iPhone 12 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 50+ Differences Compared

[CopyChief]

I made this exact leap. In day-to-day use, there’s not a revolutionary difference. But the evolutionary changes do make it more enjoyable to use.

Honestly, though, after a week (and after having traded in the 12 Pro) I do pause to wonder, “Was it worth it? Will I regret it next year, when something even cooler comes out on the 16?”

 

[Hammerd]

I upgrade every year to fix my own insecurities and to show everyone they’re peasants, but I have to admit I can barely feel there’s ant update: faster CPU/GPU I don’t care cus I don’t play, and the remaining are gimmicks or non-hardware: titanium circling, usb-c port, better microlocation chip and better phone call quality.
Also border are half a millimeter less thick WHOA

 

[jonjames505]

I made this exact leap. In day-to-day use, there’s not a revolutionary difference. But the evolutionary changes do make it more enjoyable to use.

Honestly, though, after a week (and after having traded in the 12 Pro) I do pause to wonder, “Was it worth it? Will I regret it next year, when something even cooler comes out on the 16?”

This is exactly why I decided to keep my 12 Pro another year. Yes, I would absolutely love a ProMotion display - but everything else, including USB C doesn't seem like worthy reasons to upgrade (yet). I'm looking forward to iPhone 16 Pro which will hopefully bring something new. Always on display? Who cares. Dynamic Island? Not so different from the Notch.

 

[jicon]

I'll be upgrading from an iPhone 7, so I'm largely ignoring 'not worth the upgrade' articles.

I did that. For me, took a few days getting used to the weight increase, navigation to occasionally close apps, take screenshots, and get to the control center. Camera improvements are nice, and the processor is allegedly twice as fast, but my day to day with programs have no noticeable difference to me, aside from the increased RAM helping eliminate time needed to restart an app. Convenient to use a wireless charger now, I suppose. Moving from iOS15 to 17 feels like a minor incremental upgrade, which may be a bigger indication I spend most time using 3rd party apps.

 

[BGPL]

Coming from the 12 Pro to the 15 Pro, the upgrade was worth it, esp considering Verizon giving me over $800 for my 12. The display, the dynamic island, and the weight are the three biggest improvements. There's also less "lag" in apps. You don't relax how slow your old phones processor is until you get a new one.

 

[GuruZac]

The more I think about it the more I’m deciding to stick with my 13 Pro another year. The dynamic island just looks so intrusive every time I see it. There really just was no good reason to move the notch further down into the main area of the display and then add a tiny little useless sliver of display above it.

Well I moved from a 13 Pro to a 15 Pro Max and it was well worth the upgrade. Aside from the obvious larger display, all the things mentioned above with Always On, Dynamic Island (it really is a nice use of space), and USB-C were all worth it.

 

[4odomi]

The iPhone 15 Pro brings over 50 new features and improvements to Apple's high-end smartphones compared to the iPhone 12 Pro, which was released three years prior. This buyer's guide breaks down every major difference you should be aware of between the two generations and helps you to decide whether it's worth upgrading.

The iPhone 12 Pro debuted in 2020, introducing the A14 Bionic chip, MagSafe, improved water resistance, Ceramic Shield glass, 2GB more memory, a LiDAR scanner, Night mode portraits and Apple ProRAW images, HDR video recording with Dolby Vision, and a larger display on the smaller model. The iPhone 12 Pro was discontinued upon the announcement of the iPhone 13 Pro in 2021, but it is still possible to get hold of it at fairly low prices second-hand.

Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPhone models is best for you by clearly showing all of the differences that the iPhone 15 Pro brings to the table. This article focuses on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro, but to understand the differences between the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro, see our other buyer's guide:

• iPhone 14 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 30+ Upgrades Compared

Although the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro share most of their basic features, the iPhone 15 Pro offers a large number of notable upgrades, such as a titanium design, always-on Retina display with ProMotion, Action button, USB-C port, 48-megapixel main camera, A17 Pro chip, and longer battery life... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: iPhone 12 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 50+ Differences Compared

I've upgraded my partners 12 Pro to 15 Pro Max, the upgrade is significant to say the least, even the 13 Pro was a significant upgrade from a 12 Pro, particularly in battery, camera & Pro motion.
So the 15 Pro Max is a no brainer....long wait though (mid November) 😏
I think she will be very happy 😊

 

[flimpy]

Wait at least 3 versions, otherwise it is too fast. Imo 12 pro's can wait for 16 or even 17.Unless you neeeed a new feature.

I bet Apple is taking note on this. Next step is to make an iPhone from naturally degradable materials (remember degrading lightning cables?), so users wouldn't have to wait for more than one generation to upgrade their phones, lol

 

[Ho Tai]

No charging above 80% - why is this not a setting for all iPhones? The optimized battery charging feature shows they have the technology to do it. I've wondered for years why they didn't offer the 80% cutoff as an option. I am not an Apple cynic, but offering the feature only on the 15 seems like a pure money grab.

 

[gatorvet96]

No charging above 80% - why is this not a setting for all iPhones? The optimized battery charging feature shows they have the technology to do it. I've wondered for years why they didn't offer the 80% cutoff as an option. I am not an Apple cynic, but offering the feature only on the 15 seems like a pure money grab.

As we know the vast majority of users are upgrading for the 80% cut-off . Sarcasm

 

[Lakersfan74]

12P to 15PM myself. Good upgrade. Not sure what the 16 would bring besides slightly larger with another new button according to rumors. Sticking with 16, 16+, 16P and 16PM model names could mean we’re getting the same basic look for the fifth consecutive year

 

[Slippery Gimp]

I’ve got a standard 12 and I’m seriously tempted not to upgrade at all this year. I already didn’t upgrade at the end of my contract, now my 12 month SIM only deal is finishing I might just do it again.

I used to love the new iPhone announcements, and look forward to what I’d be getting…but those days are long gone now. This 12 seems perfectly good enough.

 

[4odomi]

I find it highly unlikely that they will remain on a yearly update cycle for iphones and watches… eventually the environmental pressure impacts the economics of the operation.

Phone companies used to have much longer update cycles… it was only in the past 10 or so years that the update cycles changed as more and more people updated contract phones yearly. But the incentive for that has kind of gone… i rarely hear many people now mentioning they have the latest iphone. Its become such a common and mundane device that most people are not bothered much. They all look the same anyhow… so the pressure to have the latest goes too, when they all look the same.

They will only stop upgrading annually when the sales drop below 50 million units, whilst they're selling 80 million units annually, no chance, it's all about money, not the enviroment, that's just virtue signalling & PR 😏

 

[4odomi]

I did that. For me, took a few days getting used to the weight increase, navigation to occasionally close apps, take screenshots, and get to the control center. Camera improvements are nice, and the processor is allegedly twice as fast, but my day to day with programs have no noticeable difference to me, aside from the increased RAM helping eliminate time needed to restart an app. Convenient to use a wireless charger now, I suppose. Moving from iOS15 to 17 feels like a minor incremental upgrade, which may be a bigger indication I spend most time using 3rd party apps.

I had a 7 and it's night and day between my 13 Pro in every aspect, so the 15 Pro is in a different Galaxy compared to the 7.
Not to mention the battery lasts twice as long eh

 

[4odomi]

Coming from the 12 Pro to the 15 Pro, the upgrade was worth it, esp considering Verizon giving me over $800 for my 12. The display, the dynamic island, and the weight are the three biggest improvements. There's also less "lag" in apps. You don't relax how slow your old phones processor is until you get a new one.

Hmmm
The weight give or take a couple of grams, is the same

 

[Fuzzball84]

Coming from the 12 Pro to the 15 Pro, the upgrade was worth it, esp considering Verizon giving me over $800 for my 12. The display, the dynamic island, and the weight are the three biggest improvements. There's also less "lag" in apps. You don't relax how slow your old phones processor is until you get a new one.

I think the latest iOS and iPad OS are optimized like crazy for the newer devices. They don’t do it deliberately but older devices, especially once they are no longer sold by Apple, aren’t given the same optimizations focus.

But they are a company and they have business priorities… they don’t charge for the software update so the more time they spend optimizing for older hardware doesn’t translate to revenue like it does for their current devices. At least support keeps going for a long time, but it’s not optimized to the same degree.

 

[error]

I'm a iPhone 12 Pro user… and will upgrade to a 16 Pro next year. Let Apple fix all those 'issues' first. Only bought a new Apple leather case last month (on sale) so my iPhone looks brand new.

 

[rdgr.eu]

I upgraded from the 11 Pro to the 15 Pro, it was definitely worth it for me

 

[bankshot]

Now do 11 Pro and 15 Pro

I honestly couldn't find any compelling reason to upgrade. My 11 Pro is still super fast - nothing I do is CPU or GPU limited, and it's just as responsive as it was on launch day. Super smooth. The faster speed of a new SoC is completely wasted at this point.

Every single difference is just a slight refinement of an existing capability. No brand new capabilities to accomplish tasks that can't be done on the 11 Pro. On a day to day basis I'd be using the same apps, the same version of iOS, doing exactly the same things. Slightly better photos might be nice, but not $1000+ nice. Maybe 16 or 17 Pro will finally be enough of a jump to justify the cost.

 

[sparkinstx]

Thanks for this - I just ordered a 15 Pro on Friday, to replace my 12 Pro.

 

[bradbomb]

I'm in the camp that my 12 Pro still works great and doesn't feel slow at all. Yes, the new models have ProMotion and a better camera, but the only reason I even went from the X to the 12 Pro was because the X at the time had been having issues. I'm happy with the performance of the 12 Pro. Would I be happier with a 15 Pro, sure, but I think I can ride this out a year or two more (given that I still have AppleCare+ monthly on the 12 Pro).

 

[taliz]

Feature wise I'm not missing anything on my 5yr old XR. Nothing in that list is tempting.
All I'd like is a smaller, lighter phone with FaceID. Like a Mini(too old and expensive now...).
Also I haven't paid for phones with my own money in almost 15 years now, my employer pays for that. But I usually only get the budget versions and currently only the SE is available. And that's really a peace of crap..

 

[currocj]

This was my upgrade. The only things I notice are: Promotion and the usb-c...everything else is not noticeable in day to day. But that said, its a nice but not earth shattering change.

 

[DaPizzaMan]

I honestly couldn't find any compelling reason to upgrade. My 11 Pro is still super fast - nothing I do is CPU or GPU limited, and it's just as responsive as it was on launch day. Super smooth. The faster speed of a new SoC is completely wasted at this point.

Every single difference is just a slight refinement of an existing capability. No brand new capabilities to accomplish tasks that can't be done on the 11 Pro. On a day to day basis I'd be using the same apps, the same version of iOS, doing exactly the same things. Slightly better photos might be nice, but not $1000+ nice. Maybe 16 or 17 Pro will finally be enough of a jump to justify the cost.

I'm feeling about the same as well, but my battery is shot. I might just pay the $80 or whatever it is to swap the battery and hold out another year.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Well I moved from a 13 Pro to a 15 Pro Max and it was well worth the upgrade. Aside from the obvious larger display, all the things mentioned above with Always On, Dynamic Island (it really is a nice use of space), and USB-C were all worth it.

Ha well I am definitely tempted. If Apple hadn’t eliminated 0% interest financing except through the cartels, I would have ordered already. Now I’m thinking this phone will get me through at least another year.