There are, indeed, some cool features but they may not all be needed.
Of course it is great to have all possible tools available. But just about everything in photography, as most things in life, is a trade-off.
Post response…to an art thread with iPhone 12 Pro sample shots. It was noted by the photographer that he was still awaiting a tripod he had ordered…
Indeed, Sir, those are quite impressive. There is a lot of nice detail in those 12MP images. They will easily make quality prints up to (my favorite size) 36″x24″ and even a bit larger. I looked at them with the (green box) loupe and didn’t see motion blur – so you might not really “need” that tripod for daytime/outdoor shots.
I will do an upgrade of my old iPhone 6s. Probably be a bit too busy this week but I will pull the trigger soon. I won’t be moving up to the 12 level but may move to an SE or XR. I can plop down $399 and get a new SE on my account and have no further payments – and still have my 6s as a backup.
I am also going to do some test shots with it my phone “clamped” to a tripod, use the self-timer as a vibration-free shutter release – and compare shots between tripod and hand-held. There was a time, albeit a long time ago, that I could hand-hold a film camera (35mm w normal lens) at 1/15 second with no perceptible motion blur. I’ve been watching the displayed shutter speeds (Pro Camera) and see that most shots are over 1/200 sec with my 6s.
Well that plan has been changed. See the new iPhone 12 here: LINK.