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Apple iPhone 12 vs Apple iPhone SE

Compare recorded specifications, size and practical differences.

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    Key differences

    Calculated from recorded specifications using minimum difference thresholds. These are differences, not an overall ranking. For three phones, numeric highlights compare the two extremes.

    • Display technology

      OLED versus LCD

      iPhone 12:
      OLED
      iPhone SE:
      LCD

    • Weight

      iPhone SE: 51 g lighter

      iPhone 12:
      164 g
      iPhone SE:
      113 g

    • Width

      iPhone SE: 12.9 mm narrower

      iPhone 12:
      71.5 mm
      iPhone SE:
      58.6 mm

    • Screen diagonal

      iPhone SE: 2.1 in smaller diagonal

      iPhone 12:
      6.1 in
      iPhone SE:
      4 in

    • Memory variants

      At 64 GB storage

      iPhone 12:
      4 GB RAM
      iPhone SE:
      2 GB RAM

    • Rear camera layout

      iPhone 12:
      Dual
      iPhone SE:
      Single

    Physical size

    Relative size, not calibrated actual size. Front and side outlines share one scale and a bottom baseline. Generic outlines use recorded body dimensions, excluding camera bumps.

    1. 1. iPhone 12

      Height:
      146.7 mm +22.9 mm versus iPhone SE
      Width:
      71.5 mm +12.9 mm versus iPhone SE
      Depth:
      7.4 mm

    2. 2. iPhone SE

      Height:
      123.8 mm
      Width:
      58.6 mm
      Depth:
      7.6 mm

    Weight

    Bars start at zero and share a scale within this chart.

    1. 1. iPhone 12

      164 g

      +51 g versus iPhone SE

    2. 2. iPhone SE

      113 g

    Screen size

    Approximate rectangular screens calculated from recorded diagonal and aspect ratio at one relative scale. Rounded corners and cutouts are not subtracted. These are not phone outlines or calibrated actual sizes.

    1. 1. iPhone 12

      Screen diagonal:
      6.1 in
      Aspect ratio (height:width):
      19.5:9
      Approximate rectangular screen area:
      91.3 cm²

    2. 2. iPhone SE

      Screen diagonal:
      4 in
      Aspect ratio (height:width):
      16:9
      Approximate rectangular screen area:
      44.1 cm²

    iPhone 12 has approximately 107.1% more rectangular screen area than iPhone SE.

    Memory variants

    Each row compares the same storage capacity. Cells show recorded RAM alternatives, not combined maxima. Not recorded does not mean unavailable in every market.

    Recorded RAM for iPhone 12, iPhone SE, compared at the same storage capacity.
    StorageiPhone 12iPhone SE
    16 GB Not recorded 2 GB RAM
    32 GB Not recorded 2 GB RAM
    64 GB Recorded for all phones 4 GB RAM 2 GB RAM
    128 GB Recorded for all phones 4 GB RAM 2 GB RAM
    256 GB 4 GB RAM Not recorded

    Practical features

    Explicit Yes and No values are shown directly. Qualified or regional records retain their details. Unknown means the record is missing.

    1. iPhone 12

    NFC:
    Yes
    Headphone jack:
    No
    Memory card support:
    No

    2. iPhone SE

    NFC:
    See details Yes (Apple Pay only)
    Headphone jack:
    Yes
    Memory card support:
    No

    Battery capacity

    Capacity is not battery life. No endurance test is implied.

    Recorded battery capacity

    Bars start at zero and share a scale within this chart.

    1. 1. iPhone 12

      2815 mAh

      +1191 mAh versus iPhone SE

    2. 2. iPhone SE

      1624 mAh

    Specifications

    Open a section for more detail. On narrow screens, swipe sideways or use Left/Right arrow keys while the table is focused. Unknown means missing data, not No. Recorded zero values are shown as recorded.

    1. iPhone 122. iPhone SE

    Everyday essentials
    Everyday essentials — specifications for iPhone 12, iPhone SE.
    SpecificationiPhone 12iPhone SE
    Dimensions (HxWxD)
    • 146.7 Х 71.5 Х 7.4 mm
    • 123.8 Х 58.6 Х 7.6 mm
    Weight
    • 164 g
    • 113 g
    Technology
    • Super Retina XDR OLED
    • LED-backlit IPS LCD
    Screen size
    • 6.1" inc
    • 4" inch
    Screen resolution
    • 1170 x 2532 px
    • 640 x 1136 px
    Internal memory Recorded storage / RAM variants. Entries are alternatives, not a combined maximum. Ambiguous formats stay as recorded.
    • 64GB 4GB RAM
    • 128GB 4GB RAM
    • 256GB 4GB RAM
    • 16/32/64/128 GB
    • 2 GB RAM
    Memory card support
    • No
    • No
    Battery Capacity is not battery life. No endurance test is implied.
    • 2815 mAh
    • Li-Ion
    • non-removable
    • 1624 mAh
    • Non-removable Li-Po
    Operating system OS
    • iOS 14.1
    • iOS 9.3.2
    • upgradable to iOS 12.1.3
    Chipset
    • - Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)
    • Apple A9 (14 nm)
    NFC
    • Yes
    • Yes (Apple Pay only)
    Headphone jack
    • No
    • Yes
    Display
    Display — specifications for iPhone 12, iPhone SE.
    SpecificationiPhone 12iPhone SE
    Touchscreen
    • capacitive touchscreen
    • capacitive touchscreen
    Display colors
    • 16M
    • 16M
    Screen area
    • 90.2 cm2
    • 44.1 cm2
    Screen format
    • 19.5:9 (height:width)
    • 16:9 (height:width)
    Screen to body ratio
    • 86.0%
    • 60.8%
    PPI /points per inch/ Unknown
    • 326 PPI
    Screen protection
    • Scratch-resistant glass
    • oleophobic coating
    		 Unknown
    Camera and Video

    Scores marked * are historical catalogue entries. Test conditions are unspecified; no new testing is implied.

    Camera and Video — specifications for iPhone 12, iPhone SE.
    SpecificationiPhone 12iPhone SE
    Rear camera, main
    • 12 MP
    • Dual
    • 12 MP
    • Single
    Camera specs
    • -12 MP
    • f/1.6
    • 26mm (wide)
    • 1.4µm
    • dual pixel PDAF
    • OIS -12 MP
    • f/2.4
    • 120˚
    • 13mm (ultrawide)
    • 1/3.6''
    • 12 MP
    • f/2.2
    • 29mm (standard)
    • 1/3''
    • 1.22µm
    • PDAF
    Functions
    • HDR
    • Face detection
    • HDR
    • panorama
    Video
    • 4K@24/30/60fps
    • 1080p@30/60/120fps
    • gyro-EIS
    • 720p@30fps
    Front camera, selfie
    • 12 MP
    • Dual
    • 1.2 MP
    • Single
    Specifications
    • 12 MP
    • f/2.2
    • 23mm (wide)
    • 1/3.6'' SL 3D
    • (depth/biometrics sensor)
    • 1.2 MP
    • f/2.4
    • 31mm (standard)
    DxOMark Main Score *
    • 122
    		 Unknown
    DxOMark Photo *
    • 101
    		 Unknown
    DxOMark Video *
    • 93
    		 Unknown
    DxOMark Selfie Score *
    • 98
    		 Unknown
    Performance

    Scores marked * are historical catalogue entries. Test conditions are unspecified; no new testing is implied.

    Performance — specifications for iPhone 12, iPhone SE.
    SpecificationiPhone 12iPhone SE
    Processor CPU
    • - Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm)
    • Dual-core 1.84 GHz Twister
    Graphics processor GPU
    • - Apple GPU (4-core graphics)
    • PowerVR GT7600 (six-core graphics)
    Antutu 7 score * Unknown
    • 131789
    Antutu 8 score *
    • 598478
    • 197349
    GeekBench 5 Single Core *
    • 1580
    		 Unknown
    GeekBench 5 Multi-Core *
    • 3920
    		 Unknown
    General specs
    General specs — specifications for iPhone 12, iPhone SE.
    SpecificationiPhone 12iPhone SE
    Release date
    • 2020
    • October 13
    • 2016
    • March
    Colors
    • Black
    • White
    • Red
    • Green
    • Blue
    • Space Gray
    • Silver
    • Gold
    • Rose Gold
    Historical recorded price Legacy catalogue value; date unknown. Not a current offer.
    • 880 EUR
    • 300 EUR
    Battery life
    • Stand by time- Up to 17 h (multimedia) Music play - Up to 65 h
    • Stand by time- Up to 240 h (2G) / Up to 240 h (3G) Talking time- Up to 14 h (3G) Music play - Up to 50 h
    Body build
    • Glass front (Gorilla Glass)
    • glass back (Gorilla Glass)
    • aluminum frame
    • Front glass
    • aluminum body
    Communication and Connectivity
    Communication and Connectivity — specifications for iPhone 12, iPhone SE.
    SpecificationiPhone 12iPhone SE
    SIM card
    • Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM
    • dual stand-by) - for China
    • Nano-SIM
    Network
    • Show all network frequencies: -2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM) - for China CDMA 800 / 1900 -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO -4G - 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 7
    • 8
    • 12
    • 13
    • 14
    • 17
    • 18
    • 19
    • 20
    • 25
    • 26
    • 28
    • 29
    • 30
    • 32
    • 34
    • 38
    • 39
    • 40
    • 41
    • 42
    • 46
    • 48
    • 66
    • 71 - A2176 -5G - 1
    • 71
    • 77
    • 78
    • 79
    • 260
    • 261 Sub6/mmWave - A2176
    • Show all network frequencies: -2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - A1662
    • A1723 CDMA 800 / 1900 - A1662
    • A1723 -3G - HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - A1662
    • A1723 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - A1662
    • A1723 TD‑SCDMA - A1723 -4G - LTE band 1(2100)
    • 2(1900)
    • 3(1800)
    • 4(1700/2100)
    • 5(850)
    • 8(900)
    • 12(700)
    • 13(700)
    • 17(700)
    • 18(800)
    • 19(800)
    • 20(800)
    • 25(1900)
    • 26(850)
    • 29(700) - A1662 LTE band 1(2100)
    • 7(2600)
    • 28(700)
    • 38(2600)
    • 39(1900)
    • 40(2300)
    • 41(2500) - A1723
    Speed
    • HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps
    • LTE-A
    • 5G
    • EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
    • HSPA
    • LTE-A Cat4 150/50 Mbps
    GPRS
    • Yes
    • Yes
    Edge
    • Yes
    • Yes
    Wi-Fi
    • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6
    • dual-band
    • hotspot
    • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
    • hotspot
    GPS
    • Yes
    • with A-GPS
    • GLONASS
    • GALILEO
    • QZSS
    • Yes
    • with A-GPS
    • GLONASS
    USB
    • Lightning
    • USB 2.0
    • 2.0
    • proprietary reversible connector
    Bluetooth
    • 5.0
    • A2DP
    • LE
    • 4.2
    • A2DP
    • LE
    Harmful irradiation
    • SAR EU - 0.99 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body)
    • SAR - 1.17 W/kg (head) 1.19 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.72 W/kg (head) 0.97 W/kg (body)
    Music and Audio
    Music and Audio — specifications for iPhone 12, iPhone SE.
    SpecificationiPhone 12iPhone SE
    Radio
    • No
    • No
    Others
    • - Dolby Vision -Wide color gamut -True-tone -HDR10 -625 nits (typ) -1200 nits (peak)
    • 16-bit/44.1kHz audio -Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
    Other features
    Other features — specifications for iPhone 12, iPhone SE.
    SpecificationiPhone 12iPhone SE
    Dop
    • - Sensors - Face ID
    • accelerometer
    • gyro
    • proximity
    • compass
    • barometer - Siri natural language commands and dictation - Fast charging 20W
    • 50% in 30 min -USB Power Delivery 2.0 -Qi fast wireless charging 15W - IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 mins) -Apple Pay (Visa
    • MasterCard
    • AMEX certified) - Versions: A2399 (International); A2176 (USA); A2398 (Canada
    • Japan); A2400 (China); A2399 (Hong Kong)
    • Sensors Fingerprint (front-mounted)
    • accelerometer
    • gyro
    • proximity
    • compass - Siri natural language commands and dictation - Apple Pay (Visa
    • MasterCard
    • AMEX certified) - Supported LTE Networks

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