iPhone 12

[JBaby]

I’m getting the 12 Pro in Graphite on my Mom’s upgrade. Does T-Mo allow SIM swapping or will I have to call? This is the first time she’s upgrading. She’s getting my 11 Pro. I’m excited. I want the MagSafe Wallet in black. She wants one too. I can’t wait for 3rd parties to make MagSafe cases so she can get one too.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I'm sticking with my iPhone XS Max. I think each new iPhone brings less and less return on your investment compared to your last model. I used to be on a 2 year cycle, but have decided a 3 (or maybe even a 4) year cycle will earn me extra brownie points at home. Plus I bought my first Apple watch last month, so there is that.

 

[Alli]

I'm sticking with my iPhone XS Max. I think each new iPhone brings less and less return on your investment compared to your last model. I used to be on a 2 year cycle, but have decided a 3 (or maybe even a 4) year cycle will earn me extra brownie points at home. Plus I bought my first Apple watch last month, so there is that.

Hey AFB! Welcome to our little home away from home.

 

[ronntaylor]

I’m getting the 12 Pro in Graphite on my Mom’s upgrade. Does T-Mo allow SIM swapping or will I have to call? This is the first time she’s upgrading. She’s getting my 11 Pro. I’m excited. I want the MagSafe Wallet in black. She wants one too. I can’t wait for 3rd parties to make MagSafe cases so she can get one too.

We're getting a 12 Pro Graphite & Pacific Blue. IIRC, T-Mobile allows SIM swapping. Although we buy our phones outright, so your mileage may vary.

 

[JBaby]

We're getting a 12 Pro Graphite & Pacific Blue. IIRC, T-Mobile allows SIM swapping. Although we buy our phones outright, so your mileage may vary.

Cool! And thanks. She’ll buy it outright so my mind is at ease!

 

[Clix Pix]

For the first time in many years I will not be buying a new iPhone. I've got the 11 Pro, which I love, and while I do use it from time to time for taking photos, most of the time I much prefer to use a "real" camera and since back in November 2019 I bought a new Sony A7R IV and three lenses, I've been putting discretionary income into purchasing more lenses as the need (desire) arises. I mentally added up the costs of an iPhone 12, plus accessories, plus AppleCare, plus a new iPad, which I have typically bought each year or so, and a new Apple Watch (mine is Series 3), and thought, "y'know, that money could buy me a couple new lenses!" So that's this year's plan and strategy. Next year will probably be an Apple year again, as I'll be about ready for new stuff then.

Now I've just got to stay out of the Apple store, as that Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Pro is mighty pretty....

 

[hulugu]

For the first time in many years I will not be buying a new iPhone. I've got the 11 Pro, which I love, and while I do use it from time to time for taking photos, most of the time I much prefer to use a "real" camera and since back in November 2019 I bought a new Sony A7R IV and three lenses, I've been putting discretionary income into purchasing more lenses as the need (desire) arises. I mentally added up the costs of an iPhone 12, plus accessories, plus AppleCare, plus a new iPad, which I have typically bought each year or so, and a new Apple Watch (mine is Series 3), and thought, "y'know, that money could buy me a couple new lenses!" So that's this year's plan and strategy. Next year will probably be an Apple year again, as I'll be about ready for new stuff then.

Now I've just got to stay out of the Apple store, as that Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Pro is mighty pretty....

I keep vaciliating between loving the ease of an iPhone as a camera, and being frustrated with it compared to my DSLRs. I get that it's not a DSLR, and it's way easier to schlep around, but cameras are just so good. I've got a Nikon Z7 from work as test run, and I really like it.

That said, I'll buy a new iPhone when my XS breaks. I'm not sure I like the aesthetics of the iPhone 12 because it reminds me of the 4S, which I never liked as much as the 3G.

And, I have to say, I don't really like the Apple Watch. I keep looking at them, and there's some things I really like, but I just can't justify them. I wear Sunnto watch regularly, that has a compass, altimeter, etc. and if I needed to replace this, I'd probably buy one of Garmin's.

 

[Alli]

I have pretty much updated my phone every year because of the camera. This year’s update wasn’t enough in the camera department for me.

Once upon a time I also walked around with a camera bag and lenses. I never had the right lens with me when I needed it, and never had the camera out at the right time. My photos may not be as good as they could be if I’d used a DSLR, but they exist. I’m always amused by my husband, who will race inside to get his rig to take a photo of some animal activity in the yard, only to discover that it’s stopped by the time he finishes setting up.

 

[JBaby]

I’ve never been a picture person. The camera means absolutely not thing to me. I suspect that has everything to do with my Mom growing up in a area that always flooded. There is only one picture left of her as a child. The rest were destroyed. So buy the time she was an adult pictures were a held no value to her. She always got got our portraits done. I can still remember when that took place at Walmart. And she always bought our school pictures, but she never took pictures of us. We never had a Polaroid. It never occurs to me to take a pic of something until it’s too late. My camera roll is full of screenshots instead of pics.

This year I will play with all camera functions in memory of a friend who died of cancer over a year ago. She was the only person to ever play with the camera whenever I got a new phone. I still have the slow-mo video she shot when that debuted on the iPhone. It’s the only slow-mo video that’s ever been shot on any of my phones. I do shot more video though. I like taking video more than taking pics though.

I can’t imagine going back to real cameras though. I only had one for my all of my digital photography classes. Does anyone remember when Casio made Exilim digital cameras and they had a dock. I loved that thing! I stopped using it the moment I got an iPhone 3G. I didn’t care that the pics were worse. I believed the the best camera was the one you had with you.

 

[Eric]

I’ve never been a picture person. The camera means absolutely not thing to me. I suspect that has everything to do with my Mom growing up in a area that always flooded. There is only one picture left of her as a child. The rest were destroyed. So buy the time she was an adult pictures were a held no value to her. She always got got our portraits done. I can still remember when that took place at Walmart. And she always bought our school pictures, but she never took pictures of us. We never had a Polaroid. It never occurs to me to take a pic of something until it’s too late. My camera roll is full of screenshots instead of pics.

This year I will play with all camera functions in memory of a friend who died of cancer over a year ago. She was the only person to ever play with the camera whenever I got a new phone. I still have the slow-mo video she shot when that debuted on the iPhone. It’s the only slow-mo video that’s ever been shot on any of my phones. I do shot more video though. I like taking video more than taking pics though.

I can’t imagine going back to real cameras though. I only had one for my all of my digital photography classes. Does anyone remember when Casio made Exilim digital cameras and they had a dock. I loved that thing! I stopped using it the moment I got an iPhone 3G. I didn’t care that the pics were worse. I believed the the best camera was the one you had with you.

That's sad that they call got destroyed but I'm sure the memory lives on. I agree that the best camera is the one you have on you and I use my iPhone to snap photos of receipts and anything else I want to document.

However, when it comes to photography I have a real DSLR and that's all I ever use when I want photographs of something and while they are constantly improving the iPhone, nothing they can do will replace a real DSLR sensor, a real lens, etc. so I will never base my purchase on the camera.

 

[DT]

Our phones are our primary communication (we don't have a landline) and information devices, you know, the usual: email, messages, calendar, reminders, notes (grocery lists!) - internet browsing for news, to look up numbers, locations - the latter also for maps/directions/nav. Also my main source of audio entertainment in the cars (music and podcasts) via Car Play.

And they've also become a huge value for us for capturing our life goings-on So yes, we take a ton of photos (there's ~30,000 in just my iCloud photo repo ...), and a decent number of videos. A phone is as much as I want to carry at a theme park, on a bike ride, over at the beach, in my car, etc.

The performance improvements haven't really been a thing since we don't game, or do much processor intensive type tasks, but some of those (especially the dedicated ML silicon) are directly tied into photo processing for things like low light, so I welcome them where they're a major impact on the camera.

I generally do every other year, unless the wife has upgraded, as long as we have one phone/camera that's pretty current.

Last year for Xmas I got the little G an IP11 (it was her first non-hand-me-down device with an actual phone number), the wife an IP11Pro. The 11Pro just does an amazing job with photographs, the low light is pretty magical, just better all around, the multi-lens system works fantastically well.

I wound up skipping my every-other upgrade since that was last year, and at that point, I figured I'd wait vs. just getting the same. So I'm still using an X (not an XS ...). It works very well, but clearly, three generations of camera improvements are significant.

So here I am, ready to buy a 12, specifically, a 12 Pro Max. I'm not specifically getting the larger phone for a larger phone, but more for the improvements in the camera systems, and the secondary perk of it having a larger battery. I did the same back at the 6/6S release, went with the Plus to get the OIS for the camera.

I've got to say, I have enjoyed the size of the X, the display/information density/portability ratio is very good, so I am just a __touch__ inclined to avoid the larger, but I know I'll regret having the slightly inferior camera tech/specs, even if I have to carry a backpack just for a phone

 

[JBaby]

That's sad that they call got destroyed but I'm sure the memory lives on. I agree that the best camera is the one you have on you and I use my iPhone to snap photos of receipts and anything else I want to document.

However, when it comes to photography I have a real DSLR and that's all I ever use when I want photographs of something and while they are constantly improving the iPhone, nothing they can do will replace a real DSLR sensor, a real lens, etc. so I will never base my purchase on the camera.

I totally get that. For photo people it’s totally understandable. I just hate unitaskers. I know it does video too but I still think of it as a unitasker. I only have one unitasker in my life these days and that’s my Kindle. I only have it so I can easily bypass the DRM on my books. The easiest way is to have an eInk Kindle. That’s something else I got from my friend who died. I loved her Kindle so much I got the new 2019 Basic Kindle. I have every ebook I’ve ever bought with the exception of 7. Back when eReader.com was named Peanut Press! Remember that [mention]Alli [/mention] ? Blast from the past!

 

[Clix Pix]

I love my iPhone 11 Pro and the photos it can produce, and it's terrific to be able to see something interesting when I am out-and-about and simply pull out the iPhone and take a shot or two. However, there are simply things which cannot be done with a cell phone camera, and that is why I have a mirrorless full-frame camera now and lenses of varying capabilities so that when I set out to take a stroll around my neighborhood (I live on a small lake) and I see Alfred, the Great Blue Heron catching a fish for lunch, I can get the shots, even when he's out in the middle of the lake. On the home front, on a rainy day I can pull together something on the dining table and put the 90mm macro lens on my camera and have some fun exploring whatever the subject is that I've set up. The other day I had an idea that I wanted to try, so I quickly set up stuff and then grabbed the iPhone 11 to do a few test shots to see if the idea would work. I didn't use the iPhone for the final results, though, because the backdrop as well as the subject itself was highly reflective and would've shown me holding the iPhone as I was making the exposure, and that is not what I had in mind! Instead, I did at least determine that the idea was feasible, and then pulled out the macro lens and went to work.... Actually if one were to look very closely at the final image, they'd see a black blob which is the camera, camera lens and somewhere behind it, there is moi......

 

[ronntaylor]

After reviewing several comparisons on different Apple-centric sites, we decided to wait and get the 12 Pro Max. It's just a tad taller than our current 8 Plus with a bunch of better tech. I thought it was much larger, but realized now that the borders on the 8+ are huge. It will take some getting use to FaceID and the notch, but don't think it will be too much of a problem.

 

[Alli]

After reviewing several comparisons on different Apple-centric sites, we decided to wait and get the 12 Pro Max. It's just a tad taller than our current 8 Plus with a bunch of better tech. I thought it was much larger, but realized now that the borders on the 8+ are huge. It will take some getting use to FaceID and the notch, but don't think it will be too much of a problem.

By day 2 you’ll forget the notch exists.

 

[Eric]

By day 2 you’ll forget the notch exists.

^ This. Never even noticed it TBH.

 

[Apple fanboy]

After reviewing several comparisons on different Apple-centric sites, we decided to wait and get the 12 Pro Max. It's just a tad taller than our current 8 Plus with a bunch of better tech. I thought it was much larger, but realized now that the borders on the 8+ are huge. It will take some getting use to FaceID and the notch, but don't think it will be too much of a problem.

Face ID was a game changer. Well until masks became a thing. Now I'm in the store staring at the screen wondering why it needs a passcode!

 

[SuperMatt]

Woke up a few minutes late - shipping date is Nov 6 for the pacific blue one. Seems like some models you can get Oct 23 still - like a regular iPhone 12 in black - which I think looks pretty cool too.

 

[Clix Pix]

I love Face ID -- and yep, yesterday had the same experience of staring at the iPhone wondering why I had to all of a sudden put in my passcode. Duh, yeah, I was wearing a mask.....!!!

 

[Alli]

I love Face ID -- and yep, yesterday had the same experience of staring at the iPhone wondering why I had to all of a sudden put in my passcode. Duh, yeah, I was wearing a mask.....!!!

Another good reason to just stay home.