The New Apple iPhone 12 is Out & NYers Give Their Reviews

By: Ilana Siyance

The iPhone 12 has dropped. Whether or not the timing for the new phone was great is still up for debate. While the price tag is out of reach for many thanks to the pandemic, at the same time there is not much else to entertain us other than our phones, with zooms and teleconferencing as popular as ever. None the less, the real question here is, for those who have the means to purchase an iPhone 12, is it worth it?

The price tag for the iPhone 12 currently starts at $799. The unlocked version is $829. Upgrading the standard 64 gigabytes of internal storage, up to 256 GB raises the price to $979. There are also two different iPhone 12 Pro models, which come in different sizes and have better cameras, priced at up to $1,399. In comparison, buying last year’s iPhone 11 would start at only $599. So what improvements does the iPhone 12 have to make it worth the higher price tag?

As reviewed by Wired, while the size and appearance is mostly the same, there are some good but subtle improvements to design. The iPhone 12 is the same size and has the same 6.1 inch screen, but it is a bit lighter weight, has flat edges, and has a brighter OLED display. Apple is calling the new display a Super XDR display to replace the LCD from the iPhone 11. The new phones also come in a few new colors. One major upgrade would be the use of a brand new composite to harden the display. The material called Ceramic Shield, was made by Apple and glass-maker Corning. The tiny pieces of ceramic infused into the glass are said to make it extra sturdy.

As per Wired, the single most impressive upgrade would have to be the new chipset. This piece of silicon is the same chip used in the new iPads. They work faster than the iPhone 11 chips, which can make a difference in powering frills like Face ID, Animoji, and augmented reality apps. While there is really nothing that the iPhone 12 can do which the 11 cannot do, the new phone is faster. The advanced chip also enhances photo and video capture. Low-light photos and auto-focus are also improved in the new phone due to design changes.

The iPhone 12 also support 5G, but in most locations the 5G networks are not yet available and so users won’t actually benefit from the faster wireless unless they plan to keep the phone for a few years.