS 14 is the fourteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for their iPhone and iPod Touch lines. Announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 22, 2020 as the successor to iOS 13 ...
.2 alongside the
iPhone 12 Mini
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini (stylized and marketed as iPhone 12 mini) are a range of smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the fourteenth-generation, "affordable flagship" iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 1 ...
. The devices come with the stock iOS apps, such as Safari, Weather, and Messages, and they also include
Siri
Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer qu ...
, the personal assistant included in iOS since
iOS 5
iOS 5 is the fifth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 4. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 6, 2011, and was released on October 12, 201 ...
with the release of the
iPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S (originally styled as iPhone 4 S, retroactively stylized with a lowercase 's' as iPhone 4s as of September 2013) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, succ ...
.
Reception
The iPhone 12 Pro received generally positive reviews. ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media ...
'' called it a "beautiful, powerful, and incredibly capable device", praising the new design reminiscent of the
iPhone 5, the speed of the
A14 Bionic
The Apple A14 Bionic is a 64-bit ARMv8.5-A system on a chip (SoC), designed by Apple Inc. It appears in the fourth generation iPad Air and tenth generation iPad, as well as iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. App ...
processor, and its
5G capabilities, but noted the decrease in battery life compared to the iPhone 11 Pro and the low number of upgrades compared to the
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini (stylized and marketed as iPhone 12 mini) are a range of smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the fourteenth-generation, "affordable flagship" iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 1 ...
. ''
Engadget
''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...
'' also gave the iPhone 12 Pro a positive review, praising the
MagSafe
MagSafe is a series of proprietary magnetically attached power connectors developed by Apple Inc. for Mac laptops. MagSafe was introduced on January 10, 2006, in conjunction with the MacBook Pro, the first Intel-based Mac laptop, at the Ma ...
wireless charging and accessory system as well as the improved camera system, but noted the lack of upgrade motivation if users had already purchased a new iPhone in 2019.
Apple was criticized for the continued reliance on
Face ID
Face ID is a facial recognition system designed and developed by Apple Inc. for the iPhone and iPad Pro. The system allows biometric authentication for unlocking a device, making payments, accessing sensitive data, providing detailed facial ex ...
as the sole
biometric
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...
option to unlock the device, which is incompatible with
face masks. This limitation was lifted with the introduction of the fifth revision of the
iOS 14
iOS 14 is the fourteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for their iPhone and iPod Touch lines. Announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 22, 2020 as the successor to iOS 13 ...
, which allows the user to unlock the device while wearing a face mask, using the paired and password unlocked Apple Watch as its alternative authenticator. The
iPhone SE (3rd generation)
The third-generation iPhone SE (also known as the iPhone SE 3 or the iPhone SE 2022) is a smartphone designed and developed by Apple Inc. It is part of the List of iOS and iPadOS devices, 15th generation of the iPhone, alongside the iPhone 13, ...
is the only phone that Apple currently produces that supports
Touch ID
Touch ID is an electronic fingerprint recognition feature designed and released by Apple Inc. that allows users to unlock devices, make purchases in the various Apple digital media stores (iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple Books Store), and au ...
, an alternative option that is compatible with face masks. All models can still use a passcode to log in.
"OLED-gate"
Within two weeks of its public release, a thread was started at Apple Support Communities describing a problem with pixels on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
displays not shutting off completely in black scenes, resulting in what was described as an "ugly glowing"; over 3,500 other users have since clicked the "I have this question too" button in the thread. Other users have shared photos and videos online that demonstrate the issue; one of whom—whose video amassed over 50,000 views—claims Apple responded that they were working on the problem. However, Apple has not officially acknowledged the issue, which persists despite multiple software updates, leading users and pundits to fear a hardware issue.
Removal of the power adapter and EarPods
Apple, through an "environmental initiative", has removed the EarPods (except in France) and power adapter (except in São Paulo) from all new iPhone boxes, including the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. It was claimed that removing these items would reduce e-waste and permit a smaller iPhone box, allowing more devices to be transported simultaneously to decrease
carbon footprint. Apple now includes a USB-C to Lightning cable, incompatible with the existing USB-A power adapters that Apple previously supplied with its devices. Users can still use their existing USB-A power adapters and Lightning cables to charge and sync, but must purchase or use an existing USB-C power adapter to utilize the included USB-C to Lightning cable. Starting with the iPhone 8, a
USB Power Delivery
The initial versions of the USB standard specified connectors that were easy to use and that would have acceptable life spans; revisions of the standard added smaller connectors useful for compact portable devices. Higher-speed development of t ...
(USB-PD) compliant charger is required to enable fast charging when using the USB-C to Lightning cable, with Apple suggesting the use of a 20W or greater USB-PD compliant charger to fast charge the iPhone 12.
Environmental data
Carbon footprint
The iPhone 12 Pro has a carbon footprint of of CO
2 emissions, which is more than the preceding iPhone 11 Pro. The iPhone 12 Pro Max has a footprint of of carbon emissions, a increase compared to the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Of all emissions, 86% and 82% released by producing the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max respectively are caused by device production and primary resource use with the remaining emissions released by means of first use, transportation, and end-of-life processing.
Repairability
Several weeks after its release, it was discovered by
iFixit and Australian tech YouTuber Hugh Jeffreys that a number of key components such as the cameras malfunction or display warnings if they are replaced with new ones or those taken from an otherwise identical donor unit.
Internal Apple documents also mention that, beginning with the iPhone 12 and continuing with subsequent models, authorized technicians would have to run the phones through an internal System Configuration tool to reprogram repaired units in order to account for hardware changes. While Apple has yet to comment on the issue, the inability to replace key system components have raised concerns about
right to repair
The right to repair refers to proposed government legislation to forbid manufacturers to impose barriers that deny consumers the ability to repair and modify their own consumer products (e.g. electronic, automotive devices or farm vehicles such ...
and
planned obsolescence
In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is a policy of planning or designing a good (economics), product with an artificially limited Product lifetime, useful life o ...
.
See also
*
Comparison of smartphones
This is a comparison of the various internal components and features of many smartphones.
Hardware and OS
2020s 2022
2021
2020
2010s
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2000s
2009
...
*
History of the iPhone
*
List of iOS devices
Apple Inc. has developed four Unix-like operating systems, namely iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Devices using these systems include the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, which are mobile devices; the Apple TV, which is a digital media player; ...
*
Timeline of iPhone models
Explanatory notes
References
{{Apple Inc. hardware
*
Discontinued flagship smartphones
IOS
Mobile phones introduced in 2020
Mobile phones with 4K video recording
Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras