Apple iPhone 16 vs iPhone 12 Pro
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.1-inch Apple iPhone 16 (with Apple A18) that was released on September 9, 2024, against the Apple iPhone 12 Pro, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 3 years and 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 16
- Delivers 113% higher peak brightness (1720 against 807 nits)
- Shows 51% longer battery life (29:45 vs 19:45 hours)
- Comes with 746 mAh larger battery capacity: 3561 vs 2815 mAh
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- 51% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1673K versus 1105K)
- Modern USB Type-C port
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- The phone is 3 years and 11 months newer
- Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- Supports higher wattage charging (30W versus 20W)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.1 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1179 x 2556 pixels | 1170 x 2532 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 460 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 2000 nits | 800 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1600 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Ceramic Shield | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 86.4% | 87.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99.7% | 99.6% |
| PWM | 60 Hz | 277 Hz |
| Response time | 3 ms | 3.6 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 147.6 mm (5.81 inches) | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) |
| Width | 71.6 mm (2.82 inches) | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 170 g (6 oz) | 189 g (6.67 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Green, Pink | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A18 | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max clock | 4040 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Sawtooth - 2 cores at 4.05 GHz: Everest | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 3 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Apple A18 GPU | Apple A14 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 640 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1490 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1907 GFLOPS | ~654.3 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 441992 | 262691 |
| GPU | 699959 | 387783 |
| Memory | 173158 | 169306 |
| UX | 358704 | 285964 |
| Total score | 1673813 | 1105744 |
| Samples | [2 tests] | [16 tests] |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 47.3 °C | 38.1 °C |
| Stability | - | 76% |
| Graphics test | - | 44 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 7431 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR4X |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256, 512 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 18 (Can be upgraded to iOS 18.2) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 18.2) |
| OS size | 16 GB | 14 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 3561 mAh | 2815 mAh |
| Max charge power | 30 W | 20 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (59% in 30 min) | Yes (59% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:42 hr | 1:30 hr |
| Web browsing | 13:44 hr | 07:12 hr |
| Watching video | 18:09 hr | 12:00 hr |
| Gaming | 05:56 hr | 04:33 hr |
| Standby | 130 hr | 101 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP 4) Depth |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.6 | f/1.6 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | - | Sony IMX372 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.56" | 1/3.4" |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | - | 12 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | - | 52 mm |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.4" |
| Pixel size | - | 1 micron |
| Stabilization | - | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 13 mm |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.6" |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 80 | 70 |
| Preview | 84 | 77 |
| Zoom | 116 | 111 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 16 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 Pro from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4290 x 2800 |
| Aperture | f/1.9 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | CMOS | Sony IMX514 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" | - |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | - |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | Yes | Yes |
DxOMark front camera
| Photo | - | 127 |
| Video | - | 140 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | 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 | - |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| DisplayPort | Yes | - |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | - | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | - | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | September 2024 | October 2020 |
| Release date | September 2024 | October 2020 |
| Launch price | $799 | $1000 |
| SAR (head) | 1.24 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.41 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| Bundled charger | Not included | - |
Further details
Notes on iPhone 16:
- The US model is eSIM-only, while the international version offers both a physical SIM slot and eSIM support.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

