It’s almost the time for Apple’s biggest event of the year when it launches the much-awaited iPhones but due to the coronavirus pandemic it has been delayed a little but that didn’t stop either Apple from making it or leaksters from leaking every bit about it.
So here’s everything we know or we have seen till now about this year’s iPhone lineup.
The Design
So as far as naming is concerned it’s going to follow the last year’s iPhone 11 convention but this year we are getting four to be an iPhone 12 lineup which will be having an affordable iPhone 12 and two higher-end iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
According to rumors, there is a 6.7-inch iPhone which will be eventually called iPhone 12 while the higher-end iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will be having a 5.4 and 6.1-inch and this year’s iPhone lineup is going to get the nostalgic treatment as rumors are indicating towards an iPhone 4 like the boxy design.
Well, the notch is not going anywhere as reported earlier while recent reports have suggested that the new iPhones might be coming with a smaller notch which seems much more real than having a no notch.
According to Jon Prosser, who’s one of the prominent Apple leakers, the 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 models which will be known as iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 respectively are expected to sport an aluminum chassis and dual camera setup at the back while Pro models which are expected to have two variants one having a 6.1-inch display and another one having a 6.7-inch display is expected to have the same aluminum chassis but instead of two, it will be having three cameras in the back along with the LIDAR sensor which was introduced back in 2020 with the iPad Pro.
OLED Display
Last year the premium iPhones of the block, the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max got the OLED treatment while the cheapest of the herd was left stuck with the Retina display which is Apple’s terms for LED panel but this time things are changing all the four iPhones of 2020 are expected to ship with OLED panels.
The lowest-end model is expected to get Samsung’s OLED panel powered by the company’s proprietary Y-Octa technology while Apple is expected to go with LG for the displays of later two iPhones.
Another rumor which is doing the rounds of the internet is an iPhone with a higher refresh rate display or in Apple terms an iPhone with a Pro Display that means chances are that the biggest of all, the iPhone 12 Pro Max could come with a 120Hz display panel but nothing is final because according to several sources Apple is facing some production issue so you might or might not see an iPhone with a higher refresh rate but its shame if Apple is citing production issues as the reason because several companies have been able to put a 120Hz display in a budget level device so why can’t Apple do it?
Processor
Just like every year, the iPhones are expected to be powered by new chipsets, and this year its time for the A14 which will be “a significant upgrade to the processor with an emphasis on speeding up artificial intelligence and AR tasks.” according to Bloomberg. Apple is also expected to launch A14Z this year which is expected to power Apple’s upcoming ARM-based MacBooks.
The A14 is expected to power all four iPhones while the cheaper iPhones would be getting the 4GB RAM while the “Pro” models will be shipping with 6GB of RAM. Rumors also suggest that the lower end iPhones will be having base storage of 64GB while the other two variants will be getting a minimum of 128GB of storage.
According to the leaked certification, the rumored cheapest iPhone with a 5.4-inch display is expected to boast a 2227mAh battery while both the 6.1-inch iPhones are expected to have a 2775mAh battery and the 6.7-inch iPhone might get a 3687mAh.
Two, Three, or Four Cameras?
Last year’s iPhones were the best among the crowd and were praised a lot for their astonishing cameras and according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo the cameras are getting some improvements this year.
According to an early report from Toms Guide, Apple is expected to go with a 64MP sensor for iPhone 12 models but it seems highly unlikely and we would suggest you take this information with a grain of salt but you can do expect a high-class camera setup mainly two on the low-end iPhones and three on higher-end ones with a LIDAR sensor on the iPhone 12 Pro models.
Recent leaks have also pointed to the capability of recording videos in 4K at 240 frames per second on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which means crystal-clear 4K slow-motion videos so now you can record your friends doing something silly in slow motion.
5G connectivity
iPhones have lagged quite behind in adopting recent technology but that won’t be a case in 2020 since Apple is expected to introduce 5G compatible iPhone 12 and will be using Qualcomm’s 5G chip for the support with Apple and Qualcomm putting their dispute behind.
There are even rumors of an iPhone 12 with 4G support launching in early 2021 for budget-friendly markets like India as 5G ain’t cheap.
Chargers and Earphone discontinued
Just like the 3.5mm charging port, Apple is expected to get rid of Charging adapter and Earphones according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. This is going to be another big shift for iPhones as iPhones are coming with charger and earphones since its inception but Apple isn’t going to make it simpler to charge your iPhone as Apple is expecting to put Lightning to USB-C cable in the box which will let you charge your iPhone from your Macbook and you should also stop expecting USB C port since its unlikely to come this year.
Apple is also getting rid of the slower 5W and 18W charging adapter as few people have spotted a new 20W adapter which is going to be sold for somewhere around $60 and is expected to debut with the new iPhone lineup this year and the same was even told by Kuo.
Expected Pricing
iPhones have never been a cheap deal but things changed over the last few years when Apple introduced the iPhone XR that paved the way for low-cost iPhones then this year’s iPhone SE was one of the best mid-range smartphones priced just at $399 and offering last year’s high-end chip which powered top of the line iPhones.
According to a recent leak, Apple is planning to launch iPhone 12 which is expected to be the cheapest among the four priced at $699 which is the same as last year’s iPhone 11 while the iPhone 12 Pro is expected to start at $999 and one more model dubbed at 12S is supposed to be priced at $599
Launch Date
Well no one knows an exact date that’s for sure but everyone’s doing hit and miss trial on the dates where many have been vouching for the September launch while many others are suggesting an October launch and the October launch seems pretty real since Apple has already given a statement that “this year’s iPhones will be available “a few weeks later” than their usual September launch date” at its Q3 earnings calls.
On the second hand, Bloomberg has reported that the less expensive of the lots are expected to come earlier than the higher-end models that means that the cheaper ones could have an early shipping date then the pricey ones.
Apple has even announced a September 15 event but we don’t expect any iPhone announcements in that since people familiar with Apple are pointing towards the launch of refreshed iPad Air and Apple Watch Series 6.
