Apple iPhone 12 Event 2020 highlights: HomePod Mini launched at $99, iPhone 12 starting $699, iPhone 12 Pro from $999

Pricing of the entire iPhone 12 lineup

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini will be shipping starting 13 November

The pre-order for the phones will open on 6 November.

iPhone 12 Pro prices starting $999, iPhone 12 Pro Max priced from $1099

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will be available for pre-order starting 16 October and it will start shipping in the US by 23 October.

iPhone 12 pro can record 4K/60 video at 10-bit Dolby Vision HDR. Now they’re just showing off.

— Tushar Burman (@tburman) October 13, 2020

A recap of some of the iPhone 12 Pro features

The blue colour variants of the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max is really eye-catching!

The iPhone 12 Pro models will feature LiDar scanning

This will allow these phones to deliver AR capabilities, can also be used for auto-focus in low light

Apple has announced 10-bit HDR recording is coming to the new iPhones

The phones will also allow Dolby vision HDR recording and the iPhone 12 Pro will also let you edit these Dolby Vision videos on the device. 

Later this year, Apple will also launch AppleProRAW, puts multiframe smartHDR into a RAW format.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max also features sensor-shift optical image stabilisation 

The iPhone’s camera also supports a new Optical Image Stabilisation, which is used on the sensor instead of just on the lens. That’s wild!

The iPhone 12 Pro Max also comes with a triple camera setup…but with a few extra features

The telephoto on the phone has a 65 mm equivalent focal length. It can do 5X telephoto zoom. The wide camera has a 47 percent larger sensor.

The iPhone 12 Pro has a triple camera setup

It features a 12 MP ultrawide lens with 1.6 aperture wide-angle. It also sports a 52mm equivalent telephoto camera.

Apple has also announced that Deep Fusion is coming to all cameras on the Pro.

The iPhone 12 Pro also supports 4X optical zoom.

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max

Both the iPhones feature Super Retina XDR displays. The iPhone 12 Pro sports a 6.1-inch display and the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a 6.7-inch display.

iPhone 12 Pro has a more premium finish

The phone has a stainless steel band, and comes in four finishes: silver, graphite, gold, and blue. 

The iPhone 12 Pro has got the same ceramic shield screens, IP68 water resistance, MagSafe as the iPhone 12. 

iPhone 12 Mini announced starting $699, iPhone 12 starting $799

iPhone 12 mini is the iPhone I’ve wanted since the last SE.

— Tushar Burman (@tburman) October 13, 2020

The iPhone 12 Mini is official! 

iPhone 12 Mini has been announced in 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch screen options.

The iPhone 12 comes with a USB-C cable. It still uses Lightning of course.

Apple says by 2030 it will be on net-zero climate impact including manufacturing supply chain and product life cycles

Apple has also announced that it used 100 percent recycled rare earth elements for all magnets inside the iPhone.

For making devices more environment friendly, Apple will no more AC adapter in the iPhone box.

Apple announces MagSafe for iPhones

This means, the iPhones have a magnetic back! 

You can use any MagSafe charger, cases or wallets that will magnetically stick at the back of the iPhone 12. 

The iPhone 12 sports a 12 MP ultra wide camera at the back

It features Smart HDR 3. All the 2020 iPhones will also get a dedicated night mode, even on the front camera.

The iPhone 12 is getting the League of Legends later this year

For the ones who missed it, this is the same A14 Bionic that powers the new iPad Air

The iPhone 12 is powered by the A14 Bionic chipset

Apple says it’s the first chipset in the world to be built on 5nm processing technology. It has a 6 core CPU, 4 core GPU. The chipset has 11.8 transistors, nearly 40 percent more than the A13.

The iOS 14 has been optimised for 5G

The OS has a smart data mode which uses LTE when you don’t need fast speed, to preserve battery life.

Apple also claims that iPhone 12 has a better drop performance

New @apple iPhone 12 has 4x better drop performance thanks to “ceramic shield” developed with @corninggorilla. Victus is 2x gorilla glass 6. So this is exclusive and toughest?

— Tushar Burman (@tburman) October 13, 2020

The iPhone 12 display sports a peak brightness of 1200 nits.

It also supports Dolby Vision, HLG, and HDR 10.

Apple says iPhone 12 is 11 percent thinner and 16 percent lighter than the iPhone 11

The smartphone now features Super Retina XDR display. It’s “Apple custom OLED.”

The are saying iPhone 12 and we are seeing an iPhone 5 with the iPhone 11 camera setup!

In the US, 2020 iPhones will be able to access Verizon’s 5G Ultra wideband

Apple is finally catching up! 

Tim Cook has announced that 2020 iPhones will feature 5G connectivity.

HomePod Mini launched at $99, shipping starts 16 November

The HomePod Mini will be available for pre-order starting 6 November.

Apple claims that the HomePod Mini does not record your audio until you say Hey Siri or use touch to activate the device

Any of the voice data is also not associated with a user’s Apple ID, as per Apple.

The HomePod Mini also has an intercom feature

The feature will also work across Apple Watches, iPhones and other Apple products. 

The HomePod Mini automatically connects to the Home app

This will allow you to control all your HomeKit devices with your voice.

Apple claims Siri for HomePod is better now

The company says that Siri now know 20x more facts and it’s 20x more efficient. The voice assistant can also recognise voices of each member of the house.

Siri on HomePod Mini also lets you songs by lyrics

Multiple HomePod Mini speakers can be paired with each other for better sound experience

The HomePod Mini is powered by the S5 chip

It offers 360 degree surround sound. 

Apple announces HomePod Mini

It has a touch surface on top for play/pause and volume control. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook is here!

A tour of the Apple Park has begun on the livestream, which means the event is live

The Apple Event 2020 will be live in 10 minutes

It’s best you tune into the livestream now. On the Apple Events website , you can already see some animations and hear a music so calming that it’s going to either totally refresh you or put you straight to sleep. 

Apple event kicks of at 10.30 pm IST tonight

The Apple Event is scheduled to kick off at 10 am PDT, which would be 10.30 pm India time. If you live in any other time zone, you can check the local time for the event here . Apple will be streaming the event on its dedicated events website . You can also watch the Apple Event live on the company’s official YouTube page .

#ICYMI: Apple iPhone SE reviee

Before we head on to the night of brand new iPhones, we recently reviewed the Apple iPhone SE (which may see a somewhat successor today, which is expected to be called the iPhone 12 Mini). Read the review here:

.@Apple's 2020 #iPhoneSE is a near-perfect device for anyone looking for a compact device under Rs 50,000, writes @Nandiniwhy in her review. #iPhoneSE2https://t.co/R2XZsGWogW

— Tech2 (@tech2eets) October 8, 2020

Apple Event 2020: What to expect

Even though Apple has remained mum about the specifics of the launch tonight, there have been myriads of leaks about the 2020 iPhones on the Internet. So far, the pricing, pre-order details, specifications, and several other details about the expected iPhones have been leaked. Here’s everything we know about the 2020 iPhones so right now:

.@Apple will launch the #iPhone12Series tonight at 10.30 pm IST. Ahead of the #Applevent, here's everything we know about the #iPhone12 #iphone12pro #iPhone12ProMax and #iPhone12mini so far. https://t.co/49i6VFvNKP

— Tech2 (@tech2eets) October 13, 2020

Apple Event playlist

While we wait for the event to kick off, we have cranked up the music, and looks like Apple CEO Tim Cook is doing the same. Cook has shared his own event day playlist, and it’s not all bad! 

Hey Siri, play my event day playlist! See you all soon! #AppleEvent https://t.co/CDTYPczjCz

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 13, 2020

Apple event animation

One of our most favourite part of this year’s Apple Events has been the special ’like’ animation on Twitter. 

Haven’t seen it yet? Try it! 

Hi, Speed. Join us today at 10:00 a.m. PDT on https://t.co/tkb3KTIxTd.#AppleEvent

— Apple (@Apple) October 8, 2020

iPhone 12 series

At the event tonight, Apple is expected to unveil four new iPhones – the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Hope you have got your coffee handy because the highlight day of Techtober is here! 

Apple will be launching the 2020 iPhones in another two hours. Stay tuned to the liveblog for all the updates from the event!