xkcd Phone 12
xkcd Phone 12
[The comic shows two smartphones: one taller and wider than the other. ]
[Labels to the left of the larger smartphone:]
[Labels to the right of the larger smartphone:]
[Labels to the right of the smaller smartphone:]
[Text below the phone:] The xkcd Phone 12* and 12 Max**
*Standard **For people named Max
"The only phone you'll ever own"®™

This is the "12th" (actually the 8th) in the ongoing xkcd Phone series in which Randall explains his new joke phone designs with many strange and useless features. It is also a reference to the recently released iPhone 12 . However, there have only been 8 comics released, with the previous two being 2000: xkcd Phone 2000 and 1889: xkcd Phone 6 .
The note about the xkcd Phone 12 and the xkcd Phone 12 Max (only for people named Max) is a joke about the different models of iPhone 12: iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The xkcd Phone 12 Max would be expected to have a larger screen, but it seems that this phone is also only for people with the name Max. If the phones are respectively placed, Max's (Maxes'?) phone is the smaller of the two models.
The slogan '"The only phone you'll ever own"' could be interpreted as something of a threat, which is believable given some of the purported features. The slogan has the "registered trademark" symbol, with that symbol supposedly itself trademarked, which is highly unlikely. It is similar to the phrase "The last suit you'll ever wear" , describing the black suits worn by the Men In Black in the movie of the same name.
Multiple features are labelled on the phone that are common when advertising other products, but highly unusual in mobile phones, for comedic effect:
The title text mentions xkcd phone OS updates, including:
[The comic shows two smartphones: one taller and wider than the other. ]
[Labels to the left of the larger smartphone:]
[Labels to the right of the larger smartphone:]
[Labels to the right of the smaller smartphone:]
[Text below the phone:] The xkcd Phone 12* and 12 Max**
*Standard **For people named Max
"The only phone you'll ever own"®™
