Everything Apple Announced, October 2020: iPhone 12, HomePod Mini, Beats Flex

But now, as we careen into what’s bound to be an especially chaotic holiday season, the company seems eager to get these phones on the market.The focus of today’s event was new iPhones, of course, but the company also announced a new HomePod speaker and some changes to the iPhone’s wireless charging mechanism. While Apple is really trying to push 5G as the next big thing, the technology is still struggling to find a foothold.Visually, the most distinctive feature of this new phone design is the shape: The iPhone 12 has flat edges with squared corners rather than the smooth rounded edges found on the past few iPhones. It’s a look that hearkens back to the iPhone 4 and 5, which is sure to please anyone nostalgic for a more innocent, pre-pandemic age.The phones come with a new OLED display topped with a reconfigured “Ceramic Shield” screen that Apple claims is four times more resistant to shattering if you drop it (your mileage may vary). Google’s latest speaker, called Nest Audio, is more of a rectangular blob than a sphere, but let us not forget that Google cast the first stone in spherical smart home audio streaming device wars.The new headphones look like Beats X, but are much improved—and cheaper.One of the coolest announcements Apple made today is also one that flew below the radar. This new magnet array also lets the 12 connect to a series of new charging accessories, including new MagSafe charging cases and a MagSafe wallet that snap onto the back of the phone and work with wireless chargers.Other charging news: Apple will no longer be including a charger in the box with the iPhone.