Apple iPhone 12 Pro review: The Verdict
The iPhone 12 Pro is a lovely device that's also somewhat confused. The gap between the standard iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro is smaller than ever, and smartphone photography enthusiasts may want to opt for the iPhone 12 Pro Max instead. But even if the iPhone 12 Pro may be the middle child, it's still an excellent handset with top-tier performance and cameras.
What we love
- Excellent camera
- Top-tier performance
- Lovely drop-resistant display
- MagSafe is cute
What could be improved
- Battery could be better
- Middle-child syndrome
The essentials
- Performance: Top of the pack.
- Battery: Just one full day per charge, heavier users may need a cheeky top-up during the day.
- Screen: Gorgeous.
- Camera: Excellent. One of the best around. Reliably takes photos in almost every condition, but it will be interesting to see how it compares to the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
85/100
What does it mean to go Pro? With previous iPhone generations, you'd get more cameras, longer batteries, and nicer displays. This time around, the iPhone 12 Pro is a lot closer to the standard iPhone 12 than the iPhone 11 Pro was to the iPhone 11, or the iPhone XS to the iPhone XR.
The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 are twins in terms of form-factor, they have the same excellent display, the same okay battery life, and both have 5G as a standard feature. You're getting an extra lens on the iPhone 12 Pro and a LiDAR sensor, but both the primary and ultra-wide lenses are identical between the pair. The only other significant difference is the iPhone 12 Pro starts with 128GB of storage as an entry-level model, while the iPhone 12 still has 64GB as a baseline.
There are also some subtle design differences. The iPhone 12 Pro has a matte glass back, whereas the iPhone 12 is glossy. The iPhone 12 Pro has a stainless steel frame, while the iPhone 12 has aluminum. The iPhone 12 is also a little bit lighter. These aren't exactly significant differences, especially if you're putting your iPhone in a case.
Before we start, here is how all four 2020 iPhone models compare:
iPhone 12 iPhone specifications
| iPhone 12 mini | iPhone 12 | iPhone 12 Pro | iPhone 12 Pro Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.4-inch OLED | 6.1-inch OLED | 6.1-inch OLED | 6.7-inch OLED |
| Resolution | Super Retina | Super Retina | Super Retina | Super Retina |
| Rear Cameras | 2x 12MP | 2x 12MP | 3x 12MP + LiDAR | 3x 12MP + LiDAR |
| Front Camera | 12MP | 12MP | 12MP | 12MP |
| Processor | A14 | A14 | A14 | A14 |
| Storage | 64GB - 256GB | 64GB - 256GB | 128GB - 512GB | 128GB - 256GB |
| Water-Resistance | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 |
| 5G | Sub 6 | Sub 6 | Sub 6 | Sub 6 |
| Debut Price | From $699 | From $799 | From $999 | From $1,099 |
What's Old Is New
The easiest way to tell an iPhone 12 Pro apart from the last year's model is a return to the squared-off design we last saw on the iPhone 5S. Apple's abandoned the more pillowy look of every recent iPhone for its classic angular aesthetic. It's industrial, without being sharp in the hand. It's totally fine! There's a slightly different feel when compared to the iPhone 11, but it's honestly a much of a muchness.
This time around, both the standard iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro have 6.1-inch displays. This makes the iPhone 12 Pro screen a little larger than last year's model, but the device itself is still roughly the same size. The back has a lovely textured matte glass that does an excellent job of hiding fingerprints, while the stainless steel frame does the exact opposite. As lux as stainless steel may be, I'd prefer if Apple stuck with aluminum for the frame. Fingerprints just add up too quickly.
On the front, you'll find what Apple has called a Ceramic Shield display. It feels like any other iPhone screen, but Apple says it's four times more drop-resistant than last year's iPhones. I wasn't quite game to try to destroy my iPhone, but CNET found the screen tech survived three consecutive drops from 2.7 meters onto the sidewalk without cracking the screen. Sadly, the back of the iPhone 12 Pro isn't made from the same material, so it will definitely be easier to damage. But hey, fewer broken screens is certainly a good thing.
The iPhone 12 Pro also comes in a gorgeous new Pacific Blue finish, which I'm a little in love with. The shade is rather subdued, but there's enough personality to make it more than just a riff on black. Blue is easily one of my top five colors though, so I'm biased. Buy blue.
Gotta Go Fast
5G may be one of the iPhone 12 Pro's headlining new features, but it's also the least exciting—at least right now. 5G networks are still in their infancy, and coverage is patchy at best. But even if you can get 5G, it doesn't change your relationship with your phone. You might be able to offline an album from Spotify a little bit quicker—which could be great if you're rushing to download some music before a flight—but 5G is fledgling technology. There aren't yet apps or services that need 5G speeds. The most exciting thing I've done with 5G so far is run a speed test and post the screenshot on Twitter.
Of course, 5G networks will continue to improve over the coming months and years, and we'll almost certainly see applications emerge that can make the most of faster network speeds. Streaming Netflix on your phone was unheard of during the 3G era.
There's every chance that 5G will be an exciting and meaningful feature in the coming years, but it's far from essential right now. You shouldn't buy a new phone just because it has 5G. There's no need to upgrade your old 4G LTE iPhone to an iPhone 12 Pro. But if you were planning to buy a new phone this year and the model you're after has 5G, go for it. It's certainly nice to have.
Batteries and Cords
5G can, however, hamper the iPhone 12 Pro’s battery life. I’ve been getting about 4.5 hours of screen time per charge, on a mix of 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi—which is a step back from last year. For me, that kind of number only represents a full day of usage with very little buffer. Last year’s iPhone 11 Pro was more of a day-and-a-half per charge type of device. A full day per charge is fine, but it would have been nice to keep that buffer. There’s definitely been a day or two where I needed to top up before the day was over.
Apple's made the somewhat controversial decision to stop bundling power bricks and earbuds with new iPhones for environmental reasons. The only accessory you'll find in the shockingly slim box is a USB-C to Lightning cable. I've got no issue with removing earbuds from the box—they're trash anyway—but the choice of cable is a little problematic. USB-C may be more common these days, but unless you're upgrading from an iPhone 11, your power brick has a full-sized USB port on it. While you can use your old charger, you'll miss out on the faster charging speeds the iPhone 12 is capable of.
Alternatively, Apple has a fun new wireless charging ecosystem for you to buy into: MagSafe. MagSafe is a puck-like wireless charger that magnetically connects to the back of your iPhone. Not only does this ensure ideal alignment for a faster charge, it also means you can still use your phone while you charge it—unlike with a traditional wireless charging pad or stand. The magnets themselves are strong enough to the point where I was only a little nervous dangling my iPhone 12 Pro over my 11th story balcony, and the charge is fast enough that you can go from flat to about 40% in half an hour or so. You can still get a faster juice using a traditional charger, however.
Shutterbug
The iPhone 12 Pro builds on the iPhone 11 Pro’s already-great camera with a few nifty upgrades. The primary lens is the most significant change, with improvements mostly benefitting low-light imaging. Photos taken at night are sharper, brighter, and clearer compared to what you'd get on last year's model.
Night mode—a setting that takes a low-light image over a longer period of time to get a better result—now also works on all four of the iPhone 11 Pro's cameras; the three on the back, and the selfie camera. The primary lens is still your best option for low-light photography, but it's great to have it on the ultra-wide in a pinch. Here's a comparison between low-light images from the three primary cameras:
The iPhone 12 Pro isn't as large a step up as the iPhone 11 Pro was over the iPhone XS, but the iPhone 12 Pro still compares well to last year's other flagships like the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and the OPPO Find X2 Pro. In short, the iPhone 12 Pro will consistently take great photos in almost any environment, and what more do you want?
One interesting camera feature on the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max models is ProRAW, a new file format for capturing more detailed photos. RAW images capture all data recorded by the camera sensor, which grants you a lot more potential for editing your photos. This is more so meant for camera nerds like myself who love endlessly tweaking photos. At this stage, it looks like ProRAW will be continue to be exclusive to the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max—the standard iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini will miss out.
Of course, if photography is the primary reason you’re considering an iPhone 12 Pro over an iPhone 12, you also need to consider the iPhone 12 Pro Max. On paper, the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a better primary camera lens that will take even sharper photos in low light and a better zoom lens with a slightly longer range. We won’t know quite how it stacks up until we’ve gone hands-on, but smartphone camera fiends will definitely want to wait and see how much difference there is between the two. I’ll be aiming to update this review after I've spent some time with the iPhone 12 Pro Max and know just how much of a difference the improved camera setup makes.
When it comes to video, the iPhone 12 Pro continues to deliver. iPhones are easily your best option for shooting video on a handset, and this hasn't changed. The biggest new addition is the ability to film in Dolby Vision, a high dynamic range (HDR) video format. In short, this means you can capture more accurate color, in addition to brighter highlights and darker shadows. Dolby Vision support is also on the standard iPhone 12, but you're restricted to filming at 30 frames per second at 4K resolutions. On the iPhone 12 Pro, you can do so at 60 frames per second at 4K.
LiDAR is the last feature that sets the iPhone 12 apart from its less Pro brethren, and perhaps the most curious one. LiDAR sensors are used to measure depth, and in the case of the iPhone 12 Pro, it's used for two main tasks: photography and augmented reality apps. Photography is the far more useful application. LiDAR genuinely helps the iPhone 12 Pro improve autofocus in low light and help with low-light portrait photography. When trying to take portrait shots at night, the standard iPhone 12 Pro delivered brighter, more consistent results than the standard iPhone 12. It was also more consistently able to focus on the subject.
Here's an attempted low-light portrait from the iPhone 12:
And here's the same shot from the iPhone 12 Pro:
On the other hand, augmented reality apps are more of a gimmick right now. It's kinda neat to drop a virtual IKEA bookshelf into your apartment to see how it would fit, and the LiDAR sensor helps with accuracy. A potentially interesting feature, but there’s not a whole lot of point to it right now from a consumer perspective. It will be interesting to see where it goes, but you shouldn’t buy tech based on future potential.
iPhone 12 Pro—Final Thoughts
In some ways, the iPhone 12 Pro is the most confusing phone in the iPhone 12 family. It's an awkward middle child. The standard iPhone 12 delivers the vast majority of the iPhone 12 Pro's functionality at a cheaper price, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max is set to be the iPhone to buy if you're serious about smartphone photography (and hey, the battery will likely be better, too).
None of this is to say the iPhone 12 Pro isn't a great phone. It has excellent cameras, incredible performance, and a lovely design. It's just that an extra camera is the primary reason to buy it over the standard iPhone 12. It becomes a question of how much you want a telephoto lens, better night portraits, and ProRAW. Are these features worth the $350 premium to you?
Personally, I'm the kind of person who'd buy the iPhone 12 Pro over the standard iPhone 12. I love the telephoto lens, and I'm very excited about ProRAW. At the same time, I'm holding out for the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Of course, not everyone wants a massive phone, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the largest iPhone to date with an imposing 6.7-inch screen. Even if the camera may not be quite on the same level as the Pro Max, the iPhone 12 Pro is a great choice for smartphone photography enthusiasts who want a normal-sized device. It's a very nice phone.
iPhone 12 Pro Camera Samples
Alex Choros
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