When it launched in October 2020, the iPhone 12 Pro packed cutting-edge hardware. Four years later, that’s not the case. While Apple’s 2020 flagship iPhone can still hold its own, you should consider upgrading to the iPhone 16 Pro.
Wondering if the improvements are even big enough to warrant an upgrade? Find out in this comparison.
iPhone 12 Pro vs. iPhone 16 Pro: 2024 vs. 2020
Comparing the iPhone 15 Pro to the iPhone 16 Pro, you realize Apple’s newest iPhone only packs modest improvements. But when you go back and compare the iPhone 16 Pro to the iPhone 12 Pro, which launched in 2020, the differences immediately stand out.
Right from a bigger display to a faster and more efficient chip and longer battery life, the iPhone 16 Pro is better than the iPhone 12 Pro in almost every aspect. Check out our detailed comparison of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro to understand all the differences.
Table of contents: iPhone 16 Pro vs. iPhone 12 Pro comparison
- Design: More durable
- Display: Bigger and brighter
- Performance: Faster and more efficient
- Camera: Improved. in every way
- Connectivity: Life-saving features
- Battery life: Lasts really long
- Price: No inflation here
- Conclusion
Design: More durable
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac
- iPhone 16 Pro: 149.6mm x 71.5mm x 8.25mm; 199 grams; IP68, aerospace-grade titanium with matte glass back, 2nd-gen Ceramic Shield (front), Action button, Camera Control
- iPhone 12 Pro: 146.7mm x 71.5mm x 7.65mm, 189 grams, IP68, stainless steel with textured glass back, Ring/Silent switch
The iPhone 12 Pro launched in October 2020. Four years later, the iPhone 16 Pro is slightly heavier and taller, which is understandable because the phone packs a larger 6.3-inch display. But despite this, the iPhone 16 Pro also manages to be slimmer than the iPhone 12 Pro.
Apple’s newest iPhone uses a titanium chassis, which is a lot lighter than the iPhone 12 Pro’s stainless steel. Other improvements include a more durable front cover glass and a customizable Action button. The Camera Control button on the bottom right side provides quick access to the Camera app and controls.
While the iPhone 16 Pro might look similar to the iPhone 12 Pro at first glance, all the small changes add up.
Display: Bigger and brighter
The iPhone 16 Pro packs a bigger, brighter, and smoother display than the iPhone 12 Pro. The 16 Pro can hit a peak brightness of 1,200 nits — 800 nits more than the iPhone 12 Pro. Plus, it features a 120Hz refresh rate for a smoother scrolling experience. You can reduce the minimum brightness all the way down to 1 nit, too.
- iPhone 16 Pro: 6.3-inch, Super Retina XDR display, 2,622 x 1,206 pixels resolution, 120Hz ProMotion, Haptic Touch, True Tone, Always-On display, Dynamic Island, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1,000 nits typical brightness, 2,000 nits peak brightness, 1 nit minimum brightness
- iPhone 12 Pro: 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, 2,532 x 1,170 pixels, 60Hz refresh rate, Haptic Touch, True Tone, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 800 nits typical brightness, 1,200 nits peak brightness
Another major upgrade on the iPhone 16 Pro’s display is the Dynamic Island. It replaces the notch found on the iPhone 13 Pro’s display. More importantly, Apple smartly uses the Dynamic Island to well, dynamically display a range of information through Live Activities. Lastly, the iPhone 16 Pro’s display is surrounded by slimmer bezels, giving it a more futuristic look.
Performance: Faster and more efficient
Photo: Apple
- iPhone 16 Pro: A18 Pro, 3nm (2nd-gen) fab, 6-core CPU, 6-core GPU, upgraded 16-core Neural Engine, dedicated AV1 decoder, USB-C controller, second-gen Ultra Wideband chip, 8GB RAM, up to 1TB storage
- iPhone 12 Pro: A14 Bionic, 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 6GB RAM, up to 512GB storage
The iPhone 16 Pro’s 6-core CPU is 60% faster than the iPhone 12 Pro’s A14 Bionic, while the GPU is 50% faster. The latter supports hardware ray tracing for higher-quality lighting effects. The A18 Pro’s Neural Engine is more than twice as fast, ensuring Apple’s newest iPhone can process AI and ML tasks faster. These are massive performance improvements that will be easily noticeable in daily use.
The iPhone 12 Pro’s A14 Bionic chip was ahead of its time. But four years later, it is showing its age. You might not feel like your old iPhone is running slow. However, once you experience the iPhone 16 Pro, there’s no going back.
Other upgrades available with the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 Pro chip include a dedicated AV1 decoder and a USB-C controller. These enable faster and more efficient video encoding/decoding and wired transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps.
Lastly, the A18 Pro chip and 8GB RAM enable the iPhone 16 Pro to support Apple Intelligence. While the iPhone 12 Pro is compatible with iOS 18, it does not support Apple’s AI-powered features.
Camera: Improved in every way
- iPhone 16 Pro: 48MP f/1.78 Fusion camera with a larger sensor, second-gen sensor-shift stabilization, 12MP f/2.8 telephoto camera, 5x optical zoom; 48MP f/2.2 Ultra Wide, Macro photography; LiDAR Scanner, Smart HDR 5, Adaptive True Tone flash, Cinematic mode (4K HDR@30fps), Action mode, ProRAW and ProRes support, Log video recording, Spatial video recording, Wind noise reduction, Audio Mix; Front: 12MP camera with f/1.9 aperture, autofocus
- iPhone 12 Pro: 12MP f/1.6 primary camera, sensor-shift stabilization; 12MP f/2.4 Ultra Wide; 12MP f/2.0 telephoto camera, 2x optical zoom; LiDAR Scanner, Smart HDR 3, True Tone flash; Front: 12MP camera with f/2.2 aperture
The iPhone 16 Pro packs modest camera improvements over the iPhone 15 Pro. But upgrading from the iPhone 12 Pro makes you realize all of Apple’s camera advancements since 2020. The iPhone 16 Pro sports a bigger and higher-resolution primary camera. This allows it to take in more light and capture pictures with more details. The ultrawide camera is also bigger and sports a higher resolution.
While the telephoto camera retains the 12MP resolution, it sports a wider f/2.0 aperture. More importantly, it has a 5x optical telephoto zoom lens, allowing you to get closer to subjects from a distance. For comparison, the iPhone 12 Pro’s 12MP telephoto shooter only supports 2x optical zoom. The iPhone 16 Pro can deliver the same results using an in-sensor crop from its primary camera.
These are just the hardware improvements, though. The image processing upgrades are even bigger, with the iPhone 16 Pro supporting Smart HDR 5. Other improvements include ProRes and Log support for recording videos, the ability to capture spatial photos and videos, and Audio Mix.
Connectivity: Life-saving features
- iPhone 16 Pro: Emergency SOS with satellite, Roadside Assistance via satellite, Thread networking, High dynamic range gyro, Car crash detection, dual eSIM slots, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, Precision dual-frequency GPS, USB-C (up to 10Gbps)
- iPhone 12 Pro: Emergency SOS, Dual SIM support, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, Lightning connector (USB 2 at 480Mbps), Ultra Wideband chip
There’s more to a phone than being able to connect to the internet and make calls. In just four years since the launch of the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple’s iPhones can connect to satellites, act as a router for smart home devices, and even automatically contact emergency services if they detect you are involved in a car crash. All these changes can potentially be life-saving in an emergency or life-threatening situation.
The iPhone 16 Pro will also deliver faster 5G download speeds and latch onto networks better in areas with spotty coverage. Similarly, dual-precision GPS can zero in on your location quickly and with greater accuracy.
Lastly, the USB-C port means it’s much easier to find a charger to top up your phone’s battery. Plus, it supports significantly faster wired data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps.
Note that the iPhone 16 Pro does not feature a physical SIM slot in the US. So, if you plan to upgrade, you must switch to an eSIM. Unlike the iPhone 12 Pro, the phone supports dual eSIM connections.
Battery life: Lasts really long
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac
- iPhone 16 Pro: Up to 27 hours of video playback, up to 85 hours of audio playback; 25W MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging support
- iPhone 12 Pro: Up to 17 hours of video playback, up to 65 hours of audio playback; 15W MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging support
Compared to the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple’s newest Pro iPhone delivers an outstanding 10 extra hours of video playback. Audio playback runtime is a whopping 20 hours better. These efficiency improvements mean the iPhone 16 Pro will easily last a day of heavy use without issues.
Chances are your iPhone 12 Pro’s battery is already showing its age and cannot last even half a day without a top-up. Even better, the iPhone 16 Pro supports faster wired and wireless charging, so charging its battery to full takes considerably less time.
Price: No inflation here
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
- iPhone 16 Pro: Starts from $999 for 128GB storage
- iPhone 12 Pro: Started from $999 for 128GB storage
Despite packing major upgrades in almost all areas, the iPhone 16 Pro carries the same starting price as the iPhone 12 Pro. Disappointingly, the base storage also remains unchanged after 4 years. Given inflationary pressure and rising component costs, it is surprising to see the iPhone 16 Pro costs the same as the iPhone 12 Pro.
While the iPhone 12 Pro maxed out at 512GB storage, you can get the iPhone 16 Pro with up to 1TB storage. It will cost you, though, with the variant coming in at $1,499 before taxes.
iPhone 16 Pro vs. iPhone 12 Pro conclusion: A necessary upgrade
There’s almost no reason not to upgrade from the iPhone 12 Pro to the iPhone 16 Pro. Even if you don’t care about the bigger, brighter display and better performance, the iPhone 16 Pro sports other significant upgrades: emergency SOS via satellite, car crash detection, better camera performance, and longer battery life. These improvements are easily evident in daily use.
You will likely find some good carrier trade-in deals. Make sure to take advantage of them to get the iPhone 16 Pro at a lower price and get more value out of your old iPhone 12 Pro.
All the changes above also apply to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, so you will get the same benefits when upgrading from the iPhone 12 Pro Max. If you are on a tight budget, consider getting the iPhone 16 instead. Go through our iPhone 16 Pro vs. iPhone 16 comparison to learn how the two iPhones differ.
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iPhone 16 Pro: Apple
