Apple iPhone 12 Review
The iPhone 12 is a more expensive phone than last year’s iPhone 11, with Apple adding $100 / £100 to the price; it does, however, bring a number of new features in the shape of an OLED display, a slightly upgraded camera, a new design and – the big hitters – 5G and MagSafe connectivity.
Starting with the headliners, 5G brings faster speeds and more robust connectivity to the new iPhone 12, but as 5G networks aren’t yet fully deployed around the world, coverage is still a bit patchy. When it works, it’s incredibly fast – we easily managed 200Mpbs on the go – but there are still too many places, even in big cities, where it’s hard to get full coverage.
That said, given that many are holding onto their phones for three or four years nowadays, this is a feature that will only become more useful over time – the iPhone 12 can connect to a huge range of 5G frequencies too, meaning that if there’s a 5G signal where you are you should be able to connect to it.
The new (to iPhones) MagSafe connector on the rear of the iPhone 12 is a really interesting proposition – this magnetic connection tech not only enables you to attach things to your phone, such as a charger or a case, but can also tell what’s been connected through a special chip.
MagSafe enables faster and more accurate charging, and brings with it a new range of accessories (like a wallet clip-on) but, just as 5G will become more useful over time, we’re pretty certain that the MagSafe accessory range is going to improve massively as third-party manufacturers get their hands on the technology.
That means we could see some cool clip-on accessories like games controllers, photo printers and huge extra batteries coming soon.
The performance of the iPhone 12 has been upgraded once again: the A14 Bionic chipset is the most powerful in any smartphone, and the benchmarks bear that out as it annihilates the competition – and weirdly, doesn’t get outperformed by the theoretically more powerful iPhone 12 Pro.
The decision to start with 64GB inside is stingy though, and you might start butting up against that barrier in the not-too-distant future if you like taking photos and videos at full resolution.
The iPhone 12 design has been tweaked, with squared-off edges that are highly reminiscent of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 from yesteryear, and a new Ceramic Shield front that’s apparently four times harder to shatter than the iPhone 11 (not that we were willing to drop-test our early review sample).
IPHONE 12 SPECS
Weight: 164g
Dimensions: 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4mm
Display size: 6.1-inch
Resolution: 1170 x 2532
Refresh rate: 60Hz
Pixel density: 460ppi
Chipset: A14 Bionic
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB / 128GB / 256GB
Rear cameras: 12MP + 12MP
Front camera: 12MP
Battery: N/A
The display has been upgraded too: it’s now an OLED screen, the same tech that’s used on the iPhone 12 Pro, and offers rich colors and deep blacks, as well as bringing true HDR to the mix for compatible content. It sounds like a small thing, but perhaps the slick 120Hz display tech would have been a boon here too; however, you are still getting a sharp and colorful viewing experience on the iPhone 12.
Cameras-wise, you’re again getting the 12MP duo of the wide and ultra-wide cameras here. The former is even better in low-light this year, and both can now be used with Night Mode. This feature can improve your snaps in a way that’s genuinely staggering; however, it’s also available on the iPhone 11, and we would have liked to have seen it upgraded in 2020.
The video capabilities, including the ability to record in Dolby Vision in 4K, sound impressive, but for most this will be a rarely-used feature. That said, the output is strong to look at and something you’d be keen to share.
Battery life is only average on the new iPhone 12; with heavier use your phone should see you through most of a day – around 17-18 hours at a push. Lighter usage will see you easily sail through to the night, but it’s not quite as good as last year’s model.
The iPhone 12 feels like it’s packed with potential – but Apple is relying on others to make it a success to a large extent. We need to see wider deployment of 5G, and others need to get on board with MagSafe accessories quickly, to really make the new phone an appealing buy. Those things aside, and while the upgrades to the display and design are nifty, the iPhone 12 doesn’t feel massively different to the iPhone 11– and doesn’t feel like it outperforms its higher price tag in the same way that phone did.
Display
A 6.1-inch display that is clear and crisp
Better quality display than the iPhone 11
The iPhone 12’s display is a big step forward for a phone of this price – while last year Apple decided that fancy, high-contrast OLED displays were only for those willing to shell out for the Pro, this year the Super Retina XDR Display has been brought to the cheaper iPhone 12.
The difference is noticeable, especially when it comes to viewing photos, videos and movies encoded in HDR.
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You might not see that much of a difference when just scrolling around the web, but, whether it’s looking at artistic photos on Twitter, sampling HDR content from iTunes or just improving the look of Netflix, the OLED upgrade brings a big jump in image quality.
Day to day it means you’ll have more moments where quality content will really pop out at you. For instance, while many people won’t have access to HDR Netflix on their phone (thanks to it being locked to the most expensive subscription tier) images even in ‘normal’ mode are vibrant, rich and (if you’re viewing the same nature videos we were) startling.
Camera
Similar tech to 2019’s iPhone 11, but it improves a few aspects
Rear camera features two 12MP shooters
Front sensor is a 12MP selfie camera too
iPhone 12 camera
(Image credit: TechRadar)
The camera setup on the iPhone 12 doesn’t appear to be much of an upgrade when you just look at the sensors – there’s still the same wide camera (which most would call the regular sensor), and the ultra-wide snapper that allows you to zoom out when you want to get more scenery, or more people, in the frame.
The overall capability of these sensors has been improved though, with the wide 12MP sensor now coupled with an f/1.6 aperture for what Apple says is improved low light photography compared with 2019’s iPhone 11.
The results do bear out the claim – low light performance is improved a touch, for brighter shots with more detail.
The main thing that impressed us with the iPhone 11 last year was Night Mode, and it’s back with the iPhone 12 – plus you can now use it with both the wide and the ultrawide sensor too.
Night Mode can detect when light levels are dropping, and you’ll be prompted to hold your phone still for up to 15 seconds, depending on the conditions, to brighten the photo through computational understanding over the exposure of the image.
Battery life
Improved battery life when compared to the iPhone 11
A14 Bionic chipset seems more optimized in our testing
It looks like Apple is continuing its trend of making sure the standard iPhone is packing good longevity, with the iPhone 12 seeing improvements to battery life that mean fewer trips to the charger.
Apple’s clearly done some work here to ensure that things aren’t quite so, well, dire when it comes to power management, and in our time with the iPhone 12 we found that it lasted well enough on a full charge, especially compared to iPhones of a few years ago. That said, it’s not another leap forward in battery life – it’s comparable to the iPhone 11 at best, and maybe a tiny bit worse.
For instance, we found that we had well over 50% left in the tank when going to bed one night, and that wasn’t on a particularly low-use day; however, when you add in moving around, switching between 4G and 5G networks (which a lot of us will do in the short term, at least), and turning on the phone more regularly when on the go, that battery life dropped to around 16-18 hours between charges on a high-use day.
iPhone 12
(Image credit: TechRadar)
It’s odd that Apple has reduced the video playback stamina on the iPhone 12 – stating that it will last 17 hours, rather than the 18 hours offered by the iPhone 11.
In our video rundown test, playing a Full HD video for 90 minutes on loop, we found that the iPhone 12 only lost 8% of its battery, which is up there with some of the best battery life we’ve seen from an iPhone – but in day to day use we’re not seeing huge performance gains in terms of battery life.
In our lab tests, we certainly saw that the iPhone 12 battery life is compromised by the addition of 5G, lasting around 15-20% less time on the faster network in our rundown test. The latest iFixit teardown test also found that the new iPhone design has has to shrink the battery to make way for that 5G modem – so that addition of 5G has come at a fairly hefty cost to the longevity of the iPhone 12.
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The A14 Bionic chipset at the heart of the new iPhone is promised to be more power-efficient than ever, while still achieving some of the best performance stats of any phone on the market.
The improvements to the build of Apple’s engine have clearly contributed to maintaining battery life year on year, with the 5nm fabrication process used to create the chipset meaning the transistors are closer together and require less energy to function, so Apple could therefore (potentially) decrease the battery size and still maintain an adequate battery performance.
If you’re going to be heavily using the iPhone 12, as in playing games and browsing the web – so basically firing up the screen and sucking down data, you’ll likely get between seven and 10 hours of use before needing to reach for the charger, which isn’t a terrible result for modern iPhones (although we still long for the day when there’s an easy 24 hours’ use no matter what task you’re running the iPhone through, as many other phones can manage).
It’s not as long-lasting as the competition (as ever), but most iPhone users won’t notice a significant issue when it comes to battery life – it’s on a par with iPhones of 2-3 years ago, although not with the longevity of the iPhone XR and iPhone 11.
Buy it if…
You need a larger screen
The iPhone 12 mini is cheaper, but if you want more screen real estate to see more of the action on your display, this is the model to go for.
You just want something new
The new design might hark back to the older models, but the extra screen makes this feel like an all-new phone (which, to be fair, it is).
You like watching movies
If you’re a Netflix, Prime Video or general movie fan, then the OLED display on the iPhone 12 will be an enjoyable experience.
Don’t buy it if…
You want to make movies
The iPhone 12 is fine for home videos, but if you’re a pro content creator then the extra quality the iPhone 12 Pro offers may be more your style.
You don’t feel your hands are big enough
If you think the iPhone 12 will be a stretch for your hands, the 12 mini is probably going to be your weapon of choice – you get all the above, but in a smaller and cheaper package
iPhone 12 