Hands-on with the purple iPhone 12

9to5Mac Hands-on with the purple iPhone 12 By Jeff Benjamin May 10, 2021

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[{"selector":"#anim-e3b1fe82-cfbc-414b-bd0f-7b3fa9ce376d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0269638b-e36c-4af3-b1ab-054c35002d3d","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-77.37105%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Design The iPhone 12 takes all of the good elements from the iPhone 4-era and combines them with the body of a modern iPhone. The flat aluminum band that wraps around the exterior is decidedly on brand, and the color-matched glass back tops off a classic look. The iPhone 12 is a smaller device than its predecessor, while retaining the same 6.1-inch display size. 2

[{"selector":"#anim-079ef31a-3c09-4630-98db-e19143aa04de","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ea8d31b3-d75d-4317-bc1f-b338418a32e4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -99.47246%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] A Beautiful OLED Screen Revisiting the iPhone 12 has given me another opportunity to appreciate just how good the Super Retina XDR display is. A True OLED display, it features a ridiculous 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio for inky blacks, and eye-poppingly gorgeous HDR. It’s a night-and-day difference when comparing the iPhone 12’s OLED display to the LCD display found in the iPhone 11. 3

[{"selector":"#anim-910eedf8-28ce-4ea9-a968-bc97fe1aa816","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6f7fc045-580b-4243-b583-4170741ebed8","keyframes":[{"transform":"rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","opacity":0},{"transform":"none","opacity":1}],"delay":500,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both","iterations":1}] Ceramic Shield Display In addition to the under-the-hood improvements to the display, Apple has gone to great lengths to protect the outer surface of the screen from damage. Ceramic Shield technology, which infuses the display glass with nano-ceramic crystals, results in increased drop performance and toughness. 4

[{"selector":"#anim-0dcf21f1-8322-4f55-a79e-cba590024253","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a7c673b1-af90-461b-ae93-4b869ef52dc6","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-91.68053%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-eba6ecb4-dc99-468d-9162-a3ca8b025db3","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-29821189-9988-43cf-8130-2d51fb19ecef","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] Fast CPU Performance A14 Bionic features two high-performance cores paired with four efficiency cores. Built on a 5nm process, the chip is unsurprisingly good at handling demanding tasks when needed, but can also sip power to help iPhone 12 achieve its rated 17 hours of offline video playback/11 hours of streamed video playback. 5

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[{"selector":"#anim-a6d9c67b-0139-47f9-9205-a0504074a3ca","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-97205524-afbc-412d-aed7-a2678d268b5b","keyframes":[{"transform":"rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","opacity":0},{"transform":"none","opacity":1}],"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both","iterations":1}] I wouldn’t recommend buying the iPhone 12 simply because it’s now available in a purple colorway. However, there are several compelling reasons to upgrade, depending on the smartphone that you currently have. Video Review