More than most years, there are a lot of things that are new in the iPhone 12. Apple has loaded in the usual upgrades like a faster processor and improved camera, but that’s something we’ve come to expect. In addition to all of that, there’s a new design, a new OLED screen, an entirely new charging and accessory ecosystem with MagSafe, and, of course, 5G.
It seems obvious that both Apple and its carrier partners are trying to align to make this a supercycle for upgrades. All of that new stuff is also paired with both a higher price ($829 for the base 64GB model) and discounts and heavily marketed carrier trade-in and installment plans. In the midst of a pandemic-induced economic downturn, it could be a hard sell.
It’s easy to recommend the default iPhone for the times when you need a new phone anyway, but it’s much more difficult to say whether all of this new stuff adds up to something that could compel you to upgrade earlier than you’d planned.