5G Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max could be a true flagship model this year

Last year’s 5.8-inch Apple iPhone 11 Pro had the same exact features like the 6.5-inch iPhone 11 Pro Max. Outside of the size of the screens and the batteries on the phones (and the price of each model), those two devices are basically the same. But according to Forbes, a pair of social media tipsters, YouTube’s Filip Koroy and Twitter’s Max Weinbach, say that Apple is planning to differentiate between its 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max making the latter a true flagship device. As Koroy notes, “The 6.7-inch mammoth iPhone [12 Pro Max] will truly be considered a flagship this year. It will have the best display and best cameras…The [iPhone] 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max really were the same devices, the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max will be more differentiated.”

Apple looks to differentiate the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max

In other words, some of the features that there have been questions about for weeks, such as the 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate, support for faster mmWave 5G signals, and the LiDAR time-of-flight depth sensor, could end up exclusively on the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. The 120Hz refresh rate means that the screen updates 120 times per second for buttery smooth updates and game animation. The mmWave 5G signals might not travel far and they don’t penetrate structures that well. But they do deliver the fast 5G download speeds that people expect from the next generation of wireless connectivity. And the LiDAR sensor computes how long it takes for an infrared beam to bounce off of a subject and return to the phone. Armed with that data, more accurate depth readings can be made leading to enhanced AR capabilities and better bokeh blurs for portraits.

The “Pro” models are expected to be equipped with 6GB of memory as opposed to the 4GB that is rumored to be found inside the other two phones. Camera wise, we expect two on the back of the non-Pro variants and three on the Pro units. Battery capacities are expected to decline, although less so on the 6.7-inch model. That could be a sign that the rumored flagship model will need the extra power for the 120Hz refresh rate. The decline in battery capacity is stunning considering that Apple was roundly praised for hiking them for the 2019 lineup. The company might feel that the 2020 iPhones, the first to be powered by a 5nm chipset, will be able to make up for any decline in battery life thanks to the additional transistors employed on the chip. The new Integrated Circuit will have 11.8 billion transistors inside compared to the 8.5 billion found in the A13 Bionic.

According to someone who has played around with the iPhone 12 Pro Max is that it doesn’t feel good in the hand. Weinbach’s source has been able to put the device in his hands and says that it is uncomfortable to hold. Apparently, the handset digs into the palm although this could be alleviated by using a case. Remember, Apple is changing up the design and is replacing the rounded sides first used in the iPhone 6 series. In other words, Apple is bringing back the flat sides first seen on the iPhone 4 series. This design remains very popular among long-time iPhone users.

The naming scheme for the upcoming iPhone 12 models has seemingly been leaked and we expect to see a 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini, a 6.1-inch iPhone 12, a 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, and the aforementioned 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. The four models could be unveiled on October 13th.