If you’re considering an upgrade or can’t decide between the two Apple flagships, this iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11 comparison should help. Keep in mind that the iPhone 13 series is now available, so you might want to go with one of the newer models instead.
As you can see from our iPhone 12 review, it comes with a lot of improvements over the iPhone 11. To begin with, the iPhone 12 line consisted of four variants, as opposed to three for the iPhone 11. Apple has also gone all-in on 5G connectivity, and every iPhone 12 comes with an OLED screen, which outperforms LCD displays.
The differences don’t end there: the iPhone 12 has a more durable Ceramic Shield display, a speedier A14 Bionic CPU that outperforms Android phones, and a strong LiDAR sensor on Pro models. The iPhone 12 line’s prices are also rather inexpensive.
Despite this, according to our iPhone 11 review, Apple’s older phone is still a good option for consumers on a budget, thanks to price decreases across the board. Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 have seen price reductions as the iPhone 13 has been available. As a result, this is an excellent moment to purchase one of the earlier versions.
Which iPhone model should you purchase? Here’s a breakdown of the major differences between the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 11.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11: Models and sizes
The 5.4-inch iPhone 12 small is the entry-level iPhone 12, which is a new size for Apple. A 6.1-inch iPhone 12 is also available, which is identical in size to the iPhone 11.
The iPhone 12 Pro comes in two sizes when it comes to the Pro phones: 6.1 inches for the iPhone 12 Pro and 6.7 inches for the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max have 5.8 and 6.7-inch displays, respectively. Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup, on the whole, has more options than the iPhone 11 lineup.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11: Prices
The iPhone 12 small is the most affordable of the bunch, with a starting price of $599. The ordinary iPhone 12 will set you back $699. Both come with 64GB of storage as usual; 128GB costs $50 more, and 256GB costs $150 more.
The iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max have 128GB of storage out of the box. They cost the same as the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max at launch: $999 for the smaller model and $1,099 for the larger.
Apple has now withdrawn the iPhone 12 Pro line, while leaving the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 small on the market, as is customary. When the iPhone 13 range was unveiled, the latter two phones received $100 reductions.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11: Design
The iPhone 12 range received a significant makeover, with flatter sides replacing the rounded form of the iPhone 11. Even if the sides cut into your palms a little more, the retro-modern design is intriguing.
The Ceramic Shield display on every iPhone 12 model is the most noticeable design change. Apple claims that the iPhone 12 will have 4x the drop resistance of the iPhone 11 series, and thus far, several iPhone 12 drop testing have been quite encouraging.
Unfortunately, speculations of a smaller notch for the iPhone 12 were unfounded; the cutout for the TrueDepth camera and earpiece on the iPhone 12 is the same size as previously. (The iPhone 13 does, however, have a narrower notch.)
In all iPhone 12 models, Apple has thinned the bezel around the Super Retina XDR displays, resulting in a slightly larger screen-to-body ratio. The 6.1-inch iPhone 12 is 11 percent thinner, 15 percent smaller, and 16 percent lighter than the 6.1-inch iPhone 11, according to Apple’s measurements.
The iPhone 12 and 12 mini are available in five colors (black, white, Product Red, blue, and green), while the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max are available in four colors (black, white, Product Red, blue, and green) (graphite, silver, gold and Pacific Blue).
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11: Display
Like the iPhone 11 Pro, all four iPhone 12 models have Super Retina XDR OLED displays, whereas the iPhone 11 had an LCD screen.
Deeper blacks, more brilliant colors, and wider viewing angles are just a few of the advantages of OLED over LCD. Overall, the switch to OLED is likely to be the most significant upgrade or positive difference an iPhone 11 owner will notice when upgrading to an iPhone 12.
With the iPhone 12, Apple was unable to offer 120Hz refresh rates on its Pro-series models, as had been expected in the months leading up to launch. The exclusion was said to be due to battery concerns, which made sense considering that all iPhone 12 models support millimeter-wave 5G, which can be somewhat power hungry.
A year later, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max received the 120Hz displays. If you’re looking for that, or if you’re a huge mobile gamer, those are the devices to look for.
It’s worth mentioning that the average brightness of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 small displays is 625 nits, compared to 800 nits for the iPhone 12 Pro phones. As a result, the iPhone 12 Pros will have a brighter picture.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11: Specs and performance
Apple’s new A14 Bionic chipset powers the whole iPhone 12 line, promising up to 50% greater CPU and GPU performance than competing Android phones. In addition, the A14 has a 16-core Neural Engine that boosts performance by 80 percent.
The iPhone 12 benchmarks show a significant improvement in performance. The iPhone 12 scored 3,859 on Geekbench 5, compared to 3,517 for the iPhone 11 Pro Max in the multi-core test. (Of course, the A15 chipset in the iPhone 13 performs even better.)
In the Adobe Premiere Rush app, we measured how long it took to transcode a 4K video to 1080p, and the iPhone 12 finished in just 26 seconds. It took 45 seconds for the iPhone 11 Pro to charge.
In terms of graphics performance, we didn’t see much of a difference. The iPhone 12 scored 39 frames per second in the 3DMark Wild Life test, while the iPhone 11 Pro Max earned 42 fps. When we switched to the off-screen version of the test, the iPhone 12 Pro scored 51 frames per second, compared to 42 frames per second for the iPhone 11 Pro.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11: Cameras and LiDAR scanner
Thanks to its excellent Night Mode and next-generation Smart HDR, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro have proven to be among the greatest camera phones on the market. The iPhone 11 has a regular wide-angle and ultra-wide lens, while the iPhone 11 Pro had a telephoto zoom.
The ordinary 5.4-inch iPhone 12 and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 both feature two lenses, while the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max both have three cameras and a LiDAR scanner.
Night Mode and Portrait Mode are available on every single camera on the iPhone 12 series, including front and rear. With Dolby Vision, every device in the family can capture 10-bit HDR video (though the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max can do this at 60 frames per second, as opposed to 30 fps for the regular iPhone 12).
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11: Battery life
Apple isn’t known for cramming as many batteries as possible into its devices. The iPhone 11 had a battery capacity of 3,100 mAh, while the iPhone 11 Pro had a capacity of 3,046 mAh. The iPhone 11 Pro Max’s battery capacity was increased to 3,969 mAh.
The iPhone 11 (11 hours and 16 minutes) and iPhone 11 Pro Max (11:54) both performed admirably in our battery tests, earning spots on our top phone battery life list.
The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, on the other hand, have a battery capacity of 2,815 mAh.
