Hey.
Friends and just fans of Apple are praising the new iPhones as if they were winding up, at the moment the focus is on the iPhone 12 Pro, since this is the most difficult position in sales. With the iPhone 12 Pro Max, sales of the regular 12 Pro will live on. But it is interesting that Apple removed the iPhone 11 Pro from its stores, although it can be easily bought from partners, the model has not disappeared anywhere, is present in sufficient quantities and will be on sale for at least 4-5 months. This material will be interesting as a comparison of what has changed in the new model from generation to generation, as well as how interesting it is to change last year’s Pro to a new one, or it makes no sense. At the same time, let’s look at the speed of development of Apple’s technologies, what course the company has taken. For convenience, I will divide the comparison into small chapters, I will focus on each aspect of the devices.
Content
- Design and ergonomics
- Cameras – minimal differences are not for everyone
- Display
- Battery
- Processor, performance, memory
- Communication capabilities
- Price, delivery set
Design and ergonomics
Ice and fire, otherwise not to say about these two devices, they have completely different aesthetics. The flexibility of the world of the brand’s fans amazes me, they love both the 11 Pro and the 12 Pro equally, although the design of these models is diametrically opposed.
In the 11 Pro, the company tried to approach the majority of the models on the market, to achieve better ergonomics and rounding of the case. The 11 Pro feels much better in the hands, it doesn’t bite into the palm.
But the 12 Pro looks awkward in the hand, straight edges, it cuts into the hand (of course, it does not cut to blood, as they say in Chinese social networks). The device has the ergonomics of a small brick, we can definitely say that this model is not very good in this aspect. For me, choosing an iPhone 4 design for the 2021 model looks like a dubious step to say the least. But, apparently, they did not want to be like everyone else. It is difficult to assume that someone will try to repeat this design for mass, non-niche models – there is no way to achieve even acceptable ergonomics.
The protruding camera block on the rear panel is about the same, but here in the 12 Pro the microphone hole changes, now it’s just a hole in the case, not covered by a metal grill, and a hole for LiDAR has also appeared. The block on the 12 Pro protrudes more from the case, touches clothes or other objects. On the table the device lies on this block (where is the logic, do not ask, the designers do not have it at all).
Each model has four colors, last year the title color was dark green, this year dark blue.
The dimensions and weight of the devices are as follows:
- 11 Pro 144 x 71.4 x 8.1 mm, 188 grams
- 12 Pro 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm, 189 grams
As already mentioned, the 12 Pro’s ergonomics suffer from the shape of the case, and the sharp edges require a case. It is possible that the choice of this form is dictated by the need to sell accessories in large quantities, to force people to buy them. Many iPhone 11 Pro users have not used a case at all.
The back panel is made of glass, it is matte (satin). Very cool material, which I really like, fingerprints are not visible, almost does not wear out over time and does not age, the appearance remains at the same level. The 12 Pro doubled the drop resistance and used a different type. This wasn’t a problem on the 2 Pro either, but it’s always nice to see improvements.
The controls are the same everywhere, there are no differences.
The Pacific blue stainless steel chassis is chrome-plated to match the body color, but the paint flies off and chips appear. This was the case in the iPhone 5, although the problem was not so noticeable there. Alas, the very shape of the case suggests that even without falls, there will be notches on the edges, that very stainless steel will be exposed. In a model of such a price group, this childish mistake of designers and the wrong selection of materials, the economy on the technical process looks strange. In the future, Apple will most likely change the approach and resolve this issue, since there is not much money to be spent for this, it was simply not necessary to save it initially on tests.
The front panel is covered with different glasses, for example, in the 12 Pro it is a “ceramic shield”, specially tempered glass that is resistant to drops. The first independent tests show that the glass can withstand these drops, unlike the screen underneath. But the choice of glass parameter is always a compromise. Previous iPhones have relied on the screen to be scratch-free, look at the iPhone 8 Plus, which lasted three years from call to call, the screen is broken, but there are no scratches on it (there were no protective films on it).
And this is how the 11 Pro’s screen looked after a few months of use.
And on the 12 Pro’s screen, scratches appear very quickly, there is no difference between these devices in this aspect, they need to be protected with additional glass. Apple failed to reach a compromise, as other manufacturers do.
Both models support the IP68 standard, but if the 11 Pro survived diving to a depth of 4.5 meters, then in the 12 Pro it is already 6.5 meters. And in the first and in the second case, no guarantee is given, if you drown the device, then you will do it yourself and you will not receive anything from the manufacturer, this is how it works for everyone. As for me, all situations when a smartphone sinks at a depth of more than two meters are already far-fetched, of course, unless you are an experienced scuba diver and for some reason do not swim with your smartphone.
Cameras – minimal differences are not for everyone
The front cameras on the models are completely identical, you should definitely not look for differences here. The main cameras are almost the same, the aperture for the main module has changed – from f / 1.8 to f / 1.6. Otherwise, these are exactly the same cameras without any hardware changes, except for the presence of LiDar, which appeared for night portrait shooting and allows you to focus. Look at the specifications of the cameras.
Most of the changes that have been made to the cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro won’t be noticeable to the vast majority of people. This is work on the mistakes of the previous device, but not a new quality of shooting. For example, in the wide-angle camera, the distortions at the corners of the picture were changed, earlier they were very noticeable in the pictures, and this distinguished the iPhone from all competitors on the market, it refracted the corners. Now this distortion problem is calculated, the camera itself corrects the picture.
The third generation of HDR for images is somewhat different, but I could not notice any stunning differences, the images are plus or minus the same. It is quite another matter that at night these devices shoot more or less the same, the 12 Pro’s aperture is slightly higher, but it will not be possible to get fundamentally different images. However, see for yourself.
And here is a comparison of ordinary shots with different subjects.
The Portrait mode in the iPhone 11 Pro was useless in the dark, while in the 12 Pro it can be used, although you’re not looking for big advances here.
It’s definitely better, but should you shoot portraits in the dark? Question. But in any case, it is better than what it was.
When recording video, you can use HDR mode with proprietary format from Dolby Vision (12 Pro only). The difference from HDR10 + is that you need a TV that supports this format (there are not many of them today), and when sending such videos to other devices, you will most likely convert them. My experiments with the format showed that HDR mode works, but you simply won’t get a striking difference from the same 11 Pro. To a greater extent, this is marketing and an attempt to catch up with other manufacturers than something necessary in everyday life for most users (with HDR10 +, the situation is exactly the same on other smartphones).
The camera algorithms in the 12 Pro have changed, they are no better, no worse, just different. Somewhere one device does not fall into the white balance, somewhere else. The sound recording in the video has become a little worse, the sound zoom has flaws, perhaps the problem is in the different location of the microphone, in the fact that the mesh has been removed. Probably, it was not worth touching what worked before with acceptable quality.
Display
In 2020-2021, Apple planned to install a new generation of screens from Samsung, add AoD, dynamic analysis of content on the screen and a few more features for little things, for example, a second RGB sensor, as on Samsung flagships. None of this happened, since in the 12th iPhone the company was forced to save on literally all the components. Therefore, the screen diagonal was slightly increased – from 5.8 to 6.1 inches (458 and 460 ppi), while the resolution and brightness remained comparable (800 nits in manual mode, up to 1200 nits for HDR content).
These are screens of the same generation, which is three years away from modern matrices. This is cheaper and easier for Apple, especially since the matrices are not bad, they simply do not have all the capabilities that modern flagships (and not only modern ones) have. It is difficult to see the differences between the screens, but here the very glass of the 12 Pro intervenes, it distorts the picture a little, makes it dim a little. The screen on the 11 Pro is subjectively a little more lively, but this is visible only with a picky study up close. No one can appreciate this difference in life, it is so miserable.
Battery
The battery in the 12 Pro is 2815 mAh, while the battery in the 11 Pro is 3046 mAh. The difference is minimal, but the official specifications indicate that the 12 Pro plays video up to 17 hours (an hour less). In real life, the operating time will be plus or minus comparable, this is one day under load. For those who use the device little, it will be a couple of days. On average, the screen lasts from 4 to 5 hours in mixed mode and backlit at 60%.
Wireless charging up to 7.5W is available on both models, but MagSafe is also available on the 12 Pro. The back panel has a built-in magnet to which you can attach a MagSafe charger.
In theory, new charging can provide up to 15 W, in practice, the first results do not show more than 9-10 W, the device overheats, and charging stops. Optional MagSafe cases come in a variety of options, but Apple warns that charging will ruin them, leave marks, dirt, and wear out. A strange, ill-conceived decision, especially since MagSafe turns the device into a wired solution, kills all the advantages of wireless charging. It is impossible to consider this an advantage of the new model.
For many years Apple has not been able to solve the problems with wireless charging, engineers are not able to master the technology that has existed for a long time. The purchase of third-party companies to solve this problem still prevented Apple from catching up with competitors.
Processor, performance, memory
I’ll start with the most interesting thing – the amount of memory available in these models.
In the 11 Pro, the base version has only 64 GB, which is nothing for a model of this level, unless you only call (in this case, the question arises, why do you need such a device – but maybe you just like it and have money for it?). The 12 Pro has a base storage capacity of 128GB, not a dream come true, but something. Usually in this price range, buyers get 256 GB, but here the usual greed from Apple, nothing new.
Every year we are told that Apple’s new processors are faster, better, and most powerful on the planet. The A14 Bionic processor in the 12 Pro is about 20% faster in synthetic benchmarks than the A13 Bionic. The problem is that the interface and the speed of its operation do not directly depend on the computing capabilities of the processor; both devices work at the same speed on the same version of iOS. You will not feel any difference. The difference will be when processing large files, such as editing video. You will not see any differences in common, standard tasks and applications.
The amount of RAM is not something that Apple can boast of, so the company traditionally does not indicate it. In the previous model it was 4 GB, now 6 GB of memory (already better!). This means that you can keep more tabs open, applications, in theory, will not fall asleep so quickly (they still fall asleep, these are system settings).
The user experience from the interface, the speed of operation on these models is as similar as possible, the difference in processors, memory does not affect this aspect of the devices in any way. You can measure with a stopwatch in your hands, you will get exactly the same results.
Communication capabilities
The 12 Pro now has support for fifth generation networks, which radically distinguishes this device from the 11 Pro. In the absence of such networks in Russia, there is no need for a 5G module today, especially since they take from 10 to 15 thousand rubles in the cost of the device for it. Other possibilities coincide to the point, the devices have no differences. So keep that in mind as you review them.
Price, delivery set
The iPhone 11 Pro has been officially discontinued, but the official partners still have this device in stock. He has an old package, which includes a wired headset, charger (18 W). In 12 Pro, you need to buy the charger separately for 2 rubles, which is a plus to the price of the device.
Look at the retail prices for these devices (we will not take the gray market into consideration).
| 64 GB 11 Pro 128 GB 12 Pro |
256 GB | 512 GB | |
| iPhone 11 Pro | 79 990 | 96 990 | 106 990 |
| iPhone 12 Pro | 99 990 | 109 990 | 129 990 |
In my opinion, the base iPhone 11 Pro is pointless to consider, too little memory, and this was inherent aging at the planning stage of last year’s line. But the difference in price of 256 GB models is not so great, which makes the purchase of the 11 Pro questionable (despite the advantages in ergonomics, similar capabilities). Another thing is that this comparison shows that there is no point in changing the previous model to a new one, you will get exactly the same thing, the cat cries out for changes. In the smartphone market, this has become a familiar state of affairs, it just overlaps with the fact that Apple is far behind this market, plus it raises the prices of its models to the skies.
The conclusion I draw from this comparison is simple, the old iPhone 11 Pro will sell for a long time if the prices are not thrown down. But, on the other hand, against the background of the 12 Pro, it will leave more actively, since the new generation is clearly worse in a number of aspects, even if not drastically. I’m afraid to imagine what will be shown in the next generation of the iPhone, since the speed of changes has become quite insignificant and it definitely does not please. But prices are rising unimaginably.
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