Apple has so many partners overseas and it tries to make sure that all its suppliers are following labor laws and regulations. Pegatron is one of Apple’s biggest partners, and it’s the second-largest producer of iPhones globally, the company also builds Mac computes, iPads, and other components.
This company, along with Foxconn, are pumping out the new lineup of iPhones as fast as Apple can (pre)sell them. Apple has released a public statement about Pegatron where thousands of students were illegally working overnight shifts and overtime at the Shanghai factory, violating labor regulations. This, only after Apple was approached by Financial Times.
Apple iPhone 12 (left) and iPhone 12 Pro (right)
Chinese labor laws prohibit student interns from working overnight shifts or overtime, and students are not supposed to work in areas outside if their field of studies. Apple has known about the violations that took place but only recently went public about it when approached by the FT.
Apple has placed Pegatron on probation and Pegatron will not receive any new business from Apple until they complete all of the corrective actions required[…] The individuals at Pegatron responsible for the violations went to extraordinary lengths to evade our oversight mechanisms. Pegatron has now fired the executive with direct oversight of the programme[…] We have a rigorous review and approval process for any student worker programme, which ensures the intern’s work is related to their major and prohibits overtime or night shifts. Pegatron misclassified the student workers in their programme and falsified paperwork to disguise violations.” – Apple
Bloomberg reports that this incident could open doors for the possibility for Luxshare Precision Industry Co. to get Apple’s business to produce iPhones in 2021. That’s according to GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu.
Apple’s got plenty of business to give. The company launches dozens of new devices every year, and there’s even a new hardware event taking place on Tuesday where Apple will announce Mac computers powered by self-produced processors.
Apple’s shops are actually meeting places: you not only look at the company’s new products, buy them straight away or get service, but you can also attend free seminars and events. All of this has become completely different in Corona times: the shops are like well-secured fortresses that can only be reached by appointment. In fact, the measures have tightened again – Apple has its own system here, in which the respective local COVID – 19 – numbers and others
It is still possible to get your products – if you know as. The example of the store on Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, which a Mac & i editor recently visited, reveals the new system.
Buy in the app, pick up in the store We actually only wanted to purchase a new MagSafe charger that is currently only available online with a waiting period. It should be available on the Kudamm, as announced by the Apple Store app. However, you can’t just walk into the store and take the product with you. You could try, but you are regularly turned away because to go shopping – even if you don’t know what you want – you actually need an appointment with a “specialist”, which you have to book in advance via the app or website.
Since we knew what we wanted, we could 30, 85 – Order the euro part for collection. In Berlin this usually happens on the same day; you can alternatively have products that are on site in the shop delivered to your home at short notice, which we even try to do on the same day (delivery time 19 until 22 o’clock) was offered.
Pay attention to the check-in time The purchase is made entirely in the app, including payment via credit card and co. App can load. All of this already existed before, but the collection system itself has changed in COVID – 19 times. So you look for a “check-in time” in the app, which with us was a good three and a half hours in the future. At this point you have to be at the (and initially not in) the shop. And, very important: Photo ID is mandatory despite the QR code.
There were several queues at the store, to which we were directed. Distance markings on the floor are intended to ensure social distancing, and masking is required outside (the Kudamm is an MNS zone). The queue was moving forward quickly, Apple had well-oiled logistics that day. After a good 5 minutes we came to a security guard who scanned our temperature contactlessly – which Apple is still doing despite criticism of data protection.
Sophisticated queue logistics Then it went into the next line – the one for the actual collection. She guided us to the side entrance of the former cinema, in which the Apple Store Berlin is located. Here we went up two flights of stairs and past the briefing room. Halfway there is a small station where you can buy new products – in this case iPhone 12, 12 Pro and iPad Air 4 –
After another five minutes in the social distancing queue, we got there to a last Apple employee – in the meantime we had had our code scanned at least four times – who pointed us in the direction of a room where the actual pickup at the counter takes place. Again, that didn’t take 30 seconds. What we didn’t succeed: to enter the actual shop. Here we should have queued again, they said – and without a specialist appointment there is no guarantee that it will work. (bsc)
The event starts at 1PM ET / 10AM PT on November 10th
Contributors:
Verge Staff
Don’t let the name fool you: Apple’s “One More Thing” hardware event on Tuesday, November 10th, is likely more than just an add-on to October’s iPhone 12 announcements. The event is set to be the launch of the first of Apple’s promised Arm-based computers, marking the start of the company’s separation from longtime partner Intel and the first time Apple-designed silicon will appear in Macs outside of T2 security chips.
The move was announced back at WWDC, and alongside a (hopefully) smooth transition, Apple promises improvements in performance and battery life from the new, still unnamed chip. Aiding the transition is Rosetta 2, a new version of the emulator that Apple used during its last processor transition from PowerPC to Intel. Rosetta 2 should allow you to run emulated versions of your old macOS apps on the company’s new Arm-based products when it ships with macOS Big Sur.
Big Sur (macOS 11.0) should also receive a final release date. The operating system will arrive with a new visual design that lifts a lot of elements from iOS 14 and a lot of features, too, like updated iMessage and Maps applications, widgets, and the Control Center interface. There’s also the possibility of other long-rumored products to finally appear — from AirTags to an updated version of the Apple TV 4K from way back in 2017. However this event shakes out, you can keep up with all of the news and announcements right here.
iPhone 12 Mini iPhone 12 Pro Max Summary The iPhone 12 Mini has unique dimensions for a modern smartphone. Hardly any other device is so small and light. The specifications are also excellent. The beautiful new design features the same fast soc, 5G antennas and modern camera as in the ‘normal’ iPhone 12. The OLED screen is also much better than that of previous small iPhones. When it comes to battery life, you give up something, but that is simply part of the consideration you make when you choose this format.
Summary The iPhone 12 Pro Max is the ultimate iPhone from 2020, with the longest battery life, largest screen, and best camera of all new models. Although it is overtaken by the competition in certain aspects, the camera system is still among the top in other parts. The 12 Pro Max is probably not cheap, but the extra price compared to the less luxurious iPhone 12 Pro is limited. Unless you find the 12 Pro Max really too big, we would go for this device if the Pro features appeal to you.
The iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max make Apple’s smartphone line-up for 2020 complete. Recently we already discussed the iPhone 12 and 12, which the manufacturer from Cupertino released first. Those were fine smartphones with a beautiful new design, but the 12 Mini and 12 Pro Max are actually the most interesting options of the foursome. The extremes in the line-up have appealing characteristics, not only in terms of price, but also in terms of size and other features.
To start with the iPhone 12 Mini: fans of small smartphones have had to watch with sorrow how the average device becomes bigger, thicker and heavier in recent years. became. Even Apple, which traditionally produces fairly compact smartphones, no longer had a really small model in the range. In 2020 that changes with the iPhone 12 Mini. Well, it is slightly larger than the original SE from 2016, the smallest iPhone still supported at the moment. But compared to the current offer in the smartphone market, the iPhone 12 Mini has unique dimensions. With a starting price of 809 euros, the iPhone 12 Mini is also the cheapest model within the iPhone 12 Series.
Top Model iPhone 12 Pro Max is the largest device that Apple has ever presented, with an OLED screen that has a diagonal of 6.7 inches. The design looks similar to that of the iPhone 12 Pro that we discussed earlier, but if you look closely, the camera island on the back is a lot bigger. The 12 Pro Max is the only one in the series to have a new, larger sensor for the primary camera and a telecamera with more magnification. Although the price has not increased compared to last year, the 1259 that you have to deposit at least for Apple’s top model remains of course a lot of money. For whom are the extremes in the new line-up interesting?
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If you asked me which of the four different models of the new iPhone 12 you should buy without providing any further context on your needs or desires, I would tell you to buy the regular iPhone 12 without question. It has the best balance of screen size, storage, cameras, battery life, and value. It is, in my opinion, the best iPhone 12 for most people.
But the iPhone 12 mini is my favorite.
For the first time in many years, Apple is making an intentionally small phone. The key, though, is that unlike other small phones, Apple isn’t putting worse parts in it. The iPhone 12 mini has all the same features as the larger iPhone 12. It has the same cameras, same processor, same everything save for two things: screen size and battery life.
The iPhone 12 mini starts at $729 for a 64GB model in the US, but $50 more gets the 128GB model and that’s a much better option. It’s a small phone, but it’s not a cheap phone.
Read more: iPhone 12 Pro Max review.
The iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 mini hardware
It’s traditional to refer to phones by their screen size and for the iPhone 12 mini, that number is 5.4 inches diagonally. But that number doesn’t tell the story at all. The phone is smaller than the traditional 4.7-inch-home-button iPhone design we saw from the iPhone 6 on through the 6S, 7, 8, and 2020 SE models, even though the screen itself is larger.
That’s because the 12 mini, just like the rest of the iPhone 12 line, has switched over to Apple’s more modern OLED screens and Face ID notch for unlocking. Those two features allow Apple to design the phone with minimal bezels and maximal screen.
Despite the smaller screen size, you don’t miss out on as much as you might expect. Compared to the regular iPhone 12 with a 6.1-inch screen, there are maybe one or two lines of text that are cut off. What you actually miss out on is that sense of immersion you can get from a bigger screen when you’re playing a game or watching a movie. Those were the only times this screen felt cramped.
If there is a knock on the screen, it’s that it doesn’t offer a high refresh rate like many Android phones — including the Pixel 5, which isn’t too far off from the iPhone 12 mini’s size. I’m more annoyed that the Pro iPhones don’t have it, though — here on the mini, I think battery life is more important.
To me, the iPhone 12 mini is most reminiscent of the iPhone 5. Yes, it is bigger and has a glass rear panel instead of aluminum, but it shares the squared-off aluminum sides and general feeling of being an object that was designed to be proportional to your hand. This is a phone that you can get a grip on, literally.
The phone feels well built, with tight tolerances and subtle touches like carefully beveled edges. The rear glass is glossy and the rails are matte — on our black review unit the rails have a kind of slate finish instead of being true black. The camera bump on the back and the Face ID notch on the front are proportionally big compared to the smaller size of the phone, but not annoyingly so.
Because it’s a bit narrower, it’s easier to reach the opposite side of the screen with your thumb. Because it’s a bit shorter, a lot of people will be able to reach the top for the swipe-down gestures without contorting their hands into awkward claws or risking dropping the phone.
It has a much, much better chance of fitting into small pockets — the kind that are all too common on pants designed for women.
As a man with big pockets and big hands, I do not have the strongest feelings about why it’s been so frustrating not to have a small iPhone option. But I sympathize with those who do and agree with the sentiment 100 percent — I’m glad Apple recognized it and I hope other phone companies do what they often do and follow Apple’s lead.
iPhone 12 mini (left) and iPhone 12 (right)
iPhone 12 mini battery and performance
Apple chose to make the iPhone 12 mini hew closely to the features and specs of the regular iPhone 12. It’s a laudable goal, but as I used it I found myself second-guessing that decision a little bit.
It’s corny to say I’m impressed by how much Apple packed into such a small space — but I am. The iPhone 12 mini has the fastest processor on any phone, it has the same dual-camera system as the iPhone 12, and most remarkably it has all the components and antennas necessary for both sub-6 and (in the US) mmWave 5G. It is fast, multitasks well, and doesn’t feel like a compromise when you use it. It really is an amazing feat of technology.
It’s amazing until the battery dies, anyway.
I don’t want to sugarcoat it nor be overly dire about it, but the battery life on the iPhone 12 mini is noticeably worse than on the iPhone 12, which itself was a step down from the battery-champ iPhone 11. For me, it’s good enough, but it does mean I’m already using it differently than I use bigger phones.
Without making any effort at it, I have consistently drained the iPhone 12 mini’s battery by early evening. I’d say it’s fair to expect the 12 mini to clock up something near four hours of screentime with stuff like web browsing, Facebook, and taking photos. Intense games give you a chance to watch the battery percent tick down minute by minute.
So it’s not bad, but it’s definitely not great. My feeling after a little less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of battery management. Holding yourself back from putting an hour into an Apple Arcade game, knowing where your next opportunity to charge might be, and above all being more willing to turn on the low power mode.
Of course it works with Apple’s new magnet-based MagSafe system for cases and wireless charging. Using MagSafe, the iPhone 12 mini maxes out at 12W wireless charging instead of the 15W you get on the larger iPhones, but since the battery is smaller, the overall charge time ends up being about the same.
Exactly how small is small? Apple never provides exact battery size specs — and I get the reasoning even though I disagree with it. Lots of factors affect battery life, and the iPhone 12 mini has the benefit of a smaller OLED screen. But it also has 5G.
The reality of 5G in the US continues to be very different from the hype. It’s radically dependent on which network you’re on and what part of the country or city you’re in. Often the speeds are equivalent to LTE. If you stand out on the right street corner and get mmWave, you can indeed get speeds that are astonishing — until you walk down the street and they drop back to the same LTE we’ve used for years.
I often have to remind people that phone design isn’t inevitable. Apple chose to keep this iPhone 12 mini the same thickness as the iPhone 12 and it chose to keep the extra parts necessary for mmWave 5G. I would rather lose both of those things in exchange for a bigger battery.
The iPhone 12 mini has a regular wide and an ultrawide camera.
iPhone 12 mini cameras
The iPhone 12 mini has the exact same camera setup as the regular iPhone 12. There’s the 12-megapixel main wide-angle camera with a f/1.6 aperture for letting in more light paired with a somewhat worse 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. Unlike the Pro models, there’s no telephoto lens nor a LIDAR sensor.
I am happy to report that the results are just like the specs: the same. The iPhone 12 mini reverts to Night mode less often than even the iPhone 11 Pro and the Pixel 5. Apple has made some improvements in image processing this year with its A14 Bionic processor that results in more detail in more lighting conditions (aka the Deep Fusion “Sweater Mode”).
It’s a very good camera system, and that’s not usually something I get to say when I’m talking about a smaller phone. Usually smaller means cut corners and the camera is often the place where those corners get cut. Not so here: video is excellent at handling different lighting conditions, portrait mode is usually more than good enough for Instagram, and you can trust the camera to take the photos you expect when you tap the shutter. And you can expect them to get saved quickly.
Next year, though, I hope Apple pays a little more attention to the secondary camera sensors. The selfie camera is fine, but it’s increasingly disappointing compared to the advances on the main camera.
I can take some dramatic shots with the ultrawide — the tree you see above is objectively boring but looks dope with this lens. Still, if you zoom in even a little, you can see that on a technical level the ultrawide is also far behind the main sensor.
The iPhone 12 mini
As I said above, I don’t have ergonomic reasons to need a smaller phone. My advice for most people is to get the regular iPhone 12 for its better battery and bigger screen.
And yet, I love the iPhone 12 mini. It is my favorite of the new iPhone 12 models. Despite real concerns with the battery, it’s the one I have decided to get for myself.
For me, the reason to prefer the iPhone 12 mini is hard to state in words, but I’ll give it a shot. With every phone, you can tell what it was designed around. There’s some key feature that everything else has to contend with, that sets the hardware narrative. For many years now, that feature was the screen. Making it big, bright, beautiful, and bezel-less was the big thing driving phone design, and all other considerations were secondary.
The iPhone 12 mini feels like the first iPhone in a long time with a different goal. It was designed around the human hand and real pockets. It is an object that doesn’t aim to be judged against other smartphones (which are mostly big now), but to be judged simply as an object you need to hold. You judge a spatula or can opener or whatever by whether it’s easy to grip, by whether it fits in your hand. It’s about time we got back to judging smartphones that way, too.
That design decision means that other things — like battery life — are secondary. But it’s nevertheless a strange kind of relief to hold it. You know the feeling when a buzzing noise you’d grown accustomed to suddenly stops and you realize you’ve been annoyed all day but couldn’t say why? It’s like that.
Whether we admit it or not (and whether we hate it or not), we’ve subtly been adapting ourselves to ever-growing phone sizes. The iPhone 12 mini is adapted to us.
iPhone 12 Mini iPhone 12 Pro Max Summary The iPhone 12 Mini has unique dimensions for a modern smartphone. Hardly any other device is so small and light. The specifications are also excellent. The beautiful new design features the same fast soc, 5G antennas and modern camera as in the ‘normal’ iPhone 12. The OLED screen is also much better than that of previous small iPhones. When it comes to battery life, you give up something, but that is simply part of the consideration you make when you choose this format.
Summary The iPhone 12 Pro Max is the ultimate iPhone from 2020, with the longest battery life, largest screen, and best camera of all new models. Although it is overtaken by the competition in certain aspects, the camera system is still among the top in other parts. The 12 Pro Max is probably not cheap, but the extra price compared to the less luxurious iPhone 12 Pro is limited. Unless you find the 12 Pro Max really too big, we would go for this device if the Pro features appeal to you.
The iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max make Apple’s smartphone line-up for 2020 complete. Recently we already discussed the iPhone 12 and 12, which the manufacturer from Cupertino released first. Those were fine smartphones with a beautiful new design, but the 12 Mini and 12 Pro Max are actually the most interesting options of the foursome. The extremes in the line-up have appealing characteristics, not only in terms of price, but also in terms of size and other features.
To start with the iPhone 12 Mini: fans of small smartphones have had to watch with sorrow how the average device becomes bigger, thicker and heavier in recent years. became. Even Apple, which traditionally produces fairly compact smartphones, no longer had a really small model in the range. In 2020 that changes with the iPhone 12 Mini. Well, it is slightly larger than the original SE from 2016, the smallest iPhone still supported at the moment. But compared to the current offer in the smartphone market, the iPhone 12 Mini has unique dimensions. With a starting price of 809 euros, the iPhone 12 Mini is also the cheapest model within the iPhone 12 Series.
Top Model iPhone 12 Pro Max is the largest device that Apple has ever presented, with an OLED screen that has a diagonal of 6.7 inches. The design looks similar to that of the iPhone 12 Pro that we discussed earlier, but if you look closely, the camera island on the back is a lot bigger. The 12 Pro Max is the only one in the series to have a new, larger sensor for the primary camera and a telecamera with more magnification. Although the price has not increased compared to last year, the 1259 that you have to deposit at least for Apple’s top model remains of course a lot of money. For whom are the extremes in the new line-up interesting?
Problems with loading: Despite Apple’s proprietary MagSafe standard, iPhone 12 and 12 Pro can actually be charged wirelessly via Qi. However, this is apparently not always the case. In various forums and on Reddit, users are now reporting that charging processes with Qi-certified charging pads do not even start or stop once they have put on their brand new Apple smartphone.
Well-known manufacturers have a problem Among other things, devices from manufacturers who are actually producers were affected of Apple accessories are known and loved. These include Mophie, Nomad, Zen and Anker, but not all variants. A Nomad charging station, the Aira, initially failed, but was able to get back on the road with a firmware update. What exactly is going on here, for example whether the proprietary MagSafe profiles cause difficulties, is still unclear.
15 Watts of charging power, only the iPhone mini is out of line iPhone 12, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max can be charged with up to 15 watts via MagSafe if the charging puck is in a 20 – Watt power adapter like the one from Apple. The iPhone 12 mini packs only Watts of charging power via MagSafe. Qi devices should actually be able to charge the new iPhones with a maximum of 7.5 watts.
iOS 14. 2 might be helpful It is unclear whether the current problems possibly with iOS 14. 2 have been fixed. For the update full of bug fixes, Apple writes in its package insert that charging via Qi should work “more reliably”. Previously there should have been interruptions here. Whether this will fix all of the bugs with all loading mats remains to be seen. It is also unpleasant that there are by no means firmware updates for all Qi devices that can be imported for better compatibility with the iPhone 12 could. Here the ball is always in Apple’s field. (bsc)
Apple has cut off major supplier Pegatron from new contracts following the reveal of student labor violations at some of the Taiwanese manufacturer’s China-based facilities. Bloomberg reports that Apple found Pegatron to be falsifying paperwork in order to cover up violations of Apple’s code of conduct for suppliers.
Pegatron is one of Apple’s biggest supply chain partners, manufacturing various products including some of the newest iPhone 12 models. The company is now reportedly on probation, however, and won’t be able to win any new business from Apple until the matter has been resolved.
“We have a rigorous review and approval process for any student worker program, which ensures the intern’s work is related to their major and prohibits overtime or night shifts,” Apple said in a statement to Bloomberg, noting that Pegatron had fired the program’s manager. “Pegatron misclassified the student workers in their program and falsified paperwork to disguise violations of our Code, including allowing students to work nights and/or overtime and in some cases to perform work unrelated to their major.”
“Upon discovery of this non-compliant activity, we immediately took the student workers off production lines and worked with our customer and third-party experts to make appropriate arrangements for them to return to their homes or schools with proper compensation alongside all necessary support and care,” Pegatron’s own statement reads. At this point, though, it appears that Apple is yet to be convinced.
This is by no means the first time Pegatron’s student worker program has come under the spotlight. China Labor Watch issued a report in 2013 alleging cases of unpaid overtime and underpayment of student workers at a Pegatron factory in Shanghai.
The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max reigned our trending chart for a long time and in a weird twist it was taken down by a couple of rumored phones part of Xiaomi’s Redmi lineup.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G and Redmi Note 9 5G appeared in a couple of major leaks and clearly got a lot of people excited. Combined with the iPhone 12 Pro Max hype dying down a bit it pushed the new Apple flagship down to third place. It will certainly hope to do better next week when its market availability starts.
The newly announced Huawei nova 8 SE vaulted to fourth, while the Poco X3 NFC regained some of its old glory to capture fifth.
The Redmi 9 Pro capitalized on the hype generated by its upcoming 5G siblings to return to the chart and capture sixth.
The Samsung Galaxy M51 is up to seventh as the iPhone 12 Pro has slid all the way down in enough from second last week. That’s still better than the vanilla 12 and the 12 mini, which went from third and eight to dropping out of the chart.
The longest serving member of our top 10 chart this year, the Galaxy A51, makes a return to get the ninth position, while the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro gets the last available position.
This means we lose the OnePlus Nord N10, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ and the LG K92 in addition to the two iPhones.
Quiz question: When was the last time an iPhone had two different designs to support network technologies in different parts of the world?
Now that 5G has arrived in the Benelux, many people see back in practice what we already concluded in September during the big 5G test; 5G is not really faster than 4G for the time being. This is mainly because 5G now works on a single frequency, the 700 MHz band. It offers an excellent range, but less capacity than higher frequencies. The next step is to add the 3.5GHz band after the auction in 2022. And after that? Then the big bang should follow: the mmWave frequencies of, for example, 26 GHz. They offer much more bandwidth and an enormous range. It’s already in the US and South Korea, so why don’t we have that super-fast form of 5G yet?
What is mmWave? The mmWave frequencies are so called because the wavelength around those frequencies is around a millimeter. The advantage of these frequency bands is that there is much more space there. More space means that you can send more data through the air and thus have faster internet.
IEEE illustration of frequencies. Orange ‘cellular’ are current frequencies, red mmWave are the high 5G frequencies The disadvantage is that the range is poor. Providers themselves calculate in the hundreds of meters per antenna, but even that is optimistic. Any tree, building, and lamppost can theoretically block your signal and therefore the phone will have to go back to a lower frequency. And you also have to watch out for your own body, because the signal doesn’t pass through that either.
Ericsson’s idea: 5G in manhole covers To give an idea of the speeds: at 5G we have in the Netherlands on the 700 MHz band speeds measured from around 150 Mbit / s, with outliers slightly above. In tests in places with mmWave from the American provider Verizon Wireless, reviewers often reach 1500 Mbit / s. The question, of course, is what you need that bandwidth for and the answer is in many cases: not. On the other hand: 12 Mbit / s on a phone also sounded faster than you will ever need twelve years ago and now it is becoming a lower limit in the Netherlands, which providers have to offer in any case.
The technology is no different than with 5G on other frequencies; it is therefore about NR, the radio technique whose abbreviation means New Radio. In addition, masts use beamforming to direct the power to the device itself, rather than randomly beaming it around. The transmission towers are relatively small; it concerns small cells . They can be attached to lampposts, bus shelters or buildings. The idea is to provide coverage in busy areas with many small cell towers with little radiation.
The frequency is totally useless for providing nationwide coverage; the current 700 MHz frequency is the most suitable. More speed will come with the 3.5GHz band in two years, while mmWave can help in busy places and times; think of a full square with King’s Day or a stadium full of sports fans. Most importantly, users have a line-of-sight , line of sight, with the mast. It can also function in busy city centers and stations. It could also work for providing high-speed Internet for the home in clusters of houses, but the routers in those houses must be pointed exactly at the mast.
Verizon Mast with 5G on mmWave. These masts are not high and the antennas are relatively small;
they can also be mounted on lampposts and on bus shelters are placed. The planning for 5G in the Netherlands In the Netherlands, 5G is now live in the 700 MHz band, but how does it proceed ? An auction is coming in 2022 for the 3.5GHz band, one of the primary bands for 5G. In addition, it is still possible to add 5G to current frequencies. Vodafone already has 5G on the 1800 MHz band in the Netherlands in addition to 4G. It is not inconceivable that providers will convert frequencies for 4G into 5G. For example, the maximum speed and capacity of 5G will increase rapidly, while that of 4G will decrease.
This also happened with 3G. Providers have given this less and less scope in recent years. This is mainly because there are far fewer people on the older network. As a result, less space is needed to still be able to offer good coverage and sufficient capacity. With 5G it will probably not be much different. With phones from all major brands on sale with 5G, including iPhones, the number of users on 5G will grow rapidly. As a result, the demand for space on the 4G network will decrease, while more people will come to 5G. Shifting frequencies has been allowed for years and is also possible, now that transmission towers have started to support that.
MmWave is delayed About the 26 GHz band is mentioned in last year’s Memorandum on Mobile Communication. “Although a technology such as 5G requires large amounts of frequencies, it is not inconceivable that the scarcity for these types of frequencies is geographic in nature or perhaps even absent. above the 24 GHz based on the need to license them on a national scale. ” Wait, what does it actually say here? The government therefore believes that there is no scarcity due to the limited range and large frequency spectrum and that there is little chance that it will disturb other signals. That is why, according to the government, auctioning is actually not necessary.
This has consequences. “This opens up the possibility of making these high frequencies available to a larger number of parties. , or by facilitating shared or shared use. This makes it possible for all kinds of companies to develop services that make use of these high frequencies. ” So mobile providers would not have to put billions of euros on the table to bid for 5G on the frequency band that offers the fastest speeds. As a result, everyone may be allowed to use the frequency. The government does note that the European Union may draw up technical conditions of use to ensure that the frequency works in the same way throughout the Union.
In addition, the Health Council advises to wait with offering 5G on the 26 GHz band until more research is done. Since that frequency has not been used before, there are no studies. There is no physical reason to believe that the radiation is harmful. It is still unknown what the cabinet will do with the advice. State Secretary Mona Keijzer of Economic Affairs said a few weeks ago that she is studying the advice and is working on a government response.
Plans of providers with mmWave Then of course the question arises what providers are planning with mmWave frequencies. None of the mobile providers says they currently have concrete plans for the use of the high frequencies in the Netherlands.
T-Mobile sees the advantages of the high frequencies, but is waiting more for the 3.5GHz auction, says spokesman Klaas Jan Lageschaar. “We initially expect the most potential of the new 3.5GHz band for 5G in the Netherlands. However, the capacity and speeds of 5G-mmWave are unparalleled. This certainly creates new possibilities in areas and applications that we still have today. We are pleased that the latest telephones already have 5G-mmWave support. ”
KPN points to the report of the Health Council and is waiting. Vodafone says it is awaiting what the ministry decides about the use of the frequency, but does not want to anticipate any plans.
Little scientific test by MrMobile: even its own body blocks signal
Now a comparison can already be made: the American provider Verizon Wireless has 5G live on a mmWave frequency band, just like a South Korean provider. So there are also extensive tests of 5G on that frequency. In addition to videos of tests, reports are also available, such as that from Signals Research Group. He researched mmWave in the American city of Minneapolis and discovered that the coverage was very variable. In addition, the test showed that it is possible to virtually block the range by holding the phone the wrong way. A death grip will result in a loss of signal on the test phone of approximately – 20 dBm. To express it in dashes, that’s going from five dashes to one dash by the way you hold the phone.
iPhone 4 for Verizon (top) and
regular iPhone 4. Photo: Slashgear Does that remind you of something? Indeed. That was also the case with the iPhone 4 ten years ago. It was then called antennagate, a design choice where users could block the signal by holding the phone in a certain way. Apple fixed that with the iPhone 4 for Verizon Wireless, which came out a few months later and where the antennas were slightly different in the housing, something the iPhone 4s later also got.
The iPhone 4 was , to answer the quiz question at the beginning of the article, the last time the same iPhone had a different design from different carriers. That was to improve the range, but not because of a difference in network technology. In 2020 iPhones do differ by network technology. The mmWave antenna for the version to work at, there it is again, the American Verizon Wireless, requires additional antennas and an opening in the side of the phone that resembles a button.
That side window is needed for the mmWave antenna for 5G of the Qualcomm modem in the iPhone 12 models, something that the iPhone 12 models in Europe do not have and do not need. Phone manufacturers have concluded that mmWave will not be available in Europe for the time being and so often omit it. For example, Google has released the Pixel 5 in Europe without mmWave, which makes a difference in price. The phone costs 699 dollars in the US; converted and with VAT that would soon amount to around 725 euro, but the telephone costs in Europe 629 euros. With this pricing strategy, it is therefore clear what you pay extra for the extra fast 5G. Some manufacturers don’t. In that case, we will already pay the price for the faster 5G, although we cannot use it for the time being.
We publish an update of this BBG once every two months. Relatively many devices have been added in the recent period, some of which are very interesting. For example, we received many new smartphones in the lower price range from Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola and Nokia. Two of the three recommendations there are new. In the category above, a new Samsung device has been added to the recommendations and the Moto G9 Plus is participating for the first time. The 350 to 500 Euro category was already hugely competitive and the Pixel 4a is now taking on the established order. In the price range from 500 to 700 euros, all recommendations have been updated, which is exceptional. In the highest category, no fewer than seven new devices have been added and that includes the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro bij.
Although the recommendations have sometimes remained the same, we have weighed all devices again and included the price development. All this, of course, to determine which smartphones per category are the most recommended at the moment.
The iPhone 12 has just barely launched, but we already have some idea what next year’s lineup could look like — according to TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s 2021 iPhones will keep the new form factor and screen sizes introduced with the iPhone 12 line, but offer an improved ultrawide camera on the high-end Pro and Pro Max models (via MacRumors).
Kuo predicted the iPhone 12 line and now seems set to reveal what to expect from the 2021 models nearly a year before they launch. This time, Kuo says the ultrawide camera of the Pro and Pro Max will be upgraded from the current f/2.4, five-element lens setup to an f/1.8, six-element lens with autofocus. The larger aperture should let in more light, potentially enhancing low-light shots, and we’re curious to see if the autofocus and an increased number of lens elements might make it easier to take great ultrawide pictures.
Recently, we’ve seen Apple reserving the best cameras for its priciest iPhones, with the iPhone 12 Pro Max getting a larger sensor and sensor-shift optical image stabilization for its main camera, and a longer telephoto lens as well. But the Pro Max didn’t buy you a better ultrawide camera than any other iPhone 12; that will change next year, according to Kuo.
In 2022, Kuo expects the new ultrawide will become standard across the entire iPhone line, but there could be a new high-end camera: Kuo previously predicted that 2022 iPhones would feature a periscope telephoto lens like the one we first saw torn down in the Huawei P30 Pro. Periscope telephoto lenses allow for increased optical zoom by spacing out lenses inside the body of the phone and using a mirror to point them out the back.
The new cameras join Kuo’s other predictions for the iPhone in 2021: a completely port-free flagship, 120Hz ProMotion displays, and a new generation of Touch ID built directly into the display and/or the power button. So while Kuo says they may look visually similar to the iPhone 12, they could come with some important changes.
GeForce RTX 3000, Playstation 5, Ryzen 5000 and probably also the new Radeon RX 6000: it seems that the stocks of products at launch are not enough that for a few minutes. At the origin of this situation there is certainly an unprecedented demand and insufficient production, all united by a single thread: the COVID pandemic – 19.
by Manolo De Agostini published 06 November 2020 , at 14: 15 in the Market channel
No doubt about it, who craves with desire to purchase a hardware component or a console , seriously risks running into very long waiting times . We have already seen in recent weeks how the new video cards GeForce RTX 3000 of Nvidia are practically unobtainable , and those who sell them offer them at prices much higher than the list prices. Yesterday it was the Ryzen 5000 by AMD, sold out quickly in many Italian and foreign stores.
In some cases it is the fault of the so-called “scalpers”, ie those who buy a certain product in bulk to create scarcity and resell it to higher prices, but in reality at the base of everything there is a limited initial availability . At the same time, Sony announced that on day one the Playstation 5 will be delivered only to those who placed the order online: the company has talked about a decision to safeguard customers in this pandemic time, but to many – including us – it seemed a way to prevent many from going in the shop to not find enough consoles.
And it’s not over, if we go back briefly to the AMD house, we start to rumors of a limited number of Radeon RX video cards 6800 XT at launch , with Asus’ country manager for Sweden discussing on the SweClockers website forum (via WCCFTech) stated that the Radeon RX 6800 XT will finish in a few minutes . Furthermore, the custom models will start arriving only 1-2 weeks after the debut (initially there will apparently be reference cards branded by the partners). The situation should be slightly better in terms of stock for the RX 6800, but still not such that we can speak of abundance.
Waiting to see what actually happens with the new Radeons and maybe even with the Xbox Series X | S, a trend seems to emerge in ‘technology industry against which little can be done: a question to the stars and a production chain that cannot keep up , perhaps because how every other area discounts the “new difficulties” created by the COVID pandemic – 19.
Let’s start from this second aspect: producing millions of chips and consoles is something that doesn’t happen overnight and often we start months in advance. Let’s take the Xbox Series X: some news traces the start of production to May and Ina Gelbert, director of Xbox France, said that in the event of a new lockdown, the availability of the product would clearly be affected. The restrictive measures, more or less serious, create problems at every level and between supplies of materials, logistics, production interruptions and all related and connected , it is possible that the supply chain was unable to achieve the set objectives.
The most important element, however, is perhaps linked to question : the pandemic is forcing millions of people to move little and stay mostly at home , which leads to making purchases more directed towards entertainment, especially at a time when the gaming sector is laying the foundations for the next five – six years of “fun” with the new consoles: it is natural that many waited for this moment to change the console or deeply renew the PC . Furthermore, gaming is no longer a niche sector, but it is growing so rapidly that it gains millions of new customers every year, and this aspect cannot be underestimated.
It therefore follows that the demand for technology worldwide is therefore very high, more than seen in past years , and chip and component manufacturers have been taken on the counterattack: think of a reality like TSMC that has to fulfill orders for CPU, GPU and chips for PS5 and Xbox Series X in the case of AMD, without counting Apple’s orders for the iPhone 12 and those of the other entities with which it does business. Nvidia has “turned” on Samsung, perhaps also because TSMC was saturated, and if in this specific case some technical problem cannot be excluded due to the fact that the South Korean company does not usually produce such complex GPUs, the fact remains that it is a manufacturer different from TSMC, so inevitably the problem is general and not of a single or a specific project. Nvidia told us about a question that was out of scale compared to the wildest expectations.
To all this we must add that companies evidently underestimated the question , and not because they are full of idiots, but because it is difficult to analyze a new situation like this: we thought we had already seen everything, but not a pandemic that would have forced us into the home for a long time. Perhaps not knowing how the public would react, the initial production remained at insufficient levels to satisfy real demand.
All this brings us to the picture we have now : stocks that disappear in a few minutes and weeks to replenish a minimum stock. You have to arm yourself with patience, inveigh against the world is useless, it is a difficult time in every respect, even to buy the object of desire, whether it is a processor, a video card or a console.
While the iPhone 12 series announcement was less than a month ago, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is now focusing his attention on the next generation of iPhones. In his latest note, he says the iPhone 13 series will once again come in 4 varieties. The Pro models in particular are in for a camera upgrade with an F/1.8 6P (six element) ultrawide lens with autofocus.
This should translate to noticeable improvements in quality compared to the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max which use F/2.4, 5P fixed focus ultrawide modules. There’s still no word what camera upgrades we’ll see on the more affordable iPhone 13s.
Taiwan’s Largan Precision is touted as the main lens supplier for next year’s iPhone camera lenses with reports suggesting the firm will get around 70% of all orders.
Only time will tell if a high refresh rate screen, under-display fingerprint scanner and smaller notch will finally grace the iPhone world.
Apple is opening the pre-orders for iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Just like three weeks ago with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, the online store will open simultaneously around the world at 1 PM UTC.
That’s 9PM in China, 6:30PM in India, 2PM for those in continental Europe and 1PM in the UK. Those most eager in the US have to get up at 8AM Eastern/5AM Pacific. The first wave includes over 35 countries and regions.
Shipping is scheduled for next Friday, November 13, when the devices will also be available at physical stores – the few remaining open in this unusual COVID situation. Here’s how much the phones will cost in some key markets:
Country
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro Max
US
$699
$1,099
Canada
CAD 979
CAD 1,549
Australia
AUD 1,199
AUD 1,849
Germany
€778.85
€1,217.50
Italy
€839
€1,289
UK
£699
£1,099
Russia
RUB 69,990
RUB 109,990
UAE
AED 2,999
AED 4,699
Hong Kong
HKD 5,999
HKD 9,399
India
INR 69,900
INR 129,900
The HomePod mini is also going on pre-order alongside the two phones alongside accessories such as the MagSafe Duo charger and leather cases.
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