Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone 12 mini and Apple iPhone XS - Which is better?

Apple iPhone 12 mini vs Apple iPhone XS

61 out 100
Apple iPhone 12 mini
VS
52 out 100
Apple iPhone XS
Apple iPhone 12 mini
Apple iPhone XS

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 12 mini Manufactured in November, 2020, with display 5.4 with chipsetApple A14 Bionic, vs Apple iPhone XS, Manufactured in September, 2018 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 12 mini
  • Higher pixel density: 476ppi
  • Lighter design: 135g vs 177g
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XS
  • Larger display: 5.8in
  • Higher battery capacity: 2658mAh vs 2227mAh

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 12 mini and Apple iPhone XS
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Apple iPhone 12 mini
vs
Apple iPhone XS

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 5.4 in 5.8 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1125x2436 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 476 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 625 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 120 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 84.8 % 81.1 %
Features DCI-P3 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 12 mini
622 nits
Apple iPhone XS
635 nits
sRGB gamutn/a98.8 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a4.4 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone XS]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 131.5 mm (5.18 in) 143.6 mm (5.65 in)
Width 64.2 mm (2.53 in) 70.9 mm (2.79 in)
Thickness 7.4 mm (0.29 in) 7.7 mm (0.3 in)
Weight 135 g (4.76 oz) 177 g (6.24 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red		 - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor No No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 12 mini
84.8 %
Apple iPhone XS
81.1 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 12 mini and Apple iPhone XS In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A14 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 3100 MHz 2490 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)		 - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Neural Engine
Graphics Apple A14 GPU Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 256 256
GPU Frequency 1278 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 654.3 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 12 mini
1957
Apple iPhone XS
1307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 12 mini
5062
Apple iPhone XS
3447
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19571307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)50623447
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 12 mini
1041022
Apple iPhone XS
733639
CPU295247202576
GPU309462217548
Memory140008146853
UX296305166662
NanoReview Score1041022733639
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 12 mini
7655
Apple iPhone XS
5698
Max Surface Temp.n/a44.8 °C
Stability69 %63 %
Graphics Test45 fps34 fps
Graphics Score76555698
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone 12 mini], [Apple iPhone XS]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 4 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency n/a 2133 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 64 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size n/a 11.8 GB

Battery

Volume 2227 mAh 2658 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (60% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full Charge Time 1:29 h 2:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 12 mini
16:11
Apple iPhone XS
16:06
Web Browsing06:04 h05:44 h
Video Playback10:15 h09:44 h
Games03:53 h03:54 h
Standby Mode79 h84 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 2x
Flash Quad LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX372Apple iSight X
Sensor size1/3.41/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a52 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/3.4
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX503n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 12 mini
128
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12 mini
129
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 12 mini
117
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Bokeh55n/a
Preview76n/a
Zoom57n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 12 mini]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 4290x2800 pixels 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 32 mm
Sensor Sony IMX514 CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.6 n/a
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 12 mini
127
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12 mini
140
Apple iPhone XS
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type No No
USB version n/a 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B46/B48/B66)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE category1816
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 12 mini
n/a
Apple iPhone XS
87.3 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced October, 2020 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date November, 2020 yr September, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 700 1000
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

Survey

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Total Votes: 2

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