Apple announced the new iPhone 12 lineup at today’s “Hi, Speed” virtual event. If you’re considering upgrading your iPhone, here’s a roundup of what’s new.

Note: If you want a really quick overview and my recommendations, click here to jump to the bottom of this post.

For the first time, the latest iPhone lineup offers 4 different models, bringing the total number of available iPhones to 7 (including the iPhone SE that was released in April, and the iPhone XR and iPhone 11, which are still holding on for dear life).

At the entry level is the iPhone 12, which has the same 6.1-inch screen size as the iPhone 11, but is 11% thinner, 15% smaller, and 16% lighter thanks to a revamped design.

We also get a new iPhone 12 mini, which is a smaller 5.4-inch version that should please anyone who was a fan of the iPhone 5/5s/original SE. The iPhone 12 mini is smaller than the iPhone 6/7/8, but with a larger display than any of those older phones thanks to its all-screen design.

Both of these entry-level phones also come with OLED screens like their Pro counterparts, which is a huge step up from the LCD screen of the iPhone 11. Apple is calling these screens Super Retina XDR because they support 4K Dolby Vision with greater brightness and contrast ratio than before.

Design

All of the new iPhones have a design that’s reminiscent of the iPhone 5 and the current iPad Pro, with squared edges instead of the rounded ones we’ve had since the iPhone 6. It makes for a much more industrial design that I personally love. The edges of the entry-level iPhone models are aluminum while the Pro models get a more premium stainless steel, and they all have glass backs to facilitate wireless charging.

Of course, there are some new colors and some familiar ones. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini come in black, white, PRODUCT (RED), a minty green shade, and a dark blue. The iPhone 12 Pro models can be had in a vibrant new gold, silver, a new graphite to replace space gray, and a new Pacific blue that replaces last year’s midnight green. I feel like there’s something for just about everyone with this lineup of colors and I’m glad to see a little variation in the Pro models, unlike the iPad Pro, which only comes in silver or space gray.

All of the iPhone 12 models have a new Ceramic Shield screen, which is a very fancy new glass that’s supposed to offer better scratch resistance and 4x better drop performance.

5G

One of the biggest updates to the iPhone is 5G capability. Every new model supports both variations of 5G that are being deployed by the major carriers in the US, but in my opinion, this is not a good enough reason to upgrade your iPhone. I’m working on a separate blog post to explain why…but for now, don’t get too excited about 5G.

The event focused very heavily on Apple’s partnership with Verizon, but the new iPhones will work on 5G networks from all the major carriers.

Apple has implemented a new Smart Data Mode that will automatically shift from 5G to LTE to save battery in situations where the 5G signal is weak.

Cameras and LiDAR

The iPhone 12 and 12 mini keep the big square camera bump from the iPhone 11 with a wide and an ultra-wide lens, while the Pro and Pro Max keep the additional telephoto lens. They’re all improved from last year, but it’s worth noting that the 12 Pro Max has slightly better camera specs than the smaller 12 Pro. This is probably my biggest complaint about this year’s iPhones (though I will admit, this is nitpicking at its finest).

With the iPhone 6, 6s, and 7 models, the larger Plus phones had better camera capabilities. If you wanted the best of the best, you had to get the bigger phone, so those with a preference for smaller devices were left with slightly inferior cameras. With the iPhone XS and 11 Pro models, Apple did away with that philosophy and made the regular and the Max phones identical aside from their size. With the 12 Pro, we’re back to a situation where you’re forced to get the largest phone if you want the best cameras.

Fortunately, the differences are fairly minor and you won't really notice unless you use both phones side-by-side. The iPhone 12 Pro Max will have better low-light performance and slightly longer optical zoom.

All of the new iPhones can shoot Night Mode photos on all of their cameras, including the selfie camera.

The iPhone Pro models each have a new LiDAR scanner that introduces greater augmented reality capabilities. Apple first introduced the LiDAR scanner on the 2020 iPad Pros back in March, and up until now, it’s mostly seemed more like a neat demo for AR than anything really useful. With the iPhone 12 Pro series, the LiDAR sensor is used to enhance the camera capabilities, allowing for six times faster autofocus in low light, and Night mode portrait photos.

A14 Bionic

All of the iPhone 12 models have Apple’s latest A14 Bionic processor. If you’re interested in tech, this is the first consumer phone processor built on a 5nm process, which is kind of mind-boggling. If you don’t know about tech or don’t care…it’s faster and uses less power to help with battery life. That’s really all you need to know.

Battery & Power

Speaking of battery, all of the iPhones are said to have the same battery life as last year’s models with the exception of the iPhone 12 mini (since there wasn’t an iPhone 11 mini). The reason there’s no improvement in battery life is the 5G capability, which is notoriously power hungry.

And while we’re on the topic of power, Apple chose to remove the charging brick from the iPhone’s packaging. This had been rumored for months and there was a lot of controversy surrounding the decision, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m all for it. Most people have lots of charging bricks laying around, and Apple’s decision to stop giving them away for free is an immense reduction in waste. It also helps Apple keep the prices the same year-over-year despite the more expensive 5G chips. You do still get a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box.

MagSafe

If you’re an old-school Apple nerd, this might cause a double-take. Once upon a time, MagSafe was the magnetic mechanism that attached a charger to a MacBook or MacBook Pro, but it was removed with the transition to USB-C in 2016. Apple has resurrected the name for use with a new slate of iPhone accessories.

The entire iPhone 12 lineup has a ring of magnets inside that help guide the new accessories to attach more precisely. There’s a new MagSafe wireless 15w fast charger, new MagSafe cases, and even a MagSafe wallet attachment that lets you carry credit cards on the back of your iPhone (never a great idea in my opinion).

It’s worth noting that there are currently no leather MagSafe cases available on the Apple Store website. I’m holding out hope that this is temporary.

Staggered Release

The iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro are being released first, with preorders beginning this Friday, October 16th and deliveries beginning next Friday, October 23rd.

The iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max will be delayed a few weeks, with preorders beginning Friday, November 6th and deliveries beginning Friday, November 13th.

Recommendations

So you’re probably wondering…should I upgrade? And if so, which one do I buy?!

The differences between the regular iPhone 12 models and the iPhone 12 Pro models mostly come down to the cameras. If you want the best possible camera array, the 12 Pro Max is the only way to go. If you don’t think you’ll use a zoom lens and you don’t necessarily care about having the greatest available version of Night mode, save some cash and get an iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 mini. You still get the A14 Bionic, 5G capability, Super Retina XDR display with Ceramic Shield, MagSafe, and an ultra-wide camera.

If you have an iPhone 11 or 11 Pro and you’re not on the Apple Upgrade Program, you’re not going to miss much by skipping this update. 5G is still not ready for prime time (again, I’ll tell you why in a separate post), and the camera upgrades are fairly incremental from last year unless you’re shooting feature films with your phone.

If you’re still using an iPhone 5s or an SE from 2016 and you’ve held out hope that Apple would release a similarly tiny phone, the iPhone 12 mini is what you’ve been waiting for. It’s identical to the iPhone 12 aside from its size, so you can rest assured you’re not compromising at all.

If you have anything older than an iPhone XS, this might be a good time to upgrade. You’ll notice better performance with the A14 Bionic, and the camera upgrades will blow you away. The ultra-wide angle lens alone is a huge upgrade, plus you get much better computational photography and the addition of an improved Night mode.

As for me, I’m very tempted by the iPhone 12 mini. After using the iPhone XS Max for a year, I decided I really wanted something smaller and ended up getting the iPhone 11 Pro last year. The thought of going even smaller sounds nice, but I do value having as much camera capability as possible, and I know I’d regret not having LiDAR when new AR features do start dropping. So for me, it’ll be the Pacific blue iPhone 12 Pro with 256 GB of storage.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Overview

iPhone 12 mini

5.4-inch display (smallest 5G phone available)
Black, white, PRODUCT (RED), blue, green
64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB
2 cameras (wide and ultra-wide)
Starts at $699
Pre-order 11/6, ships 11/13

iPhone 12

6.1-inch display
Black, white, PRODUCT (RED), blue, green
64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB
2 cameras (wide and ultra-wide)
Starts at $799
Pre-order Friday 10/16, ships Friday 10/23

iPhone 12 Pro

6.1-inch display
Gold, silver, graphite, Pacific blue
128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
3 cameras (wide, telephoto, and ultra-wide)
LiDAR scanner
Starts at $999
Pre-order Friday 10/16, ships Friday 10/23

iPhone 12 Pro Max

6.7-inch display
Gold, silver, graphite, Pacific blue
128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
3 cameras (wide, telephoto, and ultra-wide)
LiDAR scanner
Starts at $1,099
Pre-order 11/6, ships 11/13

iPhone 12 is here!