(Pocket-lint) – Apple announced the iPhone 12 series at an event in October, with four models to choose from: the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

We’ve compared the four models in a separate feature, but here we are looking at how the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini compare to the iPhone 11 and 2018’s iPhone XR.

Should you upgrade from the iPhone XR, or if you have an older iPhone, should you buy the iPhone XR or the iPhone 11 instead of the iPhone 12 or 12 mini given they are being sold alongside each other?

Note that the iPhone SE is also in Apple’s portfolio, so that’s worth checking out if you’re happy to have the Touch ID Home Button instead of Face ID. 

Design

• iPhone 12 mini: 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4mm, 135g
• iPhone 12: 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4mm, 164g
• iPhone 11: 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3mm, 194g
• iPhone XR: 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3mm, 194g

The Apple iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 feature identical designs, differing only in size. They both feature aluminium frames that are squared off rather than rounded, they both come with a notch at the top of their displays and they both have glass backs with a dual rear camera system in the top left corner.

The Apple iPhone 11 and the iPhone XR offer a similar design to the iPhone 12 models in that they both come in a number of colours, offer an aluminium frame and a glass rear. There’s a notch at the top of both their displays too, but they have rounder edges than the iPhone 12 models.

The iPhone 12 mini is the smallest, followed by the iPhone 12. The iPhone 11 and XR are identical in terms of footprint and weight, and both slightly larger and heavier than the iPhone 12.

The iPhone XR is IP67 water-resistant, however, enabling it to be submerged up to one-metre for 30 minutes, while the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are all IP68 rated.

The iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 all have a dual rear camera, with a camera housing that features frosted glass to differentiate it from the rest of the glossy body. The iPhone XR meanwhile, has a single rear camera.

The colour options also differ between the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 11 and iPhone XR.

Display

• iPhone 12 mini: 5.4-inch, OLED, 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution, HDR, 1200nits
• iPhone 12: 6.1-inch, OLED, 2532 x 1170 pixel resolution, HDR, 1200nits
• iPhone 11: 6.1-inch, LCD, 1792 x 828 pixel resolution, no HDR, 625nits
• iPhone XR: 6.1-inch, LCD, 1792 x 828 pixel resolution, no HDR, 625nits

Both the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 have OLED displays with HDR and a maximum brightness of 1200nits. The iPhone 12 mini has a 5.4-inch display with a 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution for a pixel density of 476ppi, while the iPhone 12 has a 6.1-inch display with a 2532 x 1170 pixel resolution for a pixel density of 460ppi.

The iPhone 11 and the iPhone XR both have a 6.1-inch, Liquid Retina LCD display with a 1792 x 828 pixel resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 326ppi so the iPhone 12 models will be sharper and more vibrant. 

All four models being compared here have True Tone technology, along with a wide colour gamut, and there is still Haptic Touch over 3D Touch.

Neither the iPhone 11 or iPhone XR have HDR and they aren’t as bright as the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, though you’d likely only notice the lack of HDR if you placed them side-by-side with one of the iPhone 12 devices.

Otherwise, the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR deliver great displays with ample brightness and arguably more realistic colours compared to OLED panels. 

Cameras

• iPhone 12 mini/iPhone 12: Dual rear camera (12MP wide angle and ultra wide angle), 12MP TrueDepth front camera
• iPhone 11: Dual rear camera (12MP wide angle and ultra wide angle), 12MP TrueDepth front camera
• iPhone XR: Single rear camera (12MP), 7MP TrueDepth front camera

The Apple iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 both have a dual rear camera, comprised of a 12-megapixel wide angle sensor with a f/1.6 aperture, and an ultra-wide angle sensor with a f/2.4 aperture.

The iPhone 11 also has a dual camera on the rear, comprised of a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor with an aperture of f/2.4 and a wide-angle sensor with a slightly narrower aperture of f/1.8 compared to the iPhone 12 models.

There’s optical image stabilisation, a brighter True Tone flash and Portrait Lighting with six effects, as well as next-generation Smart HDR for photos and Night Mode, all of which the iPhone 12 models offer too.

The iPhone 12 models also have HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 30 fps though.

The iPhone XR meanwhile, has a single 12-megapixel rear camera with an f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilisation and digital zoom up to 5x. It also only offers three effects for Portrait Lighting and first-gen Smart HDR for photos. 

The iPhone XR also has a 7-megapixel TrueDepth camera system with an aperture of f/2.2 on the front, allowing for Face ID, among plenty of other features. It offers 1080p video recording at 30fps or 60fps.

The iPhone 12 models and the iPhone 11 meanwhile, have a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, with an aperture of f/2.2, next-gen Smart HDR for photos and 4K video recording at 24fps, 30fps and 60fps.

Hardware

• iPhone 12 mini/iPhone 12: A14 chip, 64/128/256, Dual SIM
• iPhone 11: A13 chip, 64/256/512GB storage, Dual SIM
• iPhone XR: A12 chip, 64/256/512GB storage, Dual SIM

One of the main differences between the iPhone 12 models and the older iPhone 11 and the iPhone XR is hardware. As you would expect, the iPhone 12 has a bump in hardware, moving from the A13 chip found in the iPhone 11 and the A12 in the iPhone XR to the A14 chip.

All four models come in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB storage options and microSD for storage expansion isn’t available on any model.

All four devices also support dual SIM with a nano-SIM and eSIM and both devices are charged via Lightning. The iPhone 12 models don’t come with a charger in the box though. All models also offer Apple Pay.