Hands On With The Apple iPhone 12 Pro in The New Pacific Blue

It’s been a week since the announcement of the iPhone 12, and this Friday, the public will finally get their hands on the 12 and 12 Pro. Here’s our first day with the iPhone 12 Pro in the new Pacific Blue shade.

 

Above: Unboxing the iPhone 12 Pro in Pacific Blue.

Above: The iPhone 12 Pro box is much slimmer than previous models, owing to there being no power adapter and earphones. In the box, you’ll find a USB-C to lightning charging cable, the ejector push pin and the phone.

Above: Here’s the iPhone 11 Pro in Midnight Green (left) next to the new iPhone 12 Pro in Pacific Blue (right). The 12 Pro is just slightly longer and wider than the 11 Pro, but it is significantly thinner, and overall lighter. The screen is also larger at 6.1″, compared with the 11 Pro’s 5.8″ display.

Above: In the hand, the iPhone 12 Pro feels sturdy and not slippery. The back of the phone has a matte finish and the new Pacific Blue shade is classy and I imagine universally appealing. The main design “update” is the more squarish edges that harken back to the iPhone 4 and 5 models (it started getting bubbly from the 6). This design change is polarising, but I think it looks more sophisticated and industrial. Also, I’m not imagining it; but it does feel better in the hand than the versions with rounder edges.

You can see a large round LiDAR sensor just below the three camera lenses. This sensor measures how long it takes light to reflect back from objects, which is essentially mapping the depth and distance; and this will enable augmented reality (AR) applications to perform quicker and more accurately.

Above: The sides are glossy lending to the premium look and feel.

Above: There’s a matching Silicone Case with MagSafe in Deep Navy ($75 from apple.com/sg). It’s a silky soft-touch finish that offers a good, non-slip grip, and protects the phone all around. The case is also designed with a built-in magnet for easy MagSafe charging.

 

Above: The new MagSafe charger snaps on to the iPhone 12 Pro securely, and it’s a firm connection with the Silicone Case due to the built-in magnet in the case.

After spending 24 hours with the phone, the immediate difference is that it performs daily tasks faster than its predecessor. This was most obvious while playing one of my favourite games, SumiSumi. The levels just loaded faster, and gestures were smoother.

I also took some random shots with iPhone 12 Pro to see how the camera system performs in different scenarios. These photos are straight from the phone and have not been edited. Click on the images to enlarge them:

 

The only function I haven’t experienced is 5G because I wasn’t in any areas that this network is available from my telco, Singtel.

The iPhone 12 Pro is available from Friday 23 October 2020 at APPLE.COM/SG priced from $1,649. Also available for pre-order with your existing telco.