iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro: comparison and differences

iPhone 13 Pro vs 12 Pro in brief:

• best battery on the 13 Pro
• A15 vs A14 chip
• same design, same amount of RAM
• different colors
• Cinematic mode (13 Pro)

Screen: the iPhone 13 Pro does better

The iPhone 13 Pro has a screen the same size as the iPhone 12 Pro: 6.1 inches. On the other hand, this is the only one to have a refresh rate of 120 Hz (called ProMotion by Apple). Objective: smoother images for gamers. But this technology can also go down to 10 Hz, which then reduces energy consumption. It should also be noted that the iPhone 13 Pro screen is brighter than that of the iPhone 12 Pro, going from 800 to 1,000 nits without activating HDR. Otherwise, it's 1,200 nits on both.

iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro review (screen): victory for the iPhone 13 Pro

Worse battery life with the iPhone 12 Pro?

Officially, the iPhone 13 Pro is capable of up to 22 hours of video playback compared to 20 of streaming and even 75 hours of audio playback. The iPhone 12 Pro, on the other hand, is “confined” to the trio 17 hours – 11 hours – 65 hours. Theoretically, he is therefore less durable than his successor. Until today, however, tests tended to demonstrate that the differences are in fact less clear when tested by the general public. Be careful, therefore. All this will indeed be verified in the long term, and a simple written comparison cannot really serve as truth here.

iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro review (battery): victory for the iPhone 13 Pro

Performances : iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro

The iPhone 13 Pro can read two eSIM cards, compared to only one for the iPhone 12 Pro. Furthermore, it is also the only smartphone in the comparison to feature an A15 Bionic processor. Indeed, the iPhone 12 Pro runs on an A14 Bionic CPU. Performance would thus be up to 65% higher on the 13 Pro according to benchmarks, but Apple is only talking about 50%. Which is already a lot.

iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro review (power): victory for the iPhone 13 Pro

Cameras

The photo capabilities of the iPhone 13 Pro are significantly better than those of the iPhone 12 Pro. This is probably the most notable difference in the comparison. Optical zoom, for example, is 6x with the iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro at “only” 4x. Another detail, and not the least: Cinematic mode is not available on iPhone 12 Pro.

Note also that the openings of the different sensors have also changed. We thus have, for respectively the telephoto lens, the wide-angle and the ultra-wide-angle ƒ/2.0 – ƒ/1.6 – ƒ/2.4 for the iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro at ƒ/ 2.8 – ƒ/1.5 – ƒ/1.8. And up front, Photographic Styles are only available on iPhone 13 Pro.

iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro review (photo): big victory for the iPhone 13 Pro

The different models

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro are both entitled to 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB of storage. On the other hand, the iPhone 13 Pro is the only one to come with 1TB of storage if needed. Furthermore, its colors are different. We will thus be entitled to Pacific Blue, Gold, Graphite and Silver for the iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro with Alpine Blue instead of Pacific Blue. Silver, Gold and Graphite are still in the game.

As for the design, it is almost identical on both models. The difference is that the back lenses are prominent on the iPhone 13 Pro, but with a smaller notch (only a fifth) on the front. In addition, the weight of each device also changes. So, we have 203 g and 7.6 mm thickness for the iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro at 187 g and 7.84 mm: a real shame!

Common points between iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro

The good point is the price!

The prices charged on the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro are exactly the same. Except of course for the iPhone 13 Pro with a storage capacity of 1 TB, but that's normal. This is explained by many components which have not changed when moving from one to the other. For example, the LiDAR radar is always the same. The speaker too. The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro are also both 5G compatible.

We can also mention their selfies, which both rely on a 12 MPx lens on the front. Finally, still on the side of common points, we can also cite MagSafe compatibility, support for UWB, Bluetooth Low Energy and NFC to pay for purchases with Apple Way via the in-house Wallet application.

• 128 Go :€1,159 for the iPhone 13 Pro or €1,159 for the iPhone 12 Pro compared to €1,259 for the iPhone 13 Pro Max and €1,259 for the iPhone 12 Pro Max
• 256 Go :€1,279 for the iPhone 13 Pro or €1,279 for the iPhone 12 Pro compared to €1,279 for the iPhone 13 Pro Max and €1,279 for the iPhone 12 Pro Max
• 512 Go :€1,509 for the iPhone 13 Pro or €1,509 for the iPhone 12 Pro compared to €1,609 for the iPhone 13 Pro Max and €1,609 for the iPhone 12 Pro Max
• 1 To :€1,739 for the iPhone 13 Pro, but not available with the iPhone 12 Pro

iOS 15 on iPhone 13 Pro and 12 Pro

Both the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro are powered by iOS. But if the iPhone 13 Pro is delivered under iOS 15 directly, the iPhone 12 Pro will have to be updated manually. Indeed, iOS 14 was released. This perhaps also means that it will - in theory - be obsolete a year before the iPhone 13 Pro. We know that Apple has a habit of no longer supporting its mobiles after a few years.

A possible negative point of this iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro comparison, to be qualified given that most customers often change phones. But that will quickly be compensated by a multitude of very fluid proprietary applications like Home, Health, Apple Music, Apple TV+ and even Apple Photos.

iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro: RAM case

Comparing iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro for RAM doesn't really make sense. Indeed, independent developers who analyzed the two smartphones noticed a relatively disturbing fact. This is about the exact matching of RAM amounts between the two line-ups. Another point which will disappoint some, because with only 6 GB under the hood the Phone 13 Pro pales in comparison to the competition.

At Android, we regularly reach 8 or even 12 GB of RAM without blinking.

Notre avis : iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro

Choosing the iPhone 13 Pro is without hesitation the best solutionwhich comes to mind after this comparison. Indeed, the iPhone 12 Pro, for the same price, is less good on several points. Logical, since it dates from a year earlier. So of course the differences are very slight, especially since they both recharge at the same speed via Lightning, but it's difficult to deprive yourself when the price has not changed. Among the (real) strong points of the iPhone 13 Pro, we find, in order of priority:

1. the ability to take better photos and videos
2. a more durable battery – on paper
3. a faster processor

Note thatthe iPhone 12 Pro could still convincethose looking for the Silver and Pacific Blue colors. The latter particularly pleased consumers when it was released, after the iPhone 12 Pro at the end of 2020.