IPhone 12 Pro

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are smartphones developed and marketed by Apple. They are the flagship smartphones in the fourteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, respectively. They were unveiled alongside the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini at an Apple Special Event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California on October 13, 2020, with the iPhone 12 Pro being released on October 23, 2020, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max on November 13, 2020. They were discontinued on September 14, 2021, along with the iPhone XR, following the announcement of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro.
Major upgrades over the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max include the addition of 5G support, the lidar sensor, ProRAW allowing high quality lossless 12-bit image capture in the native photos app with the use of the new DNG v1.6 specification, the introduction of the MagSafe wireless charging and accessory system, the Apple A14 Bionic system on a chip, high-dynamic-range video Dolby Vision 10-bit 4:2:0 4K video recording at 30 or 60 fps, larger 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, respectively, and the move to a base capacity of 128 GB from the prior base capacity of 64 GB, while retaining the other storage capacities of 256 and 512 GB. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, like the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini, are the first iPhone models from Apple to no longer include a power adapter or EarPods headphones found in prior iPhone models; however, a USB-C to Lightning cable is still included, and this change was retroactively applied to other iPhone models sold by Apple at the time, including the iPhone XR, iPhone 11 and iPhone SE.

History

Official announcement

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max were officially announced by Apple on October 13, 2020, during a virtual press event held at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. The event was conducted alongside the announcement of the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, and HomePod Mini.
The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max alongside the rest of the iPhone 12 lineup were the first flagship iPhones to be announced at a pre-recorded broadcast event rather than a live on-stage event, and announced at the month of October instead of September due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Apple would continue to announce future iPhones this way even after the end of the pandemic and return of its in-person events.

Launch and availability

Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 Pro began on October 16, 2020, with the official release taking place on October 23, 2020. This release coincided with the launch of the fourth-generation iPad Air and the standard iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 Pro Max followed a staggered release schedule, with pre-orders commencing on November 6, 2020, and an official release date of November 13, 2020, alongside the iPhone 12 Mini.
The pricing for the iPhone 12 Pro started at $999, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max began at $1099. This marked the first time since the launch of the iPhone XS and iPhone XR in 2018 that multiple iPhone models were announced together but not released simultaneously.

Discontinuation and reintroduction

On September 14, 2021, following the announcement of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max were officially discontinued and removed from sale on Apple's website. However, in March 2022, Apple resumed selling refurbished iPhone 12 Pro models starting at $759 through its Refurbished and Clearance section. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, however, was not made available as a refurbished option.
The iPhone 12 series introduced several significant technological advancements, such as the inclusion of a Super Retina XDR display, improved camera capabilities, and support for 5G connectivity. It received positive reviews for its design, performance, and new features, making it one of the top-selling smartphone series of its release year.

Design

It is the first major redesign since the iPhone X, similar to that of iPad Pros since 2018 and the 4th-generation iPad Air. The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max feature a flat chassis, a design seen with the iPhone 4 through the iPhone 5S and the first generation iPhone SE. The notch size is similar to previous models. The bezels are around 35% thinner than the iPhone 11 Pro and previous models. The new design also comes with Corning Inc’s custom ceramic-hardened i.e glass ceramic front glass, "Ceramic Shield", while the back retains the previous generation of Corning Inc's custom Dual-Ion Exchange strengthened glass. On the back is the same three-camera configuration found on the iPhone 11 Pro, but with larger apertures and an added LiDAR scanner.
The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max are available in four colors: Silver, Graphite, Gold, and Pacific Blue. Pacific Blue is a new color replacing Midnight Green, while Graphite is a renamed version of Space Gray and Gold is now updated in new yellow gold introduced with the Apple Watch Series 6.

Color	Name
	Silver
	Graphite
	Gold
	Pacific Blue

Specifications

Hardware

The iPhone 12 Pro uses Apple's six-core A14 Bionic processor, which contains a 16-core neural engine. It has three internal storage options: 128, 256, and 512 GB. The iPhone 12 Pro has an IP68 water and dust-resistant rating along with dirt and grime, and is water-resistant up to for 30 minutes. However, the manufacturer warranty does not cover liquid damage to the phone.
The iPhone 12 Pro, like the iPhone 12, is not supplied with EarPods or the power adapter included with prior iPhone models. Apple claims this will reduce carbon emissions and that most users already own these items. Apple still supplies the USB-C to Lightning cable that was introduced with the iPhone 11 Pro. In addition to Lightning and Qi wireless charging, the phones introduce MagSafe wireless charging, a new magnet-based charging and accessory system that allow accessories such as chargers and cases to snap onto the back of the phones. MagSafe wireless charging supports up to 15 watts, is fast-charge capable, and is a reimagining of the MagSafe brand that was introduced in 2006 with the original MacBook Pro. The MagSafe Charger can be purchased separately, along with a variety of cases and other accessories.
The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max support 5G cellular communications. This allows upload speeds of up to 200 Mbit/s and download speeds of up to 4 Gbit/s. However, only models sold in the U.S. support the faster mmWave technology; those sold elsewhere in the world, including Canada, only support sub-6 GHz frequency bands. A new feature called Smart Data Mode provides 5G only when necessary to preserve battery life and data usage.

Displays

The iPhone 12 Pro has a 6.06 inch OLED display with a resolution of 2532×1170 pixels at 460 ppi, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a 6.68-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2778×1284 pixels at 458 PPI. Both models have the Super Retina XDR OLED display with thinner bezels than previous generation iPhones. The iPhone 12 Pro Max features the largest display on any iPhone to date. The phones also introduce a new glass-ceramic covering, named 'Ceramic Shield', which was co-developed with Corning Inc. Apple claims the Ceramic Shield has "4 times better drop performance" and that it is "tougher than any smartphone glass".

Batteries

The iPhone 12 Pro is supplied with a 10.78 Wh battery, a slight decrease from the 11.67 Wh battery found in the iPhone 11 Pro, and is identical to the battery found in the standard iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 Pro Max has a 14.13 Wh battery, another slight decrease from the 15.04 Wh battery found in the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The battery is not user-replaceable.

Chipsets

Both the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are supplied with the Apple A14 Bionic, the first ARM-based smartphone system-on-a-chip manufactured on the 5 nm process node. However, unlike previous years, the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are not the first Apple devices to receive the newest A-series processor, with the fourth-generation iPad Air being the first device from Apple to contain the A14 Bionic chip. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max also contain the Apple M14 motion coprocessor. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max use Qualcomm's X55 5G modem.

Cameras

The iPhone 12 Pro features four cameras: one front-facing camera and three back-facing cameras, including a telephoto, wide, and ultra-wide camera. The iPhone 12 Pro also features a lidar scanner for AR and computer-aided photo enhancement services. The iPhone 12 Pro also adds Night Mode for time-lapse video recording on all four cameras. Unlike the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max where the only difference was the screen size and battery capacity, the iPhone 12 Pro Max adds a 47% larger sensor and sensor-shift image stabilization to the main camera lens, and replaces the f/2.0 aperture 52 mm telephoto camera lens with a f/2.2 aperture 65 mm lens, allowing for a 2.5x optical zoom. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are the first smartphones capable of shooting in 10-bit high dynamic range Dolby Vision 4K video at up to 60 frames per second.

Sensors

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max have largely the same sensors found on prior iPhone models going back to the iPhone X. These include an accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and a digital compass. The devices also include the Face ID facial recognition system, this is made up of several sensors: mainly a dot projector, flood illuminator, and an infrared camera, allowing a user's face to be scanned and stored by the Secure Enclave.
A lidar scanner is the new sensor included in the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, similar to that of the fourth-generation iPad Pro, permitting additional augmented reality features to also be supported, such as the ability to measure a user's approximate height from the Measure app.