Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone 12 and Nothing Phone (4a) Pro - Which is better?

Apple iPhone 12 vs Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

65 out 100
Apple iPhone 12
VS
77 out 100
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
Apple iPhone 12
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 12 Manufactured in October, 2020, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A14 Bionic, vs Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, Manufactured in March, 2026 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4. 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
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Lighter design: 164g vs 210g
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
Reasons to choose Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
  • Larger display: 6.83in
  • Higher refresh rate: 144Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5080mAh vs 2815mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB		 - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 12 and Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
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
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED AMOLED
Size 6.1 in 6.83 in
Resolution 1170x2532 pixels 1260x2800 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 440 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 144 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (30-120 Hz)
Max brightness 625 nits 1600 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 87.1 % 89.9 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 12
646 nits
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
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) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 71.5 mm (2.81 in) 76.6 mm (3.02 in)
Thickness 7.4 mm (0.29 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 164 g (5.78 oz) 210 g (7.41 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP65
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Metal
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red		 - Black
- Silver
- Pink
Fingerprint sensor No Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 12
87.1 %
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
89.9 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 12 and Nothing Phone (4a) Pro In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A14 Bionic Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4
Max Frequency 3100 MHz 2800 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (1 + 4 + 3)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)		 - 3/1.84 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-520))
- 4/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-720))
- 1/2.8 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-720))
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Yes
Graphics Apple A14 GPU Adreno 722
GPU Cores 256 512
GPU Frequency 1278 MHz 1150 MHz
FLOPS 654.3 GFLOPS 1177.6 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 12
1941
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
1373
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 12
5008
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
4243
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19411373
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)50084243
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a7583
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Nothing Phone (4a) Pro]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 12
1095315
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
1186813
CPU310050390368
GPU323143377879
Memory173777193509
UX288345225057
NanoReview Score10953151186813
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 12
7601
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
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 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency n/a 3200 MHz
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB		128 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) Android 16
OS Size 7 GB n/a
UI Skin n/a Nothing OS 4.1

Battery

Volume 2815 mAh 5080 mAh
Max Charging Power 18 W 50 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) No
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (58% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 28 min)
Full Charge Time 1:30 h 1:12 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 12
21:15
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
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 50 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 8192x6144 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 3.5x
Flash Quad LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.9
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSony IMX372Sony LYT-710
Sensor size1/3.41/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size1.4 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a50 MP
Aperturen/af/2.9
Focal lengthn/a80 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung S5KJN5
Sensor sizen/a1/2.75 (0.36)
Pixel sizen/a0.64 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.2
Focal length13 mm15 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX355
Sensor size1/3.61/4.0 (0.25)
Pixel sizen/a1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 12
127
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12
130
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
n/a
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 12
117
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
n/a
Bokeh55n/a
Preview74n/a
Zoom60n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 12]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 32 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 22 mm
Sensor Sony IMX514 ISOCELL CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.42 (0.29)
Pixel size n/a 0.64 μm
Autofocus No No
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
127
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12
140
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
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 5.4
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
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)UMTS B1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19
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/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B42/B48/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 No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 12
81.1 dB
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced October, 2020 yr March, 2026 yr
Release Date October, 2020 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 499
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Nothing Phone (4a) Pro the clear winner in this comparison.

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