MacRumors

Apple's new iPhone 12 models are protected by a Ceramic Shield cover glass that has nano-ceramic crystals infused right into the glass to improve durability. According to Apple, Ceramic Shield offers four times better drop protection than the glass used for the ‌iPhone‌ 11 models.

YouTube channel MobileReviewsEh conducted some tests on the ‌iPhone‌ 12 using a force meter to compare its performance to the ‌iPhone‌ 11.

With a force meter that measures in newtons, the ‌iPhone‌ 11 was able to withstand 352 newtons of force, while the ‌iPhone‌ 12 was able to withstand 442 newtons of force. The Ceramic Shield of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 significantly outperformed the ‌iPhone‌ 11's cover glass.

In a separate scratch test, the ‌iPhone‌ 12 was able to withstand scratching from keys, coins, rocks, and a box cutter, receiving no scratches on the display.

With a Mohs hardness test, the 6 and 7 points were able to leave scratches on the ‌iPhone‌ 11, while the ‌iPhone‌ 12 stood up to the 6 point and saw some faint scratches with the 7 point. The 8 point left significant scratches on both. For reference, the 8 point is also able to scratch the sapphire lens of the ‌iPhone‌.

The edges weren't particularly durable, and the back glass of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 appeared to scratch as easily as the back glass of the ‌iPhone‌ 11. From MobileReviewsEh:

This Ceramic Shield is definitely tougher on the iPhone 12s. Quite a bit, over 100 newtons. It took a lot of effort to break this screen. The remainder of the iPhone in terms of scratch protection is similar to the iPhone 11. Screen is a little more scratch resistant.

Now that ‌iPhone‌ 12 and 12 Pro models are out in the wild, we should be seeing additional drop and durability tests in the coming days that will give us a better idea of how the Ceramic Shield compares to the glass of earlier iPhones.

Keep in mind that these kinds of force tests and drop tests are not always going to see the same results, and can vary based on where a force meter is applied or the angle that an ‌iPhone‌ happens to fall at, so it's always best to use caution with with devices made of glass, Ceramic Shield or no Ceramic Shield.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with RAVPower to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a 252.7Wh/70200mAh Portable Power Station. RAVPower makes all kinds of power banks and charging accessories for Apple devices, and this Power Station is one of the largest backup battery options.

Priced at $222 at the current time, RAVPower's Portable Power Station has an attractive cube-shaped design with a sleek black exterior and a handle for portability. Five LEDs at the front provide an overview of remaining power.

There are two 110V AC outlets for powering larger items like lights, refrigerators, TVs, CPAP machines, laptops, and more, with the outlets providing up to 250W when a single outlet is used alone. When both outlets are used, the Power Station draws 300W, split between the two.

Along with the AC outlets, there's a 60W USB-C port that's ideal for charging Apple laptops and other devices. RAVPower says it's able to charge a MacBook Pro to full in three hours. For smaller devices, there are three USB-A ports.

The Portable Power Station can be charged through a wall outlet, a car charger, or a solar panel, making it ideal for all kinds of uses. It's ideal as a power source when camping or for powering RV equipment, and it also works as a backup battery to have on hand in case of power outages and emergencies. RAVPower includes a handy soft carrying case with the Portable Power Station and a power adapter for charging it.

We have two of the Portable Power Stations to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (October 23) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 30. The winners will be chosen randomly on October 30 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

iFixit has an iPhone 12 in hand and is tearing it down live, providing a close-up look at the components inside. We've already seen several teardowns so there may not be much to learn, but iFixit's teardowns are always fun to watch.

After today's teardown, iFixit plans to provide a more in-depth teardown that will go through all of the components in the new devices.

Apple Card owners who had their Apple Cards stored in Amazon as a saved payment option this morning started noticing that the ‌Apple Card‌ has disappeared from the payment list.

Multiple MacRumors readers have notified us about the problem, and we've also been able to replicate it. Apple Cards are missing from the Amazon website and app and attempting to re-add one pops out an error message that credit card information is unable to be saved.

A Redditor describes the problem:

Has this happened to anyone else? My Apple Card was removed from my amazon payment options, despite having made numerous purchases with it in the past. When I tried to re-add it, I got an error message that they are unable to save the card info and to use another form of payment. When I finally got someone from amazon on the phone, I was told that it was because their systems are starting to recognize the card number as Apple Pay, and amazon does not accept Apple Pay.

This appears to be a widespread problem and most ‌Apple Card‌ owners are no longer seeing their cards appear in Amazon as a saved payment option. As noted above, one person was told by Amazon's support says that it's an Apple Pay-related issue, but that's inaccurate because ‌Apple Card‌ works like a normal credit card.

Another person was told that the ‌Apple Card‌ is "not allowed on your account," which is curious as the ‌Apple Card‌ is a Mastercard that should be accepted where Mastercard is accepted. A third person was told that the issue was on Apple's end, so it appears that Amazon's support staff has no insight what's going on at this time.

Update: In a statement to MacRumors, an Amazon spokesperson said the following: "We are aware of this technical issue and are actively working to resolve it as soon as possible."

Film critic and screenwriter Drew McWeeny has postulated on Twitter that Apple is seeking to acquire the rights to upcoming James Bond film "No Time to Die" for its video streaming service, Apple TV+.

McWeeny, who has clear industry connections, suggested that ‌Apple TV‌+ and Netflix are the frontrunners to possibly stream the new film, speculating that the bids involved are for significant amounts of money.

Apple has previously acquired the rights to films that would have premiered in the cinema, such as Tom Hanks' World War Two movie "Greyhound." Considering the purported success of the war film on ‌Apple TV‌+, it does not seem out of the question that Apple could be actively seeking to exclusively screen the upcoming Bond film in an effort to drive subscription numbers.

No Time to Die is one of the most hotly anticipated James Bond films, featuring Daniel Craig's last outing as the titular character. After multiple delays releasing the film due to the global health crisis, it seems likely that studio MGM may be looking for viable alternative means of screening the film, namely streaming. It is also notable that Apple was reported to have entered talks to acquire MGM outright earlier this year.

Arun Maini today shared a new side-by-side iPhone battery life video test on his YouTube channel Mrwhosetheboss, timing how long the new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models last on a single charge compared to older models, with equal brightness, settings, battery health, and usage. All of the devices are running iOS 14 without a SIM card inserted.

In the test, the iPhone 11 Pro outlasted both the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, despite being a smaller 5.8-inch device. When the iPhone 12 Pro ran out of battery, the iPhone 11 Pro still had 18% battery life remaining, and when the iPhone 12 powered off, the iPhone 11 Pro still had 14% battery life remaining.

The final rankings ended up as follows:

• iPhone 11 Pro Max: 8 hours and 29 minutes
• iPhone 11 Pro: 7 hours and 36 minutes
• iPhone 12: 6 hours and 41 minutes
• iPhone 12 Pro: 6 hours and 35 minutes
• iPhone 11: 5 hours and 8 minutes
• iPhone XR: 4 hours and 31 minutes
• iPhone SE (2020): 3 hours and 59 minutes

These rankings are of course missing the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro mini, which will be available to pre-order starting November 6.

Teardowns and regulatory filings have revealed that the entire iPhone 12 lineup features slightly lower battery capacities. iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models share a 2,815 mAh battery, for example, while the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro are equipped with 3,110 mAh and 3,046 mAh batteries, respectively.

While the more power efficient A14 Bionic chip in Apple's latest iPhones helps to offset the lower battery capacities, this test shows that the iPhone 11 Pro still lasts longer than the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro under heavy, continuous usage.

Apple's tech specs indicate that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro provide up to 17 hours of video playback, compared to up to 18 hours on the iPhone 11 Pro, so Apple does acknowledge that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro have slightly less battery life.

It will be interesting to see a real-world battery life test for the iPhone 12 Pro Max, as Apple's tech specs suggest that the device has equal battery life as the iPhone 11 Pro Max, at least based on its own metrics. Apple lists both devices as providing up to 20 hours of video playback and up to 80 hours of audio playback.

iFixit has today shared a teardown of Apple's new MagSafe charger for the iPhone 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro.

An X-ray of the ‌MagSafe‌ charger courtesy of Creative Electron reveals the internal charging coil surrounded by a circular arrangement of magnets within the puck.

The only seam that iFixit was able to leverage to open the device was where the white rubber circle meets the metal rim, which was connected with a strong, heat-sensitive adhesive.

On the underside of the white cover was an etched copper sticker that traced to four corresponding leads spaced around the outside of the charging coils. Under the coils was a shielded circuit board.

iFixit also offered a comparison with the Apple Watch charging puck, which internally appears to be surprisingly dissimilar to ‌MagSafe‌. The main difference is the dark ring of magnets around the exterior in the ‌MagSafe‌ charger, which corresponds to magnets within the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro. The Apple Watch charger instead uses a single magnet in the center of the puck to align.

iFixit is expected to release a teardown of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro shortly.

Apple's Vice President of iPhone Marketing, Kaiann Drance, has provided a new interview to Rich DeMuro on the Rich on Tech Podcast, to discuss the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro.

Although much of the interview repeated points from Apple's "Hi, Speed" event, there were a number of interesting tidbits regarding the affect of 5G on battery life, MagSafe concerns, and the lack of a power adapter in the box.

5G and Battery Life

DeMuro asked about the implications of 5G connectivity on the ‌iPhone‌'s battery life, to which Drance responded:

We're able to make a bunch of software optimizations throughout the entire system to make battery life even better, and on top of that we added a new feature called "Smart Data mode" that will allow you to manage your 5G usage and battery life a bit better, so you can use 5G speeds when it really matters, and then for places where maybe it doesn't matter as much it will revert to 4G LTE speeds to save your battery life. And then the last part of it that I think is really important is the work we've done with our carrier partners, working with them on their network settings, on their deployment plan, so they're also optimizing their settings together with iPhone to optimize for battery life.

Glass and Durability

Drance neglected to answer whether a screen protector is still needed with the new Ceramic Sheild front glass on ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro. However, she did explain that the new flat-edged design aids drop protection and makes the ‌iPhone‌ more durable. Although the rear glass of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro does not use Ceramic Shield, Drance said that it still uses "the toughest glass available in a smartphone," which achieves "a 2x performance gain" against accidental drops.

MagSafe Concerns

When asked about the new ‌MagSafe‌ system and concerns about whether the magnets could deactivate cards, Drance admitted that some cards could be impacted by Magsafe:

We are taking care to make sure that we're being as protective as possible, and those credit cards, they're made with magnetic stripes that are pretty strong so that shouldn't be a problem next to next to your phone... what you do want to just watch out for is those single-use types of cards like the hotel cards... you might not want to put that right against that, but certainly, we've got great options like the wallet, the wallet is shielded.

iPhone Launch Day

DeMuro also asked about what customers can expect from the ‌iPhone‌ launch this year, and Drance emphasized the need for contactless delivery and ordering ahead for in-store pickups. She also said that walk-in customers should expect delays:

If you do show up as a walk-in... we may give you an appointment to come back at a later time, but certainly you may expect to wait a little longer because of occupancy in the stores and physical distancing... we may not be able to get everyone in as quickly as possible.

USB-C Power Cable Included in the Box

Lastly, DeMuro queried why Apple had still chosen to include a USB-C charging cable in ‌iPhone‌ boxes. Although he acknowledged that Apple has stopped including the power adapter with the ‌iPhone‌ for environmental reasons, he asked why Apple was including a USB-C cable when many customers will not have a USB-C power adapter, especially if they are coming from an older ‌iPhone‌.

Interestingly, Drance suggested that users should continue to use their older Lightning cable if they do not have a USB-C power adapter, or perhaps even use a Mac laptop for charging.

So first of all of the iPhone 12 models, you can still use your old Lightning cables and any of those power adapters that work with that... any of those will still work, in fact we encourage you to still use those as well. Now, if you do need a new one... we did include a USB-C to lightning cable in the box. It's different because it's more modern, it's faster... now that can still be used with any USB-C power adapter, so where can you get one of those?

Well, you might already have one, if you have either another smartphone product or another consumer electronic product. In the past couple of years a lot of those have moved towards those type-C adapters... Now, if you're an Apple user and you happen to have a Mac or an iPad, we've also included those USB-C power adapters in recent years for those products, and the computer ports themselves include USB-C. So those are other options for you.

The ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro is available from today, starting at $799 and $999 respectively.

The iPhone 12, ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro, and fourth-generation iPad Air are now available in stores and arriving to customers around the world.

Apple has shared a Newsroom post with a range of images to celebrate the launch of the new products. Over the next 24 hours, the Newsroom post will apparently be updated with photos from around the world.

Our own forum members have started a number of threads for tracking and following their ‌iPhone‌ 12 / 12 Pro orders around the world.

Our U.K. readers have been particularly active this morning, posting images of their ‌iPhone‌ 12 pickups at Apple Stores, and deliveries. This image of the line at the Covent Garden Apple Store was taken by paulopadopa.

Brenster visited ‌Apple Store‌ Manchester Trafford Centre and described the scene:

Apple store Manchester Trafford Centre was quiet first thing this morning. Arrived at 7.55 for an 8.15 IUP reservations. Couldn’t have been more than 10 people outside with no real queue, easily outnumbered by the staff inside the store. Opened up at exactly 8; staff member asked those with reservations to stand to one side. The 4 who didn’t who’d turned up on spec for a chance of a walk-in phone were asked to leave and to make an online reservation.

The 4 with 8am reservations were taken in, and 10 mins later those with 8.15 reservations, a couple more having joined the queue since 8.

In store, everything was running like clockwork; temp check, mask and hand wash on the way in, wipes and hand gel on every table for iPhone deactivation and entering details for the IUP application. Then off to the back of the store to pick out a plum silicone case, then out the door before 8.30am. Back home for 9.20am.

Both Apple Store & Trafford Centre staff were fantastic, their system this morning working fantastically well.

He describes his new 256GB Silver ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro as "hella nice!" with a premium feel.

There are a number of other photos of people picking up their iPhones: Pacific Blue, Gold, Booting Up, and even minor defects.

Join our iPhone forums to keep track of deliveries in your region.

U.S. Carrier Pre-Order Threads:

• Apple.com iPhone 12 Pre-Order / Order Status / Delivery Thread
• T-Mobile iPhone 12 Pre-Order Thread
• AT&T iPhone 12 Pre-Order Thread
• Verizon iPhone 12 Pre-Order and Delivery Thread
• Xfinity Mobile iPhone 12 Pre-Order and Delivery Thread
• Sprint iPhone 12 Pre-Order Thread

International Pre-Order Threads:

• UK iPhone 12 Orders and Dispatch Thread
• Europe ‌iPhone‌ 12 Orders and Dispatch Thread
• Canada iPhone 12 Pre Order Thread
• Australia iPhone 12 Orders and Dispatch

Apple's MagSafe charger charges over two-times slower than a wired 20W USB-C charger, according to a new iPhone 12 video review from the Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern.

The review of the iPhone 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro was generally critical of Apple's ‌MagSafe‌ technology, explaining that the idea seems to be better in theory than in practice.

Although Stern found that the ‌MagSafe‌ charger charged the ‌iPhone‌ 12 faster than a traditional 7.5W Qi wireless charger, it was still slower than plugging directly into a 20W charger. The 20W charger charged an empty ‌iPhone‌ to 50% in only 28 minutes, while the ‌MagSafe‌ took 1 hour.

The full video review covers other aspects of the new ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro:

The review was also critical of the fact that the combined cost of the ‌MagSafe‌ charger and a 20W power adapter was $58 combined, and that the ‌MagSafe‌ charger's cable is less than a yard in length.

Apple is providing Genius Bars and Apple Authorized Service Providers with a new heated display removal fixture for iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro repairs, according to information obtained by MacRumors from a reliable source.

To open iPhone 12 models, technicians will be required to slide the device into a specialized tray, and then place the tray into the high-temperature fixture for two minutes to warm up the adhesive below the display. Once the adhesive is loose, technicians will be able to remove the display by twisting an arm with a suction cup at the top of the machine.

It is unclear why Apple is requiring that heat be used to remove the display on iPhone 12 models, but it could be due to the devices having a new flat-edge design with a display that sits flush with the frame. iPhone 12 models also have improved IP68-rated water resistance up to a depth of six meters, which could mean the devices have stronger adhesive.

Apple's standard display removal tool for previous-generation iPhones is a relatively basic arm with a suction cup, with no heat involved.

Given that teardowns of iPhone 12 models have already surfaced online, it clearly remains possible to open the devices without using Apple's new heated fixture, but it will be a requirement for Genius Bars and Apple Authorized Service Providers nonetheless.

Apple recently disclosed its out-of-warranty repair pricing for iPhone 12 models, including $69 for a replacement battery and $279 for a screen repair. For all other damage, such as cracked rear glass, the repair fee is $449 for the iPhone 12 and $549 for the iPhone 12 Pro. To obtain service, visit the Get Support page on Apple's website.

Update: In response to this news, MacRumors received the following statement from Kyle Wiens, founder of electronics repair website iFixit.com: "iPhone owners should have the ability to repair their own phones. If the new iPhone design requires a fixture to repair, Apple should sell it to their customers."

Update 2: A photo of the heated display removal fixture has surfaced on Twitter:

It's already Friday, October 23, in Australia and New Zealand, which means some customers who purchased an iPhone 12 or 12 Pro already have their new devices in hand. We've seen dozens of reviews of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro from media sites, but now first impressions from regular Apple customers are available.

New ‌iPhone‌ 12 and 12 Pro owners are sharing their opinions of the device on the MacRumors forums, and for those awaiting their own new ‌iPhone‌ or considering making a purchase, impressions from average consumers provide useful insight.

MacRumors reader Boardiesboi shared several photos and says that the lighter weight of the 12 Pro is immediately noticeable coming from an iPhone 11 Pro Max. The color of the Pacific Blue ‌iPhone‌ is described as "beautiful," and Boardiesboi found the squared-off edges make the ‌iPhone‌ "nice to hold" and "less slippery."

A Redditor who got the new Pro also in Pacific Blue said that he's glad he didn't chose the mini because the squared off shape makes the ‌iPhone‌ 12 more compact. He also said the shiny edges of the ‌iPhone‌ attract a lot of fingerprints.

Twitter user Kewal said the new ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro feels lighter than the ‌iPhone‌ XS and appears to have a warmer display tint.

Some other insights from new ‌iPhone‌ 12 and 12 owners:

• Hard to tell the difference between photos taken with 12 Pro and 11 Pro Max
• MagSafe magnet is "quite strong" but case doesn't "magically attach" like demoed at Apple Event.
• ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro has a warmer display than ‌iPhone 11 Pro Max‌
• Bezels appear thinner
• Face ID speed is the same
• New iPhones come with iOS 14.1 installed

Have a new ‌iPhone‌ 12 or 12 Pro? Let us know your thoughts and we'll add it to our first impressions article.

Apple customers in Australia and New Zealand are always the first to get their hands on new devices on launch day because of differences in time zones, and the 2020 iPhone models are now arriving in those countries.

It's Friday morning in Australia and New Zealand, and customers who pre-ordered an ‌iPhone‌ 12 or 12 Pro are beginning to receive their shipments. New device photos and videos and images of lines are popping up on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and more.

There are no Apple Stores in New Zealand, so customers in Australia are the first to be able to purchase one of the new ‌iPhone‌ 12 models in a retail location, and people are lining up to get their new devices.

Available in-store stock in Australia should give us an idea of what we can expect in other retail stores as the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and 12 Pro roll out. Early pre-orders from Apple sold out after a short period this year, so many customers may be hoping for in-store stock.

Following New Zealand and Australia, ‌iPhone‌ 12 and 12 Pro sales will begin in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and then North America. Apple Stores globally are opening up right around 8:00 a.m. local time to allow customers to pick up reserved devices and make walk-in purchases.

Customers hoping to get a device through a walk-in purchase on launch day should go early, and there have been reports that Apple is not allowing walk-in purchases in all stores.

Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors tomorrow and throughout next week, because we'll have plenty of ‌‌iPhone‌ 12 and 12 Pro coverage. The new iPad Air is also launching tomorrow, so we'll have ‌iPad Air‌ coverage as well.

With the iPhone 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro launching in the middle of a global pandemic, Apple is coming up with ways for people to purchase their new devices safely and without unnecessary exposure to the virus.

Apple has been allowing ‌iPhone‌ 12 orders to be placed for in store pickup, and in some locations, is implementing a bank teller-like Express system that allows for minimal exposure to other people. To deal with people lining up outside of stores to get an ‌iPhone‌, Apple may use a reservation system.

Apple told Business Insider that if a long line forms outside of a store that's open, queued customers will be provided with a reservation slot and told to return at a different time to make their device purchase. Those who plan to line up in front of an Apple Store can expect to be provided with a reservation spot rather than being allowed to stand in a long line.

Some stores are also not going to allow for walk-in purchases at all, such as the Union Square store in San Francisco, California. An employee at that store said that customers must make an advanced reservation to purchase an ‌iPhone‌ 12 on launch day, though it's not clear if that means a pre-order or a reservation on launch day.

Though Apple seems to be discouraging people from lining up in front of stores, at least one person claims to have seen a line. MacRumors reader BlueMoose said that there were 11 people sitting outside of his local ‌Apple Store‌ as of 10:30 a.m. waiting for the ‌iPhone‌ 12 launch on Friday.

I want to commend those 11 people sitting in front of my local Apple Store waiting for tomorrow... it's people like them who made Apple successful.

I spoke to the 2nd guy in line. (the first one in line was sleeping... at 12 noon, but he's been there since last night) He wanted to experience what it's like to do something silly... can't argue with that. I overheard an Apple Store employee telling them(at least those 11) that they'll be fine when the doors open tomorrow, as long as they are flexible on the colors of the iPhone 12.

It's not clear how many people are planning to line up outside of Apple Stores around the world, but it seems there may be some stock for in-person purchases at some Apple retail locations. Apple is also planning on having customers come to pick up devices that were pre-ordered back on October 16, with reservations spread out across different time slots.

Have you seen lines outside your local Apple Stores? Let us know in the comments.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.