Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone 7 and Apple iPhone 12 - Which is better?

Apple iPhone 7 vs Apple iPhone 12

38 out 100
Apple iPhone 7
VS
65 out 100
Apple iPhone 12
Apple iPhone 7
Apple iPhone 12

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 7 Manufactured in September, 2016, with display 4.7 with chipsetApple A10 Fusion, vs Apple iPhone 12, Manufactured in October, 2020 with 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 7
  • Lighter design: 138g vs 164g
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 12
  • Larger display: 6.1in
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 2815mAh vs 1960mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5 vs 4.2
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 2/32 GB
- 2/128 GB
- 2/256 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 7 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 7
vs
Apple iPhone 12

Display

Display quality comparison
Type IPS LCD OLED
Size 4.7 in 6.1 in
Resolution 750x1334 pixels 1170x2532 pixels
Aspect ratio 16:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 326 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 625 nits 625 nits
HDR support No Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 65.6 % 87.1 %
Features n/a DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 7
652 nits
Apple iPhone 12
646 nits
sRGB gamut100 %99.4 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a226 Hz
Response time35.5 ms16 ms
Contrast1635:1∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone 7], [Apple iPhone 12]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 138.3 mm (5.44 in) 146.7 mm (5.78 in)
Width 67.1 mm (2.64 in) 71.5 mm (2.81 in)
Thickness 7.1 mm (0.28 in) 7.4 mm (0.29 in)
Weight 138 g (4.87 oz) 164 g (5.78 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Back panel Metal Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gold
- Red
- Pink		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 7
65.6 %
Apple iPhone 12
87.1 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 7 and Apple iPhone 12 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A10 Fusion Apple A14 Bionic
Max Frequency 2340 MHz 3100 MHz
CPU Cores 4 (2 + 2) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 2/1.05 (Zephyr)
- 2/2.34 (Hurricane)		 - 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 16 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor No Apple Neural Engine
Graphics PowerVR GT7600 Apple A14 GPU
GPU Cores 192 256
GPU Frequency 650 MHz 1278 MHz
FLOPS 249.6 GFLOPS 654.3 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 7
721
Apple iPhone 12
1941
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 7
1923
Apple iPhone 12
5008
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)7211941
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)19235008
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 7
358237
Apple iPhone 12
1095315
CPU112051310050
GPU87431323143
Memory53808173777
UX104947288345
NanoReview Score3582371095315
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 7
2579
Apple iPhone 12
7601
Max Surface Temp.42.5 °C41.2 °C
Stability62 %77 %
Graphics Test15 fps45 fps
Graphics Score25797601
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone 7], [Apple iPhone 12]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 2 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4 LPDDR4X
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 32 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 10 (Upgradeable to iOS 15.8.1) iOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 12.5 GB 7 GB

Battery

Volume 1960 mAh 2815 mAh
Max Charging Power 5 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No (7.5 W) Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging No Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 2:35 h 1:30 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 7
15:51
Apple iPhone 12
21:15
Web Browsing05:50 h08:00 h
Video Playback09:49 h12:09 h
Games03:22 h04:35 h
Standby Mode80 h112 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Quad LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length28 mm26 mm
SensorApple iSight CameraSony IMX372
Sensor size1/31/3.4
Pixel size1.22 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/3.6
Stabilizationn/aDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 7
85
Apple iPhone 12
127
Video quality
Apple iPhone 7
85
Apple iPhone 12
130
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 7
85
Apple iPhone 12
117
Bokehn/a55
Previewn/a74
Zoomn/a60
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 7], [Apple iPhone 12]

Front camera

Matrix 7 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3088x2320 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 32 mm 23 mm
Sensor BSI CMOS Sony IMX514
Sensor size n/a 1/3.6
Pixel size 1 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 7
n/a
Apple iPhone 12
127
Video quality
Apple iPhone 7
n/a
Apple iPhone 12
140

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Hotspot		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 4.2 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type No No
USB version 2 n/a
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G BandsHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100UMTS/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/B27/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41)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 category1218
5G SupportNoYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 7
83 dB
Apple iPhone 12
81.1 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2016 yr October, 2020 yr
Release Date September, 2016 yr October, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 649 800
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 12 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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