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Apple iPhone 12 · Photo source

Apple iPhone 12
Photo 1 of 20

Apple iPhone 12 · Photo source

Apple · iPhone

iPhone 12

Released October 2020

The iPhone 12 is Apple's 6.1-inch standard iPhone from 2020, with the A14 Bionic chip, a 12MP dual-camera system, 5G, MagSafe and a Lightning port, suited to people who want a mid-sized iPhone and are comparing it with newer models before upgrading.

Model history · 14 models, 2007–2020
  1. 2007iPhoneCompare
  2. 2008iPhone 3GCompare
  3. 2009iPhone 3GSCompare
  4. 2010iPhone 4Compare
  5. 2011iPhone 4SCompare
  6. 2012iPhone 5Compare
  7. 2013iPhone 5sCompare
  8. 2014iPhone 6Compare
  9. 2015iPhone 6sCompare
  10. 2016iPhone 7Compare
  11. 2017iPhone 8Compare
  12. 2018iPhone XRCompare
  13. 2019iPhone 11Compare
  14. 2020iPhone 12
Screen
6.1″
Display
OLED, 60 Hz
Chip
A14 Bionic
Memory
4 GB
Storage
64 GB – 256 GB
Main camera
12 MP
Zoom
–
Battery
2,815 mAh
Weight
162 g

What reviewers say

Reviewers agree the iPhone 12 has an excellent OLED display, a smart new design with MagSafe and class-leading performance. Tom's Guide and GSMArena criticise the 60Hz display; TechRadar and GSMArena found battery life only moderate, shorter than the iPhone 11's in GSMArena's tests, and TechRadar found the cameras little changed. Tom's Guide rated battery life solid but found 64GB base storage too little.

From techradar.com, tomsguide.com and gsmarena.com

Specifications

Report a wrong or missing spec

Display

Screen size
6.1″
Resolution
2532 × 1170
Sharpness
457 pixels per inch
Panel
OLED
Refresh rate
60 Hz
Peak brightness
1,200 nits
Display type
Super Retina XDR all-screen OLED display with a notch for the TrueDepth camera; 6.06 inches measured as a standard rectangle
Pixel density
460 ppi
Brightness detail
625 nits max (typical); 1,200 nits max (HDR)
Always-on display
No
Screen protection
Ceramic Shield front; fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Display features
HDR; True Tone; Wide colour (P3); Haptic Touch; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical)

Performance

Chip
A14 Bionic
Memory
4 GB
Storage
64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB
CPU
6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
4-core GPU
AI engine
16-core Neural Engine

Cameras

Main camera
12 MP
Ultra wide camera
12 MP
Telephoto camera
None
Optical zoom
None
Front camera
12 MP
Main camera
12MP Main, ƒ/1.6 aperture, optical image stabilisation, seven-element lens, 100% Focus Pixels
Ultra wide camera
12MP Ultra Wide, ƒ/2.4 aperture, 120° field of view, five-element lens
Front camera
12MP TrueDepth camera, ƒ/2.2 aperture
Zoom
2x optical zoom out; digital zoom up to 5x (photos) and 3x (video)
Video recording
HDR video with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 30 fps; 4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; 1080p at 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; HEVC and H.264
Front video
HDR video with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 30 fps; 4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 fps
Camera features
Night mode; Deep Fusion; Smart HDR 3; Portrait mode with Depth Control; Portrait Lighting with six effects; True Tone flash with slow sync; sapphire crystal lens cover

Battery and charging

Battery
2,815 mAh
Video playback (maker's claim)
Up to 17 hours
Wireless charging
Up to 15 W
Battery life detail
Up to 11 hours streamed video playback; up to 65 hours audio playback; 2,815 mAh (GSMArena)
Wired charging
Up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter or higher (sold separately)
Wireless charging
MagSafe up to 15W; Qi up to 7.5W

Connectivity

Satellite messaging
No
Mobile network
5G (sub-6GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO and LAA; UK model A2403
SIM
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0
Ultra Wideband
Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness
NFC
NFC with reader mode; Express Cards with Power Reserve
USB
Lightning connector; video out up to 1080p through the Lightning Digital AV Adapter (sold separately)
Positioning
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; digital compass; iBeacon micro-location

Design

Type
Standard
Weight
162 g
Thickness
7.4 mm
Height × width
146.7 × 71.5 mm
Water and dust resistance
IP68
Materials
Ceramic Shield front, glass back and aluminium design
Colours
Black, White, (PRODUCT)RED, Green, Blue, Purple
Buttons
Ring/Silent switch; side button; volume up/down
Water resistance detail
IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529
Biometrics
Face ID
Sensors
Barometer; three-axis gyro; accelerometer; proximity sensor; ambient light sensor
Microphones
Stereo recording

Software

Operating system
iOS
Software at launch
iOS 14
AI features
Apple Intelligence not supported

Storage options

Storage
64 GB
128 GB
256 GB

Pros and cons

Pros

  • First standard iPhone with 5G and MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W
  • Ceramic Shield front and IP68 rating to 6 metres
  • 162 g and 7.4 mm thick

Cons

  • 60Hz display with a notch, and 625 nits typical brightness
  • Lightning port rather than USB-C
  • 64GB base storage and no telephoto camera

Closest rivals

Model
ScreenDisplayChipMemoryStorageMain cameraZoomBatteryWeightReleased
AppleiPhone 11
6.1″LCD, 60 HzA13 Bionic4 GB64 GB – 256 GB12 MP–3,110 mAh194 gSept 2019
AppleiPhone 13
6.1″OLED, 60 HzA15 Bionic4 GB128 GB – 512 GB12 MP–3,227 mAh173 gSept 2021
GooglePixel 3a XL
6″OLEDQualcomm Snapdragon 6704 GB64 GB12.2 MP–3,700 mAh167 gMay 2019

Previous model: iPhone 11. Newer model: iPhone 13.

Sources

  1. support.apple.com/en-gb/111876
  2. apple.com/uk/newsroom/2020/10/apple-announces-iphone-12-and-iphone-12-mini-a-ne…
  3. gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_12-10509.php

Photo: store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com

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