Apple announces iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini: A new era for iPhone with 5G

Rhea-AI Summary

Apple unveiled the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, integrating 5G technology and featuring enhanced durability with a new Ceramic Shield front cover. The devices are powered by the A14 Bionic chip, offering significant improvements in speed and computational photography. Pre-orders start on October 16, with availability on October 23. The iPhone 12 is priced from $799, while the mini starts at $699. Both models support extensive 5G bands and come in multiple colors, marking Apple’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.

Positive

• Introduction of 5G technology enhances user experience with faster downloads and improved streaming quality.
• The A14 Bionic chip delivers top-tier performance, being the first smartphone chip built on a 5-nanometer process.
• Enhanced durability with a Ceramic Shield front cover increases drop performance by 4x.
• New MagSafe technology improves wireless charging efficiency and supports a range of accessories.
• Commitment to sustainability through use of recycled materials and carbon-neutral goals by 2030.

Negative

• None.

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini will be available in five beautiful aluminum finishes, including blue, green, black, white, and (PRODUCT)RED.¹ Pre-orders for iPhone 12 begin Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October 23. iPhone 12 mini will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, November 6, and in stores beginning Friday, November 13.

“The arrival of 5G marks the beginning of a new era for iPhone and we’re thrilled to bring these impressive new capabilities to our customers with iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We’re once again pushing the boundaries to deliver incredible computational photography advancements, Super Retina XDR displays, and the biggest leap in durability in iPhone history with the new Ceramic Shield front cover. Available in two great sizes, iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini take design to a new level in a new form factor that’s as beautiful as it is durable, and makes it easier than ever for customers to find the perfect iPhone to fit their lifestyle.”

A Breakthrough 5G Experience on iPhone

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini deliver an advanced 5G experience on a global scale, engineered with a seamless integration of world-class hardware and world-class software. 5G on iPhone boasts improved speeds for faster downloads and uploads, higher quality video streaming, more responsive gaming, real-time interactivity in apps, FaceTime® in high definition, and more. Customers will also be able to enjoy a secure, fast connection, reducing the need to connect to public Wi-Fi hotspots.

Featuring the most 5G bands on any smartphone, iPhone 12 models offer the broadest 5G coverage worldwide.² Models in the US support millimeter wave, the higher frequency version of 5G, allowing iPhone 12 to reach speeds up to 4Gbps, even in densely populated areas. iPhone 12 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.

A14 Bionic: Undisputed Leadership in Innovation and Performance

Generations ahead of the competition, A14 Bionic is the first chip in the smartphone industry built on 5-nanometer process. Faster and more efficient than ever, A14 Bionic has the fastest CPU and GPU by up to 50 percent compared to the fastest competing smartphone chips, enabling console-quality gaming experiences, powerful computational photography, and more, while delivering great battery life. Pushing the limits of machine learning (ML), A14 Bionic features a 16-core Neural Engine — for an 80 percent increase in performance — that is capable of completing 11 trillion operations per second, enabling improved performance on even the most intense ML models.

Durable Design and Immersive Display

The elevated new design of the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini are as beautiful as they are durable.³ And iPhone 12 mini is the smallest, thinnest, and lightest 5G smartphone in the world, re-architected to pack all the technology of iPhone 12 into a delightfully compact size, while still delivering an impressively large and immersive edge-to-edge display. 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.⁴

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini feature all-screen Super Retina XDR displays that stretch further to the edges, with systemwide color management for industry-leading color accuracy. Both models deliver a 2 million-to-1 contrast ratio for true blacks, and an immersive HDR viewing experience for high-definition video, photos with more detail, and nearly twice the peak brightness of iPhone 11.

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini have an industry-leading IP68 rating for water resistance up to 6 meters for up to 30 minutes, and are protected against everyday spills, including coffee and soda.⁵

New Advanced Dual-Camera System

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini deliver powerful computational photography features enabled by A14 Bionic and a new dual-camera system, bringing an unparalleled camera experience that makes it easier than ever to intuitively capture the perfect photograph or video. This advanced camera system features the Ultra Wide camera and a new Wide camera with an ƒ/1.6 aperture, the fastest yet on iPhone, providing 27 percent more light for even more amazing low-light photos and videos. Computational photography is taken to the next level on iPhone 12 models with Night mode and faster-performing Deep Fusion now on all cameras — TrueDepth®, Wide, and Ultra Wide — for improved photos in any environment. Customers will experience brighter pictures and better contrast for photos shot in low-light settings with Night mode, and more texture and less noise in Deep Fusion photos. Smart HDR 3 uses ML to intelligently adjust the white balance, contrast, texture, and saturation of a photo for remarkably natural-looking images.

iPhone 12 features the first camera to shoot HDR video with Dolby Vision and is the first and only device in the world to enable an end-to-end Dolby Vision experience,⁶ allowing customers to easily capture, edit, and share cinema-grade videos natively on iPhone. Dolby Vision grading is processed live while recording, and sustained during editing, whether in the Photos app or iMovie®. And playback on iPhone 12 is more realistic than ever on the industry-leading Super Retina XDR display. Both models also now feature improved cinematic video stabilization, even more true-to-life selfie videos with Dolby Vision, and Night mode Time-Lapse, offering longer exposure times for sharper videos, better light trails, and smoother exposure in low-light scenarios when used with a tripod.

Innovative New Accessories with MagSafe

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. Charging solutions include the MagSafe Charger and MagSafe Duo Charger for use with iPhone and Apple Watch®, as well as new silicone, leather, and clear cases that easily snap onto the back of iPhone, and a leather wallet. Customers can also expect innovative MagSafe accessories from third-party manufacturers.

Featuring iOS 14

iOS 14 delivers a reimagined iPhone experience with new ways to customize the Home Screen. Beautifully redesigned widgets present timely information at a glance and can be pinned in different sizes on any Home Screen page. The App Library is a new space that automatically organizes all of a user’s apps into one simple, easy-to-navigate view. iOS 14 also brings new ways to discover and use apps with App Clips, powerful updates for staying connected in Messages, greener ways to explore cities with Maps, and enhanced privacy features for even more transparency and control.⁸

Committed to the Environment

Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to have net zero climate impact across the entire business, which includes manufacturing supply chains and all product life cycles. This means that every Apple device sold, from material collection, component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, charging, all the way through recycling and material recovery, will be 100 percent carbon neutral. iPhone 12 models were designed with the environment in mind. For the first time, iPhone 12 models will utilize 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, including the new camera, Taptic Engine®, and MagSafe, as well as Apple’s MagSafe accessories. Apple is also removing the power adapter and EarPods® from iPhone packaging, further reducing carbon emissions and avoiding the mining and use of precious materials, which enables smaller and lighter packaging, and allows for 70 percent more boxes to be shipped on a pallet. Taken altogether, these changes will cut over 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually, equivalent to removing nearly 450,000 cars from the road per year.

Pricing and Availability

• iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini will be available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB models in blue, green, black, white, and (PRODUCT)RED, starting at $799 and $699, respectively. Customers can also get iPhone 12 for $22.87 a month or $549 with trade-in and iPhone 12 mini for $18.70 a month or $449 with trade-in from apple.com, in the Apple Store® app, and at Apple Store locations.⁹ iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are also available through Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers (prices may vary).
• Customers in Australia, China, Germany, Japan, the UK, the US, and more than 30 other countries and regions will be able to pre-order iPhone 12 beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October 23. iPhone 12 mini will be available for pre-order beginning at 5 a.m. PST on Friday, November 6, with availability beginning Friday, November 13.
• iPhone 12 will be available in India, South Korea, and more than a dozen other countries and regions beginning Friday, October 30.
• MagSafe Charger, Leather Wallet with MagSafe, and iPhone 12 Silicone Case and Clear Case will be available beginning Friday, October 16. iPhone 12 Leather Case will be available beginning Friday, November 6. MagSafe Duo Charger and Leather Sleeve will be available at a later date.
• Through Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program, customers in the US can get iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini with the protection of AppleCare+, choose their carrier (no multiyear service contract required), and have the opportunity to upgrade to a new iPhone every year. The iPhone Upgrade Program is available for iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini at apple.com and Apple Store locations in the US with monthly payments starting at $35.33.
• Customers in the US choosing to pay with Apple Card™ Monthly Installments or joining or upgrading through the iPhone Upgrade Program can use the Apple Store app on their iPhone to get ready for iPhone 12 pre-order until 9 p.m. PDT on Thursday, October 15. From Tuesday, November 3, customers can get ready for iPhone 12 mini pre-order until 9 p.m. PST on Thursday, November 5.
• For a limited time, eligible customers who purchase a new iPhone, iPad®, iPod touch®, Apple TV®, or Mac® can enjoy one year of Apple TV+™ for free and three months of Apple Arcade℠ for free.¹⁰
• Apple One™ is the easiest way to get many Apple subscription services at a great value, so customers can choose the one plan that is right for them or their whole family. Customers can sign up for Apple One starting this fall.
• Customers are able to find the same great shopping and support services at apple.com and at Apple Store locations. Customers can get shopping help from Apple Specialists, choose monthly financing options, trade in eligible devices, and get Support services and no-contact delivery or Apple Store pickup options. Customers are encouraged to check apple.com/retail for more information on the health and safety measures in place, and the services available, at their local store.
• Customers in the US can trade in their eligible device for an Apple Gift Card or instant credit toward their new purchase. If the device is not eligible for credit, Apple will recycle it for free.
• Customers in the US get 3 percent Daily Cash™ back when they buy directly from Apple with Apple Card. And when they choose Apple Card Monthly Installments, they can pay over time, interest-free.¹¹
• Customers can extend their limited warranty with AppleCare+ and get accidental damage protection, or AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, and get 24/7 priority access to technical support.
• Every customer who buys iPhone from Apple can enjoy a free Online Personal Session with an Apple Specialist, to help them explore and discover all the amazing things they can do with their new iPhone.

¹ A portion of the proceeds from every (PRODUCT)RED purchase goes to the Global Fund to fight AIDS. From now until December 31, 2020, those proceeds will go to the Global Fund’s COVID‑19 response.

² Data plan is required. 5G, Gigabit LTE, VoLTE, and Wi-Fi calling are available in select markets and through select carriers. Speeds are based on theoretical throughput and vary based on site conditions and carrier. For details on 5G and LTE support, customers can contact their carrier or visit apple.com/iphone/cellular.

³ The displays have rounded corners. When measured as a rectangle, the screen is 6.06 inches (iPhone 12) or 5.42 inches (iPhone 12 mini) diagonally. Actual viewable area is less.

⁴ Claim is based on iPhone 12 Ceramic Shield front cover compared with the previous-generation iPhone.

⁵ iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are splash-, water-, and dust-resistant, and were tested under controlled laboratory conditions and have a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529 (maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes). Splash, water, and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and resistance may decrease as a result of normal wear. Do not attempt to charge a wet iPhone; refer to the user guide for cleaning and drying instructions. Liquid damage is not covered under warranty.

⁶ 4K Dolby Vision playback requires Apple TV 4K or an AirPlay®-enabled TV.

⁷ MagSafe accessories including chargers, cases, and wallets are sold separately.

⁸ Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages. For more information on iOS 14, visit apple.com/ios/ios-14.

⁹ Price includes a $30 AT&T or Verizon discount. Requires activation with carrier. Trade-in: iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini pricing based on trade-in of iPhone Xr in good condition. Trade-in values require purchase of a new iPhone, subject to availability and limits. Trade-in values will vary based on the condition, year, and configuration of the eligible trade-in device. Not all devices are eligible for credit. Customers must be at least 18 years old to be eligible to trade in for credit or for an Apple Gift Card. Trade-in value may be applied toward a qualifying new device purchase, or added to an Apple Gift Card. Actual value awarded is based on receipt of a qualifying device matching the description provided when estimate was made. Sales tax may be assessed on the full value of a new device purchase. In-store trade-in requires presentation of a valid, government-issued photo ID (local law may require saving this information). Offer may not be available in all stores, and may vary between in-store and online trade-in. Some stores may have additional requirements. Apple or its trade-in partners reserve the right to refuse or limit quantity of any trade-in transaction for any reason. More details are available from Apple’s trade-in partners for trade-in and recycling of eligible devices. Monthly pricing: Available to qualified customers and requires a 0 percent APR, 24-month installment loan with Citizens One or Apple Card Monthly Installments and iPhone activation with AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon for purchases at an Apple Store. Taxes and shipping are not included in monthly pricing. Additional Apple Card Monthly Installments terms are in the Customer Agreement. For additional iPhone Payments terms, visit apple.com/legal/sales-support/iphoneinstallments_us.

¹⁰ $4.99 per month each for Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade after free trial. Special offers are good for three months after the first activation of the eligible device. Apple Arcade offer begins October 22. One Apple TV+ offer and one Apple Arcade offer per Family Sharing group. Plans automatically renew until cancelled. Other restrictions and terms apply; visit apple.com/promo for more information.

¹¹ Apple Card Monthly Installments is available for certain Apple products and is subject to credit approval and credit limit. For more information on available products, see a Specialist for more details. iPhone activation is required on iPhone purchases made at an Apple Store with one of these national carriers: AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon. Variable APRs for Apple Card other than Apple Card Monthly Installments range from 10.99 percent to 21.99 percent based on creditworthiness. Rates as of April 1, 2020. Taxes and shipping are not included in Apple Card Monthly Installments and are subject to the standard purchase APR. See the Apple Card Customer Agreement for more information. To access and use all the features of Apple Card, customers must add Apple Card to Wallet on an iPhone with iOS 12.4 or later. To manage Apple Card Monthly Installments, customers need an iPhone with iOS 13.2 or later or an iPad with iPadOS® 13.2 or later. Update to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS by choosing Settings > General > Software Update. Tap Download, then Install. Available for qualifying applicants in the United States. Issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple Newsroom (www.apple.com/newsroom), or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

© 2020 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, Super Retina, MagSafe, FaceTime, TrueDepth, iMovie, Apple Watch, Taptic Engine, EarPods, Apple Store, Apple Card, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, Mac, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple One, Daily Cash, AirPlay, and iPadOS are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.