iPhone

Got your giant grain of salt ready? OK, read on. Tim Hardwick, MacRumors:

All 5G iPhone 12 models support Dual SIM mode, which refers to the ability to switch between a SIM card and an eSIM operating on independent numbers and/or carriers. However, an image of a training document from Apple’s Sales Web resources called “What you need to know about 5G on iPhone” and posted to Reddit suggests the ‌iPhone 12‌ will not support 5G on either line when Dual SIM mode is active.

Specifically, the language reads:

When using two lines in Dual SIM mode, 5G data isn’t supported on either line and will fall back to 4G LTE. If customers are using eSIM only and are on a 5G-supported carrier and service plan, they’ll have 5G access.

This true? We should know as soon as folks with Dual SIM setup get their iPhones 12 and can test this.

Even if true, it sounds like this is a temporary issue:

On the bright side, this incompatibility could be a software issue, and therefore something Apple could resolve down the line. Indeed, the Reddit user who posted the above image claims that an update coming later in 2020 will enable 5G when using a Dual SIM mode.

Early days for Apple and 5G.

Apple:

Apple today announced iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, introducing a powerful 5G experience and advanced technologies that push the boundaries of innovation for users who want the most out of iPhone. iPhone 12 Pro models feature a new design and edge-to-edge Super Retina XDR displays, the largest ever on iPhone, protected by the all-new Ceramic Shield front cover, which provides the biggest jump in durability ever on iPhone. The Apple-designed A14 Bionic chip, the fastest chip in a smartphone, powers impressive computational photography features including the all-new Apple ProRAW for more creative control in photos, and enables the first end-to-end Dolby Vision video experience, up to 60 fps. The reimagined pro camera systems include an expansive Ultra Wide camera, a Telephoto camera with an even longer focal length on iPhone 12 Pro Max, and new Wide cameras to capture beautiful professional-quality images and video in bright and low-light environments. iPhone 12 Pro models also introduce a new LiDAR Scanner for immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences and MagSafe, which offers high-powered wireless charging and an all-new ecosystem of accessories that easily attach to iPhone.

To me, big discriminators between the Pro and the non-Pro line: Camera/ProRAW/Dolby Vision video, stainless vs aluminum finish, LiDAR, Super Retina XDR display. If those things have value to you (they do to me, especially the camera), go Pro.

iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will be available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB models in graphite, silver, gold, and pacific blue starting at $999 and $1,099, respectively.

As to availability:

• iPhone 12 Pro pre‑order starting at 5:00 a.m. PDT this Friday, available starting one week from Friday
• iPhone 12 Pro Max pre-order starting at 5:00 a.m. PDT November 6th, available November 13th

As to 5G:

Featuring the most 5G bands on any smartphone, iPhone 12 Pro models offer the broadest 5G coverage worldwide. Models in the US support millimeter wave, the higher frequency version of 5G, allowing iPhone 12 Pro models to reach speeds up to 4Gbps, even in densely populated areas. iPhone 12 Pro models also feature Smart Data mode, which extends battery life by intelligently assessing 5G needs and balancing data usage, speed, and power in real time.

Not clear to me that there is any difference between 5G on the iPhone 12 models and the iPhone 12 Pro models.

Apple:

Apple today unveiled iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini with 5G technology, ushering in a new era for the world’s best smartphone. The newly designed iPhone 12 models feature expansive edge-to-edge Super Retina XDR displays for a brighter, more immersive viewing experience, and a new Ceramic Shield front cover, providing the biggest jump in durability ever on iPhone. The Apple-designed A14 Bionic, the fastest chip in a smartphone, powers every experience on iPhone 12, and coupled with an advanced dual-camera system, delivers meaningful new computational photography features and the highest quality video in a smartphone. iPhone 12 models also introduce MagSafe, offering high-powered wireless charging and an all-new ecosystem of accessories that easily attach to iPhone.

The lower end of today’s Apple iPhone 12 lineup, the mini and iPhone 12 both offer the A14 Bionic processor and 5G compatibility. Definitely a lot of value in this pairing.

These are the aluminum finishes, with your choice of colors: blue, green, black, white, and (PRODUCT)RED. The mini is 5.4″ and the iPhone 12 is 6.1″.

Both models feature a sleek new flat-edge design with an aerospace-grade aluminum enclosure and combined with the Ceramic Shield front cover, which goes beyond glass by adding a new high temperature crystallization step that grows nano-ceramic crystals within the glass matrix, increases drop performance by 4x.

The new Ceramic Shield and improved drop performance adds to that value, especially if you don’t use a case.

MagSafe improves wireless charging for a better, more efficient experience, and introduces an ecosystem of easy-to-attach accessories that beautifully complement iPhone 12 models.7 MagSafe delivers a unique experience to iPhone, featuring an array of magnets around the wireless charging coil, optimized for alignment and efficiency, that perfectly connects to iPhone every time. MagSafe chargers efficiently provide up to 15W of power, while still accommodating existing Qi-enabled devices.

MagSafe is a new ecosystem, including a MagSafe charger and a MagSafe Wallet. Both are ideally suited to the iPhone 12 and Apple’s iPhone 12 cases. According to Apple’s web site, the MagSafe Wallet is compatible with all 4 iPhone 12 models. In the paragraph above, it says “while still accommodating existing Qi-enabled devices”. Thinking that last means you’ll get the charge, but maybe not the magnetic snap?

Apple:

Apple today unveiled HomePod mini, the newest addition to the HomePod family that delivers impressive sound, the intelligence of Siri to get things done, and a smart home experience that offers comfort and convenience without complexity. At just 3.3 inches tall, HomePod mini is packed with innovative technologies and advanced software that together enable computational audio to deliver breakthrough audio quality wherever it is placed. HomePod mini will be available in white and space gray at a great price of just $99.

Great pricing. Preorders start on November 6th, shipping starts November 16th.

Piper Sandler:

The Piper Sandler Taking Stock With Teens® survey is a semi-annual research project that gathers input from thousands of teens with an average age of 15.8 years.

And:

86% of teens own an iPhone and 89% expect an iPhone to be their next phone, both all-time survey highs

Think about that for a moment. Many consider Apple and iPhone to be premier, high-end brands. And 86% of teens own one. That is remarkable.

Doomed.

Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac:

We’ve heard reports before that Apple plans to include a periscope lens on future iPhones, and a new Ming-Chi Kuo report today suggests this is coming in 2022.

Rumor aside, the focus of the linked article is this:

What exactly is a periscope lens, and what would it mean for future iPhones?

A typical iPhone lens stacks its elements perpendicularly away from the iPhone. That lens stack is what makes the camera bump in the iPhone case.

A periscope lens uses a mirror to let the stack of lens elements live inside the case, with optical zoom without a camera bump made possible by sacrificing interior space.

Ben does a great job explaining all this. Great read.

[VIDEO] Great video by MKBHD on the rumor (grain of salt) that the next gen iPhones will ship without a charger, charging cable, and earPods in the box. Video embedded in main Loop post.

True, it’s just a rumor, and we typically avoid those on The Loop, but this isn’t simple mongering. Instead, it’s an interesting take on the pros and cons of including stuff in the box that we already likely have, the potential massive savings in packaging waste, and the question of how such a move might impact price.

Side note: I found this Reddit post to be an interesting detailed breakdown of that potential packaging impact.

Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:

New data released by Omdia today says that the iPhone 11 has usurped the crown of being the “world’s most popular smartphone” from the iPhone XR. According to data, Apple shipped 19.5 million iPhone 11 units during the first quarter of this year.

This is remarkable. If you add sales numbers for the next three smartphones together (that’d be the Samsung Galaxy A51, and Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro), they’d just about equal iPhone 11 sales.

Also of note, iPhone 11 Pro Max still lags behind iPhone XR sales. Premium price for the Pro Max, iPhone XR still has legs, though I suspect second quarter will see the rise of the iPhone SE.

Monica Chin, The Verge:

Nick Bryner, a high school senior in Los Angeles, had just completed his AP English Literature and Composition test last week. But when he snapped a photo of a written answer with his iPhone and attempted to upload it to the testing portal, it stopped responding.

The website got stuck on the loading screen until Bryner’s time ran out. Bryner failed the test. He’s retaking it in a few weeks.

In a nutshell, this is about the default file format for iPhone photos, which is HEIC, which brings higher quality images in a smaller file size than JPG. The fault here is with College Board not recognizing this issue in the first place.

This is a dumb mistake on their part. At the very least, they should have simply allowed the files to be submitted, flagging them as unreadable perhaps, but they could have solved the HEIC import problem after the fact and those test takers could have gone on to complete their tests.

Or, just saying, they could have spent a minute to test their system using an actual iPhone, which would have shown them the error of their ways.

That said, good to be aware of the iOS setting that lets you change from HEIC to JPG, in case this sort of thing ever happens to you. Head to:

Settings > Camera > Formats

You’re likely set to High Efficiency (that’s HEIC). Your other choice is Most Compatible (that’s JPG).

In a nutshell, the camera of AnandTech’s iPhone SE review unit produced less than spectacular images. When they contacted Apple, Apple replaced the phone and AnandTech saw what everyone else is seeing, great images, especially for a camera on a $399 phone. Jump to the article and you’ll see the before and after. Clearly a huge difference in camera quality.

Here’s the curious part:

The bad news is that we still don’t exactly know what went wrong with the first unit – what I don’t doubt is confirmed is that it suffered from a manufacturing defect in the optical system of the camera.

The problem with confirming such a scenario is that it’s very unlikely that I was extremely unlucky in being the sole person receiving such a sample, as usually one-off faults like these are insanely rare, with the more likely scenario being some sort of systematic failure for a whole batch of units.

The upshot? If you get an SE and are not happy with the images, it might be that your camera is part of the same batch that went to AnandTech. Check it against the before and after images in the article. This is the first such issue I’ve heard of, so it is possible it was just a single faulty unit, though that seems unlikely.

Haptic Touch is that little pop you feel when you press-and-hold on newer (iPhone XR and later) iPhones. This issue is specific to the iPhone SE lock screen when you press-and-hold a notification.

A niche feature, but a pain if it’s something you’ve come to depend on. Worth knowing.

Matt Birchler:

I look at my brand spanking new iPhone (which I of course will likely replace in 5 short months) and while I love how it looks, how fast it runs, Face ID, and how good the cameras are, I keep wandering over to the iPhone SE page on Apple’s site and keep looking for the “gotcha” moment. What is the Achille’s heel that makes this actually a bad phone for someone like me who likes the best in phones?

So far, I can’t really find one.

The primary differences are Face ID, screen real estate, extra camera features. Toughest to give up, for me, would be the extra screen real estate. But I like Touch ID (not as convenient as Face ID, but it has its own convenience), and the iPhone SE camera is an excellent camera, I’d guess good enough for most folks.

And the cost saving is significant.

So when I see the $399 iPhone SE with 5 years of likely updates, with a really good single lens camera, and with it’s processor that’s faster than all 2020 $1,000+ Android phones, and will likely still be faster than all 2021 Android phones…well, it just looks like a damn good phone, and it makes it look like we’ve been frolicking around in excess for years now.

Practical vs luxury.

AndroidCentral:

I expect that some people are going to tell me about single thread versus multi-threaded performance and how the A13 GPU isn’t that great or how iPhones have much lower resolution screens so the chips don’t have to work as hard. All this is true, but another thing is true: the A13 is a stronger chip than the Snapdragon 865 for daily use in every category

I love when Apple gear appreciation pieces appear on Android sites. It’s one thing when Apple folk rave about the new shiny. But so much more credible when that appreciation comes from a traditional critic

Also, what a strong headline.