More iPhones than usual are due for an upgrade this year. Here's how the new iPhone 12 compares to the iPhone 11.
- At Tuesday's iPhone event, Apple announced the iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max.
- Apple also still sells last year's iPhone 11, one of the company's relatively less expensive phones.
- The iPhone 12 has some updates over the iPhone 11, although not enough to justify the upgrade.
Apple just released four new iPhones, its first ever line of 5G phones. The iPhone 12 comes in four versions: iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
A larger than usual number of iPhones are due for an upgrade this year, and analysts expect this to be Apple's largest upgrade cycle in years. For some buyers, that might mean choosing between the 2019 iPhone 11 and this year's iPhone 12. The newer model has some useful upgrades, but the two phones aren't that different. For iPhone 11 owners, the upgrade almost certainly isn't worthwhile.
Here are the differences between the two.
The iPhone 11 is significantly less expensive.
The new iPhone 12 starts at $799 for 64 GB of storage, and goes up to $949 for the maximum 256 GB. In comparison, the iPhone 11 is $200 less expensive, at $599 for 64 GB, and $749 for 256 GB.
The iPhone 11 comes in six colors with several lighter options, compared with the more muted hues of the iPhone 12's five colors.
The iPhone 11 comes in six colors: purple, yellow, green, white, black, and (Product) Red.
The iPhone 12 comes in five colors: black, blue, green, red, and white. The iPhone 12's green is a bit lighter than the shade on the iPhone 11.
Both phones have 6.1-inch displays, but the iPhone 12 has the newer Super Retina XDR screen.
Apple says the Super Retina display is an improvement over older LCD screens, with improved contrast.
Only the iPhone 12 supports 5G.
Millimeter wave 5G is the newer, higher-frequency network some phones are adopting. This is the first advancement in cellular technology for Apple since 2013.
The cameras on the two phones are nearly identical. The only major difference is that the iPhone 12 can record HDR video in Dolby Vision.
Both have dual 12MP cameras with Night Mode and Portrait Mode, which should cover most non-professional photographers' needs.
The iPhone 12 has Apple's new Ceramic Shield technology, and increased water resistance.
The Ceramic Shield is supposed to help the phone survive inevitable falls, and Apple says it quadruples drop performance.
The newer iPhone 12 also runs on the latest A14 Bionic Chip, while the iPhone 11 still uses the A13.
Apple says the new A14 chip, which all the iPhone 12 models run on, will have improved performance and energy efficiency.
Finally, only the iPhone 12 is compatible with MagSafe wireless charging.
Apple just introduced a new line of chargers using magnets that snap onto the back of an iPhone using its signature MagSafe technology previously used on MacBook chargers.
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