Comparison: iPhone 11 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro Max

Apple on Tuesday announced its brand-new iPhone lineup for 2020, which included the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max in addition to the smaller and less-expensive iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 options. For now, we’ll focus on the flagship models.

In this piece, we’ll help those who already own last year’s iPhone 11 Pro decide whether or not they should upgrade to this year’s iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max by comparing each handset’s technical specifications to the other.

Compared: iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro, & iPhone 12 Pro Max

Keeping in mind that last year’s iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max handsets were virtually identical apart from display size and battery capacity, we’ll simply use the iPhone 11 Pro as the gold standard for 2019’s flagship handset to reduce the amount of text that you’d otherwise feel compelled to read through. It’s worth noting that there are some key differences between the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, and we’ll tell you about those here.

Finishes

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max: Mightnight Green, Silver, Gold, or Space gray
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max: Pacific Blue, Silver, Gold, or Graphite

Size & Weight

  • iPhone 11 Pro: 5.67 inches (144 mm) by 2.81 inches (71.4 mm) by 0.32 inch (8.1 mm), weighing 6.63 ounces (188 grams)
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max: 6.22 inches (158.0 mm) by 3.06 inches (77.8 mm) by 0.32 inch (8.1 mm), weighing 7.97 ounces (226 grams)
  • iPhone 12 Pro: 5.78 inches (146.7 mm) by 2.82 inches (71.5 mm) by 0.29 inch (7.4 mm), weighing 6.66 ounces (189 grams)
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max: 6.33 inches (160.8 mm) by 3.07 inches (78.1 mm) by 0.29 inch (7.4 mm), weighing 8.03 ounces (228 grams)

Displays

  • iPhone 11 Pro: 5.8-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 2436 x 1125 at 458 pixels per inch
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max: 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 2688 x 1242 at 458 pixels per inch
  • iPhone 12 Pro: 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 2532 x 1170 at 460 pixels per inch
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max: 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 2778 x 1284 at 458 pixels per inch
  • All devices: 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, True Tone, Wide color display (P3), Haptic Touch, 800 nits typical brightness, 1200 nits max brightness (HDR)

Cellular & Wireless

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max:
    • Up to 4G LTE speeds
    • Built-in GPS/GNSS
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max: 
    • Up to 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave) speeds
    • Built-in GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou
  • All devices:
    • AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, or unlocked SIM-free
    • GSM/EDGE
    • UMTS/HSPA+
    • DC-HSDPA
    • CDMA EV-DO Rev. A
    • Gigabit LTE
    • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with MIMO
    • Bluetooth 5.0
    • Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness
    • VoLTE
    • NFC with reader mode and Apple Pay support
    • Express Cards with power reserve
    • Wi-Fi calling
    • Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM)

Rear Cameras (Photography)

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max:
    • Ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto
    • Up to 4x optical zoom / 10x digital zoom
    • Ultra-wide: ƒ/2.4 aperture, wide ƒ/1.8 aperture, telephoto ƒ/2.0 aperture
    • Dual optical image stabilizatio
    • Next-generation Smart HDR for photos
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max:
    • Ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto with Dolby Vision HDR video recording up to 60 FPS
    • Up to 4x optical zoom / 10x digital zoom for the 12 Pro, and up to 5x optical zoom / 12x digital zoom for the 12 Pro Max
    • Both: Ultra-wide: ƒ/2.4 aperture,
    • Wide ƒ/1.8 aperture, telephoto ƒ/2.0 aperture for the 12 Pro, and wide ƒ/1.6 aperture, telephoto ƒ/2.2 aperture for the 12 Pro Max
    • Support for Apple ProRAW
    • Dual optical image stabilization for the 12 Pro, and Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for the 12 Pro Max
    • LiDAR scanner to help with Night mode portraits, low-light auto-focus, and augmented reality (AR)
    • Night Mode portraits
    • Smart HDR 3 for photos
  • All devices:
    • Support for Night Mode, Deep Fusion, and Brighter True Tone flash with Slow Sync
    • Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
    • Portrait lighting with six different effects

Rear Cameras (Video Recording)

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max:
    • Optical image stabilization for video
    • 2x optical zoom / 6x digital zoom
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max:
    • HDR recording with Dolby Vision up to 60 FPS
    • Optical image stabilization for video for the 12 Pro, and Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video for the 12 Pro Max
    • 2x optical zoom / 6x digital zoom for the 12 Pro, and 2.5x optical zoom / 7x digital zoom for the 12 Pro Max
    • Night Mode Time-lapse
  • All devices:
    • 4K video recording at 24, 30, or 60 FPS
    • 1080p video recording at 30 or 60 FPS
    • Extended dynamic range for video up to 60 FPS
    • Audio Zoom
    • QuickTake video
    • Slo-mo video suppoer for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps
    • Time-lapse video with stabilization
    • Stereo recording

Front Camera

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max:
    • Next-generation Smart HDR for photos
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max:
    • Smart HDR 2 for photos
    • HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 30 FPS
    • Night mode
    • Deep Fusion
    • FaceTime HD (1080p) over 5G or Wi-Fi
  • All devices:
    • TrueDepth camera
    • 12MP photos
    • ƒ/2.2 aperture
    • Retina Flash
    • Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
    • Portrait Lighting with six different effects
    • Extended dynamic range for video at 30 FPS
    • Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p)
    • 4K video recording at 24, 30, or 60 FPS
    • 1080p HD video recording at 30 or 60 FPS
    • Slo-mo video support for 1080- at 120 FPS
    • QuickTake video
    • Animoji and Memoji
    • FaceTime video

Processors

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max: 6-core A13 Bionic chip with third-generation Neural engine
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max: 6-core A14 Bionic chip with fourth-generation Neural engine

Construction

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max: Glass front and back & surgical-grade stainless steel frame
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max: Ceramic Shield front with up to 4x drop performance & surgical-grade stainless steel frame

Water Resistance

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max: Water resistant to a depth of 4 meters for up to 30 minutes
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max: Water resistant to a depth of 6 meters for up to 30 minutes

Power and Battery

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max:
    • 18 hours of video playback for the 11 Pro, 20 hours of video playback for the 11 Pro Max
    • 11 hours of streamed video playback for the 11 Pro, 12 hours of streamed video playback for the 11 Pro Max
    • 65 hours of audio playback for the 11 Pro, 80 hours of audio playback for the 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max:
    • 15W MagSafe
    • 17 hours of video playback for the 12 Pro, 20 hours of video playback for the 12 Pro Max
    • 11 hours of streamed video playback for the 12 Pro, 12 hours of streamed video playback for the 12 Pro Max
    • 65 hours of audio playback for the 12 Pro, 80 hours of audio playback for the 12 Pro Max
  • All devices:
    • 7.5W Qi wireless charging or Lightning port
    • Fast-charge capable (up to 50% charge in 30 minutes)

Sensors

  • Phone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max:
    • LiDAR scanner
  • All devices:
    • Three-axis gyro
    • Accelerometer
    • Proximity sensor
    • Ambient light sensor
    • Barometer

Storage

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max: 64GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage capacities
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max: 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage capacities

Authentication

  • Face ID primarily used by all handsets, with passcode as a backup

Video & Audio Playback

  • All devices:
    • Spatial audio playback
    • Support for Dolby Atmos
    • HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG

Included Accessories

  • iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max:
    • EarPods with Lightning connector
    • 18W USB-C power adapter
    • USB-C to Lightning cable
  • iPhone 12 Pro & iPhone 12 Pro Max:
    • Nothing but a USB-C to Lightning cable

Conclusion

To recap for those moaning “TL;DR” to themselves, perhaps the most substantial differences between last-year’s and this year’s flagship iPhones are the following:

  • A redesigned handset with more durable front glass and new colors
  • Support for 5G cellular networks
  • The new A14 Bionic chip with a brand-new neural engine
  • Doubled storage capacity
  • Larger displays
  • Upgraded cameras with smarter software, especially in the 12 Pro Max
  • The addition of LiDAR
  • Support for faster MagSafe charging and MagSafe accessories
  • And a few smaller things…

Is this year’s flagship worth the upgrade over last year’s model? That depends on how badly you want 5G support, more storage, a better camera, and a redesigned handset. We’d say that this refresh is anything but gimmicky, and fortunately, Apple will pay you a pretty penny if you trade in your old iPhone toward the purchase of a new one.

Do you plan to upgrade to the iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max this year? Let us know down in the comments section below.