Apple iPhone SE (2022) vs iPhone 12 Pro
Here we compared two smartphones: the 4.7-inch Apple iPhone SE (2022) (with Apple A15 Bionic) that was released on March 8, 2022, against the Apple iPhone 12 Pro, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 17 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 SE (2022)
- Fingerprint scanner
- The phone is 1-year and 5-months newer
- Weighs 45 grams less
- 8% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 1718 and 1598 points
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro
- Has a 1.4 inches larger screen size
- Thinner bezels – 20.6% more screen real estate
- Comes with 797 mAh larger battery capacity: 2815 vs 2018 mAh
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Shows 16% longer battery life (29:49 vs 25:41 hours)
- 41% higher pixel density (460 vs 326 PPI)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
- Delivers 24% higher peak brightness (796 against 642 nits)
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
- OLED display (versus competitor's IPS LCD)
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
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Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
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Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | IPS LCD | OLED |
| Size | 4.7 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 750 x 1334 pixels | 1170 x 2532 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 326 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 625 nits | 800 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 65.4% | 86% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99.9% | 99.6% |
| PWM | - | 277 Hz |
| Response time | 38 ms | 3.6 ms |
| Contrast | 1655:1 | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 138.4 mm (5.45 inches) | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) |
| Width | 67.3 mm (2.65 inches) | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.3 mm (0.29 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 144 g (5.08 oz) | 189 g (6.67 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Red | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in home button | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A15 Bionic | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max clock | 3223 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard - 2 cores at 3.24 GHz: Avalanche |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Apple GPU | Apple GPU |
| GPU clock | 1200 MHz | - |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 189244 | 201506 |
| GPU | 269834 | 276492 |
| Memory | 129820 | 119935 |
| UX | 127582 | 129653 |
| Total score | 713693 | 725169 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 46.2 °C | 38.1 °C |
| Stability | 72% | 77% |
| Graphics test | 48 FPS | 44 FPS |
| Graphics score | 8059 | 7407 |
Memory
| RAM size | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64, 128, 256 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 15.3 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.2) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.2) |
| OS size | 12 GB | 14 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 2018 mAh | 2815 mAh |
| Charge power | 20 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (61% in 30 min) | Yes (59% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:18 hr | 1:30 hr |
| Web browsing | 09:55 hr | 09:54 hr |
| Watching video | 08:38 hr | 12:40 hr |
| Gaming | 03:26 hr | 05:32 hr |
| Standby | 93 hr | 104 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | Quad 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° |
| Lenses | 1 (12 MP) | 4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Pixel size: 1.22 micron - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens | - | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/3.6" (CMOS) |
| Depth lens | - | Yes |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone SE (2022) from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 Pro from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 7 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3088 x 2320 | 4290 x 2800 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 23 mm |
| Sensor type | - | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 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 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 | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | - | 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 |
| 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 | Mid-range | Flagship |
| Announced | March 2022 | October 2020 |
| Release date | March 2022 | October 2020 |
| SAR (head) | - | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect 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 Pro. It has a better display, battery life, camera, and design.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 55