iPhone 12 Pro is shaping up to be a true flagship
Over the past several years, the smartphone market's definition of the word "flagship" has changed dramatically. Because of the rate of change and conservative ways in which the biggest names in smartphone brands advance their AAA phones, brands like OnePlus have been allowed to creep up and create "flagship killer" phones. Brands like Huawei, Xiaomi, and OPPO have captured massive amounts of new buyers over the past half-decade, as smartphone ownership saturates the earth and turnover becomes the name of the game. Here in 2020, Apple seems to have decided they're ready to remember what "flagship" truly means for a highest-end mobile device.
Information on the iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12, Max, and iPhone 12 Pro Max is all unofficial until Apple says the word – as it's always been with information on smartphones revealed before their creator makes it so. Information presented in this article was gathered from a variety of sources, most of which were insider sources who wished to remain anonymous. As such, everything could change!
iPhone 12 Pro is the one
Apple's strategy with presenting their newest line of iPhone products will hinge on the idea that the user will want to participate in the most futuristic iPhone experience, but won't necessarily want to pay the highest price for the full package. This has become the strategy of most major smartphone companies in the last several years – make a no-holds-barred smartphone, even if very few people will actually make the purchase.
Apple is one of several companies to have achieved critical mass when it comes to community smartphone experience. If you have an iPhone, you have an iPhone – for most people, that's enough. NOTE: Photos above and below show the iPhone 11 Pro – see links in the timeline below for leaked imagery of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro!
With the iPhone 12 Pro, we've got two device sets (Pro and Pro Max) that'll roll with specifications that are, indeed, no-holds-barred. That's an Apple version of "no-holds-barred", so it does not include features like a headphone jack, a microSD card slot, or a removable battery.
The iPhone 12 Pro price will likely start at just under $1k. That's an expected price of $999 for a device with 128GB internal storage, or a bump of $100 for 256GB, or the biggest internal storage (512GB) for approximately $1,299 USD.
The differences
The differences between the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro are few, but WILL make ALL the difference for the people considering the (few hundred dollar) price bump. All models will have Super Retina OLED displays, but the Pro models will have XDR tech and will likely be made by Samsung.
At this time it's not entirely clear who will make the display panels for the 12 and 12 Max. It could be BOE, it could be LG Display – but the panels won't be as spectacular as they are in the XDR panels for the Pro and Pro Max.
The Pro models will have 6GB RAM instead of the 12's 4GB. That'll likely make the most difference to the user in the higher-end back-facing camera array on the Pro models. It may also make a significant difference in 5G apps in the near future – but that's yet to be seen.
The difference in 5G connectivity between the models will be significant. The non-Pro models will likely have sub-6 5G, while the Pro models are tipped to have sub-6 and mmWave. In short: both models will have the most widely-available 5G, but the Pro models will have the potential to work with the fastest 5G speeds in the world (so far).
The latest rumor suggests that the iPhone 12 and 12 Max will have 60Hz image refresh rate display panels, while the Pro models will have 120Hz image refresh rate. That'd be the same speed as the highest-end iPad Pro devices, working with "ProMotion" brand tech for super smooth visual action.
Once you use a 120Hz image refresh rate display panel on a smartphone, it's difficult to go back to a lower image refresh rate speed. You'll likely have the ability to limit the image refresh rate on the iPhone 12 Pro lineup to 60Hz – but we'll see!
We're still expecting the iPhone 12, 12 Max, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to appear at an event in September of 2020. There's a chance we won't see the same release date range as we've seen with iPhone devices in the last several seasons due to display panel production delays. It's expected that we'll see iPhone 12 release dates anywhere from late September all the way to early November 2020 – it could be crazy!