Apple iPhone 12 buying guide: Which iPhone 12 should you buy?

We look at what Apple offers with each model and suggest the best fit based on your usage patterns.

Note: This feature was first published on 20 Oct 2020.

Lining up the suspects

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?

After all, 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. Choosing the right iPhone boils down to user priorities and understanding exactly what you're getting in return for your chosen device.

Model
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
64GB
S$1,149
S$1,299
-
-
128GB
S$1,219
S$1,369
S$1,649
S$1,799
256GB
S$1,389
S$1,539
S$1,819
S$1,969
512GB
S$2,149
S$2,299

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. Of course, we're going by what each phone offers on paper since they've yet to hit retail, so actual user experience may vary from the recommendations here.

 

What do all iPhone 12 models have in common?

For the first time in the iPhone series, every iPhone 12 model now comes with an OLED display (the marketing term Apple uses is Super Retina XDR display). Previously, the iPhone 11 series reserved the more expensive and higher quality OLED panels for the Pro and higher variants.

Apple has decidedly standardised the higher quality panel across the board - you now choose based on your preferred phone size. OLED is prized for its excellent contrast ratio, which commands a premium when you put it against other display alternatives out there.

All iPhone 12 models, regardless of variant, will use the A14 Bionic chipset. While Apple's chipset practice for iPhones remains consistent, it's the first-ever, commercially-available 5nm phone chipset in the world.

To put it very simply, the '5nm process' is a breakthrough since 2018, where chipsets of the last three years were made using a 7nm process. Smaller transistors made via the 5nm process meant having the ability to squeeze more transistors into the same physical space. This translates into having more transistors, which becomes more processing power while using the same real estate.

This is partly why Apple made such a big deal about being able to fit 11.8 billion transistors on the A14 Bionic, and why they were able to boldly claim it's 50% faster than any smartphone chip's CPU in the current market. The A14 Bionic's processing power also opened up the doors to new processing capabilities, such as computational photography.

Finally, all iPhone 12 models are compatible with sub-6GHz 5G networks, with the models in the U.S. offering compatibility with mmWave 5G networks. As of the iPhone 12 launch dates, the three major telcos of Singapore are running trial 5G (non-standalone) networks that are within the sub-6GHz range. As users, this means that you don't have to worry about local 5G compatibility when buying an iPhone 12 for the foreseeable future.

It's hard to pin down when mmWave 5G will be ready for mainstream use at a global scale, but we hazard it won't be here anytime soon, seeing how China's planning for mmWave 5G demonstrations sometime around 2022's Beijing Winter Olympics.

What's new across the board, in summary:

  • All iPhone 12 models get OLED-quality panels
  • All iPhone 12 models get the same cutting-edge A14 Bionic chipset
  • All iPhone 12 models get 5G connectivity that works with our telco's 5G networks

This doesn't factor in other iPhone 12 features available across the board, like MagSafe wireless charging for all models, equal fast-charging speeds across the board (wired and wireless, 20W adapter sold separately), the extra layer of Ceramic Shield for heightening glass durability, and an improved IP68 rating with up to 6m submersion for up to 30 minutes.

Now we know where the commonalities lie, let's look at the differences in features between each model.

 

Choosing between iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

Summary of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini. Source: Apple's keynote.

Summary of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini. Source: Apple's keynote.

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.

The trade-off for a more compact phone would naturally be its overall battery life. 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.

It's not for us to tell anyone whether a difference in screen size is worth an x amount of mAh in return. So, your options here are either:

  • 5.4-inch display, with 15 hours usage hopefully, or
  • 6.1-inch display, with 17 hours usage hopefully
iPhone 12 mini (left). iPhone 12 (right). Source: Apple website.

iPhone 12 mini (left). iPhone 12 (right). Source: Apple website.

The iPhone 12 is 15.2mm longer and 7.3mm wider than the iPhone 12 mini. All four iPhone models are equally slim at 7.4mm. You'll never know if the extra few millimetres could be a deciding factor for someone out there, so we're just putting it out here for your reference.

 

Choosing between iPhone 12 and the Pro models (iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max)

Here's where it gets a little interesting.

The regular iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini have dual-rear cameras:

  • 12MP, wide-angle, f/1.6 aperture, seven-element lens
  • 12MP, ultra-wide angle, f/2.4 aperture, five-element lens, 120° field of view
  • Night Mode, Deep Fusion on both cameras
  • 100% Focus Pixels on the wide-angle camera

Together, the cameras on the regular and mini models offer 2x optical zoom out and 5x digital zoom. In the video-recording department, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini offer Dolby Vision HDR recording up to 4K resolution @ 30 FPS.

The iPhone 12 Pro comes with triple-rear cameras:

  • Additional 12MP, Telephoto, f/2.0 aperture, six-element lens
  • 4x optical zoom range
  • 10x digital zoom
  • LiDAR scanner for Night Mode

The iPhone 12 Pro Max has all of the 12 Pro's additions, and then some more, below:

  • Larger 1.7μm pixel size on the Wide camera (vs. 1.4μm on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro)
  • 47% bigger sensor on the Wide camera
  • Smaller f/2.2 aperture for Telephoto lens (instead of f/2.0 on the Pro)
  • 5x optical zoom range (instead of 4x)
  • 12x digital zoom (instead of 10x)
  • Sensor-shift optical image stabilisation for Wide lens

Apple also made sure that the Pro models came with more advanced recording capabilities than the regular iPhone 12 and mini. Both Pro models have Dolby Vision HDR recording at 4K resolution, 60 FPS

For folks who like it RAW. Source: Apple website.

For folks who like it RAW. Source: Apple website.

Also coming soon to both Pro models is Apple's proprietary RAW format for photo-taking, called Apple ProRAW. It uses the computational photography capabilities offered on the A14 Bionic, together with multi-frame image processing and the RAW format. It's obviously going to have file sizes way bigger than typical HEIF and JPEG file formats that are already available on the devices. Typically, RAW formats aren't necessary unless the user works in a field that requires it (professional photography), or if Apple figured a way out for users to edit in Apple ProRAW on the device, save a finished copy in JPEG, and make it ready for uploading on Instagram.

Between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, both models offer the same display size, dimensions, and battery life, making it a choice between paying more for that stainless steel chassis (instead of aluminium), extra telephoto lens, LiDAR scanner, and video-recording capabilities. 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, especially at night, when both people and phones can't see very much, to begin with.

Between the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, the difference lies not only in the display size but also its larger sensor and pixel size on the main camerasouped-up telephoto lens and the sensor-shift optical image stabilisation inside the main camera.

Source: Apple website.

Source: Apple website.

If you noticed, Apple did not claim to be the first smartphone ever to offer a camera with shifting sensors. That honour goes to the Vivo X50 Pro, which had a Gimbal Camera System in the main rear camera. The idea behind the technique is similar - the sensor is suspended within the housing, and it physically moves to mitigate blurry shots.

Aside from having a cool main sensor, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the largest variant among the four at 6.7-inch display size, is 13.3mm longer and 6.6mm wider, and offers "up to 20 hours of video playback" for the battery department.

iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max in a nutshell. Source: Apple keynote.

iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max in a nutshell. Source: Apple keynote.

The right iPhone 12 for you

By this point, we hope it's clearer what you're exactly paying for, and where the differences lie when you shell out for a new iPhone 12 series device. Below are a few takeaways to think about whenever someone asks you which is the right iPhone 12 to get:

The Pro variants of the iPhone 12 series cater towards users who need a telephoto lens in their lives or need a little (or a lot of) assistance in their photography. The LiDAR scanner and the variety of shooting options make it easier for folks who primarily shoot at night or indoors. The Pro Max even comes with a moving sensor in its main camera, which really says more about the person controlling the camera than the phone itself. The heighten framerate for Dolby Vision HDR recording would matter if you dabble in professional videography.

Some folks (like the better-paid members among our editorial team) may argue that you should just make every dollar count, and get the "full-fat with marbling and maximum yield" iPhone 12 Pro Max for all the features, and call it a day. However, if your professional or personal requirements do not require the extra low-light capabilities, the additional zoom range, and the enhanced stabilisation on the main camera, the iPhone 12 Pro still makes a viable alternative, thanks to pro-grade features like LiDAR scanner, 4K resolution @ 60 FPS Dolby Vision HDR recording, and (coming soon) Apple ProRAW image quality and editing.

If you're not particularly aching for telephoto or heightened video-recording capabilities, the regular iPhone 12 would be the "Goldilocks Fit" for this current batch of Apple smartphones. It 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.

Folks who value size above all other factors would find either the iPhone 12 mini or the iPhone 12 Pro Max more attractive. They would want either the compact 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini, or go all out with a 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max, and these users deal in absolutes like a certain bunch of Force-sensitive folks. Apple knows this - which is why the U.S. brand made the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro identical in dimensions and display size. 

With 5G access on all four models, we are spared from having to decide between the right iPhone 12 if 5G connectivity on the iOS ecosystem is your priority. The new Apple phones come just before the height of 5G access in Singapore, with our telcos taking off their gloves for an all-out brawl to make their trial networks commercially-ready.

For more information about the iPhone 12:

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