Apple iPhone 12 vs Apple iPhone 17 Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
Oct 13, 2020	Sep 09, 2025
Prices (MSRP)
4GB/64GB - $829	8GB/256GB - $799 | €949 8GB/512GB - $999 | €1199

Design

Dimensions
5.78 x 2.81 x 0.29 inches (~0.35 inches with camera bump) 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm (~8.88 mm with camera bump)	5.89 x 2.81 x 0.31 inches (~0.37 inches with camera bump) 149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mm (~9.3 mm with camera bump)
Weight
5.78 oz / 164.0 g	6.24 oz / 177.0 g
Materials
Back: Glass Frame: Aluminum	Back: Glass (Ceramic Shield) Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
3D Face unlock	3D Face unlock
Keys
Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key	Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key, Other
Colors
Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Purple	Black, White, Sage, Lavender, Mist Blue

Display

Size
6.1-inch, 87.24% screen-to-body	6.3-inch, 91.04% screen-to-body
Type
OLED, 60Hz, HDR, 1200 nits	OLED, 120Hz, HDR, 3000 nits
Resolution
2532x1170px, 19.5:9 ratio, 457 PPI	2622x1206px, 19.5:9 ratio, 458 PPI
Protection
Ceramic Shield	Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2
Features
HDR support, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Super Retina XDR, HDR support, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

PhoneArena Display Test

Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested	2672 (Excellent)
Bright Min
1.8 (Good)	1.5 (Good)

Learn more on our PhoneArena Display Test Results page.

Hardware

System chip
Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)	Apple A19 (3 nm)
Processor
Hexa-core	Hexa-core
GPU
Yes	Apple 5-core GPU
Memory
4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB (NVMe) 4GB/128GB 4GB/256GB	8GB (LPDDR5)/256GB 8GB/512GB
Storage expansion
not expandable	not expandable
OS
iOS (16.x, 15.x, 14.x)	iOS (26.x)

PhoneArena Performance Test

GeekBench 6 Single
2009	3527
GeekBench 6 Multi
4369	8798
3D Mark High
2347	5172
3D Mark Low
1801	3295

Learn more on our PhoneArena Performance Test Results page.

Battery

Type
2815 mAh, Li - Ion	3692 mAh, Li - Ion
Charging
USB Power Delivery Qi wireless charging, MagSafe wireless charging	Fast charging Qi2 wireless charging, MagSafe wireless charging
Charge speed
Wireless: 15.0W	Wired: 40.0W Wireless: 25.0W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

4h 59min

Browsing

12h 33min

Video

6h 38min

Gaming

6h 46min

Battery Life Estimate

6h 13min

Browsing

16h 47min

Video

7h 19min

Gaming

9h 12min

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
Dual camera	Dual camera
Main camera
12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.6 Focal length: 26 mm	48 MP (Sensor-shift OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.6 Focal length: 26 mm
Second camera
12 MP (Ultra-wide, Sapphire crystal lens cover) Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 13 mm	48 MP (Ultra-wide, PDAF) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm
Flash
LED	Dual LED
Video recording
4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps) OIS, HDR, Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording	4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps) OIS, HDR, Dolby Vision HDR, Cinematic mode
Front
12 MP (EIS, HDR, Slow-motion videos) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)	18 MP (Time-of-Flight (ToF), Autofocus, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

PhoneArena Camera Tests

N/A

Overall

N/A

Photo

N/A

Video

150

Overall

156

Photo

145

Video

Learn more on our PhoneArena Camera Test Results page

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	6.0
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax	a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E,Wi-Fi 7 Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Lightning	Type-C, USB 2.0
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Emergency SOS via satellite (SMS sending/receiving), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T4	M3/T4
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling)	NFC, Ultra Wideband (UWB)

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack	No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Multiple speakers	Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
Dolby Atmos	Dolby Atmos

Cellular

5G Bands
n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79, n260, n261, Sub-6, mmWave	n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n66, n70, n71, n75, n77, n78, n79, n258, n260, n261, mmWave
4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71
4G (TDD) Bands
34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48	34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48
3G Bands
1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s	LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s
Dual SIM
Yes
SIM type
Nano SIM, eSIM	eSIM
HD Voice
Yes	Yes
VoLTE
Yes	Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
	Date approved: Sep 09, 2025 FCC ID value: BCG-E8947A
Measured SAR
	Head: 1.19 W/kg Body: 1.19 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.54 W/kg

Alternative variants

with 128GB storage

Memory	128GB
Prices (MSRP)	$879

with 256GB storage

Memory	256GB
Prices (MSRP)	$979

Discover more

Full Specs Apple iPhone 12 Specs PA Review Apple iPhone 12 Review

Full Specs Apple iPhone 17 Specs PA Review Apple iPhone 17 Review