Apple iPhone 12 Pro review

Alternatives

The iPhone 12 Pro is a well-balanced smartphone, which offers many upgrades over the iPhone 11 Pro and a moderate list of added features compared to the standard iPhone 12.

The most notable differences between the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 are in the camera department. The 12 Pro has an additional telephoto camera on the back, it can shoot Dolby Vision videos in 60fps, it will eventually support capturing in Apple Pro RAW, and has the LiDAR Scanner that helps for better AR and portraits. The 128GB iPhone 12 Pro is $120/€200 more expensive than the 128GB iPhone 12, and it's up to you to decide whether you need these camera features. If not - the iPhone 12 already offers the most important core new features of Series 12.

If you want to get the best Apple has to offer in 2020, then there is the iPhone 12 Pro Max that goes for €100 over the iPhone 12 Pro. The Max has the largest screen and battery among the iPhone 12s and is the only one to actually have a meaningfully upgraded camera hardware. It has a larger 12MP sensor for its main camera with the (phone) industry's first sensor-shift stabilization. It also features an improved 12MP telephoto camera - it now offers 2.5x zoom thanks to a new 65mm f/2.2 lens and is promised even better portraits.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max indeed offers the most significant upgrades when it comes to hardware this year, and it appears it makes more sense as a purchase compared to the iPhone 12 Pro. In fact, if you own an iPhone 11 Pro and you don't care about the new design, 5G, or MagSafe support, you should skip the 12 Pro and wait for next year's model.

Apple iPhone 12 • Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

Our verdict

The Apple iPhone 12 Pro is a very good smartphone, but it doesn't make much sense as an upgrade to the iPhone 11 Pro. Better stick with your iPhone 11 Pro, or if you are a sucker for the latest Apple tech - just spend more and get the Max.

However, logic doesn't always matter when it comes to new iPhones. Many people buy them just because they are the new iPhones, and they want to stay in the loop, few for the actual new features and even fewer get them as it is time to replace their 3-4-5 years old phone.

If you are among those users upgrading from an older model, say XS or earlier, you should be delighted with the iPhone 12 Pro - it offers a massive amount of upgrades over the older-gen iPhones. You just need to buy a charger, but hey - welcome to the future!

We expected more from the iPhone 12 Pro, but it turned out a recycled iPhone 11 Pro. Not that Apple is forcing us to upgrade, but still. The new camera tech being a Pro Max exclusive and the lack of ProMotion screen, while failing to deliver meaningful improvements elsewhere, makes things really easy for us to make a call.

We can't recommend the iPhone 12 Pro over its siblings - the iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Pros

• Attractive design with exquisite fit and premium finish
• Excellent OLED screen, very bright
• Loud stereo speakers, superb audio quality
• The fastest smartphone chip on the planet, 5G, too
• Good photo quality across the board, day and night
• LiDAR Scanner has varied applications and use cases (albeit quite niche)
• Consistently good video quality
• Apple iOS 14 is fast and easy to use, 5 years of guaranteed major updates
• MagSafe is a promising accessory concept

Cons

• No charger or headphones in the box
• No high refresh rate screen
• Shorter battery life than the iPhone 11 Pro
• iOS needs better file management
• We miss TouchID as FaceID does not work with a mask on
• The best camera tech is exclusive to iPhone 12 Pro Max
• Few meaningful upgrades over iPhone 11 Pro and even fewer over iPhone 12