iPhone 12
iPhone 12
Apple's mainstream 2020 iPhones, the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 mini, remain available at a lower price following the iPhone 13 launch.
By MacRumors Staff on April 27, 2022
iPhone 12
At a Glance
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini were Apple's mainstream flagship iPhones for 2020. The phones come in 6.1-inch and 5.4-inch sizes with identical features, including support for 5G cellular networks, OLED displays, improved cameras, and Apple's A14 chip, all in a completely refreshed design.
Features
New design
6.1 and 5.4-inch sizes
5G support
OLED displays with Ceramic Shield
Dual-lens camera
A14 chip
$599/$699 starting price
Last Updated 5 weeks ago
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Should You Buy an iPhone 12?
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are part of Apple's 2020 generation of smartphones, offering OLED displays, 5G connectivity, the A14 chip, improved cameras, and MagSafe, all in a squared-off design. Following the introduction of the iPhone 13 lineup in September 2021, the iPhone 12 and 12 mini remain available for purchase as lower-cost options.
Announced in October of 2020, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are now over a year old and have been supplanted by the iPhone 13, but they remain a good value with solid performance. Apple tends to release new iPhone models every September, and despite the iPhone 12 and 12 mini launching a month later than usual in 2020, Apple returned to its normal schedule with the iPhone 13 launch in September 2021.
iphone 12 vs iphone 12 mini
With the iPhone 13 lineup now available, many potential customers are likely wondering whether it's still worth purchasing an iPhone 12 or 12 mini to save a few dollars.
If you want the latest and greatest mainstream phone or cutting-edge photo capabilities, you'll need to spring for at least the iPhone 13 or perhaps even the iPhone 13 Pro, but if price is a strong consideration for you, the iPhone 12 and 12 mini represent excellent middle-of-the-road devices in Apple's lineup.
Compared to their iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini successors, the iPhone 12 ($699 starting price) and iPhone 12 mini ($599 starting price) come in $100 cheaper, which is a decent savings. And while the iPhone 13 models have some new features, the overall design has changed relatively little and many users consider the iPhone 13 a fairly minor upgrade, which may make the iPhone 12 an appealing option for some customers.
If you're looking to save even more money, Apple does offer some models priced even lower than the iPhone 12 and 12 mini. The iPhone 11 from 2019 remains in Apple's lineup, priced at $499, and it offers the same 6.1-inch display size as the iPhone 12. There are some tradeoffs, however, such as the LCD display rather OLED, a lack of 5G support, and the use of older components with somewhat lower performance.
At the low-end, Apple's least expensive model is the $399 iPhone SE which is based on significantly older technology such as a 4.7-inch LCD display with thicker borders at the top and bottom and Touch ID Home button, but it still offers a good value for the most price-conscious customers.
iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini Overview
Contents
Should You Buy an iPhone 12?
iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini Overview
iPhone 12 Price and Availability
iPhone 12 Reviews
6.1-inch iPhone 12
5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini
Issues
Design
Sizes
Color Options
Water Resistance
Display
Ceramic Shield
A14 Bionic Chip
Neural Engine
RAM
TrueDepth Camera and Face ID
Using Face ID With a Mask
Camera Features
Dual-Lens Rear Camera
New Camera Features
Video Recording
Battery Life
5G Connectivity
5G Benefits
5G Battery Drain
5G Bands
LTE Bands
Data Saver Mode
Dual SIM Support
5GHz Personal Hotspot
WiFi, Bluetooth, and U1 Chip
Other Features
Speaker
Sensors
GPS and NFC
Storage Space
MagSafe
No Power Adapter
iPhone 12 Timeline
Apple on October 13, 2020, introduced the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, which offer powerful features at an affordable price tag. Originally sold alongside the more expensive and now-discontinued iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, the iPhone 12 and 12 mini remain ideal for anyone who doesn't need pro-level camera features.
The 6.1-inch iPhone 12 was a successor to the iPhone 11 from 2019, while the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 was an all-new size and marked the smallest iPhone Apple had introduced since the 2016 iPhone SE. Aside from screen size and battery size, the two phones are technically identical. With its small size, the iPhone 12 mini is ideal for those who prefer an iPhone that can be used one-handed.
The iPhone 12 and 12 mini feature Super Retina XDR OLED displays, with an edge-to-edge design with the exception of the Face ID notch and small bezels around the edge.
The 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini has a resolution of 2430 x 1080 with 476 pixels per inch and the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 has a resolution of 2532 x 1170 with 460 pixels per inch. The displays offer HDR support with 1200 nits peak brightness, Wide Color for vivid, true-to-life colors, Haptic Touch for feedback, and True Tone to match the color temperature of the display to the ambient lighting for a more natural viewing experience.
Apple overhauled the design of the iPhone 12 lineup in 2020, introducing flat edges that were a departure from the rounded edges of prior models and are similar in design to the iPad Pro. The front of the iPhone is protected by a Ceramic Shield cover that replaces the standard cover glass of previous models. Apple says the Ceramic Shield is infused with nano-ceramic crystals and offers 4x better drop performance. Apple largely carried over the iPhone 12 design and Ceramic Shield for the iPhone 13, and the two generations look very similar to one another.
As with other recent models, the back of the iPhone 12 is made from glass, with the two halves of the device sandwiching an aerospace-grade aluminum enclosure that comes in six colors: blue, green, black, white, (PRODUCT)RED, and purple, an extra color added in April 2021.. The iPhone 12 models offer IP68 water and dust resistance and can hold up to submersion in 6 meters of water for up to 30 minutes.
The iPhone 12 models were the first to support 5G connectivity for faster downloads and uploads, better quality video streaming, improved gaming, and higher-definition 1080p FaceTime calls. 5G coverage is available worldwide, but only iPhone 12 devices sold in the United States support mmWave 5G, which is the fastest 5G technology available.
iPhone 12 models sold in other countries are limited to the slower but more widely available Sub-6GHz 5G connectivity. In the U.S., 5G speeds can be as high as 4Gbps, even in highly populated areas.
Gigabit LTE is supported when 5G isn't available, and to preserve battery life when using 5G, a Smart Data Mode reverts to an LTE connection when 5G speeds aren't necessary.
The iPhone 12 and 12 mini support WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, plus they include a U1 Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness and interactivity with other devices that include the U1 feature such as the HomePod mini.
There's an A14 chip inside the iPhone 12 models, and it was the first chip in the smartphone industry built on a 5-nanometer process for performance and efficiency improvements. Apple said at launch that the 6-core CPU and 4-core GPU in the A14 were 50 percent faster than the fastest competing smartphone chips, although the A15 chip in the latest iPhone 13 models has pushed things even further. The A14 chip also includes a 16-core Neural Engine that offers an 80 percent increase in performance for machine learning tasks compared to the previous A13 chip.
Unlike the iPhone 13 family which offers both regular and Pro models, the iPhone 12 and 12 mini are no longer have a corresponding set of Pro models, with those having been discontinued in September 2021 with the launch of the iPhone 13 lineup. The regular iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models are similar to the Pro models in most respects, but the ca