Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone 15 and Apple iPhone 12 - Which is better?

Apple iPhone 15 vs Apple iPhone 12

80 out 100
Apple iPhone 15
VS
65 out 100
Apple iPhone 12
Apple iPhone 15
Apple iPhone 12

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 15 Manufactured in September, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A16 Bionic, vs Apple iPhone 12, Manufactured in October, 2020with chipsetApple A14 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 15
  • Higher battery capacity: 3349mAh vs 2815mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 12
  • Lighter design: 164g vs 171g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 6/512 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 15 and Apple iPhone 12
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 15
vs
Apple iPhone 12

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.1 in 6.1 in
Resolution 1179x2556 pixels 1170x2532 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 2000 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 86.4 % 87.1 %
Features DCI-P3 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 15
1646 nits
Apple iPhone 12
646 nits
sRGB gamut99.6 %99.4 %
PWM (Flicker)306 Hz226 Hz
Response time2 ms16 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone 15], [Apple iPhone 12]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 147.6 mm (5.81 in) 146.7 mm (5.78 in)
Width 71.6 mm (2.82 in) 71.5 mm (2.81 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 7.4 mm (0.29 in)
Weight 171 g (6.03 oz) 164 g (5.78 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Green
- Pink
- Yellow		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red
Fingerprint sensor No No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 15
86.4 %
Apple iPhone 12
87.1 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 15 and Apple iPhone 12 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A16 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
Max Frequency 3460 MHz 3100 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.02 (Sawtooth)
- 2/3.46 (Everest)		 - 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
Graphics Apple A16 GPU Apple A14 GPU
GPU Cores 640 256
GPU Frequency 1398 MHz 1278 MHz
FLOPS 1789.4 GFLOPS 654.3 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 15
2599
Apple iPhone 12
1941
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 15
6545
Apple iPhone 12
5008
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)25991941
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)65455008
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Apple iPhone 15]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 15
1415281
Apple iPhone 12
1095315
CPU378046310050
GPU449766323143
Memory261642173777
UX325827288345
NanoReview Score14152811095315
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 15
9632
Apple iPhone 12
7601
Max Surface Temp.44.3 °C41.2 °C
Stability81 %77 %
Graphics Test59 fps45 fps
Graphics Score96327601
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone 12]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz n/a
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 17 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5) iOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 18 GB 7 GB

Battery

Volume 3349 mAh 2815 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse Charging Yes No
Fast Charging Yes (58% in 30 min) Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:50 h 1:30 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 15
25:31
Apple iPhone 12
21:15
Web Browsing10:47 h08:00 h
Video Playback16:55 h12:09 h
Games05:36 h04:35 h
Standby Mode112 h112 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8064x6048 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom 114 Digital
Flash Dual 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 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix48 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.6
Focal length26 mm26 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX372
Sensor size1/1.51/3.4
Pixel size1 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX633n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/3.6
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 15
147
Apple iPhone 12
127
Video quality
Apple iPhone 15
153
Apple iPhone 12
130
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 15
145
Apple iPhone 12
117
Bokeh8055
Preview8474
Zoomn/a60
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 15], [Apple iPhone 12]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 Sony IMX514
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.6
Pixel size 1.12 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus No
Stabilization Digital Digital
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 15
n/a
Apple iPhone 12
127
Video quality
Apple iPhone 15
n/a
Apple iPhone 12
140

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 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 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 2 n/a
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
DisplayPort Yes n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*n/a1
SIM TypeeSIMNano
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
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 ()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 category1818
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers n/a Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 15
81.6 dB
Apple iPhone 12
81.1 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2023 yr October, 2020 yr
Release Date September, 2023 yr October, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 800
MSRP ($) 799 n/a
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 No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 15 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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Total Votes: 2

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