Screen size
equal specsQuick verdict
iPhone 17e leads the measured specs 5-4.
Measured wins
iPhone 12
4
spec wins
Ties
13
equal specs
iPhone 17e
5
spec wins
Overall winner
Screen size
equal specsTechnology
iPhone 12
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
iPhone 17e
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
2G bands
iPhone 12
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
iPhone 17e
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands
iPhone 12
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
iPhone 17e
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
CPU speed
RAM
Storage
Main camera
Front camera
equal specsBattery
Wired charging
equal specsWeight
Thickness
IP rating
equal specsWi‑Fi
Bluetooth
equal specsUSB
equal specs5G support
equal specsNFC
equal specs3.5mm jack
equal specsSD card
equal specsStereo speakers
equal specsiPhone 17e
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 - A3575
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 17e
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 - A3575
Speed
iPhone 12
HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
iPhone 17e
HSPA, LTE, 5G
Announced
iPhone 12
2020, October 13
iPhone 17e
2026, March 02
Status
iPhone 12
Available. Released 2020, October 23
iPhone 17e
Released Mar 11, 2026
Dimensions
iPhone 12
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm (5.78 x 2.81 x 0.29 in)
iPhone 17e
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 17e
169 g (5.96 oz)
Build
iPhone 12
Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame
iPhone 17e
Glass front (Ceramic Shield 2), glass back, aluminum frame
SIM
iPhone 12
· Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China)
iPhone 17e
· 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 17e
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 17e
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 17e
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 17e
1170 x 2532 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
Protection
iPhone 12
Ceramic Shield glass
iPhone 17e
Ceramic Shield 2
Other
iPhone 12
-
iPhone 17e
Anti-reflective coating
OS
iPhone 12
iOS 14.1, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
iPhone 17e
iOS 26.3
Chipset
iPhone 12
Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)
iPhone 17e
Apple A19 (3 nm)
CPU
iPhone 12
Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm)
iPhone 17e
Hexa-core
GPU
iPhone 12
Apple GPU (4-core graphics)
iPhone 17e
Apple GPU (4-core graphics)
Card slot
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 17e
No
Internal
iPhone 12
64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 256GB 4GB RAM
iPhone 17e
256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM
Other
iPhone 12
NVMe
iPhone 17e
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 17e
-
Features
iPhone 12
Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)
iPhone 17e
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 17e
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, Dolby Vision HDR, OIS, stereo sound rec.
Single
iPhone 12
-
iPhone 17e
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 17e
12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, PDAF SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
Features
iPhone 12
HDR
iPhone 17e
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 17e
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, Dolby Vision HDR
Loudspeaker
iPhone 12
Yes, with stereo speakers
iPhone 17e
Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 17e
No
WLAN
iPhone 12
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
iPhone 17e
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
Bluetooth
iPhone 12
5.0, A2DP, LE
iPhone 17e
5.3, A2DP, LE
Positioning
iPhone 12
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
iPhone 17e
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS, NavIC
NFC
iPhone 12
Yes
iPhone 17e
Yes
Radio
iPhone 12
No
iPhone 17e
No
USB
iPhone 12
Lightning, USB 2.0
iPhone 17e
USB Type-C 2.0
Sensors
iPhone 12
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
iPhone 17e
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Other
iPhone 12
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support
iPhone 17e
Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite
Type
iPhone 12
Li-Ion 2815 mAh (10.78 Wh)
iPhone 17e
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 17e
Wired, 50% in 30 min 15W wireless MagSafe/Qi2
Colors
iPhone 12
Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Purple
iPhone 17e
Black, White, Soft Pink
Models
iPhone 12
A2403, A2172, A2402, A2404, iPhone13,2
iPhone 17e
A3634, A3575
SAR EU
iPhone 12
0.99 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body)
iPhone 17e
-
Price
iPhone 12
$ 194.06 / C$ 300.00 / £ 154.00 / € 196.00 / ₹ 44,999
iPhone 17e
About 700 EUR