Apple iPhone XR vs iPhone 12
48
out of 100
VS
60
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.1-inch Apple iPhone XR (with Apple A12 Bionic) that was released on September 12, 2018, against the Apple iPhone 12, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 2 years and 1 month after. 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
- 76% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1341K versus 762K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- 41% higher pixel density (460 vs 326 PPI)
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Has 33% more RAM: 4GB versus 3GB
- Thinner bezels – 7.2% more screen real estate
- OLED display (versus competitor's IPS LCD)
- The phone is 2 years and 1 month newer
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
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 | IPS LCD | OLED |
| Size | 6.1 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 828 x 1792 pixels | 1170 x 2532 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 326 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 625 nits | 625 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | - |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 79.9% | 87.1% |
| Display features | - | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 100% | 99.4% |
| PWM | Not detected | 226 Hz |
| Response time | 32.8 ms | 16 ms |
| Contrast | 1920:1 | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 150.9 mm (5.94 inches) | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) |
| Width | 75.7 mm (2.98 inches) | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.3 mm (0.33 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 194 g (6.84 oz) | 164 g (5.78 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Red, Orange, Yellow | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A12 Bionic | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max clock | 2490 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Apple A12 Bionic GPU | Apple GPU |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1125 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~576 GFLOPS | ~654.3 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | - | 17099 |
| Single-core score | 1167 | 1997 |
| Multi-core score | 3020 | 4665 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 274052 | 402035 |
| GPU | - | 336490 |
| Memory | 119287 | 153915 |
| UX | 369464 | 449135 |
| Total score | 762903 | 1341575 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | [10 tests] |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Stability | - | 76% |
| Graphics test | - | 10 FPS |
| Section 1 | - | 13 FPS |
| Section 2 | - | 10 FPS |
| Section 3 | - | 7 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 2651 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 68% | 74% |
| Graphics test | 7 FPS | 12 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1294 | 2155 |
Recent User Tests
Apple iPhone XR
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-05-02 (sp_ayz1) | AnTuTu 11 | 762903 |
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 | 3 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 18.7) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) |
| OS size | 11.1 GB | 7 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 2942 mAh | 2815 mAh |
| Max charge power | 15 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes, Qi (10 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 30 min) | Yes (58% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:43 hr | 1:30 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:01 hr | 08:00 hr |
| Watching video | 11:59 hr | 12:09 hr |
| Gaming | 04:34 hr | 04:35 hr |
| Standby | 106 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 | - | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP |
1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.6 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Apple iSight X | Sony IMX372 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | 1/3.4" (≈ 0.29 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | - | 12 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | - | 13 mm |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) |
| Stabilization | - | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | - | 55 |
| Preview | - | 74 |
| Zoom | - | 60 |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 7 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3088 x 2316 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 32 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | CMOS | Sony IMX514 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | Yes |
DxOMark front camera
| Photo | - | 127 |
| Video | - | 140 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | No | No |
| USB version | 2 | - |
| USB features | - Charging - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | 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* | 12 | 18 |
| 5G support | No | 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 2018 | October 2020 |
| Release date | October 2018 | October 2020 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $750 | $800 |
| Successor | - Apple iPhone 11 | - 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
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 12 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 636