iPhone 12 Pro leak reveals final design — and a camera surprise

iPhone 12 Pro camera render
(Image credit: svetapple)

The iPhone 12 may be delayed until October, but we're still getting closer and closer to the release date. And now we have a good look at the possible final design, thanks to Twitter leaker Komiya.

The picture, included below, gives you an idea of both the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. As you can see, both will keep the notch that’s been a feature since the iPhone X, and both will have a square camera array featuring no fewer than six circles. Here’s a closer look at how it appears.

In the tweet itself, Komia adds that “all three lenses are a little larger than 11 Pro series”, which suggests bigger sensors and – hopefully – an improvement to photo quality as a result. 

The iPhone 12 Pro design

(Image credit: Komiya/Twitter)

What is interesting about this is that the LiDAR scanner, which debuted on the iPad Pro,  is quite a bit smaller than it is on Apple’s tablet. It will be interesting to see if that affects performance, or whether Apple has found a way to shrink things down without any compromise.

LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging. A LiDAR scanner sends out laser beams and then measures how long they take to return to the sensor, using this information to accurately calculate the distance to and depth of objects it hits. While that functionality has been useful in industry for years (think aircrafts, space and military applications), it’s increasingly finding use in the consumer sector too. This includes robot vacuums figuring out a room’s layout, or self-driving cars calculating close to real time what they should avoid.

The iPhone 12 Pro design

(Image credit: Komiya/Twitter)

For the iPhone 12 Pro, the usage is probably AR related. AR – or “augmented reality” – is something Apple CEO Tim Cook is known to be a big fan of. In recent memory he’s said it’s the “next big thing”, that it “has the ability to amplify human performance instead of isolating humans” and will likely “pervade your life.” With that AR evangelism in mind, it would be odd if Apple wasn’t betting big on LiDAR for the iPhone 12 Pro.

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Still, the iPhone 12 Pro will have plenty to love for those who aren’t sold on the idea. We’re expecting the brand new Apple A14 Bionic processor to be a suitably impressive performance bump and the introduction of 5G compatibility. While we originally heard that 120Hz screens would be coming, a recent report says Apple may not include that feature.

As you might expect from Apple products, pricing is going to be as premium as ever. Again, Komiya has come up with the goods here, predicting a starting price of $1,049 for the 128GB iPhone 12 Pro, and $1,149 for the 128GB iPhone 12 Pro Max. Of course, cheaper options will be available, with a 5.4-inch 5G iPhone 12 reportedly coming in at $699.

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.