Screen size
equal specsiPhone 126.1"
iPhone 16e6.1"
Quick verdict
iPhone 16e leads the measured specs 6-3.
Measured wins
iPhone 12
3
spec wins
Ties
12
equal specs
iPhone 16e
6
spec wins
Overall winner
Screen size
equal specsTechnology
iPhone 12
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
iPhone 16e
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
2G bands
iPhone 12
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
iPhone 16e
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands
iPhone 12
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
iPhone 16e
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G bands
iPhone 12
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, 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
Resolution
equal specsRefresh rate
Peak brightness
equal specsPixel 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 specsiPhone 16e
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 - A3212, A3408, 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 - A3409, 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 - A3410
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 16e
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 - A3212, A3408, 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 - A3409, 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 - A3410
Speed
iPhone 12
HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
iPhone 16e
HSPA, LTE, 5G
Announced
iPhone 12
2020, October 13
iPhone 16e
2025, February 19
Status
iPhone 12
Available. Released 2020, October 23
iPhone 16e
Available. Released 2025, February 28
Dimensions
iPhone 12
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm (5.78 x 2.81 x 0.29 in)
iPhone 16e
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm (5.78 x 2.81 x 0.31 in)
Weight
iPhone 12
164 g (5.78 oz)
iPhone 16e
167 g (5.89 oz)
Build
iPhone 12
Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame
iPhone 16e
Glass front (Ceramic Shield), glass back, aluminum frame
SIM
iPhone 12
· Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China)
iPhone 16e
· 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 16e
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 16e
Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, 800 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak)
Size
iPhone 12
6.1 inches, 90.2 cm2 (~86.0% screen-to-body ratio)
iPhone 16e
6.1 inches, 90.2 cm2 (~86.0% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution
iPhone 12
1170 x 2532 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
iPhone 16e
1170 x 2532 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
Protection
iPhone 12
Ceramic Shield glass
iPhone 16e
Ceramic Shield glass, Mohs level 4
OS
iPhone 12
iOS 14.1, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
iPhone 16e
iOS 18.3.1, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
Chipset
iPhone 12
Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)
iPhone 16e
Apple A18 (3 nm)
CPU
iPhone 12
Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm)
iPhone 16e
Hexa-core (2x4.04 GHz + 4x2.20 GHz)
GPU
iPhone 12
Apple GPU (4-core graphics)
iPhone 16e
Apple GPU (4-core graphics)
Card slot
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 16e
No
Internal
iPhone 12
64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 256GB 4GB RAM
iPhone 16e
128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM
Other
iPhone 12
NVMe
iPhone 16e
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 16e
-
Features
iPhone 12
Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)
iPhone 16e
Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR, panorama, 3D (spatial) audio
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 16e
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, Dolby Vision HDR, OIS, stereo sound rec.
Single
iPhone 12
-
iPhone 16e
48 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55", 0.7µm, PDAF, OIS
Single
iPhone 12
12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
iPhone 16e
12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, PDAF SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
Features
iPhone 12
HDR
iPhone 16e
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 16e
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, HDR
Loudspeaker
iPhone 12
Yes, with stereo speakers
iPhone 16e
Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 16e
No
WLAN
iPhone 12
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
iPhone 16e
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
Bluetooth
iPhone 12
5.0, A2DP, LE
iPhone 16e
5.3, A2DP, LE
Positioning
iPhone 12
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
iPhone 16e
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS, NavIC
NFC
iPhone 12
Yes
iPhone 16e
Yes
Radio
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 16e
No
USB
iPhone 12
Lightning, USB 2.0
iPhone 16e
USB Type-C 2.0
Sensors
iPhone 12
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
iPhone 16e
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Other
iPhone 12
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support
iPhone 16e
Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite
Type
iPhone 12
Li-Ion 2815 mAh (10.78 Wh)
iPhone 16e
Li-Ion 4005 mAh
Charging
iPhone 12
Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 15W wireless (MagSafe) 15W wireless (Qi2) - requires iOS 17.4 update
iPhone 16e
Wired, 50% in 30 min 7.5W wireless (Qi)
Colors
iPhone 12
Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Purple
iPhone 16e
Black, White
Models
iPhone 12
A2403, A2172, A2402, A2404, iPhone13,2
iPhone 16e
A3212, A3409, A3410, A3408, iPhone17,5
SAR EU
iPhone 12
0.99 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body)
iPhone 16e
1.48 W/kg (head) 1.49 W/kg (body)
Price
iPhone 12
$ 194.06 / C$ 300.00 / £ 154.00 / € 196.00 / ₹ 44,999
iPhone 16e
$ 318.48 / C$ 619.00 / £ 398.75 / € 493.99
SAR
iPhone 12
-
iPhone 16e
1.19 W/kg (head) 1.20 W/kg (body)