Essential Phone vs Apple iPhone 12 Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
May 30, 2017	Oct 13, 2020
Prices (MSRP)
$700	$829

Design

Dimensions
5.57 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches 141.5 x 71.1 x 7.8 mm	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)
Weight
6.53 oz / 185.0 g	5.78 oz / 164.0 g
Materials
Back: Ceramic Frame: Titanium	Back: Glass Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Splash, Dust; IP54	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch)	3D Face unlock
Features
Notification light
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key	Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Gray, Blue, White	Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Purple

Display

Size
5.7-inch, 84.85% screen-to-body	6.1-inch, 87.24% screen-to-body
Type
IPS LCD	OLED, 60Hz, HDR, 1200 nits
Resolution
2560x1312px, 504 PPI	2532x1170px, 19.5:9 ratio, 457 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Ceramic Shield
Features
	HDR support, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

PhoneArena Display Test

Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested	Untested
Bright Min
Untested	1.8 (Good)

Learn more on our PhoneArena Display Test Results page.

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 (10 nm)	Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)
Processor
Octa-core Kryo 280	Hexa-core 3100 MHz
GPU
Adreno 540	Yes
Memory
4GB (LPDDR4)/128GB	4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB (NVMe) 4GB/128GB 4GB/256GB
Storage expansion
	not expandable
OS
Android (7.1 Nougat)	iOS (16.x, 15.x, 14.x)

PhoneArena Performance Test

GeekBench 6 Single
Untested	2009
GeekBench 6 Multi
Untested	4369
3D Mark High
Untested	2347
3D Mark Low
Untested	1801

Learn more on our PhoneArena Performance Test Results page.

Battery

Type
3040 mAh, Li - Ion	2815 mAh, Li - Ion
Charging
USB Power Delivery	USB Power Delivery Qi wireless charging, MagSafe wireless charging
Charge speed
	Wireless: 15.0W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

Untested

Browsing

Untested

Video

Untested

Gaming

Untested

Battery Life Estimate

4h 59min

Browsing

12h 33min

Video

6h 38min

Gaming

6h 46min

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
Dual camera	Dual camera
Main camera
13 MP (Laser and PDAF) Aperture size: F1.9 Sensor size: 1/3.09"	12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.6 Focal length: 26 mm
Second camera
13 MP (Black and White, Laser and PDAF) Aperture size: F1.9 Sensor size: 1/3.09"	12 MP (Ultra-wide, Sapphire crystal lens cover) Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 13 mm
Flash
Dual LED	LED
Video recording
4K UHD (30 fps), 1080p (60 fps), 720p (120 fps) Video calling, Video sharing	4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps) OIS, HDR, Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording
Front
8 MP Video capture: 4K UHD	12 MP (EIS, HDR, Slow-motion videos) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.0
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac	a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Type-C	Lightning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
	M3/T4
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, VoIP, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync	NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling)

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack	No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker	Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
aptX-HD	Dolby Atmos
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share	Wireless screen share
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation	Noise cancellation

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
4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 39, 40, 41	34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48
3G Bands
1, 2, 4, 5, 8	1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A Pro Cat 16 (1000/150 Mbit/s)	LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
Dual SIM
	Yes
SIM type
Nano SIM	Nano SIM, eSIM
HD Voice
	Yes
VoLTE
	Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Jun 26, 2017 FCC ID value: 2ALBB-A11
Measured SAR
Head: 0.28 W/kg Body: 0.76 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 0.92 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.70 W/kg

Alternative variants

with 128GB storage

Memory	128GB
Prices (MSRP)	$879

with 256GB storage

Memory	256GB
Prices (MSRP)	$979

Discover more

Full Specs Essential Phone Specs PA Review Essential Phone Review

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