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Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 12

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Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 12

91 out of 100
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
VS
66 out of 100
Apple iPhone 12
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 12

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max (with Apple A17 Pro) that was released on September 12, 2023, against the Apple iPhone 12, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 2 years and 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
  • Delivers 176% higher peak brightness (1780 against 646 nits)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
  • Comes with 1626 mAh larger battery capacity: 4441 vs 2815 mAh
  • Has a 0.6 inch larger screen size
  • Shows 49% longer battery life (31:37 vs 21:15 hours)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
  • Modern USB Type-C port
  • 43% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1571K versus 1095K)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • The phone is 2 years and 11 months newer
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12
  • Weighs 57 grams less
  • Better grip in hands – the body is 5.2 mm narrower

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 12 crucial features
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
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
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 tests
Phone:
iPhone 15 Pro Max
vs
iPhone 12

Display

TypeOLEDOLED
Size6.7 inches6.1 inches
Resolution1290 x 2796 pixels1170 x 2532 pixels
Aspect ratio19.5:919.5:9
PPI460 ppi460 ppi
Refresh rate120 Hz60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rateYes (1-120 Hz)No
Max rated brightness2000 nits625 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR1600 nits -
HDR supportYes, Dolby VisionYes, Dolby Vision
Screen protectionCeramic ShieldCeramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio89.8%87.1%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space99.8%99.4%
PWM240 Hz226 Hz
Response time1 ms16 ms
Contrast∞ Infinity∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
iPhone 15 Pro Max+176%
1780 nits
iPhone 12
646 nits

Design and build

Height159.9 mm (6.3 inches)146.7 mm (5.78 inches)
Width76.7 mm (3.02 inches)71.5 mm (2.81 inches)
Thickness8.25 mm (0.32 inches)7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight221 g (7.8 oz)164 g (5.78 oz)
WaterproofIP68IP68
Rear materialGlassGlass
Frame materialMetalMetal
ColorsWhite, Black, Silver, BlueWhite, Black, Blue, Green, Red
Fingerprint scannerNoNo
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 12 in the benchmarks
SoC
ChipsetApple A17 ProApple A14 Bionic
Max clock3780 MHz3100 MHz
CPU cores6 (2 + 4)6 (2 + 4)
Architecture- 4 cores at 2.11 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 3.78 GHz: Everest		- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm
- 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
ManufacturingTSMCTSMC
Lithography process3 nanometers5 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU)Apple Neural EngineApple Neural Engine
GraphicsApple A17 GPUApple A14 GPU
GPU shading units768256
GPU clock1398 MHz1278 MHz
FLOPS~2147.2 GFLOPS~654.3 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
iPhone 15 Pro Max+43%
1571621
iPhone 12
1095315
CPU380664310050
GPU575404323143
Memory267719173777
UX347834288345
Total score15716211095315
Samples[29 tests][31 tests]
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature47.8 °C41.2 °C
Stability - 77%
Graphics test59 FPS45 FPS
Graphics score100067601

Memory

RAM
RAM size8 GB4 GB
Memory typeLPDDR5LPDDR4X
Memory clock3200 MHz -
Channels42
Storage
Storage size256, 512, 1024 GB64, 128, 256 GB
Storage typeNVMeNVMe
Memory cardNoNo

Software

Operating systemiOS 17 (Can be upgraded to iOS 18.2)iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 18.2)
OS size17.6 GB7 GB

Battery

Capacity4441 mAh2815 mAh
Max charge power23 W18 W
Battery typeLi-IonLi-Ion
ReplaceableNoNo
Wireless chargingYes (7.5 W)Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse chargingYesNo
Fast chargingYes (46% in 30 min)Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full charging time1:49 hr1:30 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing12:36 hr08:00 hr
Watching video22:07 hr12:09 hr
Gaming06:58 hr04:35 hr
Standby139 hr112 hr
General battery life
iPhone 15 Pro Max+49%
31:37 hr
iPhone 12
21:15 hr

Main camera

Matrix48 megapixels12 megapixels
Image resolution8000 x 60004032 x 3024
ZoomOptical, 5xDigital
FlashDual LEDQuad LED
StabilizationOpticalOptical
8K video recordingNoNo
4K video recordingUp to 60FPSUp to 60FPS
1080p video recordingUp to 60FPSUp to 60FPS
Slow motion240 FPS (1080p)240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens120°120°
Lenses1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Telephoto: 12 MP
3) Ultrawide: 12 MP
4) Depth
1) Standard: 12 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution48 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX803Sony IMX372
Sensor size1/1.28"1/3.4"
Pixel size1.22 micron1.4 micron
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto lens
Image resolution12 MP -
Aperturef/1.78 - 2.8 -
Focal length120 mm -
SensorSony IMX913 -
Sensor size1/3.06" -
Pixel size1.12 micron -
StabilizationOptical -
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.4
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX633 -
Sensor size1/2.55"1/3.6"
Pixel size1.4 micron -
StabilizationDigitalDigital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Bokeh8055
Preview8674
Zoom14260
SamplesPhoto samples of Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max from DxOMarkPhoto samples of Apple iPhone 12 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels12 megapixels12 megapixels
Image resolution4032 x 30244032 x 3024
Aperturef/1.9f/2.2
Focal length23 mm23 mm
SensorSony IMX714Sony IMX514
Sensor size1/3.6" -
Pixel size1.12 micron -
AutofocusPhase autofocusNo
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Video resolution2160p (4K) at 60 FPS2160p (4K) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D)YesYes
DxOMark front camera
Photo145127
Video156140

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standardWi-Fi 6E (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 version5.35
Bluetooth featuresLELE, A2DP
USB typeUSB Type-CNo
USB version3.2 -
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
DisplayPortYes -
GPSGPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVICGPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
NFC*YesYes
Infrared portNoNo
Network
Number of SIM* - 1
Type of SIM cardeSIMNano
eSIM support*YesYes
Hybrid slotNoNo
LTE Cat*2018
5G supportYesYes

Sound

SpeakersStereoStereo
Headphone audio jackNoNo
FM radioNoNo
Dolby AtmosYesYes
Speakers test
Max loudness
iPhone 15 Pro Max+14%
92.3 dB
iPhone 12
81.1 dB

Other

CategoryFlagshipFlagship
AnnouncedSeptember 2023October 2020
Release dateSeptember 2023October 2020
Launch price$1199$800
SAR (head)0.98 W/kg0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)0.98 W/kg0.99 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 chargerNot included -
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
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