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With each passing year, it seems that Apple releases more variants of the iPhone in its attempt to attract different groups of customers, each of which demands different things.
This year, the vanilla iPhone 12 is probably the phone that most Apple users will think of buying, and with mobile games becoming more common, it was no surprise that American telecom company Verizon and Riot Games joined forces. to promote League of Legends: Wild Rift in the United States. (Full disclosure, Verizon is the parent company of Verizon Media, owner of the Yahoo brand.)
With that in mind, this review will test the iPhone when it comes to competitive mobile gaming, using Wild Rift Open Beta.
From the days of gamers complaining and criticizing Blizzard for Diablo Immortal, to the rise of competitive titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in Southeast Asia, mobile gaming has seen it all.
It is the rise of competitive mobile gaming that is of the greatest interest, especially with the pandemic quarantining us or restricting our movement.
Playing competitive games on mobile phones is a bigger prospect than ever. It is also a great way to pass the time when you are really bored and stuck at home with your family.
Apple seems to have been watching this space closely as well. At Apple’s announcement of the iPhone 12 in Singapore, a special segment was dedicated to announcing Wild Rift’s arrival on the iOS platform.
This is not something very new; Apple has collaborated with other brands when it comes to their products, but Wild Rift was definitely an eye-catching prospect.
On the one hand, League of Legends (LoL) will come to mobile phones. LoL is one of the largest esports titles in the world, and Worlds 2020, the annual end-of-season tournament for LoL, just concluded on October 31 with a peak audience of 3.8 million.
Second, it seems like Apple is acknowledging the inevitable rise in competitive mobile gaming, and with Riot Games stating how good Wild Rift is on the iPhone 12, it’s time to put the iPhone 12 to the test.
Experience
The Southeast Asian regional open beta for Wild Rift was available recently and I was able to download Wild Rift on the iPhone 12 quite quickly.
Since 5G is not widespread at the moment (I’m only on the Singapore fiber network), I would have nothing significant to say about any of the new 5G capabilities of the iPhone (especially since both Apple and Riot Games are promoting it on the iPhone. 12). ).
So, the good things first. When I loaded Wild Rift for the first time, the loading time and everything was smooth, as you would expect from a new iPhone with hardly any downloaded applications or stored images.
To be fair, most phones these days (iOS or Android) would do just fine when it comes to mobile gaming as long as they are above the average level for mobile phones.
I really wasn’t expecting the iPhone 12’s A14 Bionic chip to be disappointing in any way when it comes to game launch and loading speed, and it certainly hasn’t so far.
The battery life of the iPhone 12 also appears to be decent.
Starting at 100 percent when I first played Wild Rift, it stayed at 93 percent after 3 games, a few tutorials, and looking around the interface.
That was a little over an hour of use, with impressive battery life there. Note that this was Wild Rift at 30 Frames Per Second (FPS).
When I played Wild Rift at 60fps, the iPhone got a bit warm and the battery life went from 100% to 90% after 45 minutes of play.
One thing that really surprised me, though, was the iPhone 12’s speakers. They were loud, resonant, and didn’t sound thin. I had to turn down the volume after launching Wild Rift or risking annoying some of my relatives at home.
Wild Rift’s interface is something I really appreciate having tried Arena of Valor (AoV), Mobile legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), and PUBG Mobile.
Everything looked clean and pristine, and Wild Rift didn’t welcome me with a lot of spam notifications.
Aside from the cleaner approach that Riot Games chose, Wild Rift’s interface remained similar to other mobile MOBA games and users who have played AoV or MLBB would find no trouble transitioning into the game.
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However, the iPhone 12’s biggest drawbacks when it comes to competitive mobile gaming are revealed when it comes to playing an actual round of Wild Rift against other opponents.
First, the notch. The iPhone 12 still has a fairly large notch and this takes up some screen space. While Wild Rift sidestepped that by having nothing to the left of the screen, it’s still a bit annoying, considering how many new Android phones (think Samsung S20) these days are barely notched anymore.
I guess with more playtime, the notch would be less distracting and overlooked by users.
Second, the speakers. While I wrote earlier that the speakers were loud and resonant, the placement of the bottom speakers on the bottom of the iPhone isn’t exactly ideal if you want to play Wild Rift with the speakers on.
Due to the way one is going to hold the phone while playing a mobile MOBA like Wild Rift, their index finger and a part of their palms will block the lower speakers of the iPhone.
This muffles all the sound coming out of the lower iPhone speakers and the sensation doesn’t feel all that comfortable either (remember, sound is essentially moving air, so you’re going to feel it). Instead, I would recommend wearing headphones or earphones when gaming.
The two previous complaints, however, are quite minor compared to the next complaint.
The new OLED screen on the iPhone 12 is pretty good compared to the LCD used in previous iPhone models. The blacks are deep, the colors are vibrant, and everything in Wild Rift looks beautiful.
However, when it comes to the screen refresh rate, it is a bit disappointing. Apple has stuck to a 60Hz refresh rate for the iPhone 12, and the default FPS setting for Wild Rift is capped at 30fps, unless you turn it off and set it to 60fps, (but as mentioned above, the phone heats up and uses more battery).
As a gamer in the PC world, who plays Dota 2 at over 120fps, it feels really strange to look at a smaller screen with a lower refresh rate. The movement in the game just doesn’t seem as smooth to me compared to the games I play on the PC.
Considering that other Android phones such as the OnePlus 8 Pro and POCO X2 have 120Hz refresh rate displays, I feel like Apple has missed this train for the iPhone 12.
To be fair, 60Hz is probably enough for casual gamers. It probably works for many non-Wild Rift mobile games as well.
Also, Wild Rift can only support up to 60fps on settings right now, so it’s not like it could improve on an Android.
However, considering that some Android phones can now do 120Hz and have better batteries, I think that if Riot Games were to achieve 120fps or more in a reality for Wild Rift, the iPhone 12 will possibly be left behind by the competition.
conclusion
Overall, playing Wild Rift on the iPhone 12 has been a pleasant and relatively enjoyable experience so far despite the screen refresh rate.
Will the general public really care that much about 120Hz versus 60Hz? In fact, I doubt it.
Would you recommend the iPhone 12 to someone who wants to play Wild Rift and other similar competitive titles?
I’m a little heartbroken about it. For one thing, this iPhone 12 is smooth and fast. I really like the new OLED screen and its colors. The battery life seems to be really good. On the other hand, the screen refresh rate is somewhat underwhelming and the notch is still there.
If you are a casual gamer and want to play Wild Rift with your friends, this phone is probably more than enough, especially if you are looking for an all-in-one device that goes beyond mobile gaming.
However, if you are an avid mobile gaming player and would like to be more competitive, perhaps even having a dedicated mobile device to play with, I’m not sure if the iPhone 12 will be the most attractive compared to other options out there.
For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page.
