Malaysian Apple users rejoice as 5G will finally be available on your iPhone.
CelcomDigi has announced 5G support starting with the iPhone 12.
Thanks to the iOS 16.2 update, users on Apple’s telco partner networks of Celcom, DiGi and U Mobile are now able to connect to the 5G network. This marks the end of a long wait for iPhone users wanting 5G connectivity. Apple has featured 5G since it’s 2020 iPhone 12 while the national 5G network began operating just last year. At the moment, 5G connectivity is only limited to Apple’s telco partners. Maxis users will have a longer wait while Yes Mobile and Unifi mobile users are out of luck, as they are not listed partners.
To enjoy 5G on our device, first ensure that you have a 5G compatible model. Partners Celcom, Digi and U Mobile have announced 5G connectivity support for the iPhone 12, 13, 14 and 3rd generation SE models. You als need to be on a 5G-enabled mobile plan with an Apple telco partner and within their coverage area.
Next, you need to ensure your device has updated to iOS 16.2. and carrier settings are updated to version 53.1. To check this head to Settings>General>About. Once done, head to Settings>Mobile Data Options>Voice & Data to see the new 5G On and 5G Auto options. Choose either one and your iPhone is 5G ready. You also have the option of prioritizing 5G ahead of WiFi by selecting More Dataon 5G option in the Data Mode section.
For more information on 5G for iPhone, visit the official sites for Celcom, Digi and U Mobile.
iOS 14.6 just arrived barely a two weeks ago and WWDC 2021 has already happened to excite iOS fans even more. On the big stage that is YouTube last night, Apple’s WWDC 2021 keynote introduces iOS 15, the next generation operating system to power your iPhone. If Apple said the 14.5 and 14.6 were big updates, you can consider 15 a complete change.
It is not much of a facelift though. You still get the same visuals, art styles, and even the same sort of interface to interact with. It is still very much an iOS that you are used to. At the same time, there are so much new features, this might as well be a new operating system.
FaceTime – Apple’s Best, Even Better
Source: Apple
FaceTime has been one of Apple’s best invention to the video conferencing and calling world. There are plenty of competitors to the platform out there, but if you and your friends have iPhones, FaceTime will be the best video calling experience you can get out there. Video calling is also important at this unprecedented time in the world.
How could Apple make FaceTime better? 4k Resolution? Maybe in 5 years’ time. Audio it is. You can now have a clear, uninterrupted conversation with your friends with FaceTime with Voice Isolation, a tool that cancels noise around you and transmit only your crisp voice. At the same time, you can also ensure that everyone can hear everything from your end with Wide Spectrum mode. In group calls, you even get a sort of spread-out voice just to give your group calls a little bit of spatial dynamic.
There is a new Grid View in FaceTime group calls now too. That means you get to see everyone in the call in equally sized windows. To take a group photo in FaceTime too, you get to have portrait mode that gives you Bokeh in your own tiny grid. But FaceTime is now more than just a video call.
SharePlay
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
You can now share contents across FaceTime calls. You can share music via Apple Music, watch a TV show or Movie together via Disney+, or even share an app screen with your friends. SharePlay works across iOS, iPadOS and MacOS too, so it is not like you are limited to iPhones only.
Everyone in the session gets control of SharePlay’s contents, including music and movies. If you are accessing other apps while watching the show with your friends, SharePlay can play on top of the app in Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode. If you want to watch the shows on a bigger display, you can extend the experience on Apple TV Too. So even if you are separated from your friends, you can watch shows together too.
FaceTime Links with Other People Too
Source: Apple
No, that is not what I meant. FaceTime needs to be used with another person at least, we understand that. Now though, that other person does not need to own an iPhone, or iPad, or even a Mac. They could be on Android and Windows and they can jump into calls with you on FaceTime if you create a link for them.
You can use the links created to be shared through emails, calendars, or even messages to schedule a call with your friends, or even colleagues if you need to. The best part is that the end-to-end encryption remains a feature even if you are on a FaceTime calls with an Android user or a Windows user.
Focusing on the Right Things at the Right Time
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
They put a big emphasis on mindfulness and focus on iOS 15. Mental health and work life balance is becoming an increasingly big issue in the modern world we know today. It is especially true in the current pandemic situation.
Users on iOS 15 can create focus situations to limit notifications and allow notifications from certain apps and contacts surface in different times, your colleagues’ texts and emails at works hours, for example. You can get iOS 15 also to summarise your notification feed to see what surfaced when you were not looking at your smartphone in your chosen time of day. This setting will also sync across your Apple platforms just to ensure that all your devices know how they should behave in different times and situations.
Of course, you can just turn all your notification off with “Do Not Disturb” mode. Do Not Disturb mode will also trigger a notification your contacts who are trying to contact you though. They can see that you want complete silence from them and will create silent notifications for you for when you have the time to respond. You can also silent certain messaging apps for the next hour or the entire day if you want to.
On-Device Intelligence
Source: Apple
There are downsides to having intelligence built right into your device. For one, it is a little more taxing on your smartphone’s hardware. To ensure that it has enough data to run on your device natively too, it would take up more storage space in your device.
Thankfully the benefits outweigh the downsides though. Your on-device command is faster than ever now. It is also a lot more secure on your device.
Live text for example uses Apple’s clever neural processor to recognise texts in a photo or to something that you point to using your iPhone’s camera. You can easily take a photo of your lecture notes on the board for example and convert the photo into texts for you to copy in your own digital note for safe keeping and future reference.
They have also included something called Visual Look Up. From the camera app, users can point to certain objects or landmarks to get more information regarding the landmark, or an object, or even an animal. This feature kind of reminds us of Google Lens, to be honest.
Photos and Spotlights
Source: Apple
Apple introduced Memories in Photos in the last major iOS update. In iOS 15, Memories is made even better with on-board intelligence. Instead of just a photo collage slideshow and video playback, Photos can now include music to go along with your photo collage. You can even choose the song you want to go with your collage and Memories will cleverly alter your photos and tailor the slideshow according to the songs.
But the intelligence does not just stop there. You can now find photos and contents with the intelligence. They call this Spotlight and deservingly so. With Spotlight, your device can recognise texts or handwriting in your photos and pull them up for you. Spotlight also works as a web image search.
Everything You Need in the Wallet
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Apple’s Wallet is one of the world’s best cashless payment platforms. It has also evolved to be something of a one-stop-shop for all your credit cards and your loyalty membership cards. Later this year though your iPhone can be your keys to everything from your home to your cars with Ultra-Wide-Band signal enabled. You can even use your iPhone to store your ID.
On top of that you can share all these information with your family members via Wallets. On the subject of sharing information on your ID across different spaces, you can now choose to disclose only the required information from your ID instead of showing a whole ID card to whoever that is requesting your ID.
New Weather App Design
They have also redesigned their Weather app to look even better than before. They have included more animations too to properly and accurately reflect the current weather situation outside of your window. The backgrounds also accurately shows you the sun’s position through the day.
Apple Maps with Even More Details
Source: Apple
Apple Maps gets a slight overhaul too, this is on top of being available in more regions now. 3D view on Apple Maps is also more detailed than ever on iOS 15. On top of that, you get elevation data with landmark highlights on Apple Maps.
Visually, Apple Maps looks better than ever with Night Mode and its photorealistic lighting effects on 3D objects. Getting lost with Apple Maps can also be a thing of the past with a more detailed view of the road, especially when you are navigating an expressway. When you are driving in town, newly added details like crosswalks, traffic lights, bike and bus lanes help you understand the road better and drive safer. The new Apple Maps will also be coming to Apple CarPlay.
If you prefer commuting on foot, Apple Maps now shows public transportation schedules. In that case, you can use Apple Maps to navigate your commute to anywhere with public transportations. Once you come out of the train station, you can use Apple Maps’ Augmented Reality (AR) function to find your way around and get a bearing of where you are. This function is now only available in select cities in the United States though.
AirPods – Better with iOS 15
Noise cancelling algorithms gets better with iOS 15 too. Apple’s AirPods now can enhance your conversations with the person in front directly in front of you by focusing on the person’s voice. You can be completely handsfree too with notifications read out to you via AirPods. If you misplaced your AirPods, you iPhone now can locate your earbuds.
Siri and Security
Source: Apple
Siri also benefit from on-device intelligence. You can now control your smartphone or smart home functions via Siri even without internet connection or data. At the same time, your voice data never leaves your device in this case.
On top of that, iOS 15 now gives you more control than ever on the sort of information and hardware access is being accessed by the apps you use and work with. You can also ensure that your emails do not track you with IP Address hiding on iOS 15. Security and privacy does not stop there too.
Your iCloud account can also now be recovered even if you forgot your recovery answers and password. All you need to do is add your trusted contact and retrieve a recovery pin from them to recover your iCloud account. They’ve also added Digital Legacy function, in case you need to pass your iCloud data forward.
iCloud+
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
For the same price you paid for iCloud, there is iCloud+ that adds a layer of security here. iCloud+ adds a layer of protection to Safari now. Safari is now encrypted with iOS 15. Browsing on Safari with iCloud+ also means that your IP address do not get tracked. Whatever data that you share on the websites are also encrypted on-device. At the same time, when you need to share email information on any websites too, your iPhone will spoof randomise a spoof email. Any emails sent to the spoof email will be forwarded to your actual email.
People tell me that smartphones are getting boring. No one truly innovates anymore. Hardly anything is that exciting anymore. Most smartphones launched these days are minor upgrades from the previous generation of devices. They offer nearly nothing special, or nothing new that we have not seen before.
In that sense, nothing really excites us anymore. That is true until 2020 hits us. No, it is not the pandemic that changed anything. Tech has taken a step toward the right direction somehow in 2020. We see a very interesting Samsung Galaxy Note20 that is a true creator powerhouse. We see Sony launching their super powerful Xperia smartphone, and their highly acclaimed noise cancelling headphone – the WH-1000XM4. They even launched the Sony PlayStation 5, coming end of this year 2020. Apple already wowed the world over too with the introduction of the iPad Air, which is also a sign of what is to come yesterday (this early morning, rather).
Welcome to what we think is the most exciting Apple iPhone yet. Nay, welcome to the most exciting smartphone of 2020 yet. Welcome to the Apple iPhone 12 and Apple iPhone 12 Pro line-up.
Source: Apple
They kickstart the presentation of Apple’s highly anticipated iPhone for 2020/2021 with 5G. They say that all the iPhones from this point on will receive the 5G treatment, and 5G ready. Malaysia’s Maxis has already confirmed they are taking on 5G with the Apple iPhone and the Apple iPhone 12 series is compatible.
But it gets better from there. We are going to butcher the presentation flow a little bit and start with what is important to us. Bear with us, as we start from the inside out.
The Apple iPhone 12 & iPhone 12 Mini
Source: Apple
The Apple iPhone 12 is not just 5G capable because they have a new antenna. They have, in their own words, optimised the antenna placement for the best all-round reception, by the way. The 5G capability is also embedded in their new chip, the A14 Bionic.
If you find that the name of the A14 Bionic chip sounds familiar, you are right. It is the same powerful 5nm chip that powers the Apple iPad Air. It is the same chip that Apple says can make quick work of 4K videos. Now, it is powering a small smartphone in your palms.
Apple says that this is their most powerful chip yet. We believe them. We also know that this is the most advanced System on a chip (SoC) in the world so far. Until we see Qualcomm and Samsung, or even HUAWEI pushing their boundaries again, we maintain that Apple’s A14 Bionic is the world’s most advanced smartphone SoC to date.
As mentioned in the Apple iPad Air release, the A14 Bionic is a 5nm chip. That means it packs about 11.8 billion transistors spread across 6 CPU cores. There are 4 GPU cores to enable PC class gaming experience in your handheld multifunction device (according to Apple). There are also various machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) optimisations going on here. That also means things like SIRI can fully take advantage on being a better personal assistant on your smartphone.
Source: Apple
As usual, they did not mention the size of the RAM that comes with the device. All we need to know from Apple is that it is “enough”. You get up to 256GB in storage, which is actually more than decent. If you need more storage, Apple has the iCloud anyway. If not, just transfer your photos out to your PC or an external hard drive. We would like the MicroSD card format to be accepted on an iPhone, but we also accept that we may never see that day. Still, 256GB is ample space.
They omitted the battery information as well. We suspect that is also because there is no major improvement in battery life with the Apple iPhone 12. In that sense we also expect the Apple iPhone 12 to come with about the same battery size as the older Apple iPhone 11. Hopefully it gets the same battery life too.
All this is wrapped with an aluminium shell that holds together a ceramic piece on the front and a glass back of the device. They call the ceramic shells the “Ceramic Shield”. This is not the first time a smartphone works with ceramics. Xiaomi has done if before with their previous flagships. This is the first time though that a smartphone manufacturer has replaced the front with a ceramic material, instead of the usual Corning Gorilla Glass.
They say that ceramic is more durable than the glass. It is supposed to be more resistant to scratches and less likely to break or shatter when impacted. Somehow, you can make it thinner than glass too. It is also a more premium material though, means more expensive smartphones. The Apple iPhone is expensive enough though.
Under the display at the front of the device is an OLED display with double the resolution of the previous iPhone 11. That is an OLED Super Retina XDR retina 6.1-inch display with 2,532 by 1,170 pixels to create an immersive 460 pixel per inch (ppi) experience. Apple say that the display is Dolby Vision certified too, meaning HDR10 compatibility. No 120Hz or 90Hz refresh rate here, which is a little bit disappointing, but understandable. The display can display up to 1200nits though, a plus point for outdoor use cases. Of course, there is the regular notch on top.
Source: Apple
Move to the back and what you find is a very familiar Apple logo design with plain glass. There are new colours for 2020. There are now five funky colours to choose from including green, red, and blue colour variants. But that is not all the things that you get on the iPhone 12.
You still get the familiar looking camera arrangement too with the Apple iPhone 12. Instead of three cameras, the regular iPhone get two cameras. Both feature 12-Megapixel sensors. The main wide camera features 7-elements of glass to ensure stelar photo quality and to take advantage of the new larger sensor in the Apple iPhone 12. It is faster too at f/1.6 aperture. This also means that the device should perform better in low-light conditions. The new 7-element glass also allows 27% more light to hit the sensor, so that should help too. The other 12-megapixel sensor is lodged under an ultra-wide lens for breathtaking landscape shots.
Under that pretty looking glass back though is a new format of wireless charger. It is now 15W capable. But on top of that, it is now magnetic. We are annoyed with most wireless chargers because we cannot seem to find the right spot to lay our device. That also means that your device hardly charges when you lay your device on a wireless charger unless you make extra adjustments. Not on the iPhone 12.
Source: Apple
The magnets surrounding the wireless charging coil ensures that compatible wireless chargers will immediately pick up contact and charge the device. Even when you lift the device, the charger is still attached to it, means you do not have to reposition your device every time you pick up your phone. But it still works with compatible Qi chargers, only with about half the efficiency. But more than that, the magnetic mechanism they call ‘MagSafe’ gives a world of possibility in terms of modular accessorising. You can detach and attach a wallet at any given time. You can attach cool looking trinkets at the back of your device to personalise your smartphone. Heck, you can even attach extra lens modifiers made for the iPhone if they bothered to make one.
Then there is the iPhone 12 Mini, a smaller, more compact version of the Apple iPhone 12. That is the thing though. Smaller does not mean less power here. The iPhone 12 Mini is everything that the Apple iPhone 12 is, but way smaller.
They pack everything in a body that shrink wraps itself around a 5.4-inch OLED display with 2,340 by 1,080 (Full HD+) pixel to give you 476 ppi. That is a higher ppi than the iPhone 12 itself. Of course, you get a slightly smaller battery pack too, though they have not mentioned the size. Of course, with smaller battery pack, battery life is a little shorter.
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
You still get MagSafe, you still get the A14 Bionic chip, you even get the same colours. All of that in a more compact body. Of course, cheaper price too; US$ 100 cheaper than the full-sized iPhone 12.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max
Source: Apple
The main star of the show is the Apple iPhone 12 Pro and the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max. These are the most powerful iPhone you can get for your money today. These are the culmination of Apple’s 2020 launches.
For starters, again, we are going inside out; the smartphone comes with Apple’s latest A14 Bionic SoC. We have pointed out the power of the A14 Bionic and out views on it earlier, so we are not going to elaborate. But it does sound like a huge generational leap compared to the previous generation Apple A13 Bionic chip.
You can opt for the same great display size at 6.1-inch or even bigger at 6.7-inch (Max) with the Apple iPhone. Bigger is definitely better here, with the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max. Instead of the regular 2,532 by 1,170 pixels on the display, you get 2,778 by 1,284 pixels on the 6.7-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display.
Like the regular iPhone 12, it has HDR capability as well of course. It also has Dolby Vision certification with it of course. They are also even more premium than before. With glossy metal sides.
Source: Apple
Why do you want to get the iPhone 12 Pro over the regular iPhone? It has two extra camera sensors. Well, that is not exactly the reason why you pay a premium over the regular smartphone.
The Apple iPhone 12 Pro really banks on the camera this time. You can still record 4K videos, like the iPhones before it. But it is also more powerful in the sense that they have shifted the whole image stabilisation platform to the sensor instead of the lens. The result of that is even steadier videos with less heft on the lens.
The details is helped by an extra sensor they also put on the Apple iPad though. They managed to shoehorn a LiDAR sensor to the back of the device. That also means that the Apple iPhone camera benefits from LiDAR 3D scanning the room or subject. The better understanding of the environment allows the Apple iPhone to add more lighting and texture detail to their photos. Apple also added something they call ProRAW mode into their camera app. That is Apple’s own RAW formatting mode that uses the camera and the LiDAR sensor to create even more detailed photos with flexibility like you never seen in a smartphone.
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
All these RAW photos and 4K videos can be edited internally thanks to Apple’s A14 Bionic chip. But 4K is not enough sometimes. So the Apple iPhone 12 Pro’s capable camera can shoot in HDR at 10-bit, benefiting from 700 million colours to create an almost true to life video. Dolby Vision certification on the camera means that this can really replace your expensive rig.
Price and Availability
The Apple iPhone 12 and Apple iPhone 12 Mini will be available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB variants. As mentioned, they come in five colours – blue, green, black, white, and (PRODUCT) RED. Prices start from US$ 799 (MYR 3,899*) and US$ 699 (MYR 3,399*) respectively. Pre-orders starts from 16th October 2020 onward to the 23rd of October 2020 for the Apple iPhone 12. The Apple iPhone 12 Mini will be available a little later with pre-orders starting on the 6th November 2020 to the 13th November 2020 (availability date). The global availability of the Apple iPhone 12 is reported to be on the 30th October 2020.
The Apple iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will be available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB flavours. You get to choose between graphite, silver, gold, and pacific blue premium colour finishes for the Apple iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro max. Prices start from US$ 999 (MYR 4,899) and US$ 1,099 (MYR 5,299) respectively. Pre-orders for the Apple iPhone 12 Pro start from the 16th October 2020 to the 23rd October 2020, same as the Apple iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 Pro Max will be available for pre-order from the 6th November 2020 onward to the 13th November 2020 (availability date). The Apple iPhone Pro will be available in stores from the 30th November 2020 onward.
Alongside the pre-order of the Apple iPhone 12 Mini and the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, most of the newly launched accessories will also be available on the 6th November 2020. The MagSafe Duo Charger and Leather Sleeve for the iPhone 12 series will be available later though. You also want to keep in mind that the new Apple iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max will only come with a USB Type-C to Lightning cable and nothing else inside the box.
You would need to buy a separate charging brick or use an existing one that you already have. Your regular Apple charging brick will not take on the USB Type-C cable too, so to take advantage of that, you need a separate brick from Apple. You do not get the usual bundled earphone too, so you might want to consider getting a Bluetooth earphone for yourself too or use the one you already have. On the bright side, the box is half the size from before.
