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The Apple 2020 Fall iPhone Event Live Blog 10am PT (17:00 UTC)

 by Andrei Frumusanu on October 13, 2020 12:15 PM EST
56 Comments | Add A Comment
56 Comments

12:55PM EDT - Hi all - I hope everybody's doing great when reading this, either from work or at home - or from work at home! The event should start in 5 minutes.

01:00PM EDT - The event is starting - Apple Park at night intro clip.

01:01PM EDT - Apple CEO Tim Cook taking the stage.

01:01PM EDT - Recap of the September event talking about the watches and iPads.

01:02PM EDT - "Exciting new product for the home"

01:02PM EDT - Homepod smart speaker with Siri.

01:03PM EDT - New variation of the HomePod - the HomePod Mini

01:04PM EDT - Compact design with a mesh design that provides "Amazing sound"

01:05PM EDT - Sound, intelligent assistant, and smart home - with focus on privacy and security

01:05PM EDT - Custom dynamic driver and two passive radiators to produce excellent sound quality.

01:06PM EDT - New S5 chip supports "computational audio" that smartly controls dynamic range and optimises sound quality depending on the track or content that's playing.

01:07PM EDT - Can be used as stereo units when you have two of them.

01:07PM EDT - Uses the iPhone's UWB chip to recognise near devices.

01:08PM EDT - "Siri keeps getting better"

01:09PM EDT - Tight integration with your iPhone applications and assistant functions.

01:10PM EDT - Controls all your HomeKit settings via the HomePod

01:11PM EDT - Intercom functionality to communicate between HomePods in your home as well as all your Apple iDevices.

01:12PM EDT - Privacy and security at the forefront.

01:13PM EDT - $99 starting shipping November 16th, order November 5th.

01:13PM EDT - Moving onto iPhones.

01:13PM EDT - "#1 smartphone in the world" regarding iPhone 11

01:14PM EDT - "The next generation is here"

01:14PM EDT - 5G is here for iPhone

01:16PM EDT - Ensuring the best possible experience between iPhone devices and networks around the world.

01:17PM EDT - Verizon's CEO taking the stage and talking about their mmWave network.

01:17PM EDT - Up to 4Gbps download speeds over the 5G network in ideal conditions.

01:17PM EDT - 200Mbps uploads.

01:18PM EDT - Capacity will play a big role in 5G, enables much better experiences in crowded areas, such as stadiums.

01:19PM EDT - Verizon's mmWave network to be expanded to 60 US cities by year end.

01:20PM EDT - Verizon is also launching their sub-6 5G network, reaching 200 million US residents.

01:20PM EDT - 5G across the entire iPhone lineup today.

01:21PM EDT - iPhone 12 with 5G

01:21PM EDT - "All new design"

01:21PM EDT - Smooth flat edges.

01:21PM EDT - "Designed with 5G in mind"

01:22PM EDT - 5G antennas integrated around the aluminium frame

01:22PM EDT - 6.1" screen, but with smaller bezels, resulting in a smaller iPhone

01:23PM EDT - OLED display on the regular iPhone

01:23PM EDT - Double the resolution of the iPhone 11

01:23PM EDT - Supports all the newest HDR features, peak brightness up to 1200 nits

01:24PM EDT - New glass cover "Ceramic Shield"

01:24PM EDT - "Tougher than any smartphone glass"

01:24PM EDT - "4x better drop performance"

01:25PM EDT - Custom designed antennas and RF

01:26PM EDT - "Smart data mode" switches from 5G to LTE when higher speeds aren't needed in order to optimise power efficiency.

01:27PM EDT - 3.5Gbps peak speeds

01:27PM EDT - mmWave seemingly only in the US based on the presentation wording?

01:28PM EDT - Talking about the new A14 SoC

01:29PM EDT - Reiterating that the A14 the the industry's first 5nm chip.

01:29PM EDT - 11.8bn transistors

01:29PM EDT - 6-core CPU, claiming a 50% performance advantage over any other competing mobile chip

01:30PM EDT - The same advantages quoted for the GPU, 50% faster than the next best competitor

01:31PM EDT - It's pretty unusual to see Apple compare to other Android SoC counterparts.

01:31PM EDT - Even less details about power efficiency in this presentation.

01:31PM EDT - League of Legends brought to iOS

01:33PM EDT - Apple's first 7-element lens.

01:33PM EDT - 27% improvement in low-light

01:33PM EDT - SmartHDR 3 algorithm for high dynamic range retention.

01:34PM EDT - Night mode to all cameras, finally, including the Ultra-Wide

01:35PM EDT - Big improvements in low-light for video capture.

01:35PM EDT - Video clip showcasing the iphone video recording capabilities in low-light - scene in Las Vegas

01:36PM EDT - Wireless charging becomes easier with the iPhone 12

01:37PM EDT - MagSafe for iPhone

01:37PM EDT - Up to 15W wireless charging, magnets to align the coils with MagSafe accessories.

01:38PM EDT - MagSafe Duo Charger

01:38PM EDT - Already starting with third-party accessory development, such as from Belkin

01:39PM EDT - 2030 net zero carbon footprint target

01:40PM EDT - Removing headphones and power adaptors from new iPhones. Smaller box.

01:41PM EDT - USB-C to Lightning cable is still included.

01:43PM EDT - Apple just seriously upped the bar when it comes to small form-factor phones with the new iPhone 12 mini

01:44PM EDT - Smaller than an iPhone SE, but with all the new modern features and new design.

01:45PM EDT - $699 for the iPhone 12 mini, and $799 for the iPhone 12 - Those are some killer prices

01:46PM EDT - iPhone Pro lineup now

01:47PM EDT - Premium materials for the iPhone Pros

01:48PM EDT - New bigger screens for the new Pro models

01:50PM EDT - Deep Fusion for all camera hardware this year, including the front camera

01:50PM EDT - Your standard trifectra of cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro

01:51PM EDT - the 12 Pro Max supposedly has even better cameras

01:51PM EDT - New telephoto from 52mm to 65mm focal length

01:52PM EDT - New huge sensor with 1.7µm pixels - this should be an 1/1.7" unit

01:52PM EDT - New sensor-shift based OIS

01:53PM EDT - One full f-stop light gathering improvement through the new stabilisation

01:53PM EDT - Apple ProRAW capturing format

01:54PM EDT - Includes all the image processing that's usual, but maintains your usual RAW information depth

01:55PM EDT - "Flexibility of RAW with the benefits of Apple's computaitonal photography"

01:56PM EDT - 10-bit HDR video recording

01:57PM EDT - Also able to record in Dolby Vision HDR

01:59PM EDT - Now covering the iPhone Pro's LIDAR scanner

02:00PM EDT - In low-light, the LIDAR can help autofocus

02:00PM EDT - That alone is a great feature and rationalises the feature

02:06PM EDT - $999 for the iPhone and $1099 for the 12 Pro Max

02:07PM EDT - Quite odd discrepancies in the availability dates, the regular sized phones are available on October 23rd, while the Pro Max and the mini only become available November 13th

02:08PM EDT - That's a wrap for it today folks!

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  • ChrisGX - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    The $699 iPhone Mini is a smart competitive move by Apple. I don't think any similarly priced 5G phone that can only offer mid-range specs (think Pixel 5) will be able to attract buyers with this manifestly superior iPhone vying for the patronage customers in that market segment. Mid-range phones from Google, Oppo and Xiaomi might still do alright if those manufacturers find a way of shaving $150 or more off the price of their phones. I am going to be watching with interest as the other smartphones manufacturers begin to respond to this.

  • fred666 - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    I don't think the Pixel 5 is competitive against the 4a. Midrange buyers couldn't care less about 5G anyways.

  • SR-71 - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    Pixels are joke comparing to iPhone 12 Mini/12 specs (Top End Apple SOC vs Midrange Android SoC) and Apple ecosystem.

  • SaolDan - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    The apple ecosystem is the only thing keeping from going apple. Oh and IOS. I love the hardware but hate the software.

  • Featherinmycap - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    Really, you hate iOS that much? Other than much better notifications on android, and wildly popular in the states iMessage on the iPhone, they are nearly clones of each other (at least on the interface side of things).

  • asfletch - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    Actually, as of iOS 14, I’m not that fussed by the software. Pixels are more locked down than ever. However, I really like fingerprint for ID and (esp in 2020) wouldn’t want to be stuck with typing a PIN every time FaceID fails. Oh and imagine how nice these 12s would look without the notch....

  • lucam - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    Look forward to see how A14 with the new PowerVR Series A performs.
    It seems it completely destroys any mobile GPU by far 😊

  • GC2:CS - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    5.4" 135g phone getting 5G... BOTH sub6 and mmWave is crazy impressive.

    Other mmWave devices are literally twice as big.
    Possibly an exclusivity on next gen 5nm Qualcomm modem is the reason ?

    mini display is actually tiny bit narrower than legacy 4.7" phones. I view that as a negative.
    Pro iPhones getting larger. Despite going significally thinner (LIKE a lot) they ARE heavier (why ???)!

    Camera upgrades seem less impressive than I expected.... Telephoto and ultra-wide are generally the same (new sensors for faster captures). Wide has optics upgrade. Larger sensor and stronger zoom on the MAX only. HATE that. Software enhancements seem great though. WHY there is no night mode on the telephoto ???

    Same displays, same glass bezzel size. The bezel was reduced by cutting the metal curvature out. A lot of work lies ahead (Max at 87.4% screen coverage +3% compared to 11 Max).
    Ceramic shield is a must ;)

    No info on A14 perf. They only said it is 50% better than any smartphone (excluding A13 ?).
    We already know... A13 smokes dragons too. ISP and neural engine probably went sky high for what they have shown.

    Battery life the same or slightly less. That is OK for me.

    I personally expected more perf and camera upgrades, but only because those are things i would like to upgrade to. All was eaten up by some mighty impressive 5G addition from both engineering and cost standpoint. A14 is "hindered" by focus on ML and ISP. Possibly by less than stellar performance of 5nm and/or work in the larger Mac SoC.

    Really like the thinner design. Just give Max cameras to the mini iPhone and i would pay 3000 for that... not happening sadly.

  • willis936 - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    They really missed a beat *again by not putting a high refresh rate display on the pro models.

  • Featherinmycap - Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - link

    Higher refresh is nice, especially on Android phones that don't always scroll very smoothly. I think its far from a deal killer. Would of been a lot more useful on the iPad Air with its strong pen support.
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