Screen size
equal specsiPhone 126.1"
iPhone 166.1"
Quick verdict
iPhone 16 leads the measured specs 9-2.
Measured wins
iPhone 12
2
spec wins
Ties
10
equal specs
iPhone 16
9
spec wins
Overall winner
Screen size
equal specsTechnology
iPhone 12
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
iPhone 16
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
2G bands
iPhone 12
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
iPhone 16
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
3G bands
iPhone 12
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
iPhone 16
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
4G bands
iPhone 12
Resolution
Refresh rate
Peak brightness
Pixel density
equal specsCPU speed
RAM
Storage
Main camera
Front camera
equal specsBattery
Wired charging
Weight
Thickness
IP rating
equal specsWi‑Fi
Bluetooth
USB
equal specs5G support
equal specsNFC
equal specs3.5mm jack
equal specsSD card
equal specsStereo speakers
equal specs1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66, 71 - A2172, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66 - A2403, A2404, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66, 71 - A2402
iPhone 16
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 66 - A3287, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 66, 71 - A3081, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 66, 71 - A3286, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 66 - A3288
5G bands
iPhone 12
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 71, 77, 78, 79, 260, 261 Sub6/mmWave - A2172, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78, 79 Sub6 - A2402, A2403, A2404
iPhone 16
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3287, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 258, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - A3081, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3286, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 70, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3288
Speed
iPhone 12
HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
iPhone 16
HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
Announced
iPhone 12
2020, October 13
iPhone 16
2024, September 09
Status
iPhone 12
Available. Released 2020, October 23
iPhone 16
Available. Released 2024, September 20
Dimensions
iPhone 12
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm (5.78 x 2.81 x 0.29 in)
iPhone 16
147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm (5.81 x 2.82 x 0.31 in)
Weight
iPhone 12
164 g (5.78 oz)
iPhone 16
170 g (6.00 oz)
Build
iPhone 12
Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame
iPhone 16
Glass front (Ceramic Shield), glass back, aluminum frame
SIM
iPhone 12
· Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China)
iPhone 16
· Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time; International)· eSIM + eSIM (8 or more, max 2 at a time; USA)· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China)
Other
iPhone 12
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 6m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)
iPhone 16
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 6m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)
Type
iPhone 12
Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 625 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak)
iPhone 16
Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 2000 nits (HBM)
Size
iPhone 12
6.1 inches, 90.2 cm2 (~86.0% screen-to-body ratio)
iPhone 16
6.1 inches, 91.7 cm2 (~86.8% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution
iPhone 12
1170 x 2532 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
iPhone 16
1179 x 2556 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
Protection
iPhone 12
Ceramic Shield glass
iPhone 16
Ceramic Shield glass (2024 gen), Mohs level 4
OS
iPhone 12
iOS 14.1, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
iPhone 16
iOS 18, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
Chipset
iPhone 12
Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)
iPhone 16
Apple A18 (3 nm)
CPU
iPhone 12
Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm)
iPhone 16
Hexa-core (2x4.04 GHz + 4x2.20 GHz)
GPU
iPhone 12
Apple GPU (4-core graphics)
iPhone 16
Apple GPU (5-core graphics)
Card slot
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 16
No
Internal
iPhone 12
64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 256GB 4GB RAM
iPhone 16
128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM
Other
iPhone 12
NVMe
iPhone 16
NVMe
Dual
iPhone 12
12 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.4, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.6"
iPhone 16
48 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 0.7µm, dual pixel PDAF
Features
iPhone 12
Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)
iPhone 16
Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)
Video
iPhone 12
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 30fps), stereo sound rec.
iPhone 16
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), stereo sound rec.
Single
iPhone 12
12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
iPhone 16
12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, PDAF SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
Features
iPhone 12
HDR
iPhone 16
HDR, Dolby Vision HDR, 3D (spatial) audio, stereo sound rec.
Video
iPhone 12
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS
iPhone 16
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS
Loudspeaker
iPhone 12
Yes, with stereo speakers
iPhone 16
Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 16
No
WLAN
iPhone 12
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
iPhone 16
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7, tri-band, hotspot
Bluetooth
iPhone 12
5.0, A2DP, LE
iPhone 16
5.3, A2DP, LE
Positioning
iPhone 12
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
iPhone 16
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS
NFC
iPhone 12
Yes
iPhone 16
Yes
Radio
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 16
No
USB
iPhone 12
Lightning, USB 2.0
iPhone 16
USB Type-C 2.0, DisplayPort
Sensors
iPhone 12
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
iPhone 16
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Other
iPhone 12
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support
iPhone 16
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support (gen2 chip) Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite
Type
iPhone 12
Li-Ion 2815 mAh (10.78 Wh)
iPhone 16
Li-Ion 3561 mAh
Charging
iPhone 12
Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 15W wireless (MagSafe) 15W wireless (Qi2) - requires iOS 17.4 update
iPhone 16
Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 25W wireless (MagSafe), 15W wireless (China only) 15W wireless (Qi2) 4.5W reverse wired
Colors
iPhone 12
Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Purple
iPhone 16
Black, White, Pink, Teal, Ultramarine
Models
iPhone 12
A2403, A2172, A2402, A2404, iPhone13,2
iPhone 16
A3287, A3081, A3286, A3288, iPhone17,3
SAR EU
iPhone 12
0.99 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body)
iPhone 16
1.24 W/kg (head) 1.41 W/kg (body)
Price
iPhone 12
$ 194.06 / C$ 300.00 / £ 154.00 / € 196.00 / ₹ 44,999
iPhone 16
$ 456.99 / C$ 908.71 / £ 519.99 / € 600.00 / ₹ 99,900
SAR
iPhone 12
-
iPhone 16
1.08 W/kg (head) 1.17 W/kg (body)