iPhone 12 series comparison: Which one should you buy?

David Imel / Android Authority

Apple went all out with its big iPhone 12 series in 2020. The company released four different iPhone 12 models, ranging from a small version to the largest iPhone ever. To help you choose which one is right for you, we put together this Apple iPhone 12 series comparison.

iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max specs

Design

David Imel / Android Authority

All iPhone 12 models have a new type of glass cover for their displays made in conjunction with Corning. It’s called Ceramic Shield which uses a process that adds nano-ceramic crystals inside the glass. This is supposed to offer better protection against drops compared to previous iPhone models. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini both have an aluminum chassis, while the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Max both have a stainless steel chassis.

Read more: Apple iPhone 12 review: Awkwardly standard

The iPhone 12 Mini is a new size for the iPhone series. It’s actually smaller than the iPhone 8, which had a tiny 4.7-inch display. However, since the Mini has smaller bezels on the front, the overall footprint is smaller. The iPhone 12 Mini has a bigger display than the older iPhone, though, at 5.4 inches.

The standard iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro have the same 6.1-inch display, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the biggest iPhone ever made with a 6.7-inch display. All four still have a rather large notch at the top of the display for their front-facing cameras and face unlock sensors.

All four phones also sport OLED screens, making for quite a change from previous releases. Prior to this, the cheapest iPhone in a series always offered LCD screens instead, such as the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR. This means you can expect deeper blacks and reduced power consumption when using dark backgrounds.

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The iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 both come in Black, White, Product Red, Green, and Blue colors. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max come in Silver, Graphite, Gold, and Pacific Blue colors. All are rated IP68 for water and dust resistance, and Apple says they can keep working even if they are submerged in water up to six meters for up to 30 minutes.

Hardware

The iPhone 12 series are the first phones to support the growing number of 5G networks. In this case, the phones support the millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G networks in addition to the more common sub-6Ghz networks.

Apple is also quietly admitting that 5G connectivity consumes more juice than LTE with the implementation of a Smart Data Mode. This will dynamically switch between LTE and 5G when needed in order to save power. For example, the firm says background updates will take place over LTE while video downloads will be routed over 5G.

The iPhone 12 series all use Apple’s in-house A14 Bionic processor. It’s been made with 5nm manufacturing and has a six-core CPU and a four-core GPU. It also has a neural engine chip with 16 cores for better machine learning performance. This makes it the most powerful iPhone ever released, and probably the most powerful smartphone there is.

Read more: Apple A14 Bionic test: Is iPhone silicon still more powerful than Android SoCs?

The new models also use a throwback feature called MagSafe. It’s used for a new class of accessories that uses magnets that attach to the rear of the iPhone 12 models. That means accessories like cases, wireless chargers, and more all connect magnetically to the back of the iPhone 12 series.

The new Apple wireless chargers can boost wireless charging by up to 15W. The phones still support the more widely used Qi wireless charging standard. However, they only charge Phone 12 models up to 7.5W.

The iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 will have 64, 128, and 256GB storage options, while the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Max will be sold with 128, 256, and 512GB storage versions.

Cameras

David Imel / Android Authority

The iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone include two rear cameras. One is a 12MP wide sensor, while the other is a 12MP ultra-wide camera. The iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max add a third 12MP telephoto rear camera. The Pro models also throw in a LiDAR scanner in the back, which is used to record pixel depth information. This is supposed to reduce capture time for images and video clips, along with improving AR experiences. All four iPhone 12 models include a 12MP front-facing camera.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max is clearly the most capable photography platform of the lot though. It offers 2.5x zoom on the telephoto camera compared to 2x zoom on the Pro variant. Furthermore, the Max model also gains “sensor-shift OIS” for better stabilization than traditional optical image stabilization seen on the iPhone 12 Pro. Finally, the Max model’s main camera gains much bigger pixels for better low-light capabilities (1.7 micron pixels versus 1.4 micron pixels on the Pro).

Read also: iPhone 12 Pro Max vs iPhone 12 Pro camera shootout: Is bigger always better?

In addition, all the new iPhone 12 models support HDR and Dolby Vision HDR video recording. The iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 record at up to 30fps, while the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max boost that up to 60fps. The phones will even allow users to edit their Dolby Vision HDR video clips on the phone.

Apple has also brought a few low-light tweaks to the iPhone 12 series, such as Night Mode timelapse functionality and night mode on the ultra-wide camera and selfie shooter. The firm is also delivering Night Mode portraits on the Pro series, enabled by the LiDAR sensor.

Software

All the new iPhone models ship with iOS 14, which Apple has already released for older iPhone models. It includes new features like supporting widgets on the phone’s home screen, along with the App Library that helps to better organize a user’s phone apps. It also adds picture-in-picture support for watching videos, or conducting FaceTime calls, while continuing to use another app on the phone.

Price and release date

All the new iPhone 12 models are now available in marketplaces around the world. Pricing for the iPhone 12 Mini begins at $699 in the US, with the iPhone 12 starting at $799. The iPhone 12 Pro has a starting cost of $999, and the iPhone 12 Max Pro begins at $1,099.

Apple iPhone 12 series

Four to choose from

There are a total of four new iPhones in Apple's iPhone 12 lineup: the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Brighter displays, faster processors, and more durable build quality are what you can expect with all four of these new phones.

iPhone 12 series: Which one should you get?

The iPhone 12 Mini seems to be something of a niche product, made for people who simply want to get a new iPhone but don’t want to deal with the larger screen sizes that are more common today for new flagship phones. The iPhone 12 is perfect for people who just want a powerful smartphone but don’t want to pay a lot for it and can live without a few premium features.

Read more: Apple iPhone 12 second opinion review: It really does just work

If you can afford it, it’s worth swinging for at least the standard iPhone 12. It gives you all of the benefits of Apple’s latest phones except for the cameras, and even then the two rear cameras perform admirably.

The iPhone 12 Pro is for the serious mobile photographer, with its triple camera and its LiDAR scanner. Finally, the iPhone Pro Max is for the person that does not consider money to be a limitation, and also wants to have a really big screen and top-notch camera capabilities.

Which iPhone 12 are you buying?

1838 votes

iPhone 12 Mini

18%

iPhone 12

21%

iPhone 12 Pro

18%

iPhone 12 Pro Max

19%

I'm not buying any of them.

17%

I haven't decided yet.

7%

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