The iPhone 12 & 12 Pro Review: New Design and Diminishing Returns
by Andrei Frumusanu on November 30, 2020 8:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Apple
- Smartphones
- Apple A14
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Pro
Video Recording
Video recording on the new iPhone 12 series is defined by the addition of real HDR format recording, meaning 10-bit profile within a new Dolby Vision format. Apple’s choice to go with Dolby Vision a forward-thinking one that’s certainly going to pay off in the future, however unless you have a recent compatible TV or lucky enough to feature a monitor capable of displaying the format, the playback experience on devices other than iPhones is going to be quite limited.
Video capture quality is quite excellent this generation as well, although I have a hard time to really differentiate things from the iPhone 11 series. Dynamic range of the shots is still quite good, however there’s still some key characteristics such as the jittering EIS that are still present, or the occasional pulsating exposure of certain objects in the scene, something that’s possibly related to the dual-exposure of every frame when video-recording.
At 4K30, the phone is able to take advantage of all the camera modules and allows you to switch around between the units during recording. When recording in 4K60, it’s no longer possible to switch from the main and telephoto module to the ultra-wide unit. If you start recording on the ultra-wide unit, you’re limited to this module and any zooming in will be digital.
Focusing is generally flawless on the main camera, although it’s noticeable in video that the ultra-wide angle module is of a fixed focus design, so you won’t be able to focus as near in some situations.
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caribbeanblue - Friday, December 18, 2020 - link
The 2GB extra RAM on the Pro models have shown in a lot of comparison videos I’ve watched on Youtube that they keep more apps open in the background than a standard Android phone with 12GB RAM. But I hope next year we’ll see 6GB in the normal and 8GB RAM in the Pro models, because I have problems keeping apps open in the background with the 4GB RAM in my 11 Pro Max as well.Samus - Wednesday, December 2, 2020 - link
I mean, it’s going in a case anyway, the edges and texture of a phone mean nothing if it’s in a case. Which frankly it should be these are like $1000 investments and everybody eventually drops their phone at some point. I’ve been lucky enough to have never broken one, probably because it’s always in a case and I’m not clumsy enough for it to fall on its screen.crotach - Friday, December 4, 2020 - link
I'm a tall person with massive hands and I prefer flat edged phones :)cha0z_ - Monday, November 30, 2020 - link
The key part here is "mini" - that form factor is totally ok for small phones, but hold the 12 pro max and you can clearly tell it's a lot less comfortable vs the 11 pro max.austinsguitar - Monday, November 30, 2020 - link
the edges are great at the regular and small sizes. just not okay for the huge phones your 4 foot tall girl friend has. you know.rrinker - Monday, November 30, 2020 - link
I've always preferred the square edges older models to the rounder newer ones myself. Seemed like I had better grip and the phone wasn't about to slip out of my hand.RaLX - Monday, November 30, 2020 - link
Exactly, I love the 12 edge, in fact I just went back to iPhones after years using Pixel and Nexus phones partly because I love the "new" old design of flat edges.Devo2007 - Tuesday, December 1, 2020 - link
That’s how I feel about my 12 Pro Max as well. Yes, it’s big, but the flat edges actually provide a better grip for me. I would actually feel comfortable not using a case at least at home with this phone, which I definitely wouldn’t say about the iPhone 11 Pro Max.cha0z_ - Tuesday, December 1, 2020 - link
I am using 11 pro max from over a year naked, never dropped it or had a feeling I don't have a good grip.Cellar Door - Tuesday, December 1, 2020 - link
That is a bit irrelevant - since basically no one uses high end phone with no case these days, unless you get a 10pack of them and don't care if you break one, once a month.