I think it is time to answer this burning question after living with the iPhone 12 Pro for a fairly decent time — is it worth it? Apple has this year made it even harder to choose between iPhone models by introducing four new models, which share similar features and characteristics, but at very different prices. The price difference between the iPhone 12 series and the iPhone 12 Pro series in India, in particular, is enormous – and this is a completely different discussion.
I was curious to see how much Apple improved in a new iPhone 12 Pro on 119,900 as a long-standing iPhone 11 Pro user because I’m honest that I wasn’t exactly blown away by its advertisement. The new SoC tweaked cameras and the new design all had upgraded to make somebody shell Rs. 1.19,900 for that. I think it will take more than that. Please divide it and see if it makes sense to select an iPhone 12 to 79,370 Pro over an iPhone 12 at a lower price.
The iPhone12 range is equipped with iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The smallest and cheapest models of the new series are the iPhone 12 mini, the iPhone 12 is the successor to the iPhone 11, and an iPhone 12 pro. All 4 iPhone models are supported by Apple’s A14 Bionic Chip with 5G support in the 2020 line-up.
iPhone 12 Pro design and display
Besides the new color, since iPhone X the iPhone 12 Pro has a smooth, rounded steel frame versus all model sides. It’s a big difference, but we haven’t seen anything before. First, Apple used an iPhone 4 flat frame and stuck it on the entire iPhone 5 before switching to ringed sides. Love it or hate it, for the next few generations of iPhone, you will have to get used to it. I’m used to the iPhone 12 Pro after two weeks of use. I believe it is convenient to hold and much easier to grip than the iPhone 11 Pro. But keeping the shiny frame smudge-free is almost impossible.
Camera
On the surface, it would seem that Apple hasn’t made a lot of changes to the camera setup compared to the iPhone 11 Pro. However, the iPhone 12 Pro boasts some new features, and one, in particular, could be a good enough reason to get the 12 Pro. Of course, I’m talking about the ability of the iPhone 12 Pro to record Dolby Vision HDR video, which I think is a game-changer.
There’s a toggle in the camera app settings that lets you enable or disable this feature. When enabled, the iPhone 12 Pro lets you record up to 4K 60fps of video to Dolby Vision HDR. This HDR format is becoming increasingly common even for budget TVs, and many streaming services are now using it.
The phone is equipped with the 12 MP main camera with an aperture of f/1.6; a second 12 MP with an f/2.4 aperture, a third 12 MP with an aperture of f/2.0. It sports a 12 MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture on the front for selfies. The “Pro” iPhone 12 models now offer video recording and screen editing on 4K Dolby Vision HDR. Apple reported.
Apple has also announced that the iPhone 12 series night mode has been revised to achieve better low-light outcomes. A new time-lapse feature was also introduced by the company.
Performance
The iPhone 12 Pro is based on iOS 14 and is loaded with the A14 Bionic chip from Apple. The mobile has an accelerometer, an environmental lighting sensor, a barometer, a gyroscope, a sensor of proximity, and a compass. The iPhone 12 supports face release for quicker access and protection with 3D face recognition.
In terms of power, the A14 Bionic delivers up to 50% better CPU and GPU performance compared to the previous generation, which is still very powerful. The biggest change is Apple’s Neural Engine logic in SoC, which is now 16 cores strong (up from eight cores previously) and promises up to 80 percent faster performance in machine learning tasks.
The iPhone 12 Pro has 6GB of RAM, including Geekbench 5 diagnostics and other sources, which is 2GB more than the iPhone 12 and even the iPhone 11 Pro. Other features include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), multi-satellite navigation support, and NFC.
Storage and battery
Mobile phone storage packages 64 GB. Wireless charging and fast charging are enabled by the smartphone.
Apple doesn’t advertise the battery capacity of its iPhones, but according to some of the recent teardown findings, the iPhone 12 Pro appears to have a 2.815mAh capacity, which is lower than that of the iPhone 11 Pro. This would be laughable on an Android smartphone in 2020, but it’s good for everyday use on an iPhone. On average, I was able to cross a full day and get a few more hours to use the next day before the battery level dropped below 10%. I was still getting close to a full day with heavier use.
I think this should be satisfactory to most people. These results were on a 4G network, as 5G is still a distant dream in India, and the battery life is expected to be lower when it comes to power.
Verdict: Should you upgrade to the iPhone 12 Pro?
We’ve covered a lot in this review, and if you’ve done so far, then it’s clear that even though the iPhone 12 Pro doesn’t seem like a big paper upgrade compared to the iPhone 11 Pro, there are a lot of little changes that make it a better overall experience. Does that mean you’re supposed to go ahead and upgrade? Well, not really, really.
Most significant upgrades, such as new Ceramic Shield material, larger display, better IP rating, new SoC, MagSafe charging, and Dolby Vision recording—are also available on the iPhone 12, which costs much less. The iPhone 12 has some differences, such as lower typical brightness, and can only shoot up to 4K 30fps with Dolby Vision.
The only real ‘Pro’ features that are exclusive to Apple’s more premium series include a telephoto camera, LiDAR scanner, ProRAW, higher maximum storage, a more sturdy frame and a few extras such as Night mode for portrait shots. Some of these features may be useful in the right scenarios, but paying almost Rs. 40,000 more does not seem to make a lot of sense to them.
If money burns a hole in your pocket and you’re determined to get the best iPhone you can, I’d suggest looking at the iPhone 12 Pro Max as well.