When I first heard that the iPhone 12 would cost $ 649, I didn’t believe it. But then I thought about it. The leak pointed to the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 starting at that price, and the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Max would be $ 699.
So basically the iPhone 12 Max would be priced the same as its 6.1-inch predecessor on the iPhone 11. That makes sense, but it’s also aggressive given that Apple is allegedly adding 5G to the mix. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S20 with 5G starts at $ 999.
Then this week we heard that Apple could launch an even cheaper version of the iPhone 12 with 4G connectivity that would cost, wait, $ 549. That would be a very affordable price for a new Apple flagship phone and $ 150 less than the iPhone 11. last year.
If you were thinking of buying the $ 399 iPhone SE, a $ 549 iPhone 12 suddenly makes Apple’s basic iPhone look a lot less attractive. The iPhone 12 is rumored to offer a bigger screen than the iPhone SE (5.4 inches vs. 4.7 inches), a faster Bionic A14 chip, and two rear cameras instead of just one for the SE.
The iPhone 12 should also offer Face ID, which some prefer to Touch ID, as well as slimmer bezels. In fact, leaks point to the iPhone 12 being even smaller than the iPhone SE despite having a larger screen.
Do not misunderstand. A $ 150 delta is nothing short of negligible, and the iPhone SE has plenty of things at its $ 399 price tag. The A13 Bionic processor is blazingly fast and also helps the unique rear camera produce very attractive photos and portraits. However, you don’t get the night mode, which the iPhone 12 should offer.
What about the battery life? The iPhone SE lasted just 9 hours and 18 minutes in the Tom’s Guide web browsing battery test. The phones on our best phone battery life list last over 11 hours on a charge. We haven’t heard any rumors about the iPhone 12’s battery capacity, but I suspect it will be higher than that of the iPhone SE.
Also, since the iPhone 12 will be powered by a 5-nanometer Bionic A14 processor, it should generally be more efficient than the 7nm Bionic A13 chip. So my money is in longer resistance with iPhone 12.
So where does that leave the iPhone SE? In my opinion, it’s still a solid entry-level phone right now. But in September, or whenever Apple holds its launch event, a sleeker, faster, more durable, and sharper iPhone 12 should justify its quality. If the rumors prove to be accurate.
