iPhone 12 vs. 13: These are the differences between the generations

At first glance, the iPhone 12 and 13 look like twins, but a second glance reveals that the smartphones are more like siblings. Visually different iphone 12 and 13 on the front the notch, i.e. the notch at the top edge of the smartphone in which Apple places the front camera. On the iPhone 12, this is a bit wider than on the 13. On the other hand, it is slightly deeper on the 13. Alongside this, Apple changed the colors of its iPhone.

It’s in purple and green iPhone 13 unfortunately no longer available. A new pink version has been added. The colors blue, red, white and black have remained – although Apple has changed them slightly. For example, the red of the iPhone 13 darker and more reminiscent of wine red compared to iphone 12. However, the changes are only likely to be decisive for the purchase of very few interested parties.

As far as the height and width of the housings of both smartphones are concerned, they are the same: both are 146.7 millimeters (mm) high and 71.5 mm wide. However, the iPhone 13 is slightly deeper at 7.65mm than the iPhone 12 (7.4mm). In addition, the new iPhone weighs 173 grams (g) 11 g more than its predecessor.

iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 13: The display

When it comes to the built-in OLED display, there is largely agreement between the iPhone 12 and 13. Apple uses a 6.1-inch (15.4 centimeter) Super Retina XDR display for both, which has a resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels. According to the manufacturer, both smartphones represent the P3 color space, offer a contrast ratio of 2,000,000 to 1 and of course offer the haptic touch function.

As a reminder, instead of pressing hard on the display (3D Touch), all you have to do is long-press on the display to bring up an app’s context menu, for example. According to Apple, however, there is a difference in the displays: The luminance (nits) of the iPhone 13 is 800 nits, a full 175 nits higher in typical operation than with the iPhone 13 iphone 12 (625 nits). In the sun you can see on the iPhone 13 the display is a bit better. But that was about it.

Camera: New video features on the iPhone 13

The innovations of the camera are more interesting. A look at the back of both iPhones reveals that the arrangement of the lenses has changed. If they are still underneath each other on the iPhone 12, Apple has moved them diagonally in the next generation. It is possible that the manufacturer went this route to improve image stabilization in the iPhone 13 accommodate. It has an optical image stabilizer with sensor shift that iphone 12 however, only has optical image stabilization.

The rear cameras of both models have the same resolution, namely 12 megapixels. The wide-angle lens has an aperture of f/1.6 and the ultra-wide-angle lens has an aperture of f/2.4. Nevertheless, the camera of the iPhone 13 can do a little more: The ultra wide-angle sensor of the iPhone 13 works faster than that of the iphone 12. This should allow more details in low light. Apple is also giving the iPhone 13’s camera “Photographic Styles”. These styles allow photographers to select preset parameters so that photos are shot particularly warm, cold or, for example, with high contrast.

When you record videos with the smartphone, that waits iPhone 13 with a particularly interesting innovation: it offers a cinema mode (at 1080p with 30 frames per second). It brings the so-called bokeh effect – i.e. the blurred background – into the iPhone videos. But not only that: the cinema mode also offers an intelligent focus shift that adapts to what is happening in the video. In this way, smooth transitions between sharpness and blurriness are achieved when filming. As if that weren’t impressive enough, the focus can even be changed in post-processing.

On the other hand, Apple didn’t do much work on the front camera. Both have a resolution of 12 megapixels. However, the front camera is waiting for you iPhone 13 also with the photographic styles and the cinema mode. It also enables HDR video recordings with Dolby Vision at 4K with 60 frames per second. The front and rear cameras of the iPhone 12 manage this with just 30 frames per second.

Battery: More juice in the new generation

As mentioned above, it is iPhone 13 slightly thicker and heavier than its predecessor. This could be because Apple has given its iPhone 13 the more powerful battery. According to the manufacturer, the power storage of the latest iPhone lasts around 2.5 hours longer than that of the iphone 12. In pure numbers, Apple promises that its iPhone 13 can play videos for around 19 hours with a fully charged battery (iPhone 12, 17 hours), alternatively stream for 15 hours (iPhone 12, 11 hours) or play music for up to 75 hours (iPhone 12, 65 Hours).

Interesting: Although the battery of the iPhone 13 is larger, both models charge at the same rate, according to Apple. According to the manufacturer, both models can charge their battery up to 50 percent in 30 minutes with a power supply unit that delivers 20 watts or more. Of course, you can also charge both smartphones wirelessly if you have a suitable power supply unit.

Processor, memory and RAM and SIM

In addition to the display, camera and battery, you should also keep an eye on the technical specifications of both iPhones. A key difference between iPhone 12 and 13 is internal storage. The smallest version of the iPhone 13 equips Apple with 128 gigabytes, the smallest version of the predecessor only gets 64 gigabytes. The upgrade options differ accordingly: With the iPhone 13 you have the choice between 256 and 512 gigabytes, with the iphone 12 between 128 and 256 gigabytes.

On the other hand, there is agreement on the main memory: Apple equips both models with 4 gigabytes. However, the different processors assist. in the iPhone 13 the A15 Bionic does its job, while the A14 chip works in the iPhone 12. Both processors are six-core, each offering two performance and four efficiency cores. The performance cores take over computationally intensive tasks and the efficiency cores do the everyday work.

Of course, the new chip is a bit faster. Not really noticeable, however, which should also be due to the fact that Apple already led the performance crown in 2020 with its A14 Bionic.

Apple Pay, FaceID, wireless charging & Co.

When it comes to the other features, both generations don’t take anything: both offer wireless charging and can be unlocked via FaceID – i.e. automatic face recognition – both models are IP68 certified and according to the manufacturer waterproof to a depth of six meters for up to 30 minutes. Both offer the WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5 radio standards and you can use both to pay at the checkout using an NFC chip and FaceID, and both connect to the 5G network. Apple still has one difference: Only the iPhone 13 offers dual eSIM support. The iPhone 12 only handles one regular nano-SIM and one eSIM.

Conclusion: iPhone 12 vs. 13

The iPhone 13 offers a brighter display, the better camera and longer battery life. The new video functions in particular are a real asset for amateur filmmakers. If you can do without these bells and whistles, the question becomes how long you want to use the iPhone to find out which smartphone offers better value for money for you.

Here again the question arises as to how long you can still use the respective device without any worries, i.e. how long Apple will provide it with updates – and unfortunately the manufacturer does not provide any information about this. As a rule, however, it is around five years after the release date.

So you can assume the one iphone 12 just under four more (by the end of 2025, beginning of 2026) and that iPhone 13 software updates for another five years (end of 2026, beginning of 2027). The cheapest iPhone 12 with 128 gigabytes of storage currently costs 679 euros, the iPhone 13 is available from 709 euros. The price difference is 30 euros.

If you use the iPhone 13 for the next five years, you will pay 141 euros per year, if you use the iPhone 12 for the next four, it will cost you 169.75 euros per annum. At the current price in relation to the useful life, that is iPhone 13 so the better choice. A iphone 12 Only worth it if you expect it to get updates beyond 2026 or you’re willing to use it for as long as you would an iPhone 13.

Logical: If the price difference is larger, the ratio changes. Starting at €564 for the iPhone 12, you pay €141 per year if you buy it today (March 2022) and use it for four years. So far, the cheapest price for the iPhone 12 was loud ideal at 599 euros.

Swell: Apple.de

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