The first batch of Apple iPhone 12 series orders have started arriving in stores around the world for people who preordered the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro (the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max are scheduled to hit retailers beginning November 13).

(Update, November 30: We have the preorder and availability dates for the Philippine market!)

(Update, November 6: Click on this for the iPhone 12 series’ official pricing in the Philippines!)

(Update, October 30: Check out our unboxing, initial camera samples, and first impressions!)

As usual, the Philippines isn’t included in the initial list of countries getting their hands on Apple’s shiny new devices, but that doesn’t mean they’re not available here — at least unofficially.

In fact, Greenhills Mall, long a go-to spot for Apple devices and other popular consumer electronics, recently advertised on its official Facebook page that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are now available from a number of vendors. We asked around and found that the prices vary between retailers, so you may want to scour the mall to find the best deals — while wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing at all times, of course.

Alternatively, you can go online and purchase an Apple iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro from a gray-market source on Shopee Philippines. Spoiler alert: You’ll find lower prices for the iPhone 12 at the Greenhills Mall, while the better iPhone 12 Pro deals are on Shopee. Unfortunately, for reasons that probably have to do with Apple’s brand store on Lazada, there are no unofficial iPhone 12 listings on the ecommerce platform.

At press time, the prices look like this:

• Greenhills Mall (lowest listed prices)
  • Apple iPhone 12
    • 64GB: P54,500
    • 128GB: P57,500
    • 256GB: P65,000
  • Apple iPhone 12 Pro
    • 128GB: P73,000
    • 256GB: P90,000
    • 512GB: P91,000
• Shopee (lowest listed prices)
  • Apple iPhone 12
    • 64GB: P55,980
    • 128GB: P59,980
    • 256GB: P66,980
  • Apple iPhone 12 Pro
    • 128GB: P77,980
    • 256GB: P85,980
    • 512GB: P97,980

Again, these are from unauthorized sources. The Apple iPhone 12 series hasn’t been launched here yet. It’s expected to go official in the Philippines in November. Most of the units sold here are either from Hong Kong or China, so they have two SIM-card slots, as opposed to a single-card tray. Another thing worth noting is that we haven’t tried 5G on our unit, but we believe it’s compatible with local 5G networks.

Finally, if you’re getting an iPhone 12 series phone from Greenhills Mall, Shopee, or someone else, be sure to clear warranty concerns first and put them into writing. An official receipt would be nice as well. We’re saying this because warranty claims for gray-market devices in general can be a problem later on. So avoid them as much as you can, unless you’re also willing to roll the dice for content’s sake, like us.

View this post on Instagram

We ate our 12th Apple. 🍎 (I wasn’t gonna post a photo of this till our review is done, but today, my EQ gave up. 🤣) #iPhone12Pro

A post shared by Alora Uy Guerrero (@aloraguerrero) on Oct 27, 2020 at 7:08am PDT

We rolled the dice and took a bite of this Apple :p

Apple iPhone 12 specs

• 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen, 2,532 x 1,170 resolution, HDR and True Tone support
• Ceramic Shield glass front
• Apple A14 Bionic with 5G (5nm)
• 64GB/128GB/256GB
• Dual 12-megapixel, f/1.6 (main), 12-megapixel, f/2.4 (ultra-wide) rear cameras, digital zoom up to 5x, 4K at 60 fps/HDR at 30 fps
• 12-megapixel, f/2.2 front camera
• Face ID (front camera system)
• Up to 15 hours video playback
• MagSafe wireless charging up to 15 watts
• Qi wireless charging up to 7.5 watts
• Wired fast charging up to 20 watts
• IP68 rating for maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes
• iOS 14
• Colors: Black, White, Product RED, Green, Blue

Apple iPhone 12 Pro specs

• 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen, 2,532 x 1,170 resolution, HDR and True Tone support
• Ceramic Shield glass front
• Apple A14 Bionic with 5G (5nm)
• 128GB/256GB/512GB
• Triple 12-megapixel, f/1.6 (main), 12-megapixel, f/2.4 (ultra-wide), and 12-megapixel, f/2.0 (telephoto) rear cameras, optical zoom up to 4x, digital zoom up to 10x, 4K at 60 fps/HDR at 60 fps
• LiDAR scanner
• 12-megapixel, f/2.2 front camera
• Face ID (front camera system)
• Up to 17 hours video playback
• MagSafe wireless charging up to 15 watts
• Qi wireless charging up to 7.5 watts
• Wired fast charging up to 20 watts
• IP68 rating for maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes
• iOS 14
• Colors: Silver, Graphite, Gold, Pacific Blue

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