iPhone 12 Buyer's Guide - DON'T Make these 12 Mistakes! By Max Tech

For the first time ever, Apple has released four new iPhone models, now including the iPhone 12 mini, so i can say with absolute certainty that it’s never been this hard to decide which iPhone you should actually buy, especially since we also have the $400 iPhone SE that’s still a great deal! So what I’m gonna do in this video is show you guys the real-world differences and recommend each iPhone for different use-cases, helping you decide which one you should buy. But before I get into the Buyer’s guide portion of this video, I want to go through 12 different mistakes that you MUST be aware of so you can avoid them when buying a new iPhone, so let’s get started with Mistake #1. Don’t buy the iPhone 12 Pro models thinking you need them for the best 5G coverage, the fact is that the regular iPhone 12, and even the 12 mini, have identical 5G support, including mmWave 5G and everything else like WiFi 6, so don’t spend the extra cash on the Pro if that’s all you really care about. Mistake #2 is buying the iPhone 12 mini without considering the battery life impact. This phone is super small, in fact, smaller than the iPhone 6, so if you really really care about battery life, I would steer away from the mini model, and just pay $100 more for the larger iPhone 12. Mistake #3 is buying the iPhone 12 Pro models thinking you need them for the better display, water resistance or the thinner design.

What’s really shocking this year is that the regular iPhone 12 gets the same exact Super Retina XDR display with 1200 nits of peak brightness and the same crazy good 460 pixels per inch. The only downside is that in typical usage, it’s limited to 625 nits compared to 800, but that’s it. In terms of water resistance, the regular iPhone 12 models get iP68 at 6 meters for up to 30 minutes, exactly the same resistance as the Pro models, which wasn’t the case last year since the iPhone 11 only had 2 meters of IP68. And what’s even more surprising is that the regular iPhone 12 models have the exact same thickness as the Pro models, 7.4mm.. Which wasn’t the case last year since the iPhone 11 was really thick at 8.3mm. Mistake #4 is buying the iPhone 11 Pro if you want the absolute best camera quality.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max gets massive camera improvements, including a much better main camera sensor that is 47% larger and improves low light by a huge 87%. It also gets the new sensor-shift stabilization feature which is gonna make for super smooth video and sharp photos, and it gets an improved telephoto lens with a longer 65mm zoom compared to 52mm on the 12 Pro, so definitely buy the 12 Pro Max if you want the absolute best camera quality.. And it’s great that it’s only $100 more. For Mistake #5, if you’re planning on buying the regular iPhone 12 models, don’t miss out on the crazy good value storage upgrade. For only $50 more, you get double the storage up to 128GB, which is a MUST if you take a lot of photos and video.

I currently have the 11 Pro Max with 64GB and it’s nowhere near enough, so I recommend that $50 upgrade on the regular models. Mistake #6 is thinking you should buy the iPhone 11 Pro model for less cash now that the iPhone 12 is out.. And my answer is a very strong NO! Even if you can find the iPhone 11 Pro brand new for $800, absolutely 100% buy the regular iPhone 12 model instead because it’s almost got all of the same features like the OLED display, but it gets even better camera quality, it’s got much better cellular service, it’s quite a lot thinner, and it’s got the new design with flat sides which should should be staying around for the next few years. So even though it’s missing a couple of features like the telephoto camera, absolutely buy the regular iPhone 12 instead of the 11 Pro. For Mistake #7, don’t buy third-party wireless chargers for the iPhone 12 lineup.

You might not know this, but only MagSafe-branded chargers from Apple and other companies like Belkin get the new 15W fast wireless charging. And on top of that, these new chargers support the cool MagSafe magnetic feature so you can actually use your phone will it’s wirelessly charging. The issue with other third-party chargers is that if you don’t get the placement perfect, you might wake up with a battery that hasn’t charged at all.. And MagSafe solves that. Mistake #8 actually has to do with MagSafe, and if you’re interested in that feature, do not buy a regular third-party case.

Apple added extra magnets into all of their new cases because there’s a good chance that the magnetic connection isn’t gonna be strong enough to hold onto other accessories if you use a basic case. So if you want to buy one of the new MagSafe adapters or even third-party accessories like a magnetic Popsocket, buy a high quality Apple branded MagSafe case. But if you don’t care about that, then I’ll leave a couple of great case options down in the description below. Now for Mistake #9, this one hasn’t been totally confirmed yet, but according to a bunch of leaks, including leaked benchmarks, there’s a good chance that the iPhone 12 Pro models will actually come with 6GB of RAM while the regular 12 models only get 4GB. For some people, this is a dealbreaking feature if the Pro’s actually get 6gigs, making it more than worth paying extra for the Pro models.

In my experience, 4GB on my 11 Pro just wasn’t enough because apps like Facebook would randomly close on me, so double check the RAM to confirm before you buy! For Mistake #10, if you need a new charging brick due to Apple taking it out of the box this year, don’t buy Apple’s 20W power brick. Buy Anker’s 20W Fast charger instead on Amazon for 2 reasons. One, it’s currently on sale for only $16 on Amazon if you use the coupon code. And #2, it’s much smaller and more compact compared to Apple’s version which is quite a bit larger, so I’ll leave a link to the Anker charger down below. For Mistake #11, if you’re using Verizon or AT&T cellular service, be sure to actually choose those options during checkout instead of buying unlock, since it’ll save you $30 on the regular iPhone 12 models.

And if you notice this little bit of fine print, only the AT&T models are actually locked, so Verizon users have no reason at all to choose the Sim-Free version, so don’t do that on accident or you’ll be paying $30 more for nothing. And finally, for Mistake #12, If you’re not planning on spending at least $1,000 on a new iPhone, don’t wait until next year to upgrade thinking that you’re gonna get 120hz ProMotion. That feature is most likely only coming on the Pro models, and in my opinion, I think there will be even less of a difference next year compared to everything we got this year with the regular iPhone 12. Now let’s get into the Buyer’s Guide section of the video, and I’m gonna start with the iPhone SE, which is priced at $399. This phone is meant for 3 different kinds of people.

#1 is for people who just want a fast, budget iPhone, like people switching from Android. #2 is for kids or teens, since the size is small and the price is very low. And #3 is for non-tech enthusiasts who are upgrading from an older iPhone, since the SE is very familiar with the Home Button, and upgrading gets you a fresh battery and a new fast-performing chip. Now moving onto the iPhone 12 mini, here are the people who should be buying this phone. If you want an iPhone 12 for the new flat side design, the great camera quality, 5G and other features like MagSafe, and you want to get it for the absolute lowest price, you’ve gotta go with the mini since it’s $699.

If you’re someone who really loved the smaller iPhones like the iPhone 4, you’re gonna love the 12 mini since it’s so small, so it’s great for people with small hands. And the best part is that the feature set is identical to the iPhone 12, so the only downside is lower battery life due to the smaller size. Now for the regular 6.1” iPhone 12, I think this is gonna be the star of the show because it packs an incredible amount of value compared to the Pro models. Just like I said before, the iPhone 12 absolutely destroys the 11 Pro, and in terms of value, it easily beats out the iPhone 12 Pro as well! In fact, the 12 Pro literally only gets 8 advantages. The stainless steel sides, the telephoto camera, 800 nits typical brightness on the display compared to 625, the LiDAR scanner, potentially 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage instead of 64, the Apple ProRAW feature which isn’t available yet, and Dolby Vision video recording at 60 frames per second instead of 30, that’s it! Because of that, I think most people who are looking at the iPhone 12 Pro should simply go for the regular 12, since you can save $200 or $150 if you want to get 128GB of storage on the iPhone 12.

We recently ran a poll asking people which iPhone 12 model they would buy, and the 12 Pro was by far the least popular option, and that’s because it barely improves on the regular iPhone 12. Now I’m actually gonna skip ahead to who should buy the 12 Pro Max before I finish off with the 12 Pro. First off, the 12 Pro max gets the absolute best camera performance, with a much better main camera sensor with the new sensor shift stabilization, and it gets the longer telephoto lens for better zoom shots. So if you really care about camera quality, buy the iPhone 12 Pro Max, for sure, and we’ll be testing the camera differences very soon, so subscribe if you haven’t already. And looking back at the poll we ran, most people wanted the Max model, and I can guarantee you that it’s because of the camera improvements.

Other reasons to go for the Pro Max are, of course, the massive 6.7” display for immersive media consumption and gaming. You’re also getting the best battery life due to the larger size, and of course, you’re getting the other advantages like potentially 6GB of RAM and the LIDAR scanner. So if you’re considering buying the iPhone 12 Pro, just go for the Pro Max instead because you really get a lot of camera improvements for the extra $100. But of course, not everyone wants the massive Pro Max, so let’s finish off with who should actually buy the 12 Pro. If you care about camera quality and you really really want that telephoto lens and other features like ProRAW, the LiDAR scanner and things like that, but the Pro max is simply way too big for your hands, then sure, go for the 12 Pro.

But other than that, there are really only 3 reasons why anyone should buy the 12 Pro over the less expensive iPhone 12 model. The first reason is if you really care about RAM, since the Pro models are probably getting 6gigs compared to 4, and to some people, that’s a dealbreaker. The second reason is if you really enjoy the feel of the premium stainless steel band compared to aluminum, and if that difference is worth $150 to $200 for you, then get the Pro. And the final reason is if you’re a T-Mobile customer like myself who has to pay an extra $30 for the iPhone 12 and you also really want at least 128GB of storage. At that point, the difference in price is only $120, which could be worth it for the few bonus features you get on the Pro.

Now with all of that said, if this video helped you out, go ahead and click the circle above to subscribe for our hands on comparisons coming soon! And if you’re still confused on which one to buy or if you should upgrade, comment down below and I’ll do my best to help you make a decision, and if you’re still struggling, check out one of those two videos right there. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!.

Source : Max Tech