iPhone 12 series comparison - Which one would you buy - Android

Apple went all out today with its big iPhone 12 series reveal. The company announced four different iPhone 12 models, ranging from a small version to the largest iPhone ever. So we figured we would offer up an iPhone 12 series comparison.

With four different versions, Apple decided to make the iPhone 12 launch similar to what Samsung has done with its Galaxy S line. Let’s take a look at all the iPhone 12 models.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the iPhone 12 series

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini specs

iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max specs

Design

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.

The iPhone 12 Mini is a new size for the iPhone series in general. It’s actually physically smaller than the iPhone 8, with its 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 its 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.

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.

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 the 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

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).

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