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

Apple iPhone 12 vs Apple iPhone Air

65 out 100
Apple iPhone 12
VS
88 out 100
Apple iPhone Air
Apple iPhone 12
Apple iPhone Air

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 12 Manufactured in October, 2020, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A14 Bionic, vs Apple iPhone Air, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetApple A19 Pro. 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
  • Lighter design: 164g vs 165g
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone Air
  • Larger display: 6.5in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 3149mAh vs 2815mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB		 - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 12 and Apple iPhone Air
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
vs
Apple iPhone Air

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.1 in 6.5 in
Resolution 1170x2532 pixels 1260x2736 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 625 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 87.1 % 88.9 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 12
646 nits
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
sRGB gamut99.4 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)226 Hzn/a
Response time16 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone 12]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.7 mm (5.78 in) 156.2 mm (6.15 in)
Width 71.5 mm (2.81 in) 74.7 mm (2.94 in)
Thickness 7.4 mm (0.29 in) 5.6 mm (0.22 in)
Weight 164 g (5.78 oz) 165 g (5.82 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red		 - White
- Black
- Gold
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor No No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 12
87.1 %
Apple iPhone Air
88.9 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 12 and Apple iPhone Air In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A14 Bionic Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 3100 MHz 4300 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)		 4/2.51 ()
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Neural Engine
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
1941
Apple iPhone Air
3756
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 12
5008
Apple iPhone Air
10670
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19413756
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)500810670
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 12
1095315
Apple iPhone Air
2118157
CPU310050511982
GPU323143790667
Memory173777370651
UX288345444857
NanoReview Score10953152118157
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 12
7601
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Max Surface Temp.41.2 °Cn/a
Stability77 %n/a
Graphics Test45 fpsn/a
Graphics Score7601n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone 12]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 4 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) iOS 26
OS Size 7 GB n/a

Battery

Volume 2815 mAh 3149 mAh
Max Charging Power 18 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (20 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (58% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:30 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 12
21:15
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Web Browsing08:00 hn/a
Video Playback12:09 hn/a
Games04:35 hn/a
Standby Mode112 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Quad 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 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.6
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX372n/a
Sensor size1/3.41/1.56
Pixel size1.4 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
Sensor size1/3.6n/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 12
127
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12
130
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 12
117
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Bokeh55n/a
Preview74n/a
Zoom60n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 12]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 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 n/a 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
127
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12
140
Apple iPhone Air
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 No
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
81.1 dB
Apple iPhone Air
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced October, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date October, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 999
Sensors - 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 Air the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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2 (100%)
Total Votes: 2

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