iPhone 12

There is no extra step. That makes it sound like some process. All you do is swipe up. The phone is unlocked instantly just by looking at it. It’s just as fast if not faster than Touch ID. I have concerns for people that find this difficult. You swipe up to get to the Home Screen no matter what you’re doing, so it’s not like this gesture is uncommon. You use it frequently on the Face ID iPhones.

Kind of surprised to read this. I've heard tons of complaints on that extra step, compared to like the Pixel 4 FaceID, you state at the phone, and immediately goes to the home screen, no extra step of swiping up before you can get to the home screen.

There's a popular JB tweak to eliminate that extra step to swipe up.

Go on iPhone fan forums, it's a popular nag or minor complaint
 
Kind of surprised to read this. I've heard tons of complaints on that extra step, compared to like the Pixel 4 FaceID, you state at the phone, and immediately goes to the home screen, no extra step of swiping up before you can get to the home screen.

There's a popular JB tweak to eliminate that extra step to swipe up.

Go on iPhone fan forums, it's a popular nag or minor complaint
The Pixel 4 has motion senses and begins reading your face as you reach for the phone and unlocks. They got rid of this convenient for the Pixel 5 because Google is an indecisive company that can’t ever stick with anything.
 
The Pixel 4 has motion senses and begins reading your face as you reach for the phone and unlocks. They got rid of this convenient for the Pixel 5 because Google is an indecisive company that can’t ever stick with anything.

Thst wasn't my point, but ok, if shitty Google with zero design sense can get FaceID right the first try on the mediocre Pixel 4. Why couldn't the trillon dollar powerhouse Apple?

Not trying to start an argument, I go on Apple forums to read up on stuff, and it's a very common complaint from diehard iPhone users, they wish there wasn't the extra step of having to swipe up. Period. That's it.

And like I said, one of the most common and popular iOS 13 Jailbreak tweaks is the one that gets rid of that extra step.
 
https://www.theverge.com/21524288/apple-iphone-12-pro-review#comments

Ouch that battery life on the 12 Pro. Reviewer's saying far worse than the 11 Pro.

Android is famous for this too. One year Samsung or OnePlus will make a killer phone with excellent battery life, then the very next year the new phone has shit battery life, because of new features or making the phone thinner.

Why do both Apple and Android manufacturers do this? Give us thicker phones with larger batteries.

Why is the new iPhone 12 line much thinner than the iPhone 11 line? Keep the same thickness as last year's phones, just stuff a huge battery inside instead.
 
Thst wasn't my point, but ok, if shitty Google with zero design sense can get FaceID right the first try on the mediocre Pixel 4. Why couldn't the trillon dollar powerhouse Apple?

Not trying to start an argument, I go on Apple forums to read up on stuff, and it's a very common complaint from diehard iPhone users, they wish there wasn't the extra step of having to swipe up. Period. That's it.

And like I said, one of the most common and popular iOS 13 Jailbreak tweaks is the one that gets rid of that extra step.
Face ID is a non issue that’s a breeze to use. I literally can’t comprehend people’s issue with it. Swiping up takes just as much time as pressing the home button. You’re not even swiping up the whole screen, you just barely swipe up from the bottom. I’ve never found it inconvenient. It’s a gesture you use many many times while using the phone. The Pixel 4’s implementation of it was better though and I wouldn’t be opposed to a setting that bypasses the swipe, it’s just nowhere near as bad as people are making it out to be. People are extremely dramatic.
 
https://www.theverge.com/21524288/apple-iphone-12-pro-review#comments

Ouch that battery life on the 12 Pro. Reviewer's saying far worse than the 11 Pro.

Android is famous for this too. One year Samsung or OnePlus will make a killer phone with excellent battery life, then the very next year the new phone has shit battery life, because of new features or making the phone thinner.

Why do both Apple and Android manufacturers do this? Give us thicker phones with larger batteries.

Why is the new iPhone 12 line much thinner than the iPhone 11 line? Keep the same thickness as last year's phones, just stuff a huge battery inside instead.
Seems like 5G is the reason. Their smart switching is quite stupid. Smart switching is fine as a setting, but we should also be allowed to toggle 5G on or off permanently instead of having Apple decide.
 
Back in the day or even today still isn't there an option to just toggle use 3G and not 4G/LTE?

That sounds like they're definitely needs to be a 5G option on / off.

I remember last year all the reviews were raving about the amazing great battery life of the iPhone 11 Pro Max like it was the battery champion. That sounds like the phone to get still in my opinion, especially if it's reduced price right now or better deals through carriers.
 
I wouldn’t hold your breath.
hold my breath for touchID returning again soon or my 12 Pro arriving on Friday ? the new phone parts a done deal, it's set for in-store pickup.

The lack of touchID is my concern but I wasn't willing to wait another year for a maybe, but it's only because faceID will be new (to me) and I like the way things have been working... old dogs, etc etc

I figure I've got a couple of weeks to test drive it and return it if I just can't get used to it, it appears they changed the return window from 30 days down to 15 somewhere during the last few iPhone cycles
 
Why do both Apple and Android manufacturers do this? Give us thicker phones with larger batteries.

Why is the new iPhone 12 line much thinner than the iPhone 11 line? Keep the same thickness as last year's phones, just stuff a huge battery inside instead.
To this day I cannot understand how there is a need for a physical bump for the camera lens array. Make the phone a tiny bit thicker, fit a bigger battery, and make the rear of the thing flush.
 
iPhone 12 Mini starts at $699 (64 GB, 2 rear camera sensors)


That iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 is making the Google Pixel 5 at $699 look really stupid

So for the same $699 as a pixel 5, I can get a mini with way worse battery life, an ugly notch, a less fluid 60 hz screen, half the storage, a face unlock which I detest, and I get the privilege of having to buy a wall charger since Apple didn't include one in the box.

Boy, am I feeling really stupid. :rolleyes:
 
Not to harp on the notch again, but man that notch in the iPhone 12 is just bad, and really looks outdated today in 2020. For Apple to use it a 4th year in a row, is just sad. They're a trillion dollar company, with some of the brightest engineers and designers in the tech industry working for them. Your telling me they couldn't find a way to at least reduce the notch, to a smaller size, or give the top of the phone a little straight bezel across the top to help hide the notch better. I'm sure Apple could have done that if they wanted, but that costs them money and time and resources, so that's a no.

Making the iPhone 12 line of phones, much thinner than last years iPhone 11's, thus having smaller batteries, why?

With COVID and mask wearing, this would have been best time, to incorporate the iPad Pro fingerprint scanner in the power button, that should have been added to the iPhone 12 lineup.

120HZ Pro Motion refresh rate, or 5G? Seems 5G is a huge battery hog, yes 120hz is too, but not as much, plus 5G is a ways off from truly being useful, whereas 120hz refresh is an immediate pleasure. Again they should have made rear the phone flush with the camera sensors sticking out the back, put some large batteries in.

Oh well, there's no perfect phone. I'm a big Nexus / Pixel fan, and trust me, Google has screwed those phones up so bad over the years, is not funny.
 
hold my breath for touchID returning again soon or my 12 Pro arriving on Friday ? the new phone parts a done deal, it's set for in-store pickup.

The lack of touchID is my concern but I wasn't willing to wait another year for a maybe, but it's only because faceID will be new (to me) and I like the way things have been working... old dogs, etc etc

I figure I've got a couple of weeks to test drive it and return it if I just can't get used to it, it appears they changed the return window from 30 days down to 15 somewhere during the last few iPhone cycles
The Touch ID. Would be cool to have it under the screen as others have done, but Apple takes years to implement things like that, if at all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bwbob
like this
The people I see complain the most about the notch are the ones not even interested in iPhones. It’s been a non-issue since I’ve had the 11 Pro, not sure what the big deal is.
Again, faceID is basically instant so maybe try using it before judging it?
There’s a toggle to use 5G, use their smart switch or only use 4G/LTE.
 
So for the same $699 as a pixel 5, I can get a mini with way worse battery life, an ugly notch, a less fluid 60 hz screen, half the storage, a face unlock which I detest, and I get the privilege of having to buy a wall charger since Apple didn't include one in the box.

Boy, am I feeling really stupid. :rolleyes:
This reads like “omg, my Intel Built-In GPU gives me so much more battery life and doesn’t make my computer loud like using dedicated GPUs like NVidia RTX3090!!!”

or

“my Samsung chromebook with an Intel i3 and an oled display beats your Dell XPS 13 Tiger Lake i7 anyday!”
 
Last edited:
The iPhone 12 Pro does look cool, but iOS for me still has missing features I'm accustomed too with Android.

- AoD ( Always on Display ) is great and I love it. To have a phone with no AoD, with the screen always off, looks like the phone is dead. It's nice just walking by your phone laying on the desk and seeing if you have a missed text or phone call, if not I don't touch the phone. But on the iPhone you walk by the phone, and it may as well be off, you have no idea if there's a missed text waiting for you, need to actually touch it to see if there's a notification.

- Google News Feed panel on left side is great too, love reading the stories and news I see on there

- Swiping down anywhere on the phone to bring the Notification shade down is a big deal to me, iPhone's do this very strange thing when you swipe down, some weird search thing comes up? Why the heck would I ever want to search my phone? Search for what? I wish there was an option in Settings on the iPhone to make the swipe down gesture pull the notification shade down instead.

Those are just a few little things I like and would love to see Apple incorporate into iOS. I'm not going to write up a 10 page laundry list of how awful iOS is in 2020, it's not that bad anymore. But iOS 13 and 14 have made some good updates, seems like Apple is making iOS better lately.
 
The iPhone 12 Pro does look cool, but iOS for me still has missing features I'm accustomed too with Android.

- AoD ( Always on Display ) is great and I love it. To have a phone with no AoD, with the screen always off, looks like the phone is dead. It's nice just walking by your phone laying on the desk and seeing if you have a missed text or phone call, if not I don't touch the phone. But on the iPhone you walk by the phone, and it may as well be off, you have no idea if there's a missed text waiting for you, need to actually touch it to see if there's a notification.

- Google News Feed panel on left side is great too, love reading the stories and news I see on there

- Swiping down anywhere on the phone to bring the Notification shade down is a big deal to me, iPhone's do this very strange thing when you swipe down, some weird search thing comes up? Why the heck would I ever want to search my phone? Search for what? I wish there was an option in Settings on the iPhone to make the swipe down gesture pull the notification shade down instead.

Those are just a few little things I like and would love to see Apple incorporate into iOS. I'm not going to write up a 10 page laundry list of how awful iOS is in 2020, it's not that bad anymore. But iOS 13 and 14 have made some good updates, seems like Apple is making iOS better lately.

To go point-by-point:

- There is an upcoming leather sleeve case that shows the time through a window, which makes me think there may be an AOD-like element... no notifications, though. It's not a dealbreaker for me as an iPhone user, but I also have an Apple Watch and generally know what notifications I'm getting.

- You could always set up the News widget in the iPhone's left-hand column. Not quite the same, but it should give you a peek at what's happening in a similar fashion.

- The swipe-down-to-search thing is actually very handy for me. It means I don't have to worry that an app I need is buried in a folder (or now the App Library) -- I just type the first few characters. It's also good for finding a contact quickly.
 
This reads like “omg, my Intel Built-In GPU gives me so much more battery life and doesn’t make my computer loud like using dedicated GPUs like NVidia RTX3090!!!”

or

“my Samsung chromebook with an Intel i3 and an oled display beats your Dell XPS 13 Tiger Lake i7 anyday!”

By all means don't let my statement of facts interfere with your hyperbole.

Okay, I'll help you out and throw you a bone. Here's probably your best argument why the pixel 5 looks "very stupid" next to that iphone 12 mini. Go ahead and try it out.....ready? "Who cares about all those meaningful/useful real world advantages....have you seen the synthetic benchmarks of the A14? Bro, my synthetic benchmark crushes your synthetic benchmark!!! O'Doyle Rules!!"
 
By all means don't let my statement of facts interfere with your hyperbole.

Okay, I'll help you out and throw you a bone. Here's probably your best argument why the pixel 5 looks "very stupid" next to that iphone 12 mini. Go ahead and try it out.....ready? "Who cares about all those meaningful/useful real world advantages....have you seen the synthetic benchmarks of the A14? Bro, my synthetic benchmark crushes your synthetic benchmark!!! O'Doyle Rules!!"
“My Chevy Spark gets me from point A to point B with more gas mileage than that Ferrari 812... best of all I am spending the same amount of money to buy that Chevy Spark as folks would spend to get a Ferrari. Cause I’m a genius! It’s all about that gas mileage baby! It’s a statement of fact that the Spark could get me from A to B just like that Ferrari would but using less gas! So what if the price of this Chevy Spark is the same of the Ferrari?”

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/iphone-12-benchmarks-this-destroys-every-android-phone
For the same price, the iPhone 12 performs 3 times better on CPU and 6 times better on graphics. Sure, synthetic benchmarks blah blah... but reviewers are already also talking about real world differences. Dismiss that too? Not to mention, this is Hardforum for crying out loud. You’re going to argue that benchmarks aren’t that important here?!? For the same amount of money, you can choice a phone that performs significantly better in almost every way but the battery life and screen refresh rate. That’s the issue with the Pixel 5. It’s far too expensive for its performance when compared to the competition. Pixel 5 should been been priced at most $100 more than a Pixel 4a 5G with the same internal hardware! Heck, I think that the pixel 4a 5G is $50 too expensive too, but i would recommend that phone for android fans easily unlike the significantly overpriced pixel 5.

And one more thing, you can get a Galaxy S20 FE 5G for $599 that beats the Pixel 5 in every category including screen and battery life... and the same 3 year upgrade promise. Pixel 5 is priced DOA. I wonder whose marketing is better and what the average Joe is going to buy given these choices of Android phones... oh wait, I know the answer already.
 
Last edited:
I have an 11 Pro Maxx, while this phone looks interesting I think I'm good.

I'm stoked to see Apple continues to nock cell band's support out of the park but I'm not clamoring for 5g support just yet.
 
The iPhone 12 A14 hardware beating every Android phone is like ok, that's nice and all, but who cares nowadays?

My point is, the A14 in a smartphone, is like buying a high end RTX 3090 video card to play Counterstrike on a 1440p monitor, yeah you'll 200+ fps, but you don't need that kind of horsepower it's wasted, you just need a mid range card at best to run it maxed out and still get great fps.

And I never game on my smartphone, would never waste time playing an intense first person shooter on a tiny little screen, that's what my 40" 4k gaming monitor is for on my PC, and my 65" 4k TV for movies and sports.
 
I understand that this site pretty much only considers performance for gaming but the Apple SoC's have never been made more gaming performance in mind (although they are good at that!). Apple's post processing software consumes a huge amount of resources, that's where all of this performance goes to.
 
Can someone explain why they increased the screen resolution on an already retina display? Seems like that would just hurt battery life with no upside.
 
OLED vs LCD. They can use the same panels for both the 12 and 12 Pro, while the 12 Pro gets the ones that are a bit better to allow for the higher brightness. Simplified the supply chain a bit.
 
Can someone explain why they increased the screen resolution on an already retina display? Seems like that would just hurt battery life with no upside.

This comment comes up every time anyone (especially Apple) increases screen resolution.

It doesn't hurt battery life, screen brightness does.
 
This comment comes up every time anyone (especially Apple) increases screen resolution.

It doesn't hurt battery life, screen brightness does.
That seem counterintuitive, specially if it lead to a bigger GPU being used, maybe it depend on the technology but apparently PPI on oled do augment energy consumption by square inch of screen:

https://www.researchgate.net/public...y_consumed_in_smartphone_display_applications
Instead, high pixel density OLED can drain the battery power even more quickly since the power dissipation of OLED is determined by the number of displayed pixels and their RGB values, or subpixels.

Seem to be true on LCD as well
https://superuser.com/questions/973...ith-different-ppis-affect-battery-differently

https://www.anandtech.com/show/7743/the-pixel-density-race-and-its-technical-merits
For both OLED and LCD displays, pushing higher pixel densities incurs a cost in the form of greater power consumption for a given luminance value. Going from around 330 PPI to 470 PPI for an LCD IPS display incurs around a 20% power draw increase on the display, which can be offset by more efficient SoC, larger batteries, improved RF subsystem power draw. Such power draw increases can also be offset by improvements in the panel technology used, which has consistently been the case with Samsung’s OLED development but regardless of these improvements, it is an increase to power draw compared to an equivalent technology display with lower pixel density. In the case of LCD displays, a stronger backlight must be used as the higher pixel density means the transistors around the liquid crystal become a larger proportion of the display, and the same is also true of OLED panels, but instead the issue becomes that smaller portions of organic phosphors on the display have to be driven at higher voltages in order to maintain the same level of luminance. An example of this can be seen below with the photo of the LCD display with its transistors, with the second showing a front-lit shot to illuminate the TFTs.
 
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/iphone-12-benchmarks-this-destroys-every-android-phone
For the same price, the iPhone 12 performs 3 times better on CPU and 6 times better on graphics. Sure, synthetic benchmarks blah blah... but reviewers are already also talking about real world differences. Dismiss that too? Not to mention, this is Hardforum for crying out loud. You’re going to argue that benchmarks aren’t that important here?!? For the same amount of money, you can choice a phone that performs significantly better in almost every way but the battery life and screen refresh rate. That’s the issue with the Pixel 5. It’s far too expensive for its performance when compared to the competition. Pixel 5 should been been priced at most $100 more than a Pixel 4a 5G with the same internal hardware! Heck, I think that the pixel 4a 5G is $50 too expensive too, but i would recommend that phone for android fans easily unlike the significantly overpriced pixel 5.

We've reached an interesting point in the progression of smart phone "performance". I'm old enough to have been an adult through the entire progression of smart phone development and never has the laws of diminishing returns been more apparent than today. 10 years ago every new iphone cpu or new generation of snapdragon brought huge improvements in performance. That translated in meaningful real world benefits where newer CPUs made our phones run smoother, apps opened up much faster, lag was diminished more and more. It was noticeable. Nowadays? The iphone 11 is already a smooth, virtually lag free experience. What actual tangible benefits does a 50% faster CPU bring to real world usage? I'm honestly asking? Because if you think that an app opening .0000001 nano seconds faster is some great real world benefit then you're kidding yourself. We've reached the point where these OS have matured enough that as long as a phone is smooth, feels fast, does not lag/bog down, does not overheat, then who cares whether it's a mid range CPU or the bleeding edge newest A14? It just bragging rights on papers with no real world value. The only legit argument you can make about the tangible benefits of the newest CPUs on modern smartphones, I don't have a problem with, is if you tell me you're some kind of hardcore mobile phone gamer that needs every FPS possible for your competitive play. (Is there even such a thing?). However I can guarantee you that the majority of us here in the "Hard" crowd do our gaming on our actual PCs. Not our phones.

The things I do care care about are things like battery life. That's a real world benefit. The newest iphones apparently have taken a pretty big step back from last year. That's not a real world benefit. That's just dumb. For my same $699 dollars, that tiny little 2227 mah battery on the iphone mini is going to be mediocre by comparison. Especially on 5g.

Good form factors with good screen to body ratios is a real world benefit. Just 5 years ago a 6 inch screen on a phone would have been considered massive. It's crazy to think that nowadays there are people complaining that a 6 inch screen is too small. But in either case, the pixel 5 gives you a screen size that big ENOUGH for most people, but in a form factor that still feels small and easy to use. That's an actual real world benefit. The pixel used to have one of the worst screen to body ratios. Now they have one of the best. Apple has kept the same notch now for 3 years. That's just lazy. Sure it may not bother some people, but bragging about an extra 10,000 points in some meaningless benchmark is dumb. Give me a phone that fits easier in my hand with a bigger screen. That is REAL improvement.

IMO one of the best things google did with the pixel is bring back the finger print reader. Faceunlock is one of those things where in principle it's more advanced and SEEMS like an improvement but in reality it's not. It violates the most basic tenet that technology should serve to make out lives easier and in practice, face unlock is more of a step back than an improvement. I speak from experience. I've used a Pixel 4 Xl for the last year and it's got one of the best implementations of Face unlocking. Some might argue better than Apple which forces you to do an additional step. But in the last year, I've come do the conclusion that the option of using a finger print reader just works better for me. And I bet you I'm not the only one who feels that way. For my own personal usage, I use my phone in bed all the time, laying at weird angles. I usually have a sleeping mask on my forehead (because I'm old). I'm annoyed that sometimes I have to shift around just so my phone has a clear line of sight of my face. And don't get me started about the present reality of being out and about and having to use a face mask. Now granted most of the time it's not a big deal and works as intended, however it's definitely not better and occasionally much more inconvenient. REAL advancements should be better in virtually all usage cases. Also, it just makes sense intuitively. As long as the nature of a phone is an object that we have to tangibly hold and manipulate with our hands, a finger print ready is not something that needs to be fixed.

Also I think Apple missed a big opportunity by not improving the refresh rates of their screen. I completely disagree with people who say that 90 and 120hz screen rates are overrated. It's not just about scrolling up and down. It's about how smooth and fast a phone feels in usage. I honestly would never want to go back to a 60hz panel. It feels like a such a downgrade to me. And that's the real kicker. I can guarantee you that if you took two octogenarians who know nothing about phones and had them scroll around on a new iphone 12 and a pixel 5, I bet you there are plenty of them who would say that Pixel is faster. Why? Even though their brains may not be able to quantify it, the experiences of a high refresh rate creates fluidity the illusion of speed. It's ironic really considering how much "Faster" that A14 is on paper.

In any case, you notice I have not made this into a IOS vs Android debate. We all have our preferences and if you're an IOS person who's heavily invested in that walled garden then I have no problems with you buying iphone after iphone. But to say that for the same $699, a Pixel 5 looks "very stupid" next to an iphone 12 mini, well I simply don't agree. I can give you many reasons why the Pixel 5 is a more compelling buy. You talk about "benchmarks" and speak of "real world differences" without actually telling me what any of those are.

But heck, it's a free world and I support your free speech. If you can't come up with actual concrete examples, then by all means, respond with more hyperbole. ;)
 
That seem counterintuitive, specially if it lead to a bigger GPU being used, maybe it depend on the technology but apparently PPI on oled do augment energy consumption by square inch of screen:

https://www.researchgate.net/public...y_consumed_in_smartphone_display_applications
Instead, high pixel density OLED can drain the battery power even more quickly since the power dissipation of OLED is determined by the number of displayed pixels and their RGB values, or subpixels.

Seem to be true on LCD as well
https://superuser.com/questions/973...ith-different-ppis-affect-battery-differently

https://www.anandtech.com/show/7743/the-pixel-density-race-and-its-technical-merits
For both OLED and LCD displays, pushing higher pixel densities incurs a cost in the form of greater power consumption for a given luminance value. Going from around 330 PPI to 470 PPI for an LCD IPS display incurs around a 20% power draw increase on the display, which can be offset by more efficient SoC, larger batteries, improved RF subsystem power draw. Such power draw increases can also be offset by improvements in the panel technology used, which has consistently been the case with Samsung’s OLED development but regardless of these improvements, it is an increase to power draw compared to an equivalent technology display with lower pixel density. In the case of LCD displays, a stronger backlight must be used as the higher pixel density means the transistors around the liquid crystal become a larger proportion of the display, and the same is also true of OLED panels, but instead the issue becomes that smaller portions of organic phosphors on the display have to be driven at higher voltages in order to maintain the same level of luminance. An example of this can be seen below with the photo of the LCD display with its transistors, with the second showing a front-lit shot to illuminate the TFTs.
I just got done reading your links (except for the Anand one, I actually remember reading that one now).

Ultimately it comes down to brightness but increasing pixel density brings up the need to increase voltage to maintain brightness. From what I understand this more true than not when comparing LCD displays with varying resolutions.
 
We've reached an interesting point in the progression of smart phone "performance". I'm old enough to have been an adult through the entire progression of smart phone development and never has the laws of diminishing returns been more apparent than today. 10 years ago every new iphone cpu or new generation of snapdragon brought huge improvements in performance. That translated in meaningful real world benefits where newer CPUs made our phones run smoother, apps opened up much faster, lag was diminished more and more. It was noticeable. Nowadays? The iphone 11 is already a smooth, virtually lag free experience. What actual tangible benefits does a 50% faster CPU bring to real world usage? I'm honestly asking? Because if you think that an app opening .0000001 nano seconds faster is some great real world benefit then you're kidding yourself. We've reached the point where these OS have matured enough that as long as a phone is smooth, feels fast, does not lag/bog down, does not overheat, then who cares whether it's a mid range CPU or the bleeding edge newest A14? It just bragging rights on papers with no real world value. The only legit argument you can make about the tangible benefits of the newest CPUs on modern smartphones, I don't have a problem with, is if you tell me you're some kind of hardcore mobile phone gamer that needs every FPS possible for your competitive play. (Is there even such a thing?). However I can guarantee you that the majority of us here in the "Hard" crowd do our gaming on our actual PCs. Not our phones.

The things I do care care about are things like battery life. That's a real world benefit. The newest iphones apparently have taken a pretty big step back from last year. That's not a real world benefit. That's just dumb. For my same $699 dollars, that tiny little 2227 mah battery on the iphone mini is going to be mediocre by comparison. Especially on 5g.

Good form factors with good screen to body ratios is a real world benefit. Just 5 years ago a 6 inch screen on a phone would have been considered massive. It's crazy to think that nowadays there are people complaining that a 6 inch screen is too small. But in either case, the pixel 5 gives you a screen size that big ENOUGH for most people, but in a form factor that still feels small and easy to use. That's an actual real world benefit. The pixel used to have one of the worst screen to body ratios. Now they have one of the best. Apple has kept the same notch now for 3 years. That's just lazy. Sure it may not bother some people, but bragging about an extra 10,000 points in some meaningless benchmark is dumb. Give me a phone that fits easier in my hand with a bigger screen. That is REAL improvement.

IMO one of the best things google did with the pixel is bring back the finger print reader. Faceunlock is one of those things where in principle it's more advanced and SEEMS like an improvement but in reality it's not. It violates the most basic tenet that technology should serve to make out lives easier and in practice, face unlock is more of a step back than an improvement. I speak from experience. I've used a Pixel 4 Xl for the last year and it's got one of the best implementations of Face unlocking. Some might argue better than Apple which forces you to do an additional step. But in the last year, I've come do the conclusion that the option of using a finger print reader just works better for me. And I bet you I'm not the only one who feels that way. For my own personal usage, I use my phone in bed all the time, laying at weird angles. I usually have a sleeping mask on my forehead (because I'm old). I'm annoyed that sometimes I have to shift around just so my phone has a clear line of sight of my face. And don't get me started about the present reality of being out and about and having to use a face mask. Now granted most of the time it's not a big deal and works as intended, however it's definitely not better and occasionally much more inconvenient. REAL advancements should be better in virtually all usage cases. Also, it just makes sense intuitively. As long as the nature of a phone is an object that we have to tangibly hold and manipulate with our hands, a finger print ready is not something that needs to be fixed.

Also I think Apple missed a big opportunity by not improving the refresh rates of their screen. I completely disagree with people who say that 90 and 120hz screen rates are overrated. It's not just about scrolling up and down. It's about how smooth and fast a phone feels in usage. I honestly would never want to go back to a 60hz panel. It feels like a such a downgrade to me. And that's the real kicker. I can guarantee you that if you took two octogenarians who know nothing about phones and had them scroll around on a new iphone 12 and a pixel 5, I bet you there are plenty of them who would say that Pixel is faster. Why? Even though their brains may not be able to quantify it, the experiences of a high refresh rate creates fluidity the illusion of speed. It's ironic really considering how much "Faster" that A14 is on paper.

In any case, you notice I have not made this into a IOS vs Android debate. We all have our preferences and if you're an IOS person who's heavily invested in that walled garden then I have no problems with you buying iphone after iphone. But to say that for the same $699, a Pixel 5 looks "very stupid" next to an iphone 12 mini, well I simply don't agree. I can give you many reasons why the Pixel 5 is a more compelling buy. You talk about "benchmarks" and speak of "real world differences" without actually telling me what any of those are.

But heck, it's a free world and I support your free speech. If you can't come up with actual concrete examples, then by all means, respond with more hyperbole. ;)
concrete examples was given in the Tom’s Hardware benchmark on video encoding. Guess what apps like Snapchat and TikTok do?

the issue at hand is that it’s Apple is not more expensive. The phones are the same price! Why get a lesser phone? Why buy a 2018 Ford Focus when they are offering the latest 2021 model BMW M3 at the same price? Because the Focus has a better mpg? It’s insane to be arguing this when the price is the same! Sure, maybe you’re not needing to drive that fast anyways. But I will be taking that M3 over an old Focus!

We’re also assuming the iPhone 12 Mini would have a significantly worse real world battery life. The Pixel 5 is tested at 11.67 hrs in a HD Streaming test at 60Hz. iPhone 12 Mini is rated at 10 hours, untested.
 
Last edited:
LOL comparing the iPhone 12 Mini as a 2021 M3 and the Pixel 5 a 2018 Ford Focus WTF? Not even close and a terrible analogy.

The way overpriced iPhone 12 Mini is like a vanilla boring car, like a Honda Accord with leather and navigation, all the cheesy expensive upgrades most Accord buyers never go with. And the Pixel 5 is a stripped own, back to basics Mustang 350GT, with great performance.

The battery results of the Pixel 5 on almost every YouTube review is off the charts amazing, people getting routinely 8h SoT, which is unheard for a Pixel, especially a smaller one like the Pixel 5. A lot of people calling it an almost 2 day phone before it needs charging. I highly doubt the iPhone 12 Mini comes anywhere close to that in battery
 
LOL comparing the iPhone 12 Mini as a 2021 M3 and the Pixel 5 a 2018 Ford Focus WTF? Not even close and a terrible analogy.

The way overpriced iPhone 12 Mini is like a vanilla boring car, like a Honda Accord with leather and navigation, all the cheesy expensive upgrades most Accord buyers never go with. And the Pixel 5 is a stripped own, back to basics Mustang 350GT, with great performance.

The battery results of the Pixel 5 on almost every YouTube review is off the charts amazing, people getting routinely 8h SoT, which is unheard for a Pixel, especially a smaller one like the Pixel 5. A lot of people calling it an almost 2 day phone before it needs charging. I highly doubt the iPhone 12 Mini comes anywhere close to that in battery

How is the iPhone 12 mini overpriced? It's smaller, but it'll run rings around the Pixel 5's performance and arguably provide the overall better camera setup (particularly for video). Don't get me wrong, the Pixel 5's lean software, AI and excellent battery will go a long way, but the comparison is muddier than you suggest.

For that matter, a Mustang GT350 isn't a great parallel to a Pixel 5, since it'd have lousy fuel economy. 😛
 
The Pixel 5 and iPhone 12 Mini really come down to the OS. I think people either like iOS or stock Android.

The two phones are for different crowds.
 
Personally, it's both the Touch ID (for unlocking) and the home button (for general use). Tough habit to break.

It’s not a habit for me. My car doesn’t have Apple CarPlay, so when I drive if I switch from waze to Spotify to change what I’m listening to it’s not an issue. Since my phone stays on with Waze. The issue for me is if I switch to Spotify and forgot to switch back to Waze, then my phone display will shut off. I then have to touch my screen and move my face closer to the phone to get it to unlock. It’s just more dangerous this way and sooooo much easier for me to reach over, put my thumb on the finger print scanner, double click and bring up Waze again. Best of all, I don’t even need to look at my phone once while doing it this way. I mean I may when I double click it to select Waze, but it’s for a split second. Both have their pros and cons, but I much preferred the finger print scanner.
 
Very detailed review of battery life comparison, the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are still far and above the battery champs, by almost 25% better than the new 12 Pro. Sucks to see a brand new phone get significantly worse battery life than the phones from last year. Seems like the iPhone battery king on top of the hill is the iPhone11 Pro Max, and will remain that way for at least another year.

 
Very detailed review of battery life comparison, the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are still far and above the battery champs, by almost 25% better than the new 12 Pro. Sucks to see a brand new phone get significantly worse battery life than the phones from last year. Seems like the iPhone battery king on top of the hill is the iPhone11 Pro Max, and will remain that way for at least another year.


That’s obviously disappointing. But it’s got to do with the 5G. In 4G only mode, the iPhone 12 Pro beats the iPhone 11 Pro by an hour. But the result for the regular iPhone 12 makes very little sense considering it’s got same battery.

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/iphone-12-battery-life-results-are-in-and-theyre-not-great
 
Yeah seems like the old 4G / LTE days when those modems just murdered battery life. 4G when new years ago was a battery killer.

Personally I have zero need nor do I want 5G especially if it's a battery killer.
 
Reading deeper into Tom’s Guide on iPhone 12 vs 12 Pro, iPhone 12 having less stuff than the iPhone 12 Pro using that same battery should be more efficient on paper. But why did the the 12 Pro tested better? It’s probably the carriers or the signal strength to such carrier. Their iPhone 12 ran on AT&T while their iPhone 12 Pro ran on T-Mobile for the battery test. So wherever they were they must have had better T-Mobile signal than AT&T or something. Now I wonder if their iPhone 11 Pro was tested using T-Mobile or another carrier. In 4G only mode, that iPhone 12 Pro is a beast of battery life.
 
The iPhone 12 A14 hardware beating every Android phone is like ok, that's nice and all, but who cares nowadays?

My point is, the A14 in a smartphone, is like buying a high end RTX 3090 video card to play Counterstrike on a 1440p monitor, yeah you'll 200+ fps, but you don't need that kind of horsepower it's wasted, you just need a mid range card at best to run it maxed out and still get great fps.

And I never game on my smartphone, would never waste time playing an intense first person shooter on a tiny little screen, that's what my 40" 4k gaming monitor is for on my PC, and my 65" 4k TV for movies and sports.
“I don’t have a use for it, so what’s the point?!”

Good logic there.
 
Just got ours a bit ago for my brother. Much better over his original iPhone se.
 

Attachments

  • 20201023_143641.jpg
    20201023_143641.jpg
    217.8 KB · Views: 0
  • 20201023_143652.jpg
    20201023_143652.jpg
    302.7 KB · Views: 0
Was just waking past a T-Mobile store, checked out the iPhone 12 Pro, first impressions;

- Build quality abd design A+ top notch

- But WTF is up with the crap gesture navigation? You can't swipe back from anywhere on the screen like you can on Android? I always hated that the iPhone never have software nav keys on the bottom like Android since day one, then both platforms moved to the gesture system, and I hated that. Was so upset Google went full gesture based navigation, took me forever to get comfortable with it, after a decade of software keys on the bottom of my phone's.

- My point, playing with the iPhone 12 Pro now, I was swiping back to get out of apps, and nothing happened. It wasn't working. I had to ask the T-Mobile rep if the phone was broken or buggy LOL she says you can only swipe at the bottom of the screen. Not just anywhere like on Android.

- Wow, iOS. I think I'd maybe like it, but just more stupid BS from Apple and terrible gesture system. I hated gesture nav on my Pixel at first, just couldn't stand it. But accepted it finally. But holy cow Apples version sucks balls.

- And then that very strange behavior, when you swipe down on the screen, some bizarre search menu pops up out of nowhere. Swiping down anywhere in the screen should bring the notification shade down with missed texts or emails to reply to right from there. But there's some bug or something with this crazy search thing coming up.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top