London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

iPhone 12: Rumors, specs, release date and everything else

The standout rumors about Apple's upcoming iPhones for 2020.

Even though Apple launched its trio of iPhone 11 models a mere four months ago in September, the rumor mill is already looking across the horizon and speculating about 2020 and the upcoming iPhone 12. (Note that we don't know what their official names will be - and Apple has not confirmed anything about the new iPhones - but let's go with the iPhone 12 for now.) In addition to adding 3D depth-sensing to its rear cameras and new screen sizes, it's also being speculated that Apple will belatedly include a feature that would make it competitive with its rivals: 5G connectivity.

It's many months until we approach the predicted launch of the iPhone 12, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max in September 2020, but check back with this piece often as we will continue to update it with the most probable and compelling rumors.


iPhone 12 could have bigger and smaller screens

One of the more enduring rumors about the upcoming iPhones is that Apple may introduce new screen sizes. One of the iPhone 12s could have a 5.4-inch screen (of the current iPhones, the iPhone 11 Pro has the smallest display, which measures 5.8 inches). And the iPhone 2020 Pro Max could go as large as 6.7 inches (for reference, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has a 6.5-inch display).

There's also speculation that the iPhone 12's display will have a 120Hz refresh rate. Most phones refresh at 60 frames per second, or 60Hz, but other phones, like the OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7 Pro, refresh at 90Hz. The gaming handset the Razer Phone 2 has a 120Hz display as well. With a higher refresh rate, a phone feels faster and smoother when scrolling through things like web pages and apps.


Apple may launch five new iPhones in 2020

With the possibility of new display sizes, rumors that Apple will expand its iPhone line have been swirling around. In December, CNET's Lexy Savvides wrote:

According to JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee, Apple will release four new iPhone 12 models in the fall of 2020: a 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch phones and a 6.7-inch phone. All of them will have OLED displays.

These size predictions were also backed this week by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who believes the current 5.8-inch size of the iPhone 11 Pro may be going away. So the 5.4-inch and one of the 6.1-inch models will be the lower-end devices, presumably called the iPhone 12. Then the more expensive phones will be the other 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, respectively.

The fifth iPhone then will be a sequel to the iPhone SE, which is rumored to look more like the iPhone 8 and we could see as early as the first quarter of 2020.


iPhone 12 could usher in 5G (or not)

Apple's in no rush to launch a 5G iPhone, and it's likely you won't see one until this year - or even as late as 2025. Apple analyst Kuo optimistically predicts the company will unveil three 5G phones in 2020. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, Apple usually isn't the first in on mobile trends, preferring instead to perfect an emerging technology before committing to it. Remember that it was behind its competitors in making phones with 3G and 4G LTE connectivity when those networks first launched.

Second, Apple at one point stopped working with the leading 5G modem provider, Qualcomm, because of a dispute over Qualcomm's licensing fees. The two companies settled their litigation in April 2019 and then agreed to a multiyear 5G chip deal. This led to Apple's previous partner for 5G modems, Intel, to ultimately exit the 5G phone modem business altogether. (Apple later acquired Intel's smartphone modem unit for $1 billion.) Apple is back working with Qualcomm, but it got started too late to launch a 5G phone last year when a few of its rivals released their 5G models, like the Galaxy S10 5G, LG V50 5G and OnePlus 7 Pro 5G.

When it comes to producing a proprietary 5G chip, The Information reported in May 2019 that it would take Apple years to design its own in-house 5G modem. "In interviews with prospective hires for the team, Apple has told engineers that they expect to have their own modem ready by 2025," reported the outlet, citing an anonymous source.


iPhone 12 may have 3D depth sensing in rear cameras

Since the iPhone X, newer iPhones have front-facing cameras that have 3D depth sensing. Known as Face ID, this feature scans your face for unlocking your phone and authorizing digital payments. It's been rumored that Apple may take it up a notch and introduce that same system to the rear cameras. In August, CNET's Vanessa Orellana wrote:

Longtime Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo (via MacRumors and 9to5Mac) said he expects two of the 2020 iPhones models to have a new time-of-flight camera lens on the back of the phone. The setup would be similar to that of the current True Depth camera system used for Face ID on the front of the phone, except it would use a slightly different type of technology that could allow it to 3D map objects from farther away. This would significantly improve its augmented reality applications and take certain camera features like Portrait Mode to the next level.

It's unclear how many of the 2020 iPhones would be equipped with this feature, if any.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×