-Apple just unveiled the iPhone 12,
one of its most significant upgrades in years,
but some of these updates come with caveats.
So let's dive in to what you'll love
and what you should know before you upgrade.
The big news is Apple's adding support for 5G
networks across the iPhone 12 line,
and Apple is keeping things simple, at least in the US,
where it will support all the different flavors of 5G
out there, including Verizon's fast Ultra Wideband.
But before you get too excited about those download speeds,
know this -- your experience may vary.
While the carriers say they have nationwide 5G coverage,
in reality, they're often not much faster than 4G networks.
My recent tests in the San Francisco Bay area
show that 5G in the US needs a lot of work.
Think about getting a 5G iPhone more as future-proofing.
Another caveat -- using 5G can drain your battery.
While Apple claims iPhone 12 battery life
is about the same as the iPhone 11,
it also included a special battery-saver mode
that kicks you off 5G
when it thinks you don't need it.
Okay, the biggest visible change this year
is a new iPhone design.
Like hemlines, phone designs go in and out of fashion.
The iPhone 12 brings back the flat edge of the old iPhone 4,
which some people find less slippery.
And speaking of being easier to hold,
there's finally a smaller option, the iPhone 12 mini.
It's smaller than even the iPhone 8
but has an edge-to-edge screen.
All of this year's iPhones had a little nip/tuck
along the edges.
The iPhone 12 is 11% thinner, 15% smaller,
and I'd say about 10% sexier.
The giant Pro Max model now
has an even larger screen, measuring 6.
7 inches on the diagonal.
And what's the bad news?
There's no Touch ID to unlock the iPhone in those cases
when you're wearing a mask and Face ID fails.
Come on, Apple.
You were able to put a fingerprint reader on the button
in the new iPad Air.
Why not the iPhone?
Next up, the iPhone 12 no longer comes with headphones
or a charging brick.
Wait, why is that a good thing?
Apple says it's good for the environment
because there are already over 700 million corded white EarPods
in the world and 2 billion
Apple power adapters. It's true.
I could raise a family of hamsters
in my big tangle of old headphones.
And now the downside.
If you need headphones or a charging brick yourself,
the Apple-made models will cost you a total of $38.
And you guessed it --
Apple didn't lower the prices of its iPhones.
The regular-sized iPhone 12 starts at $800,
100 bucks more than last year's regular-sized iPhone 11.
Finally, the iPhone 12 has a few new camera tricks
you might like.
Thanks to a new sensor and the addition of
Night mode on the Ultra
Wide angle and the front selfie cam,
it should be able to take better low-light shots.
On the pricier 12 Pro models, Apple added a LiDAR sensor,
the same depth-measurement tech used in self-driving cars.
No, the iPhone 12 Pro can't hit the road,
but it can use this data to improve focus,
particularly in the dark.
And it could power new kinds of augmented-reality experiences,
though, once again,
that's not something most of us are doing right now.
The camera downside --
Apple didn't do much to improve zooming.
Samsung and other phone makers now include incredible
telescoping lenses that do 10x optical zoom
and 100x digital zoom.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max can just do 2.
5 optical zoom and 12-times digital zoom.
My takeaway -- the iPhone 12 is the kind of phone you buy mostly
for future-proofing rather than exciting new features.
What about you?
Are you ready for an upgrade, or are you gonna wait for 5G
to first become a real thing?
Let me know in the comments.