Concept video reveals what a notchless 5G Apple iPhone 12 would have looked like
Ah, to be Ming-Chi Kuo. The TF International analyst knows everything about Apple including the brand of Tim Cook's aftershave. And he usually knows exactly what the next iPhone will look like and any new features months before other analysts have a clue. Perhaps his most amazing call took place in February 2017. Nearly seven months before Apple introduced the iPhone X, Kuo had the screen sizes of all three models (iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X). But more impressively, he had the whole story about the TrueDepth Camera calling it "revolutionary."
Kuo is making a heck of a call for this coming fall's iPhone 12 family. He sees Apple releasing four new handsets, each one capable of connecting to sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G signals. The four models include the 5.4-inch iPhone 12, the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Plus, the 6.1-inch, iPhone 12 Pro and the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. All four will sport AMOLED screens and will have a zippy 120Hz refresh rate for extremely buttery smooth scrolling and enhanced video game animation. And each model will be powered by the 5nm A14 Bionic chipset crammed with 15 billion transistors.
Concept video shows us what a notchless iPhone 12 would look like
Now we know exactly what you're thinking. You want to know what the difference is between the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Plus and the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro. The difference, folks, is in the camera setup on both phones. The iPhone 12 Plus is expected to sport a dual-camera setup with Wide and Ultra-wide cameras. the iPhone 12 Pro will be equipped with Wide, Ultra-wide and Telephoto cameras and a LiDar depth sensor. This is a time of flight depth sensor that improves AR capabilities and improves the bokeh blur on portraits. The iPhone 12 Pro Max will have the same setup but Kuo expects it to feature sensor-shift image stabilization. This keeps a video from looking shaky by moving around the sensor instead of the lens.
And one other big change is that the middle of the phone will be flat (like the world) instead of round. Yeah, we're just kidding about the earth being flat, but for the first time since the iPhone 5s was released in 2013, the 2020 models will have a flat metal band wrapped around each unit.
Now here's the thing; reportedly Apple has started producing prototypes of each model to test with mass production scheduled for July. According to BGR, the buzz around the water cooler was that Apple had prepared a version of the iPhone 12 family that was (you might need to cover your eyes) NOTCHLESS. If you feel a little dizzy, sit down and put your head between your legs until the feeling passes.
Before you get your hopes up, a notchless iPhone 12 is not in the cards for this year. If you're wondering (as we were) where Apple was planning on putting the components of the TrueDepth Camera, it was looking at enlarging the bezels a little to make up for the lack of the dreaded notch. We can see what a notchless iPhone 12 might have looked like thanks to a concept video created by ConceptsiPhone. If you're wondering which models you are looking at, they are the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Plus.
The lack of the notch might generate some feelings both bad and good. Many of you are probably used to seeing the notch on an iPhone and might even miss it. The rest of you would gladly exchange slightly larger bezels in exchange for the removal of the notch. Eventually, Apple might be able to move the TrueDepth Camera under the display, remove the notch, and still keep the bezels thin.
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