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Introduction
The new iPhones are out - but which one to get? Should I upgrade or not? Is one measurably better than the other one? We feel you. The same thoughts are crossing our minds every day as we get to know them better.
Our Apple iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro reviews are out, but we can't just put them back in their boxes. What better way of spending our extra time with these devices than pitting them against each other in a camera challenge while we wait for our iPhone 12 mini and Max review units to arrive.
The iPhone 12 Pro's most notable upgrade over the iPhone 12 is the telephoto camera's addition. So is 2x digital zoom that much worse than the optical on the 12 Pro? And are Portraits photos with Night mode superior to anything the iPhone 12 can come up with?
We also couldn't pass the opportunity to see how the new iPhones compare against the iPhone 11 Pro. After all, camera hardware has hardly changed since last year, but there is a new ISP, a wide aperture on the main camera, and perhaps even other changes that we've missed.
So, without further ado, let's check out the camera samples on the next pages.
Photos by the main and ultra-wide cams are identical
The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro share two cameras on the back - their 12MP primary and 12MP ultrawide snappers are identical - sensors, lenses, processing. Some readers expressed concerns about the identical quality of those, so we shot a bunch of photos side by side.
Let's see some photos then.
Main camera, iPhone 12, 12MP
Main camera, iPhone 12 Pro, 12MP
Well, looking through these photos, it's safe to say that both the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro shoot identical photos with their primary cameras.
Now, let's look through some ultrawide snaps.
Ultrawide camera, iPhone 12, 12MP
Ultrawide camera, iPhone 12 Pro, 12MP
Unsurprisingly, these photos look like duplicates, and we can't see a single difference.
Finally, here are a bunch of low-light photos. Once again, there is virtually no difference between the ones taken with the iPhone 12 and those with the iPhone 12 Pro.
iPhone 12 Main • iPhone 12 Main • iPhone 12 Ultrawide • iPhone 12 Ultrawide
iPhone 12 Pro Main • iPhone 12 Pro Main • iPhone 12 Pro Ultrawide • iPhone 12 Pro Ultrawide
2x optical zoom does make a difference
Now, let's see some digitally zoomed photos from the iPhone 12 and how they compare to the optically zoomed ones coming from the iPhone 12 Pro. After all, the telephoto camera on the back is the key feature that the 12 Pro offers over the vanilla 12.
2x digital zoom iPhone 12, 12MP
2x optical zoom iPhone 12 Pro, 12MP
The iPhone 12 doesn't have a Quad-Bayer sensor on its main camera. Image quality is bound to take a hit when cropping from a 12MP sensor and producing 12MP photos. Multi-sampling and image stacking could have probably helped, but it doesn't seem Apple is doing that.
The iPhone 12 2x zoom photos are quite soft and lacking in detail. But if you resize them to 3MP or so, they would be perfectly fine for social networks.
They are, however, no match for the quality of the optical zoom camera on the iPhone 12 Pro.
You get the same quality low-light Portrait photos
The Apple iPhone 12 Pro has this cool feature called Portrait Night Mode, which uses the LiDAR scanner to help with autofocus and the scene depth map. The LiDAR can work even in a pitch dark room.
Apple claims this is the reason why only the iPhone 12 Pro can offer Portraits with Night Mode, and not the iPhone 12. They only work with its main camera, and your subject has to stand still for a bit longer while Night mode does its magic.
However, we were curious about what we could achieve if we tried capturing the same scenes with the iPhone 12. It can still take night time Portrait photos - they just lack the Night Mode processing.
The Night Mode Portrait photos by the iPhone 12 Pro indeed turned out great. The separation is very good given the conditions, the contrast is nice, and the colors are very well preserved.
Night Mode Portraits, 12MP
Here are two additional scenes. In the first photo, you can notice the restored highlights in the background, which were then proficiently defocused. The separation is also quite competent, and the iPhone 12 Pro will take great portraits shots with the right background.
The next two photos are taken indoors but with different light sources. The brighter one has an additional light source from the side, while the last one has only the Christmas lights and nothing else. Both are good but don't expect miracles when the light is really scarce.
Night Mode Portraits, 12MP
While the iPhone 12 Pro relies on the LiDAR scanner for the depth map, we believed the iPhone 12 and "its A14 computational photography" should be able to do similar photos with the main camera even if Night Mode is not available.
And well, the iPhone 12's Portrait Mode really puts up a good fight. The photos are obviously a bit darker and somewhat desaturated but are mostly on par as far as detail and separation are concerned. Pixel peepers will find holes in the iPhone 12 depth map, but not as large as you would have guessed, and for the average user - they are relatively indistinguishable.
But here is the kicker. Put those default portraits to Photo's Auto Enhance feature, and you'd end up with a pretty similar image to iPhone 12 Pro's Portrait Night Mode.
iPhone 12 • iPhone 12 • iPhone 12 (Auto Enhance) • iPhone 12 (Auto Enhance)
Yes, Night Mode for Portraits is a powerful new feature available only on the Pro model, but with a couple of taps, you can also get a similar photo with the regular iPhone 12. This means the Night Portrait Mode alone isn't enough to sell the Pro over the iPhone 12.
Verdict - enjoy the savings with iPhone 12
The primary and the ultrawide cameras on both phones are identical and shoot equally good photos.
The 12 Pro's exclusive Portrait Night Mode sounded good on paper, but as it turns out, you can get a similar quality image with the iPhone 12.
So at the end - if you don't care about the AR and 3D scanning applications of the 12 Pro's LiDAR camera, the iPhone 12 Pro has only one advantage over the iPhone 12 and that's the 2x optical zoom.
Indeed, the optically zoomed photos are noticeably sharper at closer examinations at 12MP. However, if you don't need high-resolution zoom images or you never care to look at your photos on larger screens, the iPhone 12 digital zoom might be just enough for you allowing you to save some cash from the upgrade.
It turns out, it's easy to put a price on the telephoto+LiDAR combo. Considering the same storage version (128GB), the iPhone 12 Pro is $120 more expensive in the US, and €200 more expensive in the EU. Sure, it comes with stainless steel frame instead of aluminum, but we're fans of the more subdued matte look that the iPhone 12 frame has.
The ultra-wide camera is improved on 12 Pro
The next pair in this camera comparison is the new iPhone 12 Pro and the old iPhone 11 Pro (Max).
So, here come the daylight camera samples.
iPhone 11 Pro/Max main camera
iPhone 12 main camera
There is only one difference between the two sets of photos - the ones coming from the iPhone 12 Pro are noticeably warmer than the iPhone 11 Pro's. None of the phones got the colors right if we have to be honest, as the weather conditions and sun position that day made for somewhat unusually warmer look on everything. The reality is that the iPhone 11 Pro shows them cooler, while the iPhone 12 Pro paints them warmer.
Yet, this look is purely subjective and easily fixable in Photos. The color presentation aside, everything else is identical - resolved detail and mediocre foliage, excellent dynamic range and contrast.
Let's enjoy some ultrawide photos now, shall we?
iPhone 11 Pro/Max ultrawide camera
iPhone 12 Pro ultrawide camera
We observed the same difference with the colors of the ultrawide photos, though once again - this isn't an issue per se.
The ultrawide photos coming from the new iPhone 12 Pro are identical to the ones from the 11 Pro at the center, but they are more detailed and sharper around the edges and it is easily visible. Indeed, the 12 Pro, even if it should be using the same camera with the same lens, offers better processing and overall better ultrawide images.
2x zoom comparison - the newer model falls behind
The iPhone 12 Pro has a dedicated 12MP telephoto camera with 1/3.4" sensor and f/2.0 52mm lens. That's the same camera found on the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, sensor, lens, OIS, and all. That's unlike the iPhone 12, which relies on its main camera for zooming, meaning it provides pure digital zoom.
As you will see, both phones do a fairly good job shooting with their telephoto snappers, but surprisingly, the iPhone 11 Pro Max's photos turned out better. They are often a bit more detailed, especially in distant foliage or other high-frequency detail such as the decorative bricks on the castle.
We would need to zoom in to 100% magnification to see this difference.
But even if you look at the windows' reflections - the iPhone 11 Pro Max often captures more visible and detailed reflections than the iPhone 12 Pro. We can't be sure if the new Smart HDR processing makes this on purpose, or the camera is simply a bit worse than the one on the previous model.
iPhone 12 Pro 2x camera, 12MP
We've used an iPhone 11 Pro Max to take the samples below, but rest assured, the image quality is identical to the 11 Pro, and all conclusions apply to both.
iPhone 11 Pro Max 2x camera, 12MP
So, the iPhone 12 Pro tele camera appears to be inferior to the 11 Pro's, even if it's by a tiny bit. We think both phones indeed use the same hardware, but Apple's processing took the wrong turn somewhere as it's losing some detail and shows warmer colors.
Low-light photography - the ultra-wide is much better again
Moving on to low-light, then. Surprisingly, comparing the iPhones in the controlled lighting conditions of our studio, we found out that the brighter F/1.6 aperture on the new iPhones does not make a difference in exposure - we get absolutely the same shutter speed and ISO. We don't have any potential explanation for this but for now, we'd rather not point out the wider aperture as an advantage of the new generation.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro vs. Apple iPhone XS and the Apple iPhone 11 Pro in our Photo compare tool
Let's check out the real-life camera samples next.
iPhone 11 Pro/Max main camera
iPhone 12 Pro main camera
The Night Mode always triggers on the iPhones and it usually chooses 1s or 2s exposures. With the Auto Night Mode both iPhone Pro models shoot similar photos, and the brighter aperture doesn't matter much here.
It does matter when we disable the Night Mode though - you can clearly see the new iPhone captures brighter images.
iPhone 11 Pro (NM off) • iPhone 12 Pro (NM off) • iPhone 11 Pro (NM off) • iPhone 12 Pro (NM off)
The iPhone 12 Pro has Night Mode on its ultrawide camera, which makes for a massive improvement over the iPhone 11 Pro ultrawide shooter, and its images are pretty good.
Even without Night Mode (which we disabled only out of curiosity), the iPhone 12 Pro still snaps better photos than the 11 Pro - they are a more detailed and less noisy.
The iPhone 11 Pro ultrawide camera is no good at night, while the 12 Pro's offer some okay photos - bright and colorful.
iPhone 11 Pro • iPhone 12 Pro (NM off) • iPhone 12 Pro Night Mode
iPhone 11 Pro • iPhone 12 Pro (NM off) • iPhone 12 Pro Night Mode
iPhone 11 Pro • iPhone 12 Pro (NM off) • iPhone 12 Pro Night Mode
None of the Pro models supports Night Mode on the telephoto camera. Worse, none of them uses that camera at nighttime and prefers to digitally zoom. Still, we were able to capture these two scenes with the zoom snappers.
iPhone 11 Pro 2x • iPhone 12 Pro 2x • iPhone 11 Pro 2x • iPhone 12 Pro 2x
The iPhone 12 Pro tele camera offers brighter photos yet again, with better exposure, and livelier colors. The noise is higher on the iPhone 12 Pro photos, but so are the fine details, and we'd prefer them over the 11 Pro's.
Verdict - iPhone 11 Pro is the better deal
The only major advantage the iPhone 12 Pro has over the 11 Pro/Max are the improvements of the ultrawide camera. In daylight, you get more detailed ultrawide photos with sharper corners. In low-light, the newly added Night mode adds an even bigger difference.
iPhone 12 Pro is considerably more expensive than the 11 Pro and in iur comparison, we've discovered that the telephoto camera produces photos that are a bit software. That aside, we'd advise on saving some cash by going for the outgoing model - the iPhone 11 Pro.
These two are priced the same, how do their cameras differ?
At the current state of things, the iPhone 12 costs as much as the outgoing iPhone 11 Pro. They are also about the same size, so we wondered how they would fair in their camera image quality when compared directly .
Let's look at a few camera samples.
iPhone 11 Pro Max main camera
We've used an iPhone 11 Pro Max to take the samples below, but rest assured, the image quality is identical to the 11 Pro, and all conclusions apply to both.
iPhone 12 main camera
The primary cameras on both phones have the same sensors, but the iPhone 12 has a brighter lens. This has no effect on the daylight photos - they are identical. There is absolutely no difference in resolved detail, contrast, or dynamic range. The color presentation is the same, too.
Sometimes, the iPhone 11 Pro/Max can sharpen foliage more than the iPhone 12. But we had to look really close to see this and, as we mentioned, it's not all the time.
Now, let's see the ultrawide photos.
iPhone 11 Pro Max ultrawide camera
iPhone 12 ultrawide camera
While the two phones supposedly have the same ultrawide shooters, the iPhone 12 saves better photos - they are noticeably sharper and more detailed, especially around the edges and corners.
Other than that, both iPhones' ultrawide snaps offer realistic colors, natural dynamic range, and excellent contrast.
Moving on to low-light performance. Here, the iPhone 12 may have an advantage because of its brighter lens.
iPhone 11 Pro Max main camera (NM auto)
iPhone 12 main camera (NM auto)
Both the iPhone 11 Pro/Max and the iPhone 12 use Night Mode and usually opt for 1s or 2s exposures. All four scenes look identical on both phones. The photos are excellent, the colors are pleasantly saturated, and the exposure - quite balanced.
The brighter lens of the iPhone 12 allows for capturing just a tiny little bit more detail in some darker spots like bushes, but it's barely noticeable.
By forcing the auto Night Mode off, we can clearly see the benefits of the f/1.6 lens on the iPhone 12, though. Its normal photos are obviously brighter.
iPhone 12 (NM off) • iPhone 11 Pro (NM off) • iPhone 12 (NM off) • iPhone 11 Pro (NM off)
The iPhone 11 Pro/Max doesn't support Night Mode for its ultrawide camera. Quite expectedly, the Night Mode ultrawide shots are a massive improvement over the photos saved by the iPhone 11 Pro/Max.
Oddly, even without Night Mode, the iPhone 12 offers brighter images with somewhat more detail and less noise.
iPhone 11 Pro • iPhone 12 (NM off) • iPhone 12 Night Mode
iPhone 11 Pro • iPhone 12 (NM off) • iPhone 12 Night Mode
iPhone 11 Pro • iPhone 12 (NM off) • iPhone 12 Night Mode
Verdict - iPhone 12 is no match in zooming, but its ultra wide is great
The iPhone 12 lacks a telephoto camera, and the difference in quality is even more pronounced when you compare its digital zoom to the tack-sharp optical zoom camera on the iPhone 11 Pro.
However, it's able to fight back with its ultra-wide camera, which shows an improvement in daylight and a massive boost in low-light conditions thanks to the newly added Night mode.
For those with a more practical approach, the iPhone 11 Pro remains a great deal because it has a complete set of cameras, a brighter screen, and a quick charger in the box.
However, the newer iPhone 12 arrives with this year's new design, a faster CPU, an improved screen glass, and an ever so slightly larger display. It's also noticeably lighter.
Our preferences lean towards the newer iPhone 12 if you are choosing between the two. If you already have an iPhone 11 Pro or if you can find it at a considerably reduced price, making the move to the iPhone 12 doesn't make any sense unless the reduced weight and the new design are the biggest draws for you.
All in all, a choice like this one will boil down to personal preferences, so we are inclined to call this one as a Tie.
Final thoughts
If you already have an iPhone 11 Pro - the camera should not be a deciding factor for upgrading to the iPhone 12 Pro. The improvements are marginal. The ultrawide camera has received a boost - both in daylight and low light - but Apple somehow messed up the zoom camera image quality. Meanwhile, the quality of the main camera is identical between the two phones and the wider aperture does not translate into real-world gains.
If you are coming from an older device, getting the iPhone 12 is an excellent option as it will save you some cash compared to the 12 Pro. So would the 12 mini, but this option is only for those who are after the new design and hardware in the smallest and lightest possible form factor as it comes with a few drawbacks of its own.
If you already have your eye on the iPhone 12, an interesting option to consider is getting the iPhone 11 Pro instead. It costs the same and it does have its merits. The choice between the two will come down to personal preference. The iPhone 11 Pro has a complete set of cameras, a brighter screen, and a quick charger that comes in the box at no extra cost. And since it is the outgoing model, perhaps you are more likely to score a holiday sale than with the newer iPhone 12.
The iPhone 12, on the other hand, arrives with the new chipset, an improved screen glass, an ever so slightly larger display, and this year's design with a matte frame that's arguably more practical than the 12 Pro's. It's also noticeably lighter than both the 11 Pro and 12 Pro.
Of course, getting the latest iPhone is not always about the new or improved features, though. Sometimes it's just about 'getting the new iPhone.' And then - it really doesn't matter what Apple did or did not get right. In this case, you can't really go wrong with any of the new iPhones.
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