iPhone 12 Pro Max

November 9, 2020 - I ordered the new phone today, . My cost through IBM is $695, which is half price or less I think.

I don't know when it will arrive. I don't think they are even shipping yet, and Verizon will have to put IBM's software on it.

I've never had the latest Verizon of phone. I've always ordered something that was a model back. I'm replacing an iPhone 8, that I've had just over two years, so that shows how far back I am. After the 8 the 10, then the 11, and now 12.

November 14, 2020 - Still waiting on the new phone. In fact I'm waiting for notice that it's even being processed. I don't think they are actually available to Verizon (I assume Verizon is customizing it and then shipping it).

I've been watching videos comparing it to the iPhone Pro, and looking at the specs comparing it to what I have now (the iPhone 8 Plus). It's a tiny bit larger then the 8 but the screen size it proportionately much larger. I guess the screen doesn't have the border. Of course the camera is light years ahead. But the size difference pays off in a little longer battery life and large icons etc on the screen. Those are the two key areas that swayed me to go all out with the Max.

Let me also say that I like the android (Samsung) way back when I had that, better then the iPhones, but IBM insists in Apple, so I'm stuck with that. Obviously I can life with the Apple just fine, and when it comes to apps etc., there is probably better support because of the popularity and money surrounding the iPhone (that is people spend more on iPhones so they are more willing to spend more on extras - at least that's my belief).

November 30, 2020 - Got the new phone today. Here are my first impressions:

• It's the old square edged style phone. Not sure why Apple went that way. It seems clunky. It won't matter to me though because I have a big fat rubber case coming to put it in.
• It seems heavier. Although its really only ounces more than the iPhone 8 Plus that I have now. I think it just feels more unwieldy because it's so slick. Again, the rubber case will help.
• The camera lens stick out on the back. This really looks like trouble if you don't have a fat rubber case to put it in (and I do!)
• I ordered the blue version as I recall. This thing really looks black to me. I don't care that much, and since it's going to be a fat rubber case, I'm not going to see the color anyway.

Here's what came in the box

I have no idea what the cable is for. Is there some new connector for the charging head? And of course it doesn't come with a charger. Apple says they're saving the environment - they figure everyone already has multiple chargers laying around, so why ship any more of them. It's not that they are just saving a few bucks on every phone.

December 2, 2020 - Got the case for the iPhone 12 yesterday. Here's a side by side comparison of the two phones (iPhone 8 Plus & iPhone 12 Pro Max).

You can see that while the actual iPhone 12 is a little larger than the 8, with the case it's smaller. The case isn't as fat and rubbery as I would like. I may have to get a different one. But you can also see because of the design, the screen size is much larger on the 12. The screen goes to the edge of the phone. This design was implemented in an earlier version (10 or 11) I'm sure. Not new to the iPhone, but new to me as I'm coming from an iPhone 8.

I'm learning new ways to navigate on the phone. No thumb button so you swipe. But what happens when the screen freezes when you are trying to restart the phone. The typical way of shutting down is to hold a volume button and the system? button (large button on the other side). Then swipe the power off thing on the screen. But what happens when the screen freezes when the power off swipe appears? Now you're stuck. Well, no, there is another way to restart. Rapidly push one volume button then the other, then hold the system button. All of this to say, that two days into having the phone, the thing locks up hard.

I've seen several apps lock up as well and have to be restarted. In fact the padcast app wouldn't work and that's why I would doing the system restart. Which did eventually fix this issue. I never had any of this with the iPhone 8. And I'm hoping that with a few iOS upgrades this will go away.

And mentioning iOS update, there is an update waiting to be applied but it fails. I did some research and it seems that maybe IBM's control are getting in the way. But I haven't gotten to the end of this update issue yet. Never had an issue with iPhone 8.