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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PickUrPoison - Saturday, December 12, 2020 - link
5s and 6 are like $25-50 used, they’re 5+ years old.TelstarTOS - Monday, November 30, 2020 - link
yet another skip year with notch.PickUrPoison - Saturday, December 12, 2020 - link
Get used to it. Apple’s ok with it. Eventually it’ll get smaller and occupy minimal bezel space. Think 7-10 years and be happy if it’s faster.anonomouse - Monday, November 30, 2020 - link
Is there a pending Mate 40 Pro / Kirin 9000 review where all of the numbers for that are coming from? The GPU in particular for that looks very.... not great.tk.icepick - Monday, November 30, 2020 - link
Great review Andrei!A small error: On the GPU Performance & Power page, the performance drop from 11 Pro to 12 Pro is 64.78 fps to 56.06 fps. The following paragraph lists a 45% performance regression, but that would be comparing the peak performance of 11 Pro to the sustained performance of 12 Pro.
56.06/64.78 = 86.53%. Still a regression, but only ~14%, not 45.
dudedud - Monday, November 30, 2020 - link
Speaking of the throttling, do the 12 series employ the same graphene layer to disperse the heat as last year iPhones?I haven't seen any indication of using it this time (iFixit didn't mention it), and maybe that's the reason for the lower sustained performance even when the efficiency is better?
flyingpants265 - Monday, November 30, 2020 - link
$799 is high, but it's more reasonable than $1300.Always remember that the Realme X 4GB is $145 USD on AliExpress, that should be the price for all budget phones going forward.
Amandtec - Tuesday, December 1, 2020 - link
Unless you work in an industry where China engages in industrial espionage. Then the extra $600 is easily worth it.flyingpants265 - Tuesday, December 1, 2020 - link
No, that doesn't matter at all. The point is that phones are cheap to make, and we should seek an option between $145-300 USD. Not an artificially gimped or overpriced option, or "midrange plus" Samsung phones sold to clueless consumers for $600 or more with inferior specifications. $300 is a good price for a Nexus 5 type phone.FunBunny2 - Tuesday, December 1, 2020 - link
"The point is that phones are cheap to make"depends on why that is.
1 - they're still made with a high level of labor input (not so much automation), both the final assembly that most consider 'making the phone' and the same for all the constituent parts all the way down the BoM
2 - they're made with a high level of automation (not so much labor), ditto the rest
in the 1) case, all producers from final assembly down the BoM, can maintain minimum average cost for most levels of output simply by expanding or contracting the labor force, and thus preserve profit
in the 2) case, there's less flexibility to maintain minimum average cost at any level of output, since all that automation has to be paid for no matter the level of output. in fact, the only way to maximize profit is to run that automation 24/7/365, thus spreading capital cost as thinly as possible over maximum output. moving production to still more 'business friendly, labor antagonistic' jurisdictions means there's less and less money to be had by exploiting labor; just not enough in the BoM to exploit.
so, if the BoM for smartphones is closer to 2), it's in the companies interest to maximize output level at all times, thus increasing supply, thus competition for consumers, and thus a lowering of actual sale price.
perhaps one of the AT mavens could look into this?