Apple iPhone 15 Plus vs iPhone 12 Pro Max
79
out of 100
VS
73
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Apple iPhone 15 Plus (with Apple A16 Bionic) that was released on September 12, 2023, against the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 36 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 15 Plus
- 67% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1387K versus 828K)
- Comes with 696 mAh larger battery capacity: 4383 vs 3687 mAh
- Modern USB Type-C port
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5
- Reverse charging feature
- Weighs 25 grams less
- 13% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2250 and 1990 points
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
- The rear camera has a 2.5x 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
Scores with a red asterisk (
*
) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1290 x 2796 pixels | 1284 x 2778 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 460 ppi | 458 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 | 88% | 87.4% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | - | 99.4% |
| PWM | - | 238 Hz |
| Response time | - | 8 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 160.9 mm (6.33 inches) | 160.8 mm (6.33 inches) |
| Width | 77.8 mm (3.06 inches) | 78.1 mm (3.07 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 201 g (7.09 oz) | 226 g (7.97 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Green, Pink, Yellow | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A16 Bionic | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max clock | 3460 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 3.46 GHz: Everest |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm
- 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Apple A16 GPU | Apple A14 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 640 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1398 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1789.4 GFLOPS | ~654.3 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 377751 | 234779 |
| GPU | 481103 | 256839 |
| Memory | 203657 | 153144 |
| UX | 312208 | 181729 |
| Total score | 1387349 | 828500 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | - | 45 °C |
| Stability | - | 75% |
| Graphics test | - | 47 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 7880 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | 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 17 | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17) |
| OS size | - | 16 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4383 mAh | 3687 mAh |
| Max charge power | 20 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (7.5 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | - | 1:32 hr |
| Web browsing | - | 12:04 hr |
| Watching video | - | 14:25 hr |
| Gaming | - | 07:09 hr |
| Standby | - | 122 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 2x | Optical, 2.5x |
| 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 | 2 (48 MP + 12 MP) | 4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.7 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 65 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX613 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Depth lens | - | Yes |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max from DxOMark |
| 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 |
| Pixel size | - | 1 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" | - |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | 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 | - |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 18 | 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 2023 | October 2020 |
| Release date | September 2023 | November 2020 |
| SAR (head) | - | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Barometer
- 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 | - |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display, performance, gaming, battery life, connectivity, and design are more important to you, then choose the Apple iPhone 15 Plus . But if the camera is more of a priority – go for the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max .
