It is expected that Apple will announce the new iPhone 12 on September 15 and the first shipment could start a couple of weeks or days later. According to the latest reports, Apple has started mass producing and stockpiling the new iPhone for the next major release. The more capable iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Max will be released first, followed later by the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the basic iPhone 12. Unfortunately, the well-known tipster, Jon Prosser, told us that the iPhone 12 may stick with the regular 60Hz display. This could be a deal-breaker for those expecting a 120Hz. The new model will have very powerful hardware inside, so it’s quite unfortunate that the frame rate will be effectively capped at 60fps. However, there’s a possibility that the 120Hz display will be available for iPhone 12 Pro Max because such a prototype was spotted previously. It appears that the iPhone 12 may have a similar finish compared to the iPhone 11, with its matte glass backplate and stainless-steel edges.
Based on rumors, the iPhone 12 will be equipped with a LiDAR sensor. It’s based on laser technology to measure distances accurately for highly responsive auto-focusing performance. It also works for better low-light performance. There are some changes to the design. The SIM tray has been moved to the left and on the right-hand side, there’s also a new cutout, which houses the 5G antenna. The basic iPhone 12 has a 5.4-inch display, which is quite tiny by today’s standard. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Max will have a 6.1-inch display, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the biggest with a 6.7-inch display. Inside, the iPhone 12 is powered by the very powerful A14 Bionic processor with 5nm manufacturing process. The two Pro versions of the iPhone 12 will be equipped with both telephoto camera and LiDAR sensor. The much-awaited feature is the 5G data connectivity that promises much higher speed compared to the current 4G LTE.
However, for users who are used to an excellent experience with their iPhone devices could get mixed results with the 5G performance. The 5G network is still in its infancy in many countries. The release of the iPhone 12 and various 5G-capable Android devices will drive a huge spike in data traffic. As the 5G network is still maturing and expanding in most areas, iPhone 12 users may experience the abysmal or poor performance with 5G. It means many may still get stuck with 4G, especially in areas where 5G connectivity isn’t yet available. Apple first introduced the 4G LTE support with the iPhone 5 in 2013. Compared to 3G with its snail-pace data transfer, 4G LTE offered lightning speed performance. However, in many cases, 4G LTE performed similarly to 3G, due to huge data demand and the immature network. So, we could expect to see the same situation, perhaps until the latter half of 2021, when the 5G network can accommodate more capacity and more robust in terms of stability.
Whether you should upgrade your relatively new iPhone 11 to iPhone 12 should depend on how significant the upgrades are. We would need to wait for official announcements to know how much improved the new iPhone will be.
