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iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max vs. iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max: Apple's premium phones compared – CNET

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Let’s say you already know you want an iPhone, specifically the Pro version. Or maybe you already have an iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max and are trying to decide whether to trade it in for something from Apple’s new iPhone 12 lineup. The iPhone 12 Pro starts at $999, and the Pro Max starts at a cool $1,099. (Here’s more info on iPhone 12 prices, release dates and how to preorder.) Apple discontinued the 11 Pro and Pro Max when the iPhone 12 line was announced, but you can still find the iPhone 11 Pro for $900 and the 11 Pro Max for $1,000. 

Trading in to Apple will bring the price of an iPhone 12 down considerably — as much as $450 in savings for an 11 Pro trade-in, or $500 for a Pro Max — but then again, keeping your old phone for another year is free. Apple made several improvements to its iPhone 12 lineup, (most notably 5G coverage) but are the phone’s newest tricks worth the cash? The answer depends on what’s important to you. Let’s compare Apple’s 2019 and 2020 Pro flagships on design, camera, performance and more.

Angela Lang/CNET

Last year, we gave the iPhone 11 the coveted Editors’ Choice Award and called the Pro version “simply the best iPhone ever.” That designation is challenged with the release of the iPhone 12, but the fact remains that last year’s flagship is still an excellent phone, with a high-resolution OLED display, three-camera array (with Deep Fusion technology) and a sleek matte-glass finish. You’ll also save about $100 by going with last year’s model, which is far from pocket change.

Read our Apple iPhone 11 Pro review..

Design

The most obvious aesthetic difference between the iPhone 11 Pro/Pro Max and the iPhone 12 Pro/Pro Max is the latter’s flattened sides. Apple brought back the squared-off edges look from the iPhone 5, and wrapped the iPhone 12 Pro line in a modern stainless steel frame. 

The squared-off edges of the iPhone 5 are back.


Patrick Holland/CNET

Size

Compared with last year’s flagship, the iPhone 12 lineup features slimmer bezels that accommodate a larger screen without greatly increasing the phone’s overall size and weight. The 11 Pro’s 5.8-inch screen becomes 6.1 inches in the iPhone 12 Pro. And the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s 6.5-inch screen is now 6.7 inches in the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

iPhone 11 Pro and 12 Pro dimensions

iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro Max
Display size 6.1 in 6.7 in 5.8 in 6.5 in
Dimensions (Inches) 5.78 x 2.82 x 0.29 in 6.33 x 3.07 x 0.29 in 5.67×2.81×0.32 in 6.22×3.06×0.32 in
Dimensions (Millimeters) 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.4 mm 144×71.4×8.1 mm 158×77.8×8.1 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams) 6.66 oz; 189g 8.03 oz; 228g 6.63 oz; 188g 7.97 oz; 226g

Ceramic Shield vs. Gorilla Glass

Another notable difference is the screen glass. Apple unveiled its new “ceramic shield” technology with the iPhone 12 lineup, which it says gives the phone a 4x better drop performance than the Gorilla Glass screen on iPhone 11. We haven’t conducted drop or scratch tests for the iPhone 12 Pro or Pro Max, but we put ceramic shield to the test on the baseline iPhone 12, and it certainly seemed as tough as it sounds. The iPhone 11 Pro fared incredibly well in our drop testing, too, though we did find some damaged pixels on its screen. 

Colors

If these drop test results have convinced you to forgo a phone case, phone colors are probably going to play at least a small role in your decision. Apple introduced some new colors with the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max (including a super-shiny, C-3PO-style gold hue), giving the phones a premium look.

iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max colors:

  • Midnight green
  • Silver
  • Space gray
  • Gold

iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max colors:

  • Silver
  • Graphite
  • Gold
  • Pacific blue

iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max colors: silver, graphite, gold, Pacific blue (left); iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max colors: midnight green, silver, space gray, gold (right)


Apple

5G, processor, battery and performance

The iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max come with Apple’s A14 Bionic chip, which is a successor to the iPhone 11’s A13 processor. All four phones, the iPhone 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, feature a 60Hz display.

5G

No discussion of the iPhone 12 is complete without a mention of 5G. If your area has 5G coverage and your carrier offers it, the iPhone 12 is capable of delivering much higher speeds than the iPhone 11, which lacks 5G capability. However, your mileage with the next generation cellular connectivity may vary, especially as coverage continues to roll out. Right now, 5G connectivity is probably not a compelling reason to trade in an iPhone 11 Pro for a 12 Pro, but if you’re choosing between the two phones, the latter will be more future-proofed.

Battery

Apple doesn’t release battery specs, but it says the iPhone 11 Pro’s battery will last up to 18 hours, compared with 17 hours for the iPhone 12 Pro. Apple says the iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro Max batteries will both last for up to 20 hours. One hour of potential difference is not significant enough to sway your decision, but it’s worth noting that 5G usage does tend to drain phone batteries. To combat this, Apple introduced with the iPhone 12 lineup a feature called Smart Data Mode, which toggles between 5G and 4G, or even between different bands of 5G, balancing performance with battery life.

iOS 14

Both the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro are compatible with Apple’s newest operating system, iOS 14. (These are some of the best iOS 14 features we’ve found.) The iPhone 12 lineup is the first to come with iOS 14 preinstalled, but you can upgrade an older, compatible device to iOS 14 easily

Cameras

In the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, Apple introduced both hardware and software upgrades to its camera setup. CNET’s Patrick Holland calls it “the best overall camera system you can find.” One new feature, visible in the camera array on the back of the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, is a sensor technology called lidar. Lidar, which stands for light detection and ranging, uses lasers to assess depth, improving portrait mode effects and low-light focus.

Another camera feature that’s making pro photographers excited for the iPhone 12 Pro is what Apple calls ProRaw, which combines Apple’s computational photography abilities with a raw image format, giving photo geeks the best of both worlds. 

Apple gave the iPhone 12 Pro the same ultrawide camera as the iPhone 11 Pro — a camera we loved when we reviewed it last year. Apple improved upon an already-great camera with software enhancements in the iPhone 12 to correct lens distortion. Check out the way the iPhone 12 Pro corrects the lines of this brick wall image taken by CNET’s Patrick Holland.

Software also makes the iPhone 12 Pro’s low-light Night Mode photography even better — CNET’s James Martin called the iPhone 12 Pro’s Night Mode images “nothing short of amazing.” Apple added Night Mode to the iPhone 12 Pro’s selfie and ultrawide cameras, whereas Night Mode on the iPhone 11 Pro only functions on the standard wide lens. Night Mode portraits on the iPhone 12 Pro are now also a thing. As far as hardware goes, iPhone 12 Pro’s wide lens has been upgraded from an f/1.8 to a wider f/1.6 aperture, improving its low-light capabilities by 27%, according to Apple.

An iPhone 12 Pro 30-second Night Mode exposure on the left, and the iPhone 11 Pro without Night Mode on the right.


James Martin/CNET

There’s a lot more to explore when it comes to the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max’s cameras, but suffice it to say that amateur and pro photographers alike are very excited about them. But the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max inspired similar enthusiasm. If the camera is the most important factor in your phone-buying decision, read more on the iPhone 11 Pro and 12 Pro’s individual camera specs to see what these phones can do:

What’s the same?

Both the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro charge wirelessly and by Lightning port (and the 11 comes with a charger in the box, unlike the 12). The iPhone 12 lineup also works with Apple’s new MagSafe chargers. Neither flagship supports reverse wireless charging — though the iPhone 12 might secretly have the ability to charge a future Apple accessory, likely a new version of AirPods. In lieu of a Touch ID button, both phones feature Face ID technology for unlocking your screen. Neither model allows for expandable storage but the iPhone 12 Pro line starts at 128GB compared with the iPhone 11 Pro’s 64GB.

Storage capacity: iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max

iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro Max
128GB 128GB 64GB 64GB
256GB 256GB 256GB 256GB
512GB 512GB 512GB 512GB

If the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max remain available at their current price, your decision will likely come down to whether saving $100 is worth the now-outshined cameras and lack of 5G connectivity. If money is a concern, the iPhone SE is another great option, currently priced at $399 unlocked. And there’s always the regular iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini, or last year’s iPhone 11, any of which you can get starting at $800 or less.

Read more iPhone comparisons:

iPhone 12 Pro vs. iPhone 12 Pro Max vs. iPhone 11 Pro vs. iPhone 11 Pro Max

iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro Max
Display size, resolution 6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels 6.7-inch OLED; 2,778×1,284 pixels 5.8-inch OLED Super Retina XDR; 2,436×1,125 pixels 6.5-inch OLED Super Retina XDR; 2,688×1,242 pixels
Pixel density 460ppi 458ppi 458 ppi 458 ppi
Dimensions (Inches) 5.78 x 2.82 x 0.29 in 6.33 x 3.07 x 0.29 in 5.67×2.81×0.32 in 6.22×3.06×0.32 in
Dimensions (Millimeters) 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.4 mm 144×71.4×8.1 mm 158×77.8×8.1 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams) 6.66 oz; 189g 8.03 oz; 228g 6.63 oz; 188g 7.97 oz; 226g
Mobile software iOS 14 iOS 14 iOS 13 iOS 13
Camera 12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto) 12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto) 12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto) 12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto)
Front-facing camera 12-megapixel 12-megapixel 12-megapixel 12-megapixel
Video capture 4K 4K 4K 4K
Processor Apple Bionic 14 Apple Bionic 14 Apple A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB 64GB, 256GB, 512GB 64GB, 256GB, 512GB
RAM Undisclosed Undisclosed Undisclosed Undisclosed
Expandable storage None None None None
Battery Undisclosed; Apple lists 17 hours of video playback Undisclosed; Apple lists 20 hours of video playback Undisclosed; Apple lists 18 hours of video playback Undisclosed; Apple lists 20 hours of video playback
Fingerprint sensor No (FaceID) No (FaceID) None (Face ID) None (Face ID)
Connector Lightning Lightning Lightning Lightning
Headphone jack No No No No
Special features Lidar scanner; 5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM) Lidar scanner; 5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM) Water resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging Water resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging
Price off-contract (USD) $999 (128GB), $1,099 (256GB), $1,299 (512GB) $1,099 (128GB), $1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB) $999 (64GB), $1,149 (256GB), $1,349 (512GB) $1,099 (64GB), $1,249 (256GB), $1,449 (512GB)
Price (GBP) £999 (128GB), £1,099 (256GB), £1,299 (512GB) £1,099 (128GB), £1,199 (256GB), £1,399 (512GB) £1,049 (64GB), £1,199 (256GB), £1,399 (512GB) £1,149 (64GB), £1,299 (256GB), £1,499 (512GB)
Price (AUD) AU$1,699 (128GB), AU$1,869 (256GB), AU$2,219 (512GB) AU$1,849 (128GB), AU$2,019 (256GB), AU$2,369 (512GB) AU$1,749 (64GB), AU$1,999 (256GB), AU$2,349 (512GB) AU$1,899 (64GB), AU$2,149 (256GB), AU$2,499 (512GB)

All prices noted in chart are at launch.


iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max

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Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

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LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

X

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Kuwait bans ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ video game, likely over it featuring Saddam Hussein in 1990s

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.

Kuwait has not publicly acknowledged banning the game, which is a tentpole product for the Microsoft-owned developer Activision and is set to be released on Friday worldwide. However, it comes as Kuwait still wrestles with the aftermath of the invasion and as video game makers more broadly deal with addressing historical and cultural issues in their work.

The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.

There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.

Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.

“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”

Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.

“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.

But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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