With the announcement of the iPhone 12 series and the lead-up to the pre-order season comes a natural question for users who swear by the iOS ecosystem: which is the right iPhone 12 for your needs?
The iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max sit at different price points, despite the same A14 Bionic chipset and similar OLED panels across the board. In this guide, we look at what Apple brings to each model, and we propose an ideal iPhone 12 variant based on your expected usage patterns.
THE GOLDILOCKS PHONE - iPhone 12
Why is the iPhone 12 the ‘Goldilocks fit’ of the bunch? If you’re not particularly aching for telephoto or heightened video-recording capabilities, the regular iPhone 12 offers the best balance between display size, battery, and packs all the core stuff that makes iPhones faster, better, and nicer than their previous iterations. Apple made OLED panels available across all models in this generation of iPhones, so you’re getting great display quality on the iPhone 12, too.
The iPhone 12 is the standard, almost-everything-in model, with dual cameras fit for most scenarios - 12MP, wide-angle, f/1.6 aperture, seven-element main shooter, complemented with a 12MP, ultra-wide angle, f/2.4 aperture, five-element lens that offers 120° field of view. Together, the cameras on the regular and mini models offer 2x optical zoom out and 5x digital zoom. In the video-recording department, you get Dolby Vision HDR recording up to 4K resolution @ 30 FPS.
IPHONE 12
DISPLAY 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display (2,532 x 1,170 pixels resolution)
PROCESSOR A14 Bionic
REAR CAMERAS 12MP wide, f/1.6, OIS, 100% Focus Pixels 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, 120° FOV 2x optical zoom out Digital zoom up to 5x
STORAGE OPTIONS 64GB 128GB 256GB
BATTERY Video playback up to 17 hours
DIMENSIONS 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4mm
WEIGHT 162g
COMPACT WITH NO CORNERS CUT - iPhone 12 mini
As stated in Apple’s keynote, there’s virtually no difference in features between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini. As such, the selling point of those two models is plain: the iPhone 12 is the standard, almost-everything-in model, while the iPhone 12 mini caters to the crowd that values a compact form factor above everything else.
With a 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR display, it’s the same OLED-quality panel on the larger iPhone 12, with all the hardware and software available on the iPhone 12 packed in its compact body. When we say everything, we mean everything - the powerful A14 Bionic chipset, 5G access, IP68 resistance, and even the rebranded MagSafe magnetic wireless charging capabilities. The trade-off for a more compact phone would naturally be its overall battery life, since a smaller phone begets less space for parts. While the official spec pages do not state the batteries’ mAh values, the regular iPhone 12 offers ‘up to 17 hours’ video playback, while iPhone 12 mini offers ‘up to 15 hours’ video playback.
IPHONE 12 MINI
DISPLAY 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR display (2,340 x 1,080 pixels resolution)
PROCESSOR A14 Bionic
REAR CAMERAS 12MP wide, f/1.6, OIS, 100% Focus Pixels 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, 120° FOV 2x optical zoom out Digital zoom up to 5x
STORAGE OPTIONS 64GB 128GB 256GB
BATTERY Video playback up to 15 hours
DIMENSIONS 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4mm
WEIGHT 133g
TELEPHOTO TRIFECTA - iPhone 12 Pro
The Pro model isn’t here to make the Pro Max look good - in fact, it offers additional hardware to make photography more enjoyable than the regular iPhone 12, while sparing users from shelling out big bucks or wielding a phablet-sized smartphone like the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
For starters, it packs an additional 12MP Telephoto camera with f/2.0 aperture and a six-element lens. Not only is it more capable than the regular iPhone 12 at long-distance shooting, you can zoom a little further with the Pro: 4x optical zoom range, 10x digital zoom.
Another huge add-on is the LiDAR scanner. LiDAR uses laser light to determine the distance between the source and the object and is commonly used in map-making. In photography, the LiDAR scanner would help the phone determine the actual distance the subject is from the camera. LiDar on the iPhone 12 Pro makes it easier for folks who shoot primarily at night or indoors.
Videography isn’t neglected either, with a bump up to Dolby Vision HDR recording up to 4K resolution @ 60 FPS. While it’s the same size as the regular iPhone 12, the chassis also gets an upgrade from aluminium to stainless steel, making it feel more premium than the regular phones.
IPHONE 12 PRO
DISPLAY 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display (2,532 x 1,170 pixels resolution)
PROCESSOR A14 Bionic
REAR CAMERAS 12MP wide, f/1.6, OIS, 100% Focus Pixels 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, 120° FOV 12MP telephoto, f/2.0 LiDAR scanner 4x optical zoom range Digital zoom up to 10x
STORAGE OPTIONS 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
BATTERY Video playback up to 17 hours
DIMENSIONS 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4mm
WEIGHT 187g
GO ALL OUT FOR THE CAMERAS - iPhone 12 Pro Max
Between the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, the difference lies not only in the display size but also its 47% larger sensor and pixel size on the main camera (1.7μm vs 1.4μm), souped-up telephoto lens (f/2.2 instead of f/2.0 with 5x optical and 12x digital zoom) and the sensor-shift optical image stabilisation inside the main camera.
Top it off with its premium stainless steel body, the LiDAR scanner, and 60 FPS Dolby Vision recording at 4K resolution, iPhone 12 Pro Max comes with the full set of pro-grade features. In fact, the iPhone Pro Max can be overkill if you want to use it for casual videography, so creative professionals should be looking at this variant out of all four possibilities.
At 6.7-inches, it’s also made for users who enjoy sprawling displays. Combined with its tricked-out shooters, it’s made for users who want to go all out just for the sake of the cameras.
IPHONE 12 PRO MAX
DISPLAY 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display (2,778 x 1,284 pixels resolution)
PROCESSOR A14 Bionic
REAR CAMERAS 12MP wide, f/1.6, OIS, 100% Focus Pixels, 1.7μm, sensor-shifts stabilisation, 47% larger sensor 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, 120° FOV 12MP telephoto, f/2.2 LiDAR scanner 5x optical zoom range Digital zoom up to 12x
STORAGE OPTIONS 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
BATTERY Video playback up to 20 hours DIMENSIONS 160.8.5 x 78.1 x 7.4mm
WEIGHT 226g
PICTURES APPLE
