Last Friday, the heat still sweltering in Texas, my brand new iPhone 12 Pro arrived at my doorstop. Unfortunately, while my new iPhone waited for me on my doorstep, I still had work to do and found myself miles away from it. So during my lunch hour, I rushed over to grab my new device.
While my first impressions of the device were, ouch, this is hot, I didn’t want to rush to write an article like I always do with iPhones. For the most part, the reviews are out there, and they reflect most of my opinions of the new iPhone pro 12. This year, I wanted to do something a little different with my review.
I mentioned when iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro preorders opened what I was getting. For the first time in a few years, I would be downsizing my iPhone screen. So, while I don’t want to say that this is a full review, I want to get my impressions of the iPhone 12 Pro down and talk about going from an iPhone 11 Pro Max to a smaller iPhone 12 Pro. I think it might help those trying to decide if they should go for the standard Pro or the Pro Max iPhone.
Screen Size of the iPhone 12 Pro
Before I touch base on the difference, I want to give a bit of an overview of my past few years with the iPhone. When the iPhone 6 came out in two sizes, I opted for the larger phone. I loved my iPhone 6+ and stuck with the larger phone all the way until the iPhone X came out. For me, the adjustment from the larger iPhone 7+ to the iPhone X felt jarring. I loved my iPhone 10, but everything felt squished and small. When the iPhone XS came out and offered a Max size, I jumped at the chance to upgrade. In fact, you can see how much more at home I felt with my iPhone XS Max in my impressions here.
I loved everything about the Max sized iPhone. It felt good in my pocket and hand. It took great pictures. But I had planned to do more work on the iPhone XS Max and iPhone 11 Pro Max than I ever did. And, I hated paying so much money every month for something I didn’t use as I thought I would. So when the rumor mill started to churn out rumors that the newer standard iPhone would come in a larger size, I was pretty happy, but I did feel worried that I would feel cramped in again.
Luckily, with the iPhone 12 Pro in my hand, I can say that the experience is great!
Unlike the iPhone X, I don’t feel cramped in. Videos feel fine and not small l like they did before. I don’t really miss the screen size of the iPhone 11 Pro Max at all. I will say that typing took a little getting used to though. That was the only time I felt cramped, but after a days use, I don’t even notice anymore. It’s just like when you get a new keyboard model. It does take some getting used to,
Other than that, I haven’t felt any difference between the screen sizes. If you are thinking about downsizing, I would highly recommend trying to get your hands on a unit to test how it feels to you in the hand. That might be hard with the pandemic going on and all, but I don’t regret the smaller screen size at all.
Design
As many reviewers have said, the new design of the iPhone 12 feels great in the hand. I always loved the design of the iPhone 4-5s. I liked the rounded edges of the iPhone 6 era, but there’s just something about those straight sides that make this phone feel better in the hand.
The reduced sides and a little bit of reduced bezel have made this phone feel like a smaller phone in the hand while still maintaining that large screen on the front. Moving from the larger iPhone 11 Pro Max to this one offers a crazing feeling since the phone is smaller, but the screen size hasn’t diminished the much. I love the design and hope they keep this one around for a while.
Along with that, I moved from the Midnight green iPhone 11 Pro Max to the silver iPhone 12 Pro. I had high hopes for the green of the last generation model, but I felt let down when I saw it in person. Most of the time, it felt like the green was really just a light grey color. It never had the pop that the pictures of the iPhone 11 had. Because of this, I stayed away from the new blue model as well. I didn’t know what I would be getting into anymore. So this year, I opted for the Silver model and I’m satisfied with it. The stainless steel sides of the phone shine like nothing I’ve seen before. These sides would definitely become saturated with fingerprints if you don’t use a case. I hadn’t been planning on using a case, but the sides and resale value made me rethink that.
MagSafe is a Letdown – For Now
The announcement of the MagSafe on these new iPhone 12 models felt like the highlight of the announcement for me. In my recap of the event, I even theorized that a MagSafe economy would probably pop up around the new charging standard. The idea that Apple had baked in some magnets into the back of the phone to help with charging and adding temporary attachments to the device felt exciting!
When the early reviews of the phone popped up the Tuesday before, I grew excited to see what the reviewers felt about MagSafe.
During the announcement, the MagSafe wallet excited me. There had been many times when I wished that I had a wallet for my phone that wasn’t always attached. I had even thought about investing in the Magbak case and wallet towards the end of my iPhone 11 Pro Max. I didn’t invest in it because I knew I’d be upgrading. Then Apple announced the MagSafe wallet. I even ordered one so that I could test it. Then I MKBHD showed off how weakly the wallet attached to the phone. I felt disappointed and canceled my Apple MagSafe Wallet case. I’ve also embedded the video I’m referring to down below.
Now, I’m not so sure about MagSafe. I mean, it’s cool that you get a little pop-up when you put a case on it, and I’m sure the safety of knowing that your iPhone 12 was lined up on the charger all night is a blessing. For me, right now, it doesn’t excite me like I thought it would. The magnets are so strong on the charger that I don’t see much difference between using MagSafe and using a wire, while the magnets on the wallet aren’t strong enough to keep it on.
I still see lots of potential in this space, but right now, I need things to get figured out a little better. Maybe some third party cases will bridge the gap that’s there now between what I want and what’s out there.
5G – Quickly Snoozing
I was surprised and not surprised at the same time when I finally activated my iPhone 12 Pro and saw that I had 5G. I’ve been a T-Mobile customer for a few years now and I love the company and how it keeps trying to change the status quo, so I wasn’t surprised that their sub 6GHz 5G system had been deployed near my house. But trying to use 5G doesn’t provide much of a difference in my area than using LTE. The speeds are about the same as well as the strength of the system.
I have done a few speed tests and I’m not really blown away with 5G speeds. I’m sure if I went to downtown Houston speeds would probably be a little different.
Before the iPhone 12 got 5G, I wasn’t excited about the service. I’m still not, but I think it is still early days. The benefits of 5G will come as the networks get built out more and they will only do that as more 5G phones come out. Bringing the iPhone to 5G will probably speed up build out, but I’m curious how many people will actually benefit from 5G right now.
I would much rather have a company that is working on building out the service LTE or 5G to cover more area, bring more bars to more places, and be ready for a great number of people. I hope that 5G brings that, but right now, it doesn’t feel much different than before.
Cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro
Every year, the cameras on these phones get better. This year, that change is harder to tell unless you’re taking some pictures at night. The camera really excels there. The IR sensor that Apple added really helps the focus happen quickly at night. All of the pictures below were taken at 8:30 at night without much light around except for the lights of the house. The colors are super vivid and you can make out lots of detail without any noise in them.
While the pictures blew me away, the video is even better. The HDR/ Dolby vision videos look amazing. I can’t upload what I’ve taken with it to this point because there are children in the video that I don’t want to get exposed. I will try to update the article with a better video. Instead, I’ll include a gallery of other cool shots I’ve taken in the last week.
Best iPhone yet?
So, is the iPhone 12 Pro the best iPhone yet? I’m not sure, but I really like it so far.
Do I regret downsizing from an iPhone 11 Pro Max to the standard iPhone 12 Pro? Nope, not even a little bit yet. However, when the iPhone 12 Pro Max launches and the cameras have been improved over the regular iPhone 12 Pro, I might regret it a little. The pictures that I take with the iPhone 12 Pro are so good already, though it’s hard to believe that the pictures of the Max could be that much better. Hopefully, my hands on has helped some of your decide if your next iPhone should be the Pro or Pro Max too.
Do you have any questions about the iPhone 12 Pro or downsizing from the larger device? Hit me up in the comments or ask me on Twitter. Until then, stay classy.