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MobileIQ

Head to head

Apple iPhone 17vsApple iPhone 12

The short answer

Choose the iPhone 17 for peak brightness, more base storage, more RAM, video playback time and Geekbench 6 CPU score. The iPhone 12 wins no row by a gap you’d notice. Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036 for the iPhone 17 and 2027–2031 for the iPhone 12, our estimate, not Apple’s.

Released
2025-09-19endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
Price
£799Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-20
Security updates until
Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-20
Released
2020-10-23endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
Security updates until
Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19

5 wins for iPhone 170 wins for iPhone 126 gaps borderline0 differences you won’t notice

Verdict: iPhone 17 ahead on 5 rows, iPhone 12 on none

On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the iPhone 17 wins on peak brightness (3,000 nits against 1,200 nits), storage (base) (256 GB against 64 GB), RAM (8 GB against 4 GB, both from GSMArena), claimed video playback (30 h against 15 h) and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) (8,276 against 4,246, both from Geekbench Browser). 6 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: weight (162 g against 177 g) for the iPhone 12, display size (6.3 in against 6.1 in) for the iPhone 17, typical brightness (1,000 nits against 625 nits) for the iPhone 17, battery capacity (3,692 mAh against 2,815 mAh, both from GSMArena) for the iPhone 17, fast charging (40 W against 20 W) for the iPhone 17 and wireless charging (25 W against 15 W) for the iPhone 17. Both state the same HDR peak brightness. The other 37 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.

True to scale

iPhone 17 · 149.6 × 71.5 mmiPhone 12 · 146.7 × 71.5 mm

Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.

Specifications

A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.

Body

SpecificationApple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 12
DimensionsDiffers, but not ranked.
149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mmOfficial
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mmOfficial
Weight
177gOfficial
162gOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

BuildDiffers, but not ranked.
Aluminium design, Ceramic Shield 2 front, Colour-infused glass back (Black, Mist Blue, Sage, Lavender)Official
Ceramic Shield front, Glass back and aluminium designOfficial
SIMDiffers, but not ranked.
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM); Dual eSIM supportOfficial
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM)Official
Water/dust ratingSame.
IP68Official
IP68Official
UnlockSame.
Face ID (TrueDepth camera)Official
Face ID (TrueDepth camera)Official

Display

SpecificationApple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 12
Display typeDiffers, but not ranked.
Super Retina XDR OLED, Always-On, HDR, True Tone, Wide colour (P3)Official
Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR, True Tone, Wide colour (P3)Official
Display size
6.3inOfficial
6.1inOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

ResolutionDiffers, but not ranked.
2622 x 1206Official
2532 x 1170Official
Pixel densitySame.
460ppiOfficial
460ppiOfficial
Refresh rate
120HzOfficial
No verified data
Peak brightness
3000nitsOfficialwins this row
1200nitsOfficial

iPhone 17 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Typical brightness
1000nitsOfficial
625nitsOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

HDR peak brightnessSame.
1200nitsOfficial
1200nitsOfficial
Screen protectionDiffers, but not ranked.
Ceramic Shield 2 frontOfficial
Ceramic Shield frontOfficial

Platform

SpecificationApple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 12
Operating systemDiffers, but not ranked.
iOS 263rd party
iOS 14.13rd party
OS versions supportedDiffers, but not ranked.
iOS 26 to iOS 27Official
iOS 14 to iOS 27Official
ChipsetDiffers, but not ranked.
A19 chipOfficial
A14 Bionic chipOfficial
CPUSame.
6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency coresOfficial
6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency coresOfficial
GPUDiffers, but not ranked.
5-core GPU with Neural AcceleratorsOfficial
4-core GPUOfficial

Memory

SpecificationApple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 12
Storage (base)
256GBOfficialwins this row
64GBOfficial

iPhone 17 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Storage optionsDiffers, but not ranked.
256GB/512GBOfficial
64GB/128GB/256GBOfficial
RAM
8GB3rd partywins this row
4GB3rd party

iPhone 17 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Card slotSame.
No3rd party
No3rd party

Camera

SpecificationApple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 12
Main cameraDiffers, but not ranked.
48MP Dual Fusion camera system: 48MP Fusion Main 26mm f/1.6 with sensor-shift OIS; 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide 13mm f/2.2 120°; Fusion Main also enables 12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto 52mm f/1.6Official
Dual 12MP camera system: Main and Ultra Wide camerasOfficial
Main sensor resolutionDiffers, but not ranked.
48MPOfficial
12MPOfficial
Main apertureSame.
f/1.6Official
f/1.6Official
Main sensor size
1/1.56"3rd party
No verified data
Telephoto
12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto, 52mm, f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS (enabled by 48MP Fusion Main)Official
No verified data
UltrawideDiffers, but not ranked.
48MP Fusion Ultra Wide, 13mm, f/2.2, 120° field of viewOfficial
12MP Ultra Wide, f/2.4, 120° field of viewOfficial
Front cameraDiffers, but not ranked.
18MP Center Stage, f/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus PixelsOfficial
12MP TrueDepth, f/2.2 apertureOfficial
Video captureDiffers, but not ranked.
4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fpsOfficial
4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 30 fpsOfficial

Battery

SpecificationApple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 12
Battery capacity
3692mAh3rd party
2815mAh3rd party

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Battery per charge
41hOfficial
No verified data
Claimed video playback
30hOfficialwins this row
15hOfficial

iPhone 17 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Battery lifespan
1000cyclesOfficial
No verified data
Fast charging
40WOfficial
20WOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Wireless charging
25WOfficial
15WOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Connectivity

SpecificationApple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 12
Wi-FiDiffers, but not ranked.
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMOOfficial
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMOOfficial
BluetoothDiffers, but not ranked.
6Official
5.0Official
USBDiffers, but not ranked.
USB-C, USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s), DisplayPortOfficial
Lightning connectorOfficial
NFCSame.
YesOfficial
YesOfficial
PositioningDiffers, but not ranked.
Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC)Official
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDouOfficial

Benchmarks

SpecificationApple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 12
Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core)
82763rd partywins this row
42463rd party

iPhone 17 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

3DMark Wild Life Extreme
47153rd party
No verified data
DXOMARK camera scoreDiffers, but not ranked.
1573rd party
1173rd party

Misc

SpecificationApple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 12
ColoursDiffers, but not ranked.
Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, LavenderOfficial
Black, White, (PRODUCT)RED, Green, Blue, PurpleOfficial
SAR (EU, head)Differs, but not ranked.
1.49W/kg3rd party
0.99W/kg3rd party
Repairability (EU class)
COfficial
No verified data
2 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for

Google Mobile Services · AnTuTu benchmark. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.

Questions

Is the iPhone 17 better than the iPhone 12?

On the figures, the iPhone 17 is ahead wherever there is a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 1,200 nits (Apple Support UK), storage (base), 256 GB (Apple UK) against 64 GB (Apple Support UK), RAM, 8 GB against 4 GB (both GSMArena), claimed video playback, 30 h against 15 h (both Apple UK) and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core), 8,276 against 4,246 (both Geekbench Browser). The iPhone 12 wins no row by such a gap. That is a count of rows, not an overall score.

Which has the better battery?

The iPhone 17, by a gap you’d notice: claimed video playback, 30 h against 15 h (both Apple UK). The iPhone 17 is ahead, narrowly: battery capacity, 3,692 mAh against 2,815 mAh (both GSMArena), a borderline gap most people would not notice.

Which is lighter?

The iPhone 12 is lighter, narrowly: weight, 162 g (Apple Support UK) against 177 g (Apple UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.

Which has the brighter screen?

The iPhone 17, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 1,200 nits (Apple Support UK). The iPhone 17 is brighter, narrowly: typical brightness, 1,000 nits (Apple UK) against 625 nits (Apple Support UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice. Both state 1,200 nits for HDR peak brightness (Apple UK).

Which gets updates for longer?

Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036 for the iPhone 17 and 2027–2031 for the iPhone 12, our estimate, not Apple’s. Sources: Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.

The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.