The iPhone 12 will be unveiled on October 13, 2020. This year, Apple will unveil 4 different smartphones compatible with 5G. Release date, price, technical sheet, here is everything we know at this stage about the next iPhone.
The iPhone 11, Pro and Pro Max had made us at first the effect of a disappointment: Apple did not know how to make us dream with new technologies ahead of the market, as at the time of the iPhone X. The iPhone 11 generation was that of a technological catch-up on Android competition which has clearly increased.
The iPhone 11 seemed destined to be first of the class in a maximum of possible categories (screen, photo, autonomy, biometrics, software support…). And from this point of view, the firm has fulfilled its objective, as we were able to find out in our full test of the iPhone 11. A year later, the iPhone 12 generation must now transform the test. In this file, we have gathered the latest information and rumors available around this smartphone.
Or rather “these” smartphones, since four models are expected, against three in 2019. The iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max would be replaced by the iPhone 12 and several variations. According to the most recent leak, the iPhone 12 wouldn't be the cheapest of its siblings, unlike the iPhone 11, which was priced lower than the two Pro models. The iPhone 12 would be an intermediate model. It would be accompanied by the iPhone 12 Pro, the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the iPhone 12 Mini, the most economical. Our file reflects this hypothesis.
Apple's habits regarding the deployment of new iPhones are as follows: presentation conference on a Tuesday in September, start of pre-orders on Friday and go on sale the following Friday. But this year, the coronavirus has been there. Which implies changes. First change: the iPhone 12 was not presented in September. Apple has confirmed that the iPhone 12 will be postponed for a few weeks because of the epidemic.
It also implies an offbeat presentation. The date of the presentation of the iPhone 12 is official. Apple will present them during a keynote scheduled for October 13 at 7:00 p.m. PST. That is to say a month after the keynote of September which was devoted to iPad and Apple Watch. Several questions arise as to the content of this keynote. We do not know if the company will unveil its 4 new models, or if some will be launched a little later.
Regarding the start of pre-orders, changes are also expected. Pre-orders should be open on Friday October 16, before arriving in store on October 23 (in accordance with the habits of previous years). But that would only affect two models: the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro. The other two models, the iPhone 12 Mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, would go into pre-orders a month later, on November 13, to arrive in stores on November 20 only. Persistent rumors seem to confirm a launch of the range in two stages.
Finally, the firm of Tim Cook would also take the opportunity to present its first headphones with active noise reduction, AirPods Studio, a HomePod Mini and AirTags.
On the same subject: 33% of Android users plan to fall for the iPhone 12
💸 How much will the iPhone 12 cost?
iPhone 12 price
Thanks to a larger supply, Apple should better segment demand with the price of iPhone 12. The latest reports on the subject indeed speak of an increase from $ 50 to $ 100 for 5G models. According to those same rumors, the price of the iPhone 12 mini could start at $ 50 below the starting price of the iPhone 11. Here are the prices we expect at this point:
64 GB 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB
iPhone 12 mini $ 649 $ 699 $ 799 -
iPhone 12 $ 749 $ 799 $ 899 -
iPhone 12 Pro - $ 999 $ 1099 $ 1299
iPhone 12 Pro Max - $ 1099 $ 1199 $ 1399
Other leaks also seem to confirm, with some discrepancies, the prices listed above. Some doubts still remain, especially at the selling price of the iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12. These variants could benefit from a 64 GB variant allowing to lower the entry ticket to this new generation. But that remains to be confirmed. There could also be an iPhone 12s, an additional 4G model. However, the information on its technical sheet remains incomplete to date.
⚙️ What will be the technical sheet of the iPhone 12?
iPhone 12 Mini iPhone 12 iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro Max
5.45 "screen
Super Retina XDR OLED
1242 x 2688 pixels, 19.5: 9 ratio
120 Hz 6.1 "
Super RetinaXDR OLED
1242 x 2688 pixels, 19.5: 9 ratio
120 Hz 6.1 "
Super Retina XDR OLED
1242 x 2688 pixels, 19.5: 9 ratio
120 Hz 6.7 "
Super Retina XDR OLED
1242 x 2688 pixels, 19.5: 9 ratio
120 Hz
Chipset A14 (5nm) A14 (5nm) A14 (5nm) A14 (5nm)
OS iOS 14 iOS 14 iOS 14 iOS 14
RAM 4 GB 4 GB 6 GB 6 GB
Storage 128/256/512 GB 128/256/512 GB 128/256/512 GB 128/256/512 GB
microSD No No No No
Main sensor 12 MP, f / 1.8
12 MP, f / 1.8
12 MP, f / 2.2 12 MP, f / 1.8
12 MP, f / 1.8
12 MP, f / 2.2 12 MP, f / 1.8
12 MP, f / 1.8
12 MP, f / 2.2
12 MP Lidar 3D scanner, f / 1.8
12 MP, f / 1.8
12 MP, f / 2.2
Lidar 3D scanner
Selfie sensor 12 MP, f / 2.2 12 MP, f / 2.2 12 MP, f / 2.2 12 MP, f / 2.2
2,227 mAh battery
Quick charge 18W 2227 mAh
Fast charge 18W 2815 mAh
Quick charge 18W 3,687 mAh
Fast charge 18W
5G Yes Yes Yes Yes
Biometrics Face ID Face ID Face ID Face ID
Audio n.c. n.c. n.c. n.c.
Water resistance IP68 IP68 IP68 IP68
Information is accumulating around the technical data sheet for future iPhones in 2020. One thing is certain: it will have, like every new generation, a new in-house SoC. We are also waiting for improvements in the photo sensors. Finally, we hope that the company will make further progress in terms of battery capacity and autonomy.
SoC A14 and up to 6 GB of RAM
Thanks to the iPad Air 2020, unveiled in September, we know the A14 SoC well enough that these iPhones should carry. Apple has entrusted the manufacture to the Taiwanese founder TSMC. These chips are the first on a consumer product to be etched in 5 nm via the FinFET EUV process. Journalist Jason Cross calculated that they could have 15 billion transistors compared to 8.5 billion transistors on the previous generation, and a Geekbench score close to that of entry-level MacBook Pros (if such a thing exists).
However, the leaks are contradictory. Some announce impressive performance: + 40% for the CPU and + 50% for the GPU compared to the A13 Bionic chip. Others are less enthusiastic. On AnTuTu, an alleged iPhone 12 Pro Max benchmark showered expectations about performance and claimed that the A14 SoC would be only 9% faster than the iPhone 11's A13. Between these two extremes, another test emerged in early October explains that the SoC of the iPhone 12 could be up to 20% faster than its predecessor.