Forbes on Wednesday reported a leak of iPhone 12 features, saying the forthcoming model would be “relatively affordable” but cost cuts could disappoint users looking for huge upgrades.
Quoting tech analyst and industry insider Komiya, Forbes said Apple’s new A14 chipset would offer central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) gains of 40 percent and 50 percent respectively – a multi-generational increase on the iPhone’s A13, already the fastest smartphone chipset in the market.
“Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the ‘officially delayed’ iPhone 12 line-up is their ‘relatively’ affordable prices. But now we know why, and not everyone will be happy with where Apple is making the cuts to achieve it,” it said.
The American business magazine, citing “insider” Ming-Chi Kuo, said Apple would avoid massive price increases by putting a squeeze on component supplies and downgrading the new iPhone’s battery technology.
Forbes said the result would be a 10-percent reduction in battery capacities across the range, compared with the iPhone 11 line-up.
Apple’s adoption of Sub-6 GHz 5G technology in the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Plus will increase Apple’s costs by $75–$85 (₱3,645.75 – ₱4,131.85), while the full fat millimeter wave 5G in the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will add $125–$135 (₱6,076.25 – ₱6,562.35), Forbes claimed.
Such features have added $200 or $300 (₱9,722 or ₱14,601) to the final retail prices of phones like Samsung’s Galaxy flagships, but Apple will slash up to 50 percent off its battery costs by moving the iPhone 12 models to batteries with simpler and smaller designs and with fewer layers, Forbes said.
“This cost-cutting decision could be a deal breaker for some upgraders, especially with the iPhone 12 range set to keep its big notch for another generation,” Forbes said. Jessica Ivy A. Zapata