The biggest and the smallest: iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini practical

The largest and smallest models in the iPhone 12 series, namely iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini, will be on sale soon. Our Chinese version of Engadget is also the first to get these two phones, to share with readers and friends the practical experience of this new generation of double-ended iPhone.

The biggest difference in appearance between the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the iPhone 12 Mini is size, the former being the largest in iPhone history and the latter being a surprisingly small platform. Specifically, the screen size of the iPhone 12 Pro Max has increased by 0.2 inches compared to the previous generation, reaching the 6.7-inch level, but the body thickness is only 7.4 mm and it weighs only 226g, so friends who upgrade from the previous generation probably won’t. I think the grip is very different. Also, because the iPhone 12 Pro Max has to be double-handed, I think there will be less chance of encountering the problem of being pressed by the center frame at a right angle when the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are generally drive with one hand.

The iPhone 12 mini on the other hand is an ultra-mini phone, and it feels like the iPhone 4 of the year. Compared to last year’s iPhone SE 2 with a 4.7-inch screen (pictured below), the iPhone 12 Mini has a smaller body, but the screen has become larger due to the full-screen design, reaching the 5.4 inches. At the same time, the specifications of the iPhone 12 Mini are the same as the iPhone 12. It uses the A14 Bionic processor and the Super Retina XDR display, making it a rare 5G mini flagship phone on the market as well.

In addition to size, the specifications of the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the iPhone 12 Mini are of course very different. Although the two phones are also 5G iPhones, equipped with A14 Bionic processors and compatible with MagSafe, the iPhone 12 Mini’s camera is a normal 12MP wide-angle + ultra-wide dual camera combination, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the combination. more powerful three-camera Pro system. Expected. In addition, iPhone 12 Mini also has a single SIM card slot, if you need to use dual cards, you can only choose eSIM.

Although the triple camera of the iPhone 12 Pro Max remains at 12MP, the lens and CMOS have evolved considerably. Except for the ultra-wide camera with the same specifications, both the wide-angle and ultra-wide cameras have been significantly improved. The first is the most widely used wide angle camera. It not only uses the new 7P lens design like iPhone 12 Pro, the pixel size is also 1.7μm larger, which can absorb more light and deliver clearer and sharper images. At the same time, there is also a sensor moving optical image anti-shake function, which is a reference to the design of a digital camera to compensate for image shake by moving CMOS, and the anti-shake effect will be more detailed and natural. The telephoto camera is replaced by a longer focal length, equivalent to a 65mm telephoto, which is equivalent to a 2.5x optical zoom effect, which can see further than the 2x optical zoom of the 12 Pro.

In addition to the camera, when I tested the iPhone 12 Pro Max, I paid special attention to the battery life. As mentioned in the previous evaluation of the iPhone 12 Pro, the 5G battery life is very short and will not last a day. Coming to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is supposed to have a larger battery, the hours of use have increased significantly. I used it directly after getting the machine at noon. It had about 80% battery. Then I kept taking photos, swiping Facebook, watching YouTube, etc., and deliberately did not connect to Wi-Fi and used 5G. As a result, there is still around 30% of the electricity at night, and after waking up in the morning, I will use it for a while before reaching 20% ​​red. That’s right, it’s just that amount of electricity.

Finally, let’s take a look at the newly acquired MagSafe leather wallet, which is also an accessory that I personally look forward to. Like some small mobile phone wallets on the market, the card can be stored and pasted on the back of the phone, but the Apple family uses the magnetic attraction to fix it rather than stick it.

MagSafe leather wallets are made from genuine leather like Apple’s other leather products, so they are quite durable and have solid workmanship. Its width is similar to the iPhone 12 Mini (above), and it fits snugly after installation, only hiding in the arch of your palm when you hold the phone.

Previously, foreign media said that MagSafe’s magnetic attraction was insufficient, causing the leather wallet to easily fall off when the iPhone 12 was placed in the pants pocket. The publisher has also tested in the evaluation above that MagSafe’s magnetic pull is not great, which is likely to balance the suction and make the user extraction experience easier. At the same time, because the magnetic attraction force only occurs in the vertical direction, the horizontal force, that is, if it is grasped from the side, the leather wallet will be released. Therefore, friends who use MagSafe leather wallets should pay special attention to whether the accessory is stuck when storing the iPhone, otherwise there is a possibility of losing it.

In general, the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini are aimed at two extreme groups: those who like big-screen phones and stronger settings, and those who like small phones but don’t want to. sacrifice too much performance, so they are no longer like they used to be. The twins iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 are hard to choose.