iPhone 12 Pro Impressions

Now that I’ve had a full weekend with the iPhone 12 Pro, I thought I’d offer some of my initial thoughts and impressions. Let’s dive right in.

The design is great

My favorite overall iPhone design was the iPhone 5, which took the industrial look of the iPhone 4, elongated the screen, and made it a bit less chunky. I was a huge fan of the flat sides because they made the phone easier to grip, reducing the need for a case. Apple moved to rounded edges with the iPhone 6 in 2014 and stuck with them all the way through last year’s iPhone 11. The iPhone X introduced a stainless steel frame with a glass back, a combination that made it more slippery than ever and made a case almost a necessity. I can’t say I disliked any of those designs, but picking up the iPhone 12 Pro with its flat edges is giving me flashbacks in the best possible way.

The 12 Pro keeps the stainless steel frame with a glass back, but like the iPhone 11 Pro, the glass on the back is a matte finish that almost feels like the aluminum of the iPhone 5, 5S, and first SE. The stainless steel around the edges feels nice and premium, but it does tend to show fingerprints pretty easily. Fortunately, it’s difficult to notice from a distance, and you probably won’t be staring at the edges of your phone up close very often.

Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Pro vs Midnight Green iPhone 11 Pro. Shot with iPhone XR.

I’m a huge fan of the Pacific blue color. I liked last year’s midnight green, but this is so much better in my opinion. It’s a fairly subdued blue and almost looks gray in some light, which I love. I almost went with silver and white just because I’ve never had that finish before and I love how industrial it looks with this design, and the gold actually looks a lot less “bling” in person than it does in promo photos, which is good…but overall I think Pacific blue is the best of the bunch.

The 6.1-inch screen is the same size as the iPhone XR and 11, which makes the 12 Pro slightly larger than the 11 Pro I’m trading in (5.8-inch). I was a little apprehensive about the larger screen because I felt like the XR was just a bit too big, but this is where the flat edges provide another advantage. The actual footprint of the phone is a little smaller than the XR or 11, so it doesn’t feel as unwieldy to hold. And again, those flat edges make it so much easier to grip. I still can’t help but wonder if I’d prefer the 12 mini, which is in between the iPhone 5 and iPhone 6/7/8 in overall size. Alas, I really do value the camera system, so I know I would regret getting a non-Pro iPhone.

That said, I haven’t had much of a chance to test the cameras. We’re still staying home as much as possible, and I just haven’t been inspired to take photos of the inside of my house. Here’s a nice photo of our sleepy pug, though:

The processor is a beast

The A13 Bionic in the iPhone 11 line is no slouch, yet somehow the A14 Bionic in the iPhone 12 still feels snappier. No one needs this much power in their iPhone…yet…and that’s kinda the point. These chips aren’t built for what the iPhone needs to handle today, they’re built for what an iPhone will need to handle in 5 years. Apple has gotten very good about supporting older hardware (iOS 14 is compatible all the way back to the iPhone 6s), and these processors ensure that anyone buying an iPhone 12 will be able to continue using it well into 2025 and beyond.

The battery might be a tiny step backward

I hate to get too technical here, but the numbers do help illustrate the point. The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have 2,815 mAh batteries, which is obviously a little smaller than the 3,110 mAh batteries of the 11 and 11 Pro. The slight reduction in thickness most likely resulted in the need for a smaller battery, but the A14 is the first consumer processor built on a new 5nm process, which makes it much more efficient.

So there’s a trade-off…smaller battery, more efficient processor. As a result, Apple is quoting the same battery life in these phones as the previous phones. Still, I’ve noticed that my battery seems to be running down a bit quicker than it did on my 11 Pro. I have a feeling part of the reason is that the design feels so nice that I can’t put the thing down. I’m sure once the honeymoon phase is over, I’ll end up seeing better battery life.

MagSafe Charger is nice but not required

I went ahead and picked up the MagSafe charger to put on my nightstand and so far I really like it. I used a Qi wireless charger for a while, but there were multiple times I didn’t place the phone on it correctly so it didn’t charge overnight, and eventually the charger stopped working altogether. I used a Lightning cable for a while and eventually got a new Qi charger, which has been fine. But with MagSafe, when I’m ready to put my phone down for the night, I just have to hold it over the MagSafe puck and it automatically pops into place and starts charging. It’s a small convenience that I appreciate, but I wouldn’t necessarily tell anyone they need to run out and buy one. The charger itself is $40, but you still need to provide a 20W USB-C power brick to get the most out of it.

Not even using 5G

I wrote a whole post about why you shouldn’t necessarily upgrade your phone just for 5G. I’m still on a non-unlimited plan with AT&T, so I don’t get to partake in the hype-machine anyways. I will say, I was at a socially-distanced bar on Sunday and the SpeedTest app clocked an impressive 126 Mbps download and 44 Mbps upload on LTE, so I don’t feel like I’m missing much.

Wrap up

Overall I’m very happy with this iPhone. I loved the 11 Pro in a way that I hadn’t really loved an iPhone for a long time, but this might surpass it just because of the new design. Picking up the 12 Pro instantly made the 11 Pro feel old.

If you have an older phone and you’re wondering if you should upgrade, there’s really never been a better time. You may want to wait until November 13th when the mini and the Pro Max are released just to get a fuller picture of the entire line, but if you don’t want the smallest or largest iPhone and you know you want more camera capability than the 12, I’d wholeheartedly recommend the iPhone 12 Pro.

If you have any questions, leave a comment below!