Since the iPhone XS Max, Apple had been delving more into the bigger screen arena which I could remember vividly back in 2017 when the iPhone X was the biggest iPhone ever made only with a 5.8-inch screen as at that time when there was in fact devices with 6.2-inches at that time.
But with the ever growing number of smartphone users every year and while there is need to make big phones for a certain demographics, there is also the need for a smaller smartphone’s screens which s the niche the normal iPhone XR, iPhone 11 and now the iPhone 12 is going to be made for.
About the iPhone 12, there is a series of leaks in the news stating that the device will now come in four models all which have varying sizes with the base model, iPhone 12 to being the smallest with just a 5.4-inch display and best of all, it will come with an OLED panel this time around compared to its predecessors which had only the LCD panels in them.
The much expensive iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max have been getting a lot of media attentions based off leaks in the news about their features and how pricier they could be compared to the previous generations.
Among the leaked specifications includes 5G technology, 120Hz display and even LiDAR cameras but that’s it but what about the less-spec rich model in the iPhone 12 line up and how well will it meet up to people’s demand? That’s what we’ll examine in this post today.
The base model or should I call it the “entry-level” iPhone had been rumored to cost between the price range of US$649 and US$749 and will have a the smallest screen since 2017 aside the iPhone SE 2020 model.
One of the great thing about that device’s size is the fact that users with smaller hands get to use a premium device which would fit right well into the palms of their hands. What does that mean, the fact that the device is going to be built with edge-to-edge display mechanism as well as the presence of the notch of course meant that the device will even be much smaller but being a premium flagship at the entry-level range makes it cool.
In terms of performances, that doesn’t mean that being at the entry-level sphere it will automatically be a bad smartphone but we an in fact attribute this to the fact that Apple releases the A-xx chipsets every other year which powers all the iPhones of that year. Although there will be RAM differences in these devices, the fact that the iOS operating system itself is built to be memory efficient means a lot.
That’s what made the US$399 iPhone SE 2020 version a cool device which presents you with the same A13 Bionic chipset in the US$1,099 iPhone 1 Pro Max and that might just place the iPhone 12 in the A14 Bionic chipset which will also power the extreme iPhone 12 Pro Max.
5.4-inch display with powerful features
It’s obvious the iPhone 12 will be a little bit smaller this time around and with numerous rumors spiraling through-out the web about it, that might be the truth but then we also have a device that will be well enhanced with features and powerful chipset which gives it much more power to perform even faster than the previous generation iPhone 11.
With the current state of things all around the world, a moderate and compact device which falls right in between the ultra-expensive devices and then the low-priced ones makes a lot of sense especially if it’s feature-rich just as we saw with the iPhone SE which arrived on time to save Apple despite the bad impact of the pandemic on both production and sales.
If we’re to take the early quarters into account, one can see that the Apple’s U.S. mobile market share increased to 47.1% from 40.8& according to the market research firm Canalys. It was reported that more than 30% of the iPhone SE buyers were from the iPhone 6S or older model generations. Basically, these people got a big upgrade to their olden smartphones which they’ve been keeping like forever.
And not to forget that 26% of the migrants to the iPhone SE 2020 also came from Android as well despite the fact that Google also offer much compact-based Pixel smartphones but who knows maybe the search giant just makes this to preserve the strength of the Android OS for rogue smartphone companies that thinks about making their own mobile operating systems as Samsung once experimented though failed.
This is the right time for a right price
As mentioned earlier, one of the winning factors for the smaller iPhone SE 2020 was basically due to the fact that the device was a rescue to the older iPhone users at the time whereby there was a serious economic downturn. And up till now, there are still boatload of people who are still jobless in the U.S. and also around the world based on the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Samsung’s A series such as the Galaxy A51 for example came also at the right time which was compared head-to-head with the iPhone SE based on the fact that both goes with the same price tag but the A51 did have some perks to it which includes an OLED display.
“While sales of premium smartphones have been impacted by the [coronavirus] pandemic, there has been strong demand for more modestly priced phones including Apple’s iPhone SE,” Avi Greengart, President and Lead Analyst at Techspontential, told Tom’s Guide. “However, there are also people who would be willing to pay more for a no-compromise small phone that is easy to use one-handed and doesn’t cause hand cramps.
“If the rumors are correct and Apple is planning a 5.4-inch iPhone, I expect that it will sell well both because of its price and size,” Greengart said.
Over the years, there have been a steady increase in the price-points of flagship devices with the recent Galaxy Note 20 Ultra costing US$1,300 in approximation and not to forget the US$2000 Galaxy Z Fold 2. That will surely bring a lot of questioning as to how much the iPhone 12 could cost when the device is finally released as rumor has it could be US$50 to US$100 costlier than the previous models.
“I expect good demand for mid-tier priced phones,” Tuong H. Nguyen, Senior Principal Analyst at Gartner, told Tom’s Guide. “Given the economic uncertainties due to the pandemic, a more moderately-priced iPhone gives many existing iPhone users an opportunity to get a new device without having to spend $800 to $1,000, or delaying the purchase for several months.”
The small form factor of the forthcoming iPhone 12 won’t only be the great thing about the device but also there will be the potential low-price point as well. Aside the device reportedly sporting the olden iPhone 4 and 5 era squarely designs with a full screen with little bezels around it, the device should come as a big upgrade to the previous geneation.
I mentioned the fact that this device will also sport an OLED panel aside that, other interesting specifications we hear includes the device coming with the TrueDepth sensor and the retention of the FaceID which is of course the reason for the preservation of the notch on the device something which Apple probably won’t ditch anytime soon compared to Android OEMs who have apparently moved on from this since 2018.
