Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howley joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel to discuss today’s Tech Support: Apple Mini vs. the Apple Pro.
Video Transcript
– Welcome back to Yahoo Finance Live. In today’s Tech Support, our own Dan Howley is taking a gander over there at the iPhone mini me, the new Pro to figure out which one is better for people trying to make that choice. And I want to get to Dan Howley with that. Dan, what’s the right way to go on this one, because some people like the smaller phones?
DAN HOWLEY: Yeah, these are all four new iPhone 12s. We talked about the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro last week. But now we have all four. You could see the difference between a little tiny mini guy– look at the little baby guy right here, little guy, right– and then the absolutely gargantuan iPhone 12 Pro Max. This is just an absurd difference in smartphone sizes.
Now, as far as which ones are right for which person, I think, you know, let’s start off with the basics. All the phones throughout the line have Apple’s A14 bionic processor, so whether you’re going with the Mini, the standard iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 Pro, or the Pro Max, you’re going to get the same performance out of each.
Now, when you look at the 12 Mini and the 12, which are these, what you’re going to get is a starting storage the size of 64 gigabytes, an option to go up to 128 gigabytes, and then you can max it out at 256 gigabytes. You also get two cameras. You get the dual lens camera system.
Now, what Apple did with this generation is put night mode into the lower end, not necessarily lower end when they’re starting at $699 and $700 apiece, but you get the idea. Its low light allows more light to come in to the camera itself.
And so you’re taking those low light photos, they’re going to cut out a lot clearer, a lot more colorful. The only caveat is, of course, your subject has to stay relatively still. But they also allowed for the new– sorry– super retina XDR display on the entry level products. That’s why you’re getting these kinds of nice, bright colors, deep blacks.
They also have a new four times more durable display. It’s called ceramic shield. That’s across the whole line. So that’s why I’m confidently doing that and not freaking out. And then each phone also has 5G technology.
So let’s talk about the Pro Max now, the absolute monster of the group. This guy gets a triple lens camera set up, similar to the iPhone 12 Pro. What’s different, though, on this is it gets a larger sensor. So what that does is allows for even more light to come in. So if you’re going to want the best photo quality possible out of all the phones, it’s the Pro Max. It really is no other option.
The Pro also has the triple camera setup. So both of these have a telephoto lens, rather than just the ultra wide and wide angle found on the 12 and 12 Mini. Telephoto sounds unnecessary, but I actually use it really often, especially when I’m taking normal photos, instead of relying on the ultra wide, the wide angle, I I use a telephoto. And this way when I want to zoom later, everything looks a lot crisper.
But this does have, the Pro Max, have that larger sensor, so you’re going to get more colorful photos, more vibrant colors. You’re also going to get better low light photos. So the other feature that these have is a LIDAR sensor right here. That allows for better autofocus, better autofocus in normal and low light photo settings, as well as better augmented reality capabilities.
I’m not really big on AR. So for me, it’s more about the cameras. And I think that really does help set it up a lot. I think outside of that, they do, again, have A14 chip. All of them have wireless charging. Of all of them are available with that new kind of ceramic shield display. These are made out of stainless steel, unlike the aluminum on the others. And these come with the Pro line. They start with 128, 256, and 512 gigabytes of storage.
So what it comes down to is how much you want to pay and what size you want. I think for someone who’s looking for a smaller phone, this is the way to go, the 12 Mini. The iPhone SE is cheaper. It’s $399, versus $699. But this is actually a smaller phone, and you get a larger screen. So I think that really says a lot. If you want a smaller phone, and you want a better looking screen, this is the phone to go with.
If you don’t necessarily want to pay up for a lot for your phone, but still want a larger display than what’s on the Mini, go with the iPhone 12. You’re still going to get that same great camera. You’re still going to get that super retina XDR display, but you don’t have to pay tons and tons of money. It starts at $799. If you want more features, go for the iPhone 12 Pro. That’s where you get that extra telephoto lens. And then if you want it all, go for the Pro Max.
– If money is no issue, go for that bad boy there. It’s come such a long way. I remember when it was just where the button was going to be on the phone. Now we’ve got to walk through all of that. Dan Howley, I appreciate you breaking it down, keeping it straight for all of our viewers out there.
