Apple iPhone 17 vs iPhone 12
86
out of 100
VS
61
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.3-inch Apple iPhone 17 (with Apple A19) that was released on September 9, 2025, against the Apple iPhone 12, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 5 years before. 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 17
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Comes with 877 mAh larger battery capacity: 3692 vs 2815 mAh
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
- 61% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (2156K versus 1341K)
- Modern USB Type-C port
- Shows 20% longer battery life (25:32 vs 21:15 hours)
- Delivers 56% higher peak brightness (1015 against 651 nits)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v6.0)
- Supports higher wattage charging (40W versus 18W)
- The phone is 5 years newer
- Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
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 | 6.3 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1206 x 2622 pixels | 1170 x 2532 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 460 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (1-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 3000 nits | 625 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1600 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Ceramic Shield 2 | - |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 91.1% | 87.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99.6% | 99.4% |
| PWM | 241 Hz | 226 Hz |
| Response time | 1 ms | 16 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 149.6 mm (5.89 inches) | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) |
| Width | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) |
| Thickness | 8 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 177 g (6.24 oz) | 164 g (5.78 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Green, Purple | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
| Repairability | Average (2.82/5) | - |
| Drop resistance | Very good (B) · 180 drops | - |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A19 | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max clock | 4260 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.6 GHz: - 2 cores at 4.26 GHz: |
- 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 | 5 core Apple GPU | Apple GPU |
| GPU shading units | 640 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1620 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~2073.6 GFLOPS | ~654.3 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 37553 | 17099 |
| Single-core score | 3736 | 1997 |
| Multi-core score | 9226 | 4665 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 598735 | 402035 |
| GPU | 803562 | 336490 |
| Memory | 200566 | 153915 |
| UX | 553263 | 449135 |
| Total score | 2156126 | 1341575 |
| Samples | [19 tests] | [10 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 72% | - |
| Graphics test | 16 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 2147 | - |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Stability | - | 76% |
| Graphics test | 36 FPS | 10 FPS |
| Section 1 | 40 FPS | 13 FPS |
| Section 2 | 36 FPS | 10 FPS |
| Section 3 | 31 FPS | 7 FPS |
| Graphics score | 9465 | 2651 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | - | 74% |
| Graphics test | - | 12 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 2155 |
Recent User Tests
Apple iPhone 17
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-20 (Shovandeep) | AnTuTu 11 | 1837059 |
| 📘 2026-08-27 (Zharkyn) | AnTuTu 11 | 2243285 |
| 📘 2026-08-07 (Aarav) | AnTuTu 11 | 1776737 |
| 📘 2026-08-06 (yuki) | AnTuTu 11 | 2352837 |
| 📘 2026-07-25 (Taelnwza) | AnTuTu 11 | 2117495 |
Apple iPhone 12
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-06-26 (Hellomt) | AnTuTu 11 | 1334721 |
| 📘 2026-03-25 (🇷🇺010) | AnTuTu 11 | 1384982 |
| 📘 2026-03-23 (Roma) | AnTuTu 11 | 1326030 |
| 📘 2026-03-06 (RuL) | AnTuTu 11 | 1365684 |
| 📘 2026-02-16 (hypothetic nuisance) | AnTuTu 11 | 1341575 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR4X |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 64 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 26 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) |
| OS size | - | 7 GB |
| OS updates | 7 years | - |
| Security updates | 7 years | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 3692 mAh | 2815 mAh |
| Max charge power | 40 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (25 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (63% in 30 min) | Yes (58% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:25 hr | 1:30 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1000 cycles | - |
| Web browsing | 09:21 hr | 08:00 hr |
| Watching video | 19:24 hr | 12:09 hr |
| Gaming | 06:44 hr | 04:35 hr |
| Standby | 109 hr | 112 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8064 x 6048 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Dual 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 | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 48 MP |
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/1.6 | f/1.6 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX904 | Sony IMX372 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch) | 1/3.4" (≈ 0.29 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | 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" (≈ 0.39 inch) | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 170 | 55 |
| Preview | - | 74 |
| Zoom | 105 | 60 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 17 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 18 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4896 x 3672 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/1.9 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX914 | Sony IMX514 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1 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 | 6.0 | 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, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | - | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | eSIM | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| 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 2025 | October 2020 |
| Release date | September 2025 | October 2020 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $799 | $800 |
| Successor | - | - Apple iPhone 17 |
| 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 |
- 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
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 17 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 61