Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 12
94 out of 100
VS
66 out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.9-inch Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max (with Apple A18 Pro) that was released on September 9, 2024, against the Apple iPhone 12, 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 Pro Max
- The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
- Delivers 178% higher peak brightness (1807 against 649 nits)
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Comes with 1870 mAh larger battery capacity: 4685 vs 2815 mAh
- Shows 65% longer battery life (35:01 vs 21:15 hours)
- Has a 0.8 inch larger screen size
- 68% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1839K versus 1095K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
- 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
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12
- Weighs 63 grams less
- Better grip in hands – the body is 6.1 mm narrower
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 | 6.9 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1320 x 2868 pixels | 1170 x 2532 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 458 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (1-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 2000 nits | 625 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 | 92.3% | 87.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99.6% | 99.4% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 226 Hz |
| Response time | 1 ms | 16 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 163 mm (6.42 inches) | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) |
| Width | 77.6 mm (3.06 inches) | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.25 mm (0.32 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 227 g (8.01 oz) | 164 g (5.78 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Silver, Gold | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A18 Pro | 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 Pro GPU | Apple A14 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 768 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1490 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~2289 GFLOPS | ~654.3 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 475293 | 310050 |
| GPU | 719585 | 323143 |
| Memory | 259838 | 173777 |
| UX | 385136 | 288345 |
| Total score | 1839852 | 1095315 |
| Samples | [6 tests] | [31 tests] |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 42.9 °C | 41.2 °C |
| Stability | - | 77% |
| Graphics test | - | 45 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 7601 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR4X |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 256, 512, 1024 GB | 64, 128, 256 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 | 18 GB | 7 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4685 mAh | 2815 mAh |
| Max charge power | 30 W | 18 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 (46% in 30 min) | Yes (58% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:57 hr | 1:30 hr |
| Web browsing | 14:34 hr | 08:00 hr |
| Watching video | 22:01 hr | 12:09 hr |
| Gaming | 07:12 hr | 04:35 hr |
| Standby | 163 hr | 112 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 5x | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | Quad LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 120FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 120FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP 3) Ultrawide: 48 MP 4) Depth | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.6 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX803 | Sony IMX372 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.28" | 1/3.4" |
| Pixel size | 1.22 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.8 | - |
| Focal length | 120 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX913 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/3.06" | - |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 13 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX972 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" | 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 | 55 |
| Preview | 93 | 74 |
| Zoom | 142 | 60 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/1.9 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX714 | Sony IMX514 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" | - |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | - |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | No |
| Stabilization | Optical | 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 | 3.2 | - |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| DisplayPort | Yes | - |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | - | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | eSIM | 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 | $1199 | $800 |
| SAR (head) | 1.22 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.45 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| Bundled charger | Not included | - |
Further details
Notes on iPhone 16 Pro Max:
- The US version of the smartphone exclusively supports eSIM, while the international model features both a physical SIM slot and eSIM capability. In China, the device is available with dual physical SIM card slots only.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
