Apple just wrapped up its big iPhone 12 event, where it announced four new iPhone 12 models, all of which support new faster 5G networks.
It also announced a new smart home speaker, called the HomePod Mini, and some fun accessories for the new iPhones that use magnets to attach to them.
Here are some of the highlight announcements from the event, but scroll down to see even more.
- The iPhone 12 with 5G.
- iPhone 12 Mini.
- iPhone 12 Pro.
- The HomePod Mini smart speaker.
- The iPhone 12 will use new MagSafe magnets for wireless charging and accessories.
Here’s how Apple priced its new iPhone lineup
As of Tuesday, Apple’s iPhone lineup will be very broad, with several models spanning a wide range of price points.
Wireless carriers will offer their own deals, payment plans and discounts if you trade in your old phone, but that will vary by carrier. Prices will also go up if you choose a model with higher storage.
Here’s starting price for each iPhone model in Apple’s new lineup:
- iPhone SE starts at $399
- iPhone XR starts at $499
- iPhone 11 starts at $599
- iPhone 12 Mini starts at $699
- iPhone 12 starts at $799
- iPhone 12 Pro starts at $999
- iPhone 12 Pro Max starts at $1,099
–Steve Kovach
A couple of things we didn’t see: AirPods Studio and AirTags
The Apple event is finished. There were a couple of things we didn’t see that we thought we might. The AirPods Studio, Apple’s rumored luxury headphones that sit over your ears, weren’t announced. Neither were AirTags, a gadget that’s been rumored for a long time and is supposed to help you find your lost stuff. —Todd Haselton
Apple stock drops after product announcement
Apple shares dipped more than 3% while the company announced a slew of new products, including the iPhone 12. At the beginning of the event, it was down about 1%. —Jessica Bursztynsky
The new iPhone 12 Pro has a lidar sensor — here’s what that’s for
Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max feature a new lidar sensor on the back. This was first introduced on the iPad Pro in March and is used for augmented reality, or AR, which Apple has been pushing pretty hard in recent years.
AR allows you to drop digital items on top of the real world that you can see through the screen of your phone. I used it on the 2020 iPad Pro to plop some digital furniture in a nursery I was building to make sure it all fit before I bought it. It’s also good for measuring stuff.
The lidar sensor is easier and faster than a regular camera when you need to scan a room. It starts immediately, instead of taking a few seconds for your camera to scan.
But, Apple said it’s also using lidar in the iPhone to improve focus. It can cut down focus times in low-light scenes by up to 6x, Apple said. That means better low-light portrait shots, too. Portrait pictures are the kind that blur the background of a subject and add a professional look to your pictures. —Todd Haselton
A list of things Apple has removed from the iPhone over the years
2016 iPhone 7: No headphone jack.
2017 iPhone X: No home button.
2020 iPhone 12: No headphones, no charger in the box.
—Steve Kovach
Apple announces high-end iPhone 12 Pro Max with biggest iPhone screen ever, starting at $1,099
Apple is also releasing new high-end iPhone models under the Pro moniker. It comes in four colors: silver, gray, gold and blue.
The iPhone 12 Pro with a 6.1-inch screen starts at $999 and goes on sale Oct. 23. Preorders start Friday. The iPhone 12 Pro Max starts at $1,099. It goes on preorder Friday Nov. 6 and will ship Nov. 13.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max will have a bigger 6.7-inch display that Apple says is the largest iPhone screen it has released so far.
One distinguishing feature between the Pro models and the main iPhone 12 models is that the Pro phones will have an additional camera lens. The Pro models include a telephoto lens in addition to wide and ultrawide lenses and bigger camera sensors. It also has a lidar scanner that can create 3D scans of rooms with depth data that Apple says makes autofocus faster. In an example, Apple said that Medtronic used the lidar scanner to lay out a proposed setup for a lab under construction.
Apple is angling these phones for serious photographers. The iPhone 12 Pro will be able to take photos using a new Apple format that enables more detailed post-production tweaks. It can also record videos using HDR, a feature that makes captured images more vividly colored. It also supports recording Dolby Vision videos. —Kif Leswing
We’re finally getting AirPower (sort of)
Three years ago, Apple promised to release a new wireless charging gadget called AirPower that could charge your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods simultaneously.
It never launched, and Apple was forced to announce a year and a half later that it killed the project.
But on Tuesday, Apple announced a new charging paradigm for the iPhone called MagSafe that lets chargers, cases and other accessories snap onto the back of the device. Apple also made its own new MagSafe charger that can charge your watch and iPhone at the same time.
It’s probably the closest Apple will get to its real promise of the original AirPower. —Steve Kovach
Apple announces iPhone 12 Mini for $699
Apple has announced a smaller iPhone device with a 5.4-inch screen called the iPhone 12 Mini. It’s the first time that Apple has ever released a new iPhone with a smaller screen than the previous year’s models. Apple says it is smaller and lighter but has the same features as the larger iPhone 12. —Kif Leswing
The new iPhones won’t include a charger or headphones in the box
Apple said the new iPhone 12 models won’t include a charger or headphones in the box. This is in an effort to cut down on its carbon footprint. It will still include a new higher-power charging cable, but not the brick you need to plug that cable into the wall. If you want the brick that plugs into the wall, you’ll have to buy it separately. You can also buy one of Apple’s new magnetic chargers. —Todd Haselton
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