Concept renders of an iPhone 12 variant with four rear-facing cameras
Even though we’ve been tracking iPhone 12 gossip since way before the iPhone 11 family was officially unveiled, Apple is making it harder than ever to know exactly what’s in the pipeline, which might be why we’ve seen so many conflicting reports of late on the number of new models being prepared, their general design language, camera upgrades, biometric recognition technology, and various other key specs and features.
The latest speculation
comes from Macotakara, a Japanese publication with a mixed track record in terms of revealing things about unreleased iPhones and iPads. Unnamed sources inside the Chinese supply chain claim to know pretty much everything about the overall dimensions and screen sizes of at least three iPhone 12 versions scheduled for a commercial release during the fall of 2020, which is… probably not true.
But assuming these insiders do have a crystal ball showing them precisely how the iPhone 12 lineup compares to some of its predecessors, here are a few of the biggest revelations included in today’s report:
No dramatic redesign but the sizes and cameras will be different
By far the most interesting (not to mention surprising) detail freshly rumored here is a “casing design” that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 families could ultimately “share.” That’s certainly not what so many other reports from more or less trustworthy sources suggested these last few months. It’s also not what we expected after an iPhone 11 lineup that so closely resembled the
iPhone XR/XS/XS Max trio of 2018.
But at least everyone can agree the camera arrangements will be revised to include a higher number of imaging sensors for yet another major boost in performance and versatility. We’re most likely talking about two main variants with two shooters slapped on their backs and a jumbo-sized model with at least three rear-facing cameras.
iPhone 12 and 12 Pro concept renders
The largest version, which we assume will be dubbed the iPhone 12 Pro Max, could also feature a fourth imaging sensor capable of various AR tricks enabled by 3D Time-of-Flight technology. This giant is tipped to sport a 6.7-inch display and unsurprisingly stand a little taller overall than the 6.5-inch
iPhone 11 Pro Max. What’s definitely nice to hear is that the iPhone 12 Pro Max could be thinner than its forerunner too, at 7.4mm vs 8.1mm. Let’s just hope the battery life will go unharmed.
Meanwhile, the smallest iPhone 12 model might come with a very compact (especially by 2020 high-end standards) 5.4-inch OLED screen, squeezing somewhere between the 4-inch
iPhone SE and 4.7-inch
iPhone 8 in terms of overall height. A 6.1-inch iPhone 12 could be taller than the 5.8-inch
iPhone 11 Pro but shorter than the 6.1-inch
iPhone 11, with two rear-facing shooters in tow.
Finally, there may be another 6.1-inch variant in the works with the same quad camera setup including a ToF sensor as the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. And if that’s not confusing enough, keep in mind that Apple is also expected to unveil an
iPhone 9 this spring with a very similar design as the
iPhone 8 and possibly an
iPhone 9 Plus in the fall as well. For what it’s worth, that 5.4-inch “iPhone 9 Plus” sure sounds similar to the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 variant rumored today, so there’s a good chance that’s one and the same device.
Behold the iPhone 12 Pro in a new eye-catching color
iPhone 12 Pro render in a green-replacing blue paint job
According to Weinbach, Apple could ditch the Midnight Green hue introduced with the iPhone 11 family to make room for an arguably cooler Navy Blue color. Of course, it’s a little too early to take such a small but important aesthetic detail for granted, so you should definitely keep your skeptical hat on for both the rumor itself and concept renders showcasing how a boxy iPhone 12 Pro (that Macotakara says isn’t happening after all) might look in Navy Blue attire.
