The news: All iPhone 12 models and HomePod mini are now officially on sale and available for order from Apple.
Our take: Very ready for my mini to get here, and super excited to see the bonus camera capabilities that the Pro Max is offering.
The news: Select sites have published early hands-on videos of iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max ahead of pre-orders later this week.
Our take: The mini looks really, really good…as I expected it to for a while. The form factor is so nostalgic but still extremely practical. And if you love big phones, the Pro Max looks great! But it looks gigantic and pretty hefty. Looking forward to going hands-on with both of these myself in a week.
The news: Apple confirmed in the release notes for iOS 14.2 that special functionality for iPhone 12’s leather sleeve has been enabled.
Our take: Support for the leather sleeve case in this update definitely suggests that it’ll be available to order soon. Maybe next Friday (November 6) when pre-orders for iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max start?
The news: Ahead of pre-orders next week, the first hands-on media of iPhone 12 mini has popped up online.
Our take: I’m really excited to get this, and could absolutely see this becoming my vacation phone or even daily driver.
The news: The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro secretly support reverse wireless charging, according to a new FCC filing.
Our take: I can see it now: new AirPods next year will boast reverse wireless charging on only the new iPhones. Of course, all of this is meaningless if Apple never enables it through software. But hardware wise, it appears the functionality is present!
The news: 5G on iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro may not be as ‘real’ as Apple and Verizon have suggested, according to a new video from iupdate.
Our take: 5G was not at all what I expected. I thought at the very least I’d see a marginal improvement in almost every test on 5G, but that wasn’t the case. 5G is slow…unless you’re in one of the very few mmWave coverage areas.
The fun: Apple has released 5 new wallpapers in iOS 14.1 that correspond to the 5 new colors of iPhone 12.
Our take: Green in dark mode looks amazing.
The fun: Purchasers of a new iPhone 12 Pro this year will be happy to know that four new wallpapers come pre-installed, as Apple does every year.
Our take: Blue in dark mode is the best.
The news: A day prior to official videos going live after embargoes are lifted, some hands-on videos of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro have surfaced online.
Our take: The phones both looks really sharp, and these are low-quality videos. Can’t wait to hold these in person on Friday!
The first unboxing of iPhone 12 in blue, shared to YouTube by Ben Geskin.
And a brief unboxing of iPhone 12 Pro in Graphite, from DuanRui.
The news: Apple refreshed the packaging on all iPhones they currently sell, and a new video from YouTuber Rjey gives us our first look at the physical changes…inside the box.
Our take: That leak from a few moths ago was legitimate. This is the smallest, thinnest iPhone box ever and Apple is able to pack way more of these on each shipment pallet now.
Thanks for the tip, Jinay!
The news: Apple’s online store was experiencing significant outages worldwide as iPhone 12 pre-orders went live.
Our take: So you’re Apple, and you launch a big new product…how do you not have the capacity to handle this launch? This year was the worst-pre-order experience in recent memory for me, hasn’t been this stressful for a long while.