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Other I’m a Pro user and frankly this year there isn’t much in the 12 “Pro”

C

canyonblue737

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 10, 2005
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I upgrade every year, I will this year too but I’m beyond underwhelmed by the 12 Pro and I think even regular 12 users should be upset...

1. Every iPhone has the same screen now, no tech advantage to the screens in the Pro models at all. I bet Apple though 120 mhz would be ready and it wasn’t.

2. The 12 Pro has very little upgraded HARDWARE wise in the camera (better optical zoom for one) but now in software supports things like night mode etc. with all cameras.

3. The 12 Pro Max has more substantial hardware improvements to the camera but with just $100 price difference with the 12 Pro it leaves a lot to be desired if the “big” iPhone doesn’t work for you.

4. The MAJORITY of the new “Pro” camera features are SOFTWARE (ProRaw, many camera software tricks etc.) related that use the exact same A14 process that is in the regular 12, they basically lock the 12 out of these software enhancements to give something to the Pro models since they simply don’t have much difference in hardware.

5. Maybe I missed it but stunningly Lidar is really leveraged for photography so it remains this high end technology from the 2020 iPad Pro that has little use beyond so far niche AR apps.

Overall I’m ok with the new phones because I like the 5G, the flat edges, the improved glass, the magnetic system to align wireless chargers, the improved A14 etc. but I think they did a terrible job of really explaining you should pay $200-300 more for a Pro model this year.

I know, I know... first world problems.
 
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AXone1814 said:
I disagree, Im currently on the XS Max and there seems to be a lot more to upgrade to this year than there was for me last year to the 11 Pro.
Click to expand...

It depends how you view it. The 5G, bigger screen etc. is all a nice jump from XS to the 12 Pro... I think my complaints here aren’t the “overall” upgrade but what the 12 Pro has that justifies its price vs. the regular 12 or nearly the same price as the 12 Pro Max. I think the 12 Pro = the least value per $$$ that is for sure.
 
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I agree with you, the difference between 12 and 12 Pro seems pretty small. However, if you plan to buy the 12 (instead of 12 mini) and you want 128GB storage, the price difference between 12 and 12 Pro is also relatively small.
 
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canyonblue737 said:
1. Every iPhone has the same screen now, no tech advantage to the screens in the Pro models at all. I bet Apple though 120 mhz would be ready and it wasn’t.
Click to expand...

This was my impression also.

canyonblue737 said:
2. The 12 Pro has very little upgraded HARDWARE wise in the camera (better optical zoom for one) but now in software supports things like night mode etc. with all cameras.

3. The 12 Pro Max has more substantial hardware improvements to the camera but with just $100 price difference with the 12 Pro it leaves a lot to be desired if the “big” iPhone doesn’t work for you.

4. The MAJORITY of the new “Pro” camera features are SOFTWARE (ProRaw, many camera software tricks etc.) related that use the exact same A14 process that is in the regular 12, they basically lock the 12 out of these software enhancements to give something to the Pro models since they simply don’t have much difference in hardware.
Click to expand...

Agreed, all-in-all an even weaker than expected showing for the "Pro" models. And as someone who wants all the latest features in the smallest possible size, there is no reason for me to step up from the 12-mini... *Except* an arbitrary software-enforced limit locking away AppleProRaw so the 12-mini can't use it for absolutely no reason. I didn't expect such a low cash-grab move that affects my purchase plan; this just leaves me feeling bitter and unhappy with Apple.

canyonblue737 said:
5. Maybe I missed it but stunningly Lidar is really leveraged for photography so it remains this high end technology from the 2020 iPad Pro that has little use beyond so far niche AR apps.
Click to expand...

I think their use of Lidar in photography is fairly compelling... I'm assuming the depth information is preserved when using ProRaw, so that may create some interesting possibilities for post-processing. I was thinking if there's anything that could pull me up from the 12-mini to the 12 Pro it would be the Lidar. Not sure there was enough shown to do that just yet instead of waiting to see if the next mini in 2021 gets Lidar.
 
Maetzle said:
At least it comes with more standard space this time around.
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if you mean memory... true, but I’ve always gotten the 256 gb middle model so it doesn’t apply to me. if you mean the size of the screen, thats a nice new feature but since the 6.1 regular 12 now has the IDENTICAL super retina xdr screen it doesn’t feel like all that much a better value.

Basically I feel the 2020 iPhones are a nice upgrade with 5G, better glass etc. but the Pro features are painfully small in particular on the 12 Pro.
 
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canyonblue737 said:
It depends how you view it. The 5G, bigger screen etc. is all a nice jump from XS to the 12 Pro... I think my complaints here aren’t the “overall” upgrade but what the 12 Pro has that justifies its price vs. the regular 12 or nearly the same price as the 12 Pro Max. I think the 12 Pro = the least value per $$$ that is for sure.
Click to expand...
Fair enough, I'd still disagree though (obviously appreciating this is also personal opinion!). The 12 Pro (especially the Max) seems to offer better advantages of the regular 12 than last years models did IMO with improved image stabilisation and optical zoom. I can't stand the aluminium material for the body, it feels like nails on a chalk board to me, so its worth paying extra for the Pro for the stainless steel material alone!
 
sp44 said:
Well yeah, its a 2 year jump.
Click to expand...
Apologies I could have worded my reply better. I meant the jump from 11 Pro to 12 Pro seems more worthwhile to me than the jump from XS to 11 Pro did. As a XS user I wasn't incentivised to upgrade to the 11 Pro but if I did have an 11 Pro I would want to be upgrading to the 12 Pro for the new features this year.
 
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I agree. If I were gonna purchase a new iPhone this year, I can't justify the $200-300 upgrade to the 12 Pro from the 12/12 mini. What do you get? A telephoto lens, Apple Pro RAW, and night mode portrait. Am I missing anything? OLED is included in the entire lineup now so there's nothing substantial that differentiates the two models.
 
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I was excited to see the flat edge redesign but after seeing the notch being the same size as when it originally released in 2017 with the iPhone X completely killed my hype and interest.

Lazy design.
 
dojoman said:
You guys keep bitching. All new features without price bump let's see - 5G, bigger screen, ceramic coating, brighter oled screen, lidar sensor, magsafe. Same price as last yr.
Click to expand...

all great BUT... here is the BUT...

5G... same as the regular 12, not just 12 Pro.
Bigger screen... same as the regular 12, not just 12 Pro.
Ceramic coating... same as the regular 12, not just 12 Pro.
Brighter OLED screen... same as the regular 12, not just 12 Pro.
Lidar sensor... yep exclusive to Pro. Let’s see how much it helps photography as AR uses have been pretty limited so far.
Magsafe... same as the regular 12, not just 12 Pro.

my complaint is especially for the 6.1 12 Pro there is little that justifies its price vs. the 12. I like the software enhancements exclusive to the Pro models but if I was a regular 12 user I’d be asking with the same A14 Bionic chip why I wasn’t getting those feature too?
 
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dojoman said:
You guys keep bitching. All new features without price bump let's see - 5G, bigger screen, ceramic coating, brighter oled screen, lidar sensor, magsafe. Same price as last yr.
Click to expand...

Lol, no charger, EarPods. Same price!

Those specs are good but not mind blowing. It's basic stuff to keep up. That's about it. 5G is a joke right now. Ceramic coating? Uh huh. To be continued on that one. Magsafe? Ok ... for the people that will actually care about that? Most people don't realize their phones have wireless charging as is. Lol
 
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coffeeplease said:
I agree. If I were gonna purchase a new iPhone this year, I can't justify the $200-300 upgrade to the 12 Pro from the 12/12 mini. What do you get? A telephoto lens, Apple Pro RAW, and night mode portrait. Am I missing anything? OLED is included in the entire lineup now so there's nothing substantial that differentiates the two models.
Click to expand...

and to be honest the regular 12 and 12 mini SHOULD have Apple Pro RAW, night mode portrait etc. because those are features enabled by the A14 in all this year’s iPhones and not camera hardware... they are locking it to the Pro models to justify the Pro models existence since the hardware differences are underwhelming.
 
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I also have an XS Max. Love the screen and (until recently) the battery but its a little big in the pocket.

XS Max is 157.5 x 77.4 x 7.7 mm (6.20 x 3.05 x 0.30 in)

12 Pro Max is 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.4 mm (6.33 x 3.07 x 0.29 in)

Wish the 12 Pro Max was no bigger....
 
I don't disagree with the OP, but the iPhone 12 Pro was to be the one i moved to this year from my 11 Pro Max because I find the Max annoyingly large, both in-hand and in-pocket. However, one of my primary uses of the phone is as an everyday carry camera, and the appeal of the upgraded camera specs in the 12 Pro Max is giving me a headache. I'm just going to sit back and wait for the reviews to come out - particularly those by the photography-oriented sites, so I can determine if the difference between the two in terms of image quality, would justify going super-sized again.
 
AXone1814 said:
Apologies I could have worded my reply better. I meant the jump from 11 Pro to 12 Pro seems more worthwhile to me than the jump from XS to 11 Pro did. As a XS user I wasn't incentivised to upgrade to the 11 Pro but if I did have an 11 Pro I would want to be upgrading to the 12 Pro for the new features this year.
Click to expand...

I think you'll find a bunch of people saying they will be happy to hang onto the 11 for another year.
 
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sp44 said:
I think you'll find a bunch of people saying they will be happy to hang onto the 11 for another year.
Click to expand...
I'm sure there will be! It's all subject to personal opinion, what's a worthwhile upgrade to one person isn't to another. I don't want everyone to agree with me or care if they do, I'm just giving my own take!
 
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I understand upgrading from an 11 or 11 Pro to a 12 Pro might not make the most sense for some people. However, not everyone upgrades every year. I almost upgraded to an 11 Pro last year but decided to hold out one more year until the 12 and I'm glad I did. I have a 6S Plus that I've had since release and this is a HUGE upgrade for me. Also, I'm getting the Pro instead of the Pro Max because I'll have a bigger screen than I have now in a smaller phone, and a huge hardware upgrade. Win. Win. Win.
 
canyonblue737 said:
all great BUT... here is the BUT...

5G... all the models have it, not just 12 Pro.
Bigger screen... same as the regular 12, not just 12 Pro.
Ceramic coating... same as the regular 12, not just 12 Pro.
Brighter OLED screen... same as the regular 12.
Lidar sensor... yep exclusive to Pro. Let’s see how much it helps photography as AR uses have been pretty limited so far.
Magsafe... same as the regular 12, not just 12 Pro.

my complaint is especially for the 6.1 12 Pro there is little that justifies its price vs. the 12. I like the software enhancements exclusive to the Pro models but if I was a regular 12 user I’d be asking with the same A14 Bionic chip why I wasn’t getting those feature too?
Click to expand...

Not that I'm disagreeing with you here, but just an fyi the 12 Pro has a brighter screen than the 12 (though in the end it is a minor difference).

I've used the Pro models myself recently, and will continue to do so, but I do like how all iPhones are getting significant updates.

Also, in fairness, the 12 6.1" did get a $100 price increase over the 11 6.1".

I guess if comparing the 12 vs 12 Pro, and put them both at the same storage (128GB), they're $150 apart.

Gotta ask yourself if $150 is worth it for telephoto camera lens, LiDAR and stainless steel frame. To me it feels like they're really trying to spread out and hit many price points, and closed the gap a bit between the new mainstream option and the higher end (Pro) option.
 
Price difference is $150 when the memory is the same, so price isn’t very different either.
 
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