The iPhone rumor mill has been in full swing lately, and it's definitely giving us something to look forward to during this crappy year. As someone who upgrades their phone every year, I'm definitely going to be picking up an iPhone 12, whenever they're out. Despite my "INSTABUY!" attitude when it comes to yearly iPhone releases, regardless of features, there are some things I hope that we'll see in the iPhone 12.
No more notch, please
When the iPhone X first debuted in 2017, I remember the first thing that came to my mind was "that notch is ugly!" In fact, it was one of the reasons why I didn't get the iPhone X, plus I wanted to keep the Home button at the time, so I went with the iPhone 8 Plus. A year later, I went with the iPhone XS, and even though it took me a while, I eventually got used to the notch. It had grown on me, even with the iPhone 11 Pro, but I still can't help but notice that it's there, especially when I watch videos or play games in landscape orientation.
According to recent design leaks of the iPhone 12, it seems possible that the notch will be shrinking, which is a good sign. It may still be there, but at least it is getting smaller, and hopefully, less noticeable. But I would love to see a notch-less iPhone one day — it may be unlikely with the iPhone 12, but one can continue to dream, right?
And honestly, I just want to be able to see my battery percentage in the status bar like the good old days, without a big battery widget on my Home screen or having to bring up Control Center.
Have both Face ID and Touch ID together
I was hesitant to Face ID when it first came out, but I've grown to love it since the iPhone XS. But right now, we're living in strange times, and Face ID is not always cooperative when you have a face mask on while outside, and want to do something like pay for your groceries with Apple Pay. This is why I hope that the iPhone 12 has an under-screen Touch ID sensor, or at least put it on the back of the device like with some Android devices. But with the new iPad Air having a Touch ID sensor in the Sleep/Wake button, it may be a sign that the iPhone 12, or at least a future iPhone, could also have such a feature, in addition to Face ID.
If the iPhone 12 has both Face ID and Touch ID, it would mean more security for your device, too. Perhaps you would want to unlock your device with both, or you choose one or the other, in addition with the old passcode method as a backup. Honestly, this is something that I've been wanting for a while, and hey, plenty of Android devices have such functionality.
More base storage
Lately, it seems that Apple has been upping the starting capacity on their laptops, like the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, as well as the iPad lineup. So why not do the same with the iPhone 12? Right now, all iPhones (SE, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max) come with a starting storage capacity of 64GB. Honestly, unless you store everything in the cloud or stream, 64GB just isn't enough (especially for me). I would fill that up easily in just a matter of days just from taking photos and video, downloading and playing games and apps, watching video, and listening to my local music library.
I know that I may not be the average person, but 64GB is just a measly amount of storage, especially considering how much space 4K videos and high quality photos can take up. I think it's about time that Apple bump that starting capacity up to 128GB — it's what the iPad Pros now come with, and it could be something for Apple to consider, even if it's just the iPhone 12 Pro devices.
Either way, it's time that Apple bump up that starting storage for iPhones.
Reverse wireless charging
Many Android phones have the reverse wireless charging feature, which allows a wirelessly charging-capable phone to act as a charging station itself, so that you can use it to wirelessly charge another device, like another phone or AirPods. Last year, it was rumored that such a feature was coming in the iPhone 11 line, but it turns out that it wasn't actually true (and if it was in the hardware, Apple blocked it from working).
Apple tends to stop features or not release products that don't meet its high standards (RIP AirPower), so it's possible that reverse wireless charging just wasn't in the cards last year. But perhaps Apple can include it in the iPhone 12. It would be rad to be able to charge my AirPods Pro case with my iPhone 12, after all, just saying.
Support for 5G
There has been a bit of back-and-forth on whether or not the iPhone 12 will support 5G, at least in 2020. But the latest rumors seem to point to at least one iPhone model that will have 5G, and this is something I would definitely want to have.
It's not entirely surprising that 5G will eventually overtake 4G LTE as the standard for wireless data. Many carriers are spending time and money rolling out their 5G networks, and it would be silly for Apple to not join in taking advantage of those blazing fast speeds for their own handsets.
I don't expect to see 5G support in all of the iPhone models that come out this year, but it's highly likely that at least one will, and that's alright. Eventually, 5G will be the new standard, and all iPhones will have it. But for now, even if it's just the iPhone 12 Pro Max that has 5G, it's a start for Apple. For a lot of people, 5G just isn't better than 4G LTE yet, so it may not be worth getting a new iPhone just for 5G, but eventually...
Improved camera features
This one is obvious because Apple improves the cameras on the iPhone every year. But there are a few things I want to see with the iPhone 12, if it's possible.
This year, Samsung released the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which has a mind-blowing camera: 108-megapixel wide lens, 48-megapixel telephoto lens, 12-megapixel ultrawide lens, and that 100X Space Zoom. While I know Apple is never going to have such ridiculous megapixel numbers like that (and megapixels don't necessarily equate to better photos), I would love to see something like the 100X Space Zoom on the iPhone 12. I know that it's really just a gimmick from Samsung, but I think it would be cool to have, and it would be handy when taking scenic photos of the skyline, and the sort.
I would also love to see improvements to the camera so that you could better use the iPhone for astrophotography — there are a few apps out there that could potentially help you with this (quality depends on the app used), but I would much rather have that functionality baked into the iPhone itself.
And I think it's a given that the LiDAR scanner, which was introduced on the 2020 iPad Pro, should make its way into the iPhone 12.
Flat edge design
Ever since the iPhone 6, the iPhone has had curved edges and has always felt slippery to hold. But according to the recent design leaks, it seems that the iPhone 12 may be returning to the chamfered edge look of the iPhone 5. Since the iPad Pro also has that straight edge aesthetic, I would love to see this return to the iPhone 12.
Based on those leaks, it is highly likely that we'll be seeing the return of those flat edges on the iPhone 12, so I'm especially eager for this one.
USB-C charging
Finally, I would love to see Apple dump the Lightning port and replace it with USB-C. They've already done this with the iPad Pro and the MacBooks, so it would only make sense to apply this to the iPhone as well. Plus, a lot of my other devices in the house use USB-C as well, so it would be one less cable to have to worry about.
What are your iPhone 12 wishes?
These are just my biggest wishes for the iPhone 12. It's likely that some of them will be what we see in the fall, and some may be a little further away. What are you hoping to see in the iPhone 12? Let us know in the comments.
Updated September 2020: Updated for upcoming iPhone 12 event.
