Screen size
iPhone 126.1"
iPhone 17Winner: 6.3"+3.2%
Quick verdict
iPhone 17 leads the measured specs 12-2.
Measured wins
iPhone 12
2
spec wins
Ties
8
equal specs
iPhone 17
12
spec wins
Overall winner
Screen size
Resolution
Refresh rate
Peak brightness
Pixel density
equal specsCPU speed
RAM
Storage
Main camera
Front camera
Battery
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 specsTechnology
iPhone 12
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
iPhone 17
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
2G bands
iPhone 12
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
iPhone 17
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
3G bands
iPhone 12
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
iPhone 17
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
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
iPhone 17
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 - A3520, 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 - A3258, 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 - A3519, 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 - A3521
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 17
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3520, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 79, 258, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - A3258, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3519, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3521
Speed
iPhone 12
HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
iPhone 17
HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
Announced
iPhone 12
2020, October 13
iPhone 17
2025, September 09
Status
iPhone 12
Available. Released 2020, October 23
iPhone 17
Available. Released 2025, September 19
Dimensions
iPhone 12
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm (5.78 x 2.81 x 0.29 in)
iPhone 17
149.6 x 71.5 x 8 mm (5.89 x 2.81 x 0.31 in)
Weight
iPhone 12
164 g (5.78 oz)
iPhone 17
177 g (6.24 oz)
Build
iPhone 12
Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame
iPhone 17
Glass front (Ceramic Shield 2), aluminum frame, glass back
SIM
iPhone 12
· Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China)
iPhone 17
· 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 17
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 17
LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 1600 nits (HBM), 3000 nits (peak)
Size
iPhone 12
6.1 inches, 90.2 cm2 (~86.0% screen-to-body ratio)
iPhone 17
6.3 inches, 96.4 cm2 (~90.1% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution
iPhone 12
1170 x 2532 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
iPhone 17
1206 x 2622 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
Protection
iPhone 12
Ceramic Shield glass
iPhone 17
Ceramic Shield 2, Mohs level 5
Other
iPhone 12
-
iPhone 17
Anti-reflective coating
OS
iPhone 12
iOS 14.1, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
iPhone 17
iOS 26, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
Chipset
iPhone 12
Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)
iPhone 17
Apple A19 (3 nm)
CPU
iPhone 12
Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm)
iPhone 17
Hexa-core (2x4.26 GHz + 4xX.X GHz)
GPU
iPhone 12
Apple GPU (4-core graphics)
iPhone 17
Apple GPU (5-core graphics)
Card slot
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 17
No
Internal
iPhone 12
64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 256GB 4GB RAM
iPhone 17
256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM
Other
iPhone 12
NVMe
iPhone 17
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 17
48 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS 48 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 0.7µm, PDAF
Features
iPhone 12
Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)
iPhone 17
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 17
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 17
18 MP multi-aspect, f/1.9, 20mm (ultrawide), PDAF SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
Features
iPhone 12
HDR
iPhone 17
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 17
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS
Loudspeaker
iPhone 12
Yes, with stereo speakers
iPhone 17
Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 17
No
WLAN
iPhone 12
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
iPhone 17
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7, tri-band, hotspot
Bluetooth
iPhone 12
5.0, A2DP, LE
iPhone 17
6.0, A2DP, LE
Positioning
iPhone 12
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
iPhone 17
GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS, NavIC
NFC
iPhone 12
Yes
iPhone 17
Yes
Radio
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 17
No
USB
iPhone 12
Lightning, USB 2.0
iPhone 17
USB Type-C 2.0, DisplayPort
Sensors
iPhone 12
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
iPhone 17
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Other
iPhone 12
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support
iPhone 17
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 17
Li-Ion 3692 mAh
Charging
iPhone 12
Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 15W wireless (MagSafe) 15W wireless (Qi2) - requires iOS 17.4 update
iPhone 17
Wired, PD3.2, AVS, 50% in 20 min 25W wireless MagSafe/Qi2, 50% in 30 min (15W - China) 4.5W reverse wired
Colors
iPhone 12
Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Purple
iPhone 17
Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, Lavender
Models
iPhone 12
A2403, A2172, A2402, A2404, iPhone13,2
iPhone 17
iPhone18,3, A3520, A3258, A3519, A3521
SAR EU
iPhone 12
0.99 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body)
iPhone 17
1.49 W/kg (head) 1.49 W/kg (body)
Price
iPhone 12
$ 194.06 / C$ 300.00 / £ 154.00 / € 196.00 / ₹ 44,999
iPhone 17
$ 849.99 / £ 729.00 / € 857.79
SAR
iPhone 12
-
iPhone 17
1.19 W/kg (head) 1.19 W/kg (body)