Why I Hate the iPhone 12

I was super excited for a better camera and animojis but my animoji has been looking more and more grumpy as I use my new device

Face ID never works.

I’m either too close to my phone, too far, laying on a pillow, or have a mask on. Once it doesn’t work, instead of signing in once your face is in a clear position, you have to swipe up once again to tell the phone that your face is here to be scanned once again.

No Do Not Disturb icon in the top bar.

On my previous phone, I could see that moon to tell me ‘Hey, you’re not going to get notifications because you turned them off.’ With the 12, time and time again, I find myself thinking I have nothing to check only to realize do not disturb was on for hours.

I don't know how to do what I want.

With all the overlapping areas for gestures — siri and power off being the same place, volume and taking a picture using the same button — no button or gesture does what I think it will. I remember watching my mom struggle with her computer when I was younger because she’d get frustrated that the button she pressed did something else entirely. I am now my mother.

I can’t hold my phone like I used to.

I tend to cup my phone from the bottom but with the full bleed on the 12, that means my palm may be pressing things on the screen unintentionally when I’m laying horizontally browsing on my phone. With no bottom bar, I have to hold my phone on the sides and back only else risk texting my dentist on accident (true story).

I can’t just press the camera to open.

This haptic feedback requires a hard press to open the camera when locked which seems unnecessary. If the button has once purpose — open the camera — why make it open only if you press it down with extra pressure when it could be a simple tap?

I have to enter my passcode every time.

With a global shutdown, the only person who has access to my phone is me. I’m just in my room day in day out so entering the passcode constantly as if some intruder has suddenly come inside and will access my Snapchat is incredibly frustrating. I don’t mind signing a waiver that says I accept all responsibility of not requiring my passcode immediately. My previous phone had time intervals which you could select to require passcode. I had it set to 4 hours because that makes more sense to me that if someone steals my phone, a few hours later, they then won’t know how to get into it.

I can’t hear my alarm.

The sound system in the 12 seems to be built for a richer experience that plays to surround sound but this also makes me alarm sound like a muffled orchestra in a basement instead of a sharp alarm. Even phone calls sound like I’m speaking with a distorted bank robber instead of my long-time friend because of how the bass and different sound levels are set up.

Siri doesn’t respond.

It’s really convenient to summon your phone to complete a task on your behalf when your hands are occupied, you’re at a distance, or just don’t want to go through the clicks yourself. Unfortunately, ‘Hey Siri’ leaves me listening to a wall of silence on the 12 causing me to have to complete a task that otherwise would’ve been executed by the time I get my hands free to use my phone had Siri been responsive.