My iPhone 7 is long overdue for an upgrade and I was considering the newly launched iPhone 12. However, with Diwali sales kicking off here in India, the iPhone 11 Pro is now available at a great price. When converted, a 128GB iPhone 12 costs around $1,160 whereas a 256GB iPhone 11 Pro costs around $1,270. I am comparing the prices of these two size variants as 64GB is not enough for my needs.
I can find plenty of comparisons online between the Pro versions of iPhones 11 and 12 but not between the 11 Pro and the 12. The two most important features to me are the screen (both have OLED) and the camera. Especially with regard to the latter, I would love to know how the two stack up against each other. What do you guys think I should consider getting?
5G is the way of the future even though it’s not fully baked in yet. I think getting a 12 is a good way to future-proof your purchase if you need to upgrade at this point in time.
However, if the cameras are a major feature for you, then the triple lens on the pros is a big deal. Comparison starts there: the 12 has two, the pros have three and the wide angle is really great (have a 11 pro max).
@geoffaire’s post is very helpful for comparing the specs.
Pros for the iPhone 12:
5G
A14 Bionic
Pros for the iPhone 11 Pro Max:
Everything else… It is a great phone, the cameras are awesome. It is the top model of the 2019 line-up.
What would I do? I depends, how many years you plan on using your new iPhone and how you use your iPhone. The iPhone 12 is more future proof regarding the processor and it has 5G, it is ready for the future.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max still has a fantastic CPU. The cameras are fantastic. The screen is nice. 5G will take some years until it really will “replace” 4G. And 4G is pretty fast. I have not heard complaints of 4G being too slow. The 11 Pro Max will be a nice phone for many years, too!
If you love shooting in RAW format, I’d highly suggest the iPhone 12 Pro. While they do have the same camera lenses, only the 12 has the new RAW format. Shooting in RAW format has been disappointing in the iPhone even though they supported it. Sometimes, it would convert RAW into HEIC or jpeg when opened on a Mac. But I don’t know if the Apple RAW format will be editable or can be shot with the built-in Photos app or Camera at this point or as usual it’s only accessed by 3rd party apps. Would love to see how Apple will keep on improving the RAW format and hopefully, based iPhone will be able to use it on future iPhones than just the Pro version.
You could also take a look at backing up your data with iCloud instead of relying on the built-in storage as I found out that a 64GB iPhone just worked for me. Although, if you are into games and shooting 4K videos then 256GB is a must.
There’s also the ceramic shield on the 12 which I don’t really mind. I’ve never used a case on my iPhone since 3GS and I haven’t cracked my screen. So I have good experience with the screen and don’t really see the improvement on the screen as a must on my list.
Other than that, iPhone 11 Pro is still solid purchase. As usual, the Pro is still marketed to the lucrative market of wanting the best and latest in mobile photography/video.
Thank you all for your thoughts. So it looks like both the 11 Pro and 12 have almost identical cameras (the Pro of course has the additional telephoto lense), with the only difference being the 12’s wide lense having a slightly larger aperture.
I think I will go with the 12 at the price I indicated above. I don’t see 5G coming in handy anytime soon but prefer the design, the newer processor, and the stronger ceramic shield front. If I can get the 11 Pro for significantly cheaper than the 12 though then I will get that instead.
Thank you all again for helping me clarify my thoughts.
I’ve decided on a new upgrade plan; buy last year’s model, a year later buy the then current flagship (maybe even the Pro) and hand down the year-old phone to my mom, repeat every three years. So, I’d get the 11 this year, the 13/13 Pro next year and hand the 11 down to my mom, and then repeat the cycle in 2024 by handing down the 13/13 Pro to my mom for a year.
This way I get a new phone every three years and then again a year later, save money on the phone that eventually goes to my mom by buying the previous generation phone during the Diwali sale, and get value by getting four years out of both phones!
UPDATE: Just acted on this by getting the iPhone 11 128GB (Red) for the equivalent of $680 in Amazon’s Diwali sale, which is much, much cheaper than it usually costs here in India. I’m excited to get my hands on it
Oh, well. Not easy.