Congratulations Savannah Guthrie! You grilled Trump like he has never been grilled before. He was squirming like a kid who didn’t want to take his medicine. It was a pleasure to watch.

Biden was filled with substance at his town hall. He was articulate, kind, filled with ideas and promise. He talked to the audience like they were friends. They loved him.

——————————————-

(Shelly Palmer, a well known tech writer and consultant, tells you everything you need to know about the iPhone 12. Eliot and I may buy this unit months from now, but not right away. We always like to wait to see what the reviewers say. One thing we can’t deny, the iPhone 12 is a state of the art machine).

The Opinion

If you’re an iPhone user and you need a new iPhone, the short answer is yes, you should get an iPhone 12. If you can afford it, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, while late to the game, is the best iPhone ever made. As every Apple Fanperson knows, iPhones are not phones; they are fashion accessories. As such, iPhone purchases are not business decisions, but rather lifestyle choices. For full details about the iPhone 12 launch, see The Apple iPhone 12 Event: Everything You Need to Know.

Will I get one? Yes, but only because I’m on Verizon’s “new iPhone every year” plan. I pay a monthly fee for the phone and insurance and get a new phone every year. (Apple has a similar plan.)

But… and this is a huge but… if I wasn’t on the new phone every year plan, I’d have to think long and hard about whether or not to get an iPhone 12 Pro Max over my iPhone 11 Pro Max.

5G

The 5G connectivity is meaningless. The U.S. is still mostly 4G, and even when the 5G indicator lights up, there’s a very good chance that the backhaul (or some part of the network you are connected to) is 4G. In 2020/2021, no phone (Apple or otherwise) will truly benefit from having a 5G radio in it. At the moment, 5G is 95% marketing hype and 5% marketing hype!

The Camera

The deciding factor for me is the camera. The iPhone 12 Pro Max will shoot in Apple ProRAW (the feature speaks for itself). The new iPhones can shoot and edit 4K video in HDR Pro and Dolby Vision HDR formats. If you have the video workflow to take advantage of these features, you know who you are, and you know why you will want a 12 Pro Max.

For developers and people who like to live on the edge of technology, the addition of LiDAR and a few other features put the new flagship iPhone in first position for AR.

The Accessories

I’m not sad about not getting a charger or wired earbuds with the new phone, but Apple’s eco-friendly explanation was disingenuous and insulting. They will reduce the environmental impact of iPhone packaging. That’s great. They will reduce the use of certain raw materials. That’s great. Except… you will need to purchase these accessories from Apple or third-party vendors who will now create individual packaging for each. So, where there used to be one box shipped containing three items, three will be created and shipped to take its place. I call bullshit! Apple wants to sell you a $40 MagSafe charger and some version of their AirPods for your new phone, so they are forcing you to need those accessories to use the devices. (Yes, most people who are likely to purchase an iPhone have a drawer full of chargers that take USB-A cables, but how many people have extra USB-C chargers laying around?) The new iPhones ship with a USB-C to Lightning cable in the new, thinner box.

To Sum Up

No iPhone 11 user “needs” an iPhone 12. At best, the iPhone 12 line offers some iterative feature improvements over the previous generation. However, the iPhone 12 line does offer a single benefit: if you want an iPhone 12, nothing else will do.

Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.

ABOUT SHELLY PALMER

Shelly Palmer is a business advisor and technology consultant. He helps Fortune 500 companies with digital transformation, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s Top Voice in Technology, he is the co-host of “Think About This with Shelly Palmer & Ross Martin.” He covers tech and business for Good Day New York, writes a weekly column for Adweek, is a regular commentator on CNN and CNBC, and writes a popular daily business blog. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.

——————————————

Eliot took this photo with his iPhone 11 Pro Max. No filter was used to enhance this shot. Pretty amazing I must say.