iPhone 12 review: In 2021, it’s still an excellent buy
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Update, Sept. 24, 2021: Apple announced the earlier this month. The new phones follow in the footsteps of the iPhone 12 series with four models: the iPhone 13, 13 Mini, . Last year’s iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max have been discontinued, but the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini hang around at a lower price. That means you can get an iPhone 12 Mini with 64GB of memory for $629, which is $100 less than its original price and the cost of the new iPhone 13 Mini with 128GB of storage. The iPhone 12 with 64GB starts at $729, which is $100 less than the 128GB iPhone 13. Those prices don’t include carrier discounts. My review of the iPhone 12 from Oct. 20, 2020, follows.
The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro mark the beginning of a new generation of iPhone. , a new hardware design and camera improvements are a significant step away from the generation of devices. This is nothing new. Apple did something similar in 2010 with the and in 2014 when it released the and .
There is , though. It’s the first time there are : the iPhone 12, , iPhone 12 Pro and . If you want to go small and reap the benefits of a lower price there’s the Mini. If you want the biggest iPhone with the newest in iPhone cameras, get the Pro Max. But that leaves the 12 and 12 Pro which are similar (like basically-the-same-phone similar). That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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Like
- New square-sided design
- 5G support for both sub-6 and mmWave
- Low-light photos and videos
- MagSafe everything
Don’t Like
- $829 off-carrier price is high for the 12
- Baseline 12 only has 64GB of storage
Like
- Premium fit and finish
- Fantastic autofocus for photos and videos
- Solid build quality
- Fastest phone we’ve ever tested
Don’t Like
- iPhone 12 offers most of the same features, design and build for less money
The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are the same size. They both have the same design, the same display, the same insanely fast A14 Bionic chip, the same , the same selfie, wide and ultrawide cameras. Heck, they both come in blue. (Technically, the 12 Pro is Pacific blue.) This is a departure from the base and pro models from the previous year. The $699 iPhone 11 and $999 iPhone 11 Pro were similar but had enough differences to distinguish themselves from each other.
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The $829 iPhone 12 (or $799 if you activate it on a carrier when you buy it) is $130 more than the iPhone 11 when it was released. An iPhone 12 with 128GB of storage (the same as the baseline 12 Pro) costs $879 (sans carrier discount) which is only $120 less than the $999 iPhone 12 Pro. It’s best to think of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro as “better” and “best” versions of the same phone. .
Prices start in the UK at £799 for the iPhone 12 and £999 for the 12 Pro. In Australia they start at AU$1,349 for the 12 and AU$1,699 for the 12 Pro. See the chart at the bottom for a full pricing breakdown.
iPhone 12 vs. 12 Pro vs. iPhone 11
iPhone 12 |
iPhone 12 Pro |
iPhone 11 |
|
---|---|---|---|
Price off-contract (USD) |
$829 (64GB), $879 (128GB), $979 (256GB) |
$999 (128GB), $1,099 (256GB), $1,299 (512GB) |
$599 (64GB), $649 (128GB), $749 (256GB) |
Camera |
12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide) |
12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (telephoto) |
12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide) |
Storage |
64GB, 128GB, 256GB |
128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
64GB, 128GB, 256GB |
Now there are many people who will just get the iPhone 12 because it doesn’t cost a thousand dollars and it’s a great phone. Which it is. And there are many people who will get the iPhone 12 Pro because it is more premium. Which it is. Either way, you’re getting an amazing phone with the best overall camera system you can find.
During my time with both phones, I found myself picking the 12 Pro more. Not because it had a telephoto camera or lidar, which the 12 lacks: I preferred the matte textured back, the shiny stainless steel band around the sides and the fact that the 12 Pro, despite weighing nearly an ounce (25 grams) more, felt solid and premium in my hand.