'iPhone 12 mini' & 'iPhone 12 Pro Max' ship mid-November, says leaker

AppleInsider

A new leak claims that Apple's new "HomePod mini" will be $99 and half the height of the original, plus details a release schedule for the whole of the "iPhone 12" range.

A leak originally posted on Chinese site Weibo but then relayed by previously accurate tweeter Ice Universe, claims to have full details of the rumored smaller HomePod, plus confirmation of the "iPhone 12" range Apple is expected to announce on October 13.

This is the latest version. Some date information has been modified.
Link: https: //m.weibo.cn/1694917363/4558122712039511 pic.twitter.com/9Y0SnRL2Mq

-- Ice universe (@UniverseIce)

October 9, 2020

A translation of the original Weibo posting says, "HomePod Mini, priced at $99, 3.3-inch speaker, S5 processor.
Most places are scheduled for November 6/7, and will be released on 16/17. Please wait for the domestic release."

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The reference to a domestic release implies that these dates are for America, not China where the leak was posted.

At 3.3-inches, the HomePod mini would be just under half the height of the original HomePod. And at $99, it would be just under a third of what that HomePod currently costs.

The same source lists prices for the "iPhone 12" range, the bottom two of which are both $50 higher than previously reported. Specifically, it claims that the "iPhone 12 mini" will start at $699 instead of $649, and the "iPhone 12" will be from $799 rather than $749.

It also claims a release schedule for all four "iPhone 12" models, starting with the "iPhone 12" and the "iPhone 12 Pro." Pre-orders for these are said to be on either October 16 or October 17, with shipping from a week later on October 23 or October 24.

The leak says that the "iPhone 12 mini" will open for pre-orders on November 6 or 7, and ship a week later on November 13 or November 14. And reportedly the "iPhone 12 Pro Max," will see pre-orders on November 13 or November 14, with shipping November 20 or November 21.

In tweeting the original leak, leaker Ice Universe says that the Weibo poster's history "is very accurate, so I suggest you take it seriously."

Ice Universe has previously leaked details about the "iPhone 13" and its notch, plus a claim that the "iPhone 12 Pro" will feature a 120Hz ProMotion display.

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ivanh

does it support Dolby Atmos? 

Mike Wuerthele

ivanh said:

does it support Dolby Atmos? 

Too early to tell.

harry wild

The budget iPhone Mini not only gets less features but will be later on in the pre-order and shipment.  $50 more is no “killer” but the limited of 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage limits the appeal for me!

eriamjh

Being on the iP12 Pro 256GB!   My wallet is ready!  

Pascalxx

No 120Hz displays on any of the models then if the leak is accurate.
I’m intrigued by the reference to a new Magsafe charging cable.

eriamjh

Magnetic alignment for wireless charging.  That’s all it is.  Like the Apple Watch.  

They might as well use their trademark.  

JBSlough

MagSafe Charger. Interesting. Can’t wait to hear more about that 

dewme

A $99 HomePod mini would certainly help Apple compete against Amazon and Google, especially if Apple can deliver superior audio quality versus the competition. My fear is that Apple will try for a higher price, like $179 or $199 on the mini, which would be a tough sell. If Apple can sell “stereo pairs” of HomePod minis at a discount, say $179 USD, for use with desktop Macs and docked MacBooks I think it would be a fairly popular option.    

pairof9

eriamjh said:

Being on the iP12 Pro 256GB!   My wallet is ready!  

HA...Amen! It's going to hurt until I get that phone in my hand, then it won't matter how much I paid! I really think this model will be a bigger, better leap on par with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 4 launches.

GeorgeBMac

I sure hope that rumor that they will ship without chargers is false.

While it is true that many people already have bricks, most or all of those are likely to be old, obsolete, 5W chargers.   That's 1/4 the power that these new phones will accept.   Apple should be upgrading their chargers along with their phones.

jcs2305

GeorgeBMac said:

I sure hope that rumor that they will ship without chargers is false.

While it is true that many people already have bricks, most or all of those are likely to be old, obsolete, 5W chargers.   That's 1/4 the power that these new phones will accept.   Apple should be upgrading their chargers along with their phones.

I agree.. I just have a hard time believing Apple is ok with folks using just any charger on hand to charge their new iPhone. Not everyone buying an iPhone is a repeat customer.I am totally fine with no Earpods, but no charger is tough to swallow.

I get the E-waste reduction perspective and respect the attempt to reduce it, but telling folks they need to buy a charger after spending $600.00 minimum on a new iPhone... . Samsung was rumored to be doing the same with the Note 20 series and I believe they ended up shipping with a charging brick?

JFC_PA

The EU is pushing the no charger in the box thing iirc. As a yearly updater I’m okay with it. My 18w USB-C charger from last year is fine, I certainly don’t need more cables and bricks piling up. 

And honestly? I’m okay with a bit slower charging so my battery doesn’t get baked any faster than is necessary. I try to keep it between 80-20 for similar reasons. 

flydog

Pascalxx said:

No 120Hz displays on any of the models then if the leak is accurate.
I’m intrigued by the reference to a new Magsafe charging cable.

Ummm what?  The article states "Ice Universe has previously leaked . . . a claim that the "iPhone 12 Pro" will feature a 120Hz ProMotion display."

canukstorm

GeorgeBMac said:

I sure hope that rumor that they will ship without chargers is false.

While it is true that many people already have bricks, most or all of those are likely to be old, obsolete, 5W chargers.   That's 1/4 the power that these new phones will accept.   Apple should be upgrading their chargers along with their phones.

The rumours say iPhone 12 will ship without charging brick AND headphones.

entropys

I am not OK with price increases and no charger though. That is a bad taste indeed.

flydog

GeorgeBMac said:

I sure hope that rumor that they will ship without chargers is false.

While it is true that many people already have bricks, most or all of those are likely to be old, obsolete, 5W chargers.   That's 1/4 the power that these new phones will accept.   Apple should be upgrading their chargers along with their phones.

The odds of a charger or earphones in the box are close to zero.  At this point 99% of all humans on earth have access to a USB port and have half a dozen earphones laying around. 

GeorgeBMac

flydog said:

GeorgeBMac said:

I sure hope that rumor that they will ship without chargers is false.

While it is true that many people already have bricks, most or all of those are likely to be old, obsolete, 5W chargers.   That's 1/4 the power that these new phones will accept.   Apple should be upgrading their chargers along with their phones.

The odds of a charger or earphones in the box are close to zero.  At this point 99% of all humans on earth have access to a USB port and have half a dozen earphones laying around. 

As I pointed out, those charging bricks you allude to are old, obsolete 5Watt chargers.   Apple should upgrade their chargers to match their upgraded phone when a user buys a new one.   Everybody should be getting a 20Watt charge and cable with their new phone.

george kaplan

If I can present a differing point of view:

We are prepping to move, second time in 14 years. There is stuff I am going through in prep for a garage sale. I have discovered so many USB power bricks: Kindle, electronic accessories, old Android phones, old iPhones/iPads/AppleWatch/etc. Each of the 7 Arlo cameras I have shipped with a USB charger, and each of the 4 Arlo lights. On and on it goes, and I think we are numb at this point to how many new bricks we have accumulated.

The cynical view of this is Apple being cheap, but for most uses a brick is a brick—sure, an iPad brick will charge more quickly, but in practical terms if that is such a big deal then one should by a 3rd party charger, which is what I did. I bought a couple of Anker’s 36-watt dual-output bricks. Because I paid actual money for them, I take care of them (funny how that works), and I have no need for something a company tosses in a box, One is $25, the other is $11, hardly a back-breaking amount of money.

But think of all these little bricks which will find their way to the trash, where the heavy metals will leach into groundwater at the dump. Each little brick seems insignificant, but en masse it makes a huge difference.

Apple is doing the right thing.

mazda 3s

harry wild said:

The budget iPhone Mini not only gets less features but will be later on in the pre-order and shipment.  $50 more is no “killer” but the limited of 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage limits the appeal for me!

It’s all about the size for me. It’ll be faster than my iPhone 11 Pro, but smaller and lighter. That’s a win-win. 

Pascalxx

flydog said:

Pascalxx said:

No 120Hz displays on any of the models then if the leak is accurate.
I’m intrigued by the reference to a new Magsafe charging cable.

Ummm what?  The article states "Ice Universe has previously leaked . . . a claim that the "iPhone 12 Pro" will feature a 120Hz ProMotion display."

Yes, I read that passage, but the new leak that Ice Universe is endorsing has no mention of that feature which makes me believe 120Hz hasn't made the cut.