I’m going to do a quick unboxing along with my first impressions of this new iPhone, and I’ve got a few cases I want to try on it too, so see what you think.
Then over the coming weeks I’m going to reveal how I shoot my videos on this channel, so if you’re interested in seeing that, let me know in the comments.
Box
First up, the box itself. So while the normal 12 comes in a white box, both Pro models actually come in a black one. And just like the other iPhone 12 models, this one doesn’t have a charging plug or brick at all, and that’s why the box looks so thin this year.
Comparing it to my 11 Pro Max box it’s about half the thickness.
Inside the box
Sliding the top of the box off, and the first thing we see is the iPhone itself, ah this looks good.
So as you can see I’ve gone for graphite. Although I really liked the look of the Pacific Blue I got a couple of weeks ago for my wife, I knew I’d prefer the graphite for myself.
Yep, I’m happy with this choice, it’s looks really nice, and this feels nice too. Feels awesome to hold, obviously I’ve already held the Pro, but I’m comparing this to my 11 Pro Max which is the same size. This feels great.
Then we’ve got the USB C to lightening cable. And we’ve got this little sleeve that contains the SIM card needle and the Apple sticker.
And that’s it, nothing else in the box.
Style
What I like about this year’s iPhone is the sharp edges, rather than being rounded and smooth like what we’re used to seeing. It looks modern, it looks clean. It resembles the old iPhone 4 and 5s, which makes it feel nostalgic and new at the same time.
I was worried that the edges would feel too hard and not feel natural, but I’ll tell you what, it actually feels better. It feels safer in my hand if that makes sense, it feels less likely to be dropped.
So as I went for the graphite colour, it means that the back is graphite and the sides, which is a steel band, is dark and mirror like . But as it’s glossy rather than matte it’s an absolute fingerprint magnet, seriously. In the few minutes I’ve been using this it’s picked up so many fingerprints, I’ve wiped it about 5 times already.
The front of the phone now has a ceramic shield which is supposedly 4 times less likely to break over last years iPhone 11. One thing to note is this only applies to the front, not the back, so we’re still going to need a case to protect the phone from scratches or damage if it is dropped.
Down the bottom we’ve got the lightning port, speaker and microphone ports. And the usual volume and mute buttons on the side, so it’s really only the shape of the edges that’s changed here.
Comparing the look of this to last years iPhone 11 Pro Max, you can really see the difference. The edges are a lot cleaner and sharper, I really like this new look.
Size wise, it’s slightly bigger than the 11 Pro Max, literally a couple of millimeters, and it weighs the same. So overall it’s a good size again.
Screen
The 12 Pro Max once again has an OLED screen which measures 6.7”, so it’s 0.2” bigger than the 11 Pro Max and 0.6” bigger than the 12 Pro. But as it is an OLED, it means it’s viewable from practically any angle and it’s really clear and really bright. It’s slightly brighter than the normal 12 and the iPhone 11 and any content you view on this will look great.
I’ve mentioned this in an earlier video, but the normal 12 this year comes with the same OLED screen as the Pro models. Whereas last years 11 was just LCD. So that’s a huge upgrade if you’re looking at the non Pro models, where really only the camera is the biggest difference.
Screen
The first thing I always add to my phones when I get them is a screen protector, usually i add a cheap one off eBay or Amazon, but this year I’ve gone for the Spigen one, which comes with this hard plastic shell to make it easier to apply. And it’s absolutely fool proof, I’ve just added it and there’s not a single bubble in sight. This was stupidly easy.
One thing I don’t like, which is feedback for Spigen really, is I don’t like that there’s a cut out at the top of the protector. I prefer the ones that cover the entire screen, and have a very small hole instead. This is what I have on my current 11 Pro max, and it looks so much nicer. Maybe they’ll redesign it in the future.
Camera
Around the back we’ve got the 3 cameras, these look nice.
You’ve got the Ultra wide, the Wide and the Telephoto lens and they all look great. But one of the big differences this year is all 3 lenses have night mode, whereas last year only the wide lens had it. This means we can shoot in low light with any of the 3, although the ultra wide still isn’t anywhere near as good at taking photos compared to the other two lenses.
Just like with the Pro, the three lenses are all 12 megapixel, the ultra wide is now an f2.4, the wide is an f1.6 while the telephoto is an f2.0. A slight improvement which should make taking photos that little bit better in low light now it’s faster.
It also comes with the new Lidar sensor, which will make a difference to night mode, although it’ll be more beneficial for AR in the future.
Another new feature is the ability to now record videos in Dolby Vision HDR. I’ve not seen any videos on YouTube that have used this, and not entirely sure if I will use it myself, but I’ll be giving it a go.
It’ll be great to see how my next few videos compare on my channel, going from the 11 to the 12.
Battery
Also the battery this year has had a slight improvement, but to be honest as long as I get one full day, which I usually do, I’m happy. It’s pretty rare I don’t stick it on charge each night anyway.
Price
As I went for the 256GB option, I need the memory for these videos, it cost me £1,200. But then I always sell my old iPhone, which I got £750 for, so all in all it’s cost me £450 to upgrade, which I don’t think is too bad. That’s for the new look, another years warranty, slightly better camera.
Overall I’m really happy with this new phone, love the look, love the cases available. It’ll be good to get some new content filmed with this over the coming weeks, to see what difference if any it makes to my channel. Probably no difference at all.
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