RELEASED in November of last year, Apple’s flagship iPhone 12 – the latest iteration of the leading smartphone brand – for lack of a better word, just feels right.
Smartphones are meant to be shown off and the iPhone 12 does not disappoint. It is aesthetically pleasing with a new flat design that’s thinner and lighter than the previous model. The blue colour of this model is especially pleasing to the eye.
The phone by itself is quite sturdy, and comes with a ‘Ceramic Shield’ over the screen that purportedly offers “4x better drop performance”. It is also rated to be water resistant to a depth of up to 6 metres, though in both cases with the price of the phone, a casual test is probably not advisable.
The phone came with a clear Magsafe magnetic case that attaches very easily, but takes a bit of work to remove. It’s a basic model and there are other versions that can function as a wallet, among other things. It also facilitates a magnetic charging feature (that doesn’t feel especially faster than standard charging).
The review unit did arrive with a MagSafe charger ‘puck’ that does work with and without the case. One can guess that this might be a big part of Apple’s future plans for its devices. After all, they were the first major brand to get rid of the audio jack.
The battery life for the iPhone 12 is quite good, able to last about a full day of casual use (listening to music, watching videos, office work, messaging, etc.).
A lot of that has to do with the 6.1 inch OLED screen. It provides beautiful 1080p high resolution imagery with bright HDR (high dynamic range) functionality. According to the numbers, it's almost as good as the screen on the iPhone 12 Pro.
Videos on YouTube, Netflix or AppleTV look really good, with sound quality to match.
Unlike the topline Samsung phones, the screen is only 60Hz, but the screen already looks so good, this compromise can be overlooked by most (Though the two pricier models also lack high refresh rates).
Like Samsung and other phone manufacturers with their latest phones, this newest generation of iPhone provides 5G connectivity – the next generation of Internet access. However, here in Malaysia (and much of the world), 5G is something far off that won’t come to fruition until some point next year. It’s not really a selling point for the here and now.
As with every new iteration of the iPhone, there are improvements to the camera, which was already quite good. This is a best in class camera, comparable to the best cameras on any smartphone. Photos and videos are crisp with HDR compatibility.
Having switched over from a Samsung A50 (which is a perfectly good phone) for test purposes, getting used to the Apple family of apps and the iOS operating system took a bit of time. The last Apple device I owned was an iPhone 4GS and though there have been an exponential series of updates and improvements, the switch was fairly intuitive.
The iPhone 12 is powered by an A14 Bionic chip – again the best in its class – which allows for a very quick and responsive device. Transitions between apps are snappy, allowing for seamless multitasking. In fact it’s probably overpowered for most people, which therefore probably means that it will have a longer shelf life.
One of the flaws of the phone is the lack of variety in terms of biometric identification. Apple Face ID is incredibly intuitive, operating a lot quicker than the comparable feature in my previous Samsung A50.
However, in the era of the face mask that we unfortunately find ourselves in, Face ID is more of a hassle than it was initially introduced. The addition of a fingerprint scanner on the power button or screen would be really beneficial. It’s not like the tech is beyond Apple, as their current iPads come with very responsive fingerprint scanners.
There are features like 5G, HDR and MagSafe charging that will only become more important and useful in the future, but are now only optional. Apple is seemingly planting the seeds for tech that will be adopted in the future but are not yet fully formed.
That being said, if you’re in the market for a top-of-the-line smartphone and have the money to spare, there is no better option than the iPhone 12. It has a great screen, solid battery life, looks really good, has one of the best cameras and does what you want a premium smartphone to do. – The Vibes, March 23, 2021
