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The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini (stylized and marketed as iPhone 12 mini) are a range of
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...
s designed, developed, and marketed by
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
They are the fourteenth-generation, "affordable flagship" iPhones, succeeding the
iPhone 11 The iPhone 11 is a smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the 13th generation of iPhone, succeeding the iPhone XR, and was unveiled on September 10, 2019 alongside the iPhone 11 Pro at the Steve Jobs Theater in Appl ...
. They were unveiled at a virtually held Apple Special Event at
Apple Park Apple Park is the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc., located in Cupertino, California, United States. It was opened to employees in April 2017, while construction was still underway, and superseded the original headquarters at 1 Infinite Lo ...
in Cupertino, California on October 13, 2020, alongside the "premium flagship"
iPhone 12 Pro The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the flagship smartphones in the fourteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, respec ...
and iPhone 12 Pro Max and HomePod Mini. Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 started on October 16, 2020, and the phone became available in most countries on October 23, 2020 alongside the
iPhone 12 Pro The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the flagship smartphones in the fourteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, respec ...
and fourth-generation iPad Air. Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 Mini began on November 6, 2020, and the phone was made available on November 13, 2020 alongside the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The major upgrades over the
iPhone 11 The iPhone 11 is a smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the 13th generation of iPhone, succeeding the iPhone XR, and was unveiled on September 10, 2019 alongside the iPhone 11 Pro at the Steve Jobs Theater in Appl ...
include the addition of a Super Retina XDR
OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
as opposed to the Liquid Retina
LED-backlit LCD An LED-backlit LCD is a liquid-crystal display that uses LEDs for backlighting instead of traditional cold cathode fluorescent (CCFL) backlighting. LED-backlit displays use the same TFT LCD (thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display) technol ...
IPS panel IPS (in-plane switching) is a screen technology for liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). In IPS, a layer of liquid crystals is sandwiched between two glass surfaces. The liquid crystal molecules are aligned parallel to those surfaces in predetermined ...
on the iPhone 11 and XR, 5G support, the introduction of MagSafe, Apple A14 Bionic
system on a chip A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memory ...
(SoC) and
high-dynamic-range video High-dynamic-range television (HDR or HDR-TV) is a technology that improves the quality of display signals. It is contrasted with the retroactively-named standard dynamic range (SDR). HDR changes the way the luminance and colors of videos and ...
Dolby Vision Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the ...
4K up to 30 fps. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini, like the
iPhone 12 Pro The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the flagship smartphones in the fourteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, respec ...
and iPhone 12 Pro Max, are the first iPhone models from Apple to no longer include a power adapter or EarPods headphones found in prior iPhone models; however, a
USB-C USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conn ...
to
Lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...
cable is included; this change was retroactively applied to other iPhone models sold by Apple, such as the
iPhone XR The iPhone XR (stylized and marketed as iPhone Xʀ; Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten") is a smartphone designed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It is part of the twelfth generation of the iPhone. Pre-orders began on October 19, 2018, with an ...
,
iPhone 11 The iPhone 11 is a smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the 13th generation of iPhone, succeeding the iPhone XR, and was unveiled on September 10, 2019 alongside the iPhone 11 Pro at the Steve Jobs Theater in Appl ...
and the second-generation iPhone SE. The iPhone 12 Mini was discontinued and removed from Apple's website after the announcement of the
iPhone 14 The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus (also stylized as iPhone 14+) are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the sixteenth generation of iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini, and was announced durin ...
and
iPhone 14 Pro The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the sixteenth-generation flagship iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The devices were unveiled alongsi ...
on September 7, 2022.


Design

The iPhone 12 and 12 Mini is the first major redesign since the
iPhone X The iPhone X (Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten", also known as iPhone 10) is a smartphone designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from October 27, 2017, it was re ...
. It features a chassis with flat edges, similar to the
iPhone 4 The iPhone 4 is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation of the iPhone lineup, succeeding the iPhone 3GS and preceding the 4S. Following a number of notable leaks, the iPhone 4 was first unvei ...
and
iPhone 5 The iPhone 5 is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the 6th generation iPhone, succeeding both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, and preceding both the iPhone 5S and 5C. It was formally unveiled as part of a press e ...
designs, as well as the
iPad Pro The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system. The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad ...
since 2018, and the 4th-generation iPad Air, which was also released in 2020. The notch size is similar to previous iPhone models, despite speculation about a reduction in width. The borders around the display are thinner by 35% than any previous model. The new design also comes with a ceramic-hardened front glass, marketed as Ceramic Shield, while the back retains the previous generation Dual-Ion Exchange strengthened glass. On April 20, 2021 at Apple's Special Event “Spring Loaded”, Apple revealed a new purple color option which became available on April 30. The iPhone 12 and 12 Mini are available in six colors: Black, White,
Product Red Product Red, stylized as (PRODUCT) or (PRODUCT)RED, is a licensed brand by the company Red, stylized as (RED), that seeks to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries, namely E ...
, Green, Blue, and Purple.


Specifications


Hardware

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini use Apple's six-core A14 Bionic processor, which contains a next-generation neural engine. They both have three internal storage options: 64, 128, and 256 GB. Both also carry an IP68 water and dust resistance rating along with dirt and grime, and is water-resistant up to six meters (20 feet) for 30 minutes. However, the manufacturer warranty does not cover liquid damage to the phone. The iPhone 12 series are the first iPhone models to be supplied from launch without EarPods or a wall adapter, which Apple says was done to reduce carbon emissions and waste since most users already own them. Apple also claims 70% more boxes can fit on a pallet given the smaller box, and thus further reducing emissions. A
USB-C USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conn ...
to Lightning cord is still included. This change also applies retroactively to all other iPhone models still in production. To comply with French law regarding
wireless device radiation and health The antennas contained in mobile phones, including smartphones, emit radiofrequency (RF) radiation ( non-ionizing "radio waves" such as microwaves); the parts of the head or body nearest to the antenna can absorb this energy and convert it t ...
which requires phones to be bundled with and promote use of hands-free accessories by children under 14, iPhone models will still include EarPods in this market. A magnetic connector known as MagSafe is introduced on the iPhone 12 models, allowing accessories such as cases and charging cords to be attached to the rear of the device. Accessories can also be stacked together. The devices support 5G cellular communications. This allows upload speeds of up to 200 Mbit/s and download speeds of up to 4 Gbit/s. However, only models sold in the U.S. support the fastest
mmWave Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It lies between the super high frequency band and the ...
technology; those sold elsewhere in the world, including Canada, support only sub-6 GHz frequency bands. A new feature called Smart Data Mode enables 5G only when necessary to preserve battery life.


Displays

The iPhone 12 features a display with Super Retina XDR
OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
technology at a resolution of 2532 × 1170 pixels and a
pixel density Pixels per inch (ppi) and pixels per centimetre (ppcm or pixels/cm) are measurements of the pixel density of an electronic image device, such as a computer monitor or television display, or image digitizing device such as a camera or image scanner ...
of about 460 ppi. The iPhone 12 Mini features a display with the same technology at a resolution of 2340 × 1080 pixels, and a pixel density of about 476 ppi. Both phones have a peak brightness of 1200 nits when viewing HDR content equivalent to the iPhone 12 Pro, and normal brightness of 625 nits. Both phones also use an improved
glass-ceramic Glass-ceramics are polycrystalline materials produced through controlled crystallization of base glass, producing a fine uniform dispersion of crystals throughout the bulk material. Crystallization is accomplished by subjecting suitable glasses to ...
covering called Ceramic Shield which is co-developed with Corning Inc. Apple describes it as having "4 times better drop performance" and being "tougher than any smartphone glass".


Batteries

The iPhone 12 has a 10.78 Wh (2,815 mAh) battery, a slight decrease from the 11.91 Wh (3,110 mAh) battery found in the iPhone 11 and identical to the battery found in the
iPhone 12 Pro The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the flagship smartphones in the fourteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, respec ...
. The iPhone 12 Mini has a 8.57 Wh (2,227 mAh) battery. Like previous iPhones, the battery is not user-replaceable.


Chipsets

Both the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini have the Apple A14 Bionic, the first ARM-based smartphone
system-on-a-chip A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memory ...
(SoC) manufactured on the
5 nm process In semiconductor manufacturing, the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems defines the 5  nm process as the MOSFET technology node following the 7 nm node. In 2020, Samsung and TSMC entered volume production of 5 nm chips ...
node. However, unlike previous years, they are not the first Apple devices to receive the newest A-series processor, with the fourth-generation iPad Air being the first. Both phones use
Qualcomm Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...
's X55 5G
modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more carr ...
.


Cameras

Both phones have two rear 12-megapixel cameras: wide and ultra-wide. The wide camera is a 26 mm full-frame equivalent with an f/1.6 aperture which captures 27% more light than the f/1.8 aperture in the iPhone 11 and a seven-element lens. The ultra-wide camera is a 13 mm full-frame equivalent with an f/2.4 aperture and a five-element lens. All cameras now support Night Mode for both photo and time-lapse video at full resolution. Smart HDR has been improved thanks to Smart HDR 3. This iPhone model is the first capable of shooting 10-bit
high dynamic range High dynamic range (HDR) is a dynamic range higher than usual, synonyms are wide dynamic range, extended dynamic range, expanded dynamic range. The term is often used in discussing the dynamic range of various signals such as images, videos, a ...
Dolby Vision Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the ...
4K video at up to 30 fps which allows for greater brightness and deeper shadows. The front-facing, TrueDepth camera features a 12-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture. This model also added Night Mode to the front-facing camera. Sensors The iPhone 12 and 12 Mini include mostly the same sensors found on prior iPhone models going back to the
iPhone X The iPhone X (Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten", also known as iPhone 10) is a smartphone designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from October 27, 2017, it was re ...
. These include an
accelerometer An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accel ...
,
gyroscope A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rot ...
,
barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
,
proximity sensor A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. A proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic field or a beam of electromagnetic radiation (infrared, for instance), and looks for ...
,
ambient light sensor An ambient light sensor is a component in smartphones, notebooks, other mobile devices, automotive displays and LCD TVs. It is a photodetector that is used to sense the amount of ambient light present, and appropriately dim the device's screen t ...
, and a digital compass. The devices also includes the
Face ID Face ID is a facial recognition system designed and developed by Apple Inc. for the iPhone and iPad Pro. The system allows biometric authentication for unlocking a device, making payments, accessing sensitive data, providing detailed facial exp ...
sensor for
biometric authentication Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...
.


Software

Both phones originally shipped with
iOS 14 iOS 14 is the fourteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for their iPhone and iPod Touch lines. Announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 22, 2020 as the successor to iOS 13, it ...
. The devices come with the stock iOS apps, such as Safari, Weather, and Messages, and they include
Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer questio ...
, the personal assistant in iOS. They received iOS 15 on September 20, 2021, and they also support
iOS 16 iOS 16 is the 16th and current major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple for its iPhone line of products. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6, 2022, as the successor to ...
which was released on September 12, 2022.


Reception

The iPhone 12 received largely positive reviews. ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' called it a "beautiful, powerful, and incredibly capable device", praising the new design reminiscent of the
iPhone 5 The iPhone 5 is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the 6th generation iPhone, succeeding both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, and preceding both the iPhone 5S and 5C. It was formally unveiled as part of a press e ...
, the speed of the A14 Bionic processor, its 5G capabilities, addition of the
OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
display like on the high end iPhones, combined with much slimmer bezels than previous iPhone models and improved battery life over iPhone 11. ''
Engadget ''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...
'' also gave the iPhone 12 a positive review, praising the MagSafe wireless charging and accessories magnetic attachment as well as the redesigned camera system, a greatly improved display like in its Pro counterparts. iPhone 12 is the third best-selling and the most popular model globally in Q2 2021. Apple was criticized for the continued reliance on
Face ID Face ID is a facial recognition system designed and developed by Apple Inc. for the iPhone and iPad Pro. The system allows biometric authentication for unlocking a device, making payments, accessing sensitive data, providing detailed facial exp ...
as the sole biometric option to unlock the device, which is incompatible with face masks. iOS 14.5 allowed the use of a paired Apple Watch to unlock the phone while wearing a mask, while iOS 15.4 allows unlocking with a mask on, without an Apple Watch. The third-generation iPhone SE is the only iPhone currently produced by Apple that supports
Touch ID Touch ID is an electronic fingerprint recognition feature designed and released by Apple Inc. that allows users to unlock devices, make purchases in the various Apple digital media stores (iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple Books Store), and a ...
, an alternative unlocking option that is compatible with face masks. All models can still use a passcode to log in. The iPhone 12 mini has received more mixed reviews. Some praised the phone for being a new small phone, while others criticized the price and inferior battery life compared to the full-size 12 (although the battery life of the iPhone 12 mini is longer than that of the second-generation iPhone SE).


"OLED-gate"

Within two weeks after its public release, a thread was started at Apple Support Communities describing a problem with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro OLED panel black pixels not shutting off completely in black scenes, resulting in what was described as "ugly glowing". A considerable number of users have since posted replies reporting the same problem, photos and videos have been shared online demonstrating the issue. As of January 2021, Apple has not yet made an official statement.


EarPods and power adapter controversy

Apple, claiming an environmental initiative, has removed the EarPods and power adapter from all new iPhone boxes, including the iPhone 12, 12 Mini, and iPhone 12 Pro. It is claimed that removing these items would reduce e-waste and permit a smaller iPhone box, allowing more devices to be transported simultaneously to decrease
carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carb ...
. Apple now includes a USB-C to Lightning cable, incompatible with the existing USB-A power adapters that Apple previously supplied with its devices. Users can still use their existing USB-A power adapters and cables, but must purchase a USB-C power adapter sold separately to enable fast charging. In December 2020, a Brazilian consumer rights watchdog Procon-SP Foundation requested Apple to provide proof that not including chargers is beneficial to the environment. The watchdog argues that Apple removing the charger is harming consumers and wants to force the company to include one as it claims the charger is an essential component.
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
released an article the week before the launch of the phone suggesting the real reason that chargers and EarPods are no longer included could be to offset the increased cost of 5G components. These new components are reported to cost 30% more than their predecessors.


Repairability concerns

iFixit and Australian YouTuber Hugh Jeffreys discovered that a number of key components such as the cameras would malfunction or display warnings if they are replaced with new ones or those taken from an otherwise identical donor unit. Internal Apple documents also mention that, beginning with the iPhone 12 and in subsequent models, authorized technicians would have to run the phones through an internal System Configuration tool to reprogram repaired units in order to account for hardware changes. While Apple has yet to comment on the issue, the inability to replace key system components have raised concerns about
right to repair The right to repair refers to proposed government legislation to forbid manufacturers to impose barriers that deny consumers the ability to repair and modify their own consumer products (e.g. electronic, automotive devices or farm vehicles such ...
and
planned obsolescence In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life or a purposely frail design, so tha ...
. However, the iPhone 12 Mini does not have this issue. Apple later addressed the issue with the release of iOS 14.4, which displays a warning message if the phone detects an unpaired camera module but otherwise allows for full functionality.


See also

*
Comparison of smartphones This is a comparison of the various internal components and features of many smartphones. Hardware and OS 2020s 2022 2021 2020 2010s 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2000s 2009 ...
* History of the iPhone *
List of iOS devices Apple Inc. has developed four Unix-like operating systems, namely iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Devices using these systems include the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, which are mobile devices; the Apple TV, which is a digital media player; ...
* Timeline of iPhone models


Explanatory notes


References


External links

* – official site {{Apple Inc. hardware * IOS Flagship smartphones Mobile phones introduced in 2020 Mobile phones with 4K video recording Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras