Apple iPhone 12 mini vs iPhone 12
58
out of 100
VS
61
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 5.4-inch Apple iPhone 12 mini (with Apple A14 Bionic) that was released on October 13, 2020, against the Apple iPhone 12, which is powered by the same chip. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 mini
- Better grip in hands β the body is 7.3 mm narrower
- Weighs 29 grams less
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12
- Has a 0.7 inch larger screen size
- Shows 31% longer battery life (21:15 vs 16:11 hours)
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
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 5.4 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1170 x 2532 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 476 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 625 nits | 625 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.8% | 87.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | - | 99.4% |
| PWM | - | 226 Hz |
| Response time | - | 16 ms |
| Contrast | - | β Infinity |
Screen space comparison
iPhone 12
6.1β³ (19.5:9 ratio) = 14.2 in2
iPhone 12 mini
5.4β³ (19.5:9 ratio) = 11.1 in2
~27% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 131.5 mm (5.18 inches) | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) |
| Width | 64.2 mm (2.53 inches) | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 135 g (4.76 oz) | 164 g (5.78 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A14 Bionic | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max clock | 3100 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Apple Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Apple GPU | Apple GPU |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1278 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~654.3 GFLOPS | ~654.3 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 16477 | 17099 |
| Single-core score | 2130 | 1997 |
| Multi-core score | 4912 | 4665 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 369310 | 402035 |
| GPU | 317860 | 336490 |
| Memory | 148720 | 153915 |
| UX | 461951 | 449135 |
| Total score | 1306432 | 1341575 |
| Samples | [9 tests] | [10 tests] |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Stability | 75% | 76% |
| Graphics test | 10 FPS | 10 FPS |
| Section 1 | 13 FPS | 13 FPS |
| Section 2 | 10 FPS | 10 FPS |
| Section 3 | 7 FPS | 7 FPS |
| Graphics score | 2634 | 2651 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 67% | 74% |
| Graphics test | 12 FPS | 12 FPS |
| Graphics score | 2138 | 2155 |
Recent User Tests
Apple iPhone 12 mini
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-06-30 (Kirious) | AnTuTu 11 | 1251875 |
| π 2026-06-30 (Kirious) | AnTuTu 11 | 1251875 |
| π 2026-05-04 (Noorulain khan) | AnTuTu 11 | 1319503 |
| π 2026-03-26 (Khalil) | AnTuTu 11 | 1247945 |
| π 2026-02-04 -> Houramui | AnTuTu 11 | 1352611 |
Apple iPhone 12
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-06-26 (Hellomt) | AnTuTu 11 | 1334721 |
| π 2026-03-25 (π·πΊ010) | AnTuTu 11 | 1384982 |
| π 2026-03-23 (Roma) | AnTuTu 11 | 1326030 |
| π 2026-03-06 (RuL) | AnTuTu 11 | 1365684 |
| π 2026-02-16 (hypothetic nuisance) | AnTuTu 11 | 1341575 |
Memory
| RAM size | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) |
| OS size | - | 7 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 2227 mAh | 2815 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 | No | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (60% in 30 min) | Yes (58% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:29 hr | 1:30 hr |
| Web browsing | 06:04 hr | 08:00 hr |
| Watching video | 10:15 hr | 12:09 hr |
| Gaming | 03:53 hr | 04:35 hr |
| Standby | 79 hr | 112 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Quad LED | Quad 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 | 120Β° | 120Β° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.6 | f/1.6 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX372 | Sony IMX372 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.4" (β 0.29 inch) | 1/3.4" (β 0.29 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 13 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX503 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (β 0.39 inch) | 1/3.6" (β 0.28 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 55 | 55 |
| Preview | 76 | 74 |
| Zoom | 57 | 60 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 mini from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4290 x 2800 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX514 | Sony IMX514 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" (β 0.28 inch) | 1/3.6" (β 0.28 inch) |
| Autofocus | No | 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 | 127 |
| Video | 140 | 140 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (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 version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | No | No |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, 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 | October 2020 | October 2020 |
| Release date | November 2020 | October 2020 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $700 | $800 |
| Successor | - Apple iPhone 13 mini | - Apple iPhone 17 |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.99 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 |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
These smartphones have a lot in common, but we would recommend the Apple iPhone 12. It has a better display and battery life.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 2698