Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 17 - Which is better?

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max vs Apple iPhone 17

68 out 100
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
VS
92 out 100
Apple iPhone 17
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 17

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max Manufactured in November, 2020, with display 6.7 with chipsetApple A14 Bionic, vs Apple iPhone 17, Manufactured in September, 2025with chipsetApple A19. 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 Pro Max
  • Larger display: 6.7in
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 226g
  • Higher battery capacity: 3692mAh vs 3687mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 6/512 GB		 - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 17
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:
iPhone 12 Pro Max
vs
Apple iPhone 17

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.7 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1284x2778 pixels 1206x2622 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 458 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes
Max brightness 800 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 87.7 % 91.1 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
864 nits
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
sRGB gamut99.4 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)238 Hzn/a
Response time8 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 160.8 mm (6.33 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 78.1 mm (3.07 in) 71.5 mm (2.81 in)
Thickness 7.4 mm (0.29 in) 8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 226 g (7.97 oz) 177 g (6.24 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
- Blue		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
87.7 %
Apple iPhone 17
91.1 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 17 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A14 Bionic Apple A19
Max Frequency 3100 MHz 4100 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) n/a
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)		 n/a
Process TSMC n/a
Transistor Size 5 nm n/a
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine n/a
Graphics Apple A14 GPU n/a
GPU Cores 256 n/a
GPU Frequency 1278 MHz n/a
FLOPS 654.3 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
1976
Apple iPhone 17
3720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
5114
Apple iPhone 17
10589
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19763720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)511410589
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
1139529
Apple iPhone 17
2116678
CPU309114510193
GPU346277792974
Memory174323367866
UX309815445645
NanoReview Score11395292116678
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
7880
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Max Surface Temp.45 °Cn/a
Stability75 %n/a
Graphics Test47 fpsn/a
Graphics Score7880n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) iOS 26
OS Size 16 GB n/a

Battery

Volume 3687 mAh 3692 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (55% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:32 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
22:52
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Web Browsing08:35 hn/a
Video Playback13:38 hn/a
Games05:29 hn/a
Standby Mode116 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2.5x Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual 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 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Depth		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.6
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX603n/a
Sensor size1/1.91/1.56
Pixel size1.7 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length65 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX613n/a
Sensor size1/3.4n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX372n/a
Sensor size1/3.41/2.55
Pixel size1 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
131
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
130
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
131
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview80n/a
Zoom115n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 4290x2800 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 23 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX514 n/a
Sensor size 1/3.6 n/a
Pixel size 1 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes Yes
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
127
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
140
Apple iPhone 17
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
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 6.0
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE
USB type No USB Type-C
USB version n/a 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*1n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)n/a
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
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 (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
LTE category18n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
81.2 dB
Apple iPhone 17
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced October, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date November, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1100 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 799
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 17 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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Total Votes: 2

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