iPhone buying guide
If you’re in the market for a new iPhone, but aren’t sure which model to opt for, we’re here to help.
Deciding which iPhone to buy has always been tricky. Which screen size is best for you, and how much storage do you need? Should you save money by selecting an older model, or should you splash out on the latest iPhone 12 or 12 Pro – or even the 12 Pro Max? Is the iPhone SE or the 12 mini the best compromise between specs and value for money? In this article we talk you through each of the phones
currently available from Apple, to help you decide which is best for you. We discuss price, specs and features, and you should leave feeling much more confident about your buying decision.
Here’s Apple’s current range:
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 128GB, £1,099; 256GB, £1,199; 512GB, £1,399
iPhone 12 Pro: 128GB, £999; 256GB, £1,099; 512GB, £1,299
iPhone 12: 64GB, £799; 128GB, £849; 256GB, £949
iPhone 12 mini: 64GB, £699; 128GB, £749; 256GB, £849
iPhone 11: 64GB, £599; 128GB, £649; 256GB, £749
iPhone XR: 64GB, £499; 128GB, £549
iPhone SE (2020): 64GB, £399; 128GB, £449; 256GB, £549
IS NOW A GOOD TIME TO BUY A NEW iPHONE?
Yes, it’s a decent time to buy. The iPhone 13 won’t launch until autumn 2021, and although that phone should have plenty of improvements on the iPhone 12, it’s a long time to wait.
The exception would be if you’re looking at the iPhone SE, which could get replaced at Apple’s spring event. We don’t think that’s likely, but the SE models don’t follow the usual rules so it’s possible.
DISPLAY SIZE
This is tricky. The seven models feature four different screen sizes:
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 6.7in
iPhone 12 Pro: 6.1in
iPhone 12: 6.1in
iPhone 12 mini: 5.4in
iPhone 11: 6.1in
iPhone XR: 6.1in
iPhone SE (2020): 4.7in
The size which suits you best is going to come down to personal preference – a larger screen is nice to have, and will make games and videos look much better, but you’ll pay for it in terms of price (the 12 Pro), price and a bulkier handset (12 Pro Max) or older tech (the XR). You will probably need to compromise.
There are those, on the other hand, who value portability, and were disappointed when Apple discontinued the 4in iPhone SE from 2016. Those days appear to be gone for good, we’re sorry to say, but the new SE for 2020, while a little bigger, is your best bet in this regard. It’s great value, too.
If you’re really unsure which iPhone size is going to suit you best, we’d highly recommend visiting an Apple Store and trying them out in
person. Alternatively, if that’s not an option, try mocking up the sizes with cardboard (you can find the dimensions of each phone below).
STORAGE
Each iPhone is available in two or three capacity options. It’s important to consider how much you need before buying because iPhones don’t have a microSD card slot that will allow you to add additional storage at a later date, but these days, with the minimum allocation a very respectable 64GB, this may be less of a worry. It all depends how much stuff you like to put on your device.
To be honest, 64GB will be enough for most people; consider carefully whether you need any more than that before you cough up extra cash. Have a look at your current phone’s usage (go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage) and think about how much space you really need.
With the preliminaries completed, here’s a breakdown of each iPhone model to help you decide which is best for you.
iPHONE 12 PRO MAX
Price: From £1,099
This is the emperor: the flagship at the top of Apple’s phone range. You cannot currently find a better iPhone than this. Or a costlier one: it starts at £1,099 for the 128GB option, and tops out at an astonishing £1,399
for 512GB. (Most people will be fine with 128GB; Apple has increased the minimum storage from 64GB on the 11 Pro Max.)
Still, you get what you pay for. In this case that means a glorious 6.7in, 458ppi, True Tone OLED screen, the biggest Apple has yet supplied on an iPhone, and a raft of cuttingedge specifications.
The A14 Bionic processor is the fastest Apple has made (indeed, the company says it contains the fastest CPU and the fastest GPU in any smartphone yet made by anyone). Battery life is three hours more than the 12 Pro, for an estimated total of 20 hours of wireless video playback.
The camera set-up is exceptional. You get a triple-lens camera on the back (telephoto, wide and ultra-wide), Night Mode (now including portraits), and Smart HDR 3, an updated version of the processing used in the 11 Pro Max that’s designed to use the A14’s power for superior shots in difficult conditions. Optical zoom is now up to 5x.
The marquee feature for 2021 is support for 5G, which promises faster Internet speeds away from your home Wi-Fi: up to 4Gb/s under optimal conditions, although this will vary depending on location and the progress made by carriers in rolling out network coverage.
But, perhaps most importantly for some of the more butterfingered of our readers, the 12 Pro Max is designed to be very hard to kill. The Ceramic Shield on the front is supposed to offer 4x better drop protection than the previous generation, and the device is waterresistant to a depth of 6m, up from 4m on the 11 Pro Max.
Specifications
• 6.7in (2,778x1,284; 458ppi) Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10 touchscreen
• iOS 14.1
• Apple A14 Bionic (5nm) processor
• Hexa-core (2x 3.1GHz Firestorm, 4x 1.8GHz Icestorm) CPU
• Apple (4-core graphics) GPU
• 6GB RAM
• 128GB/256GB/512GB storage
• Four rear-facing cameras: 12Mp, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1.7μm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift stabilization (IBIS); 12Mp, f/2.2, 65mm (telephoto), 1/3.4in, 1.0μm, PDAF, OIS, 2.5x optical zoom; 12Mp, f/2.4, 120-degree, 13mm (ultra-wide), 1/3.6in; TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth)
• Dual selfie cameras: 12Mp, f/2.2,
23mm (wide), 1/3.6in; SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
• NFC
• Lightning, USB 2.0
• Face ID
• Non-removable 3,687mAh lithium-ion battery
• Fast charging 20 watts; 50 per cent in 30 minutes (advertised)
• 160.x78.1x.4mm
• 228g
IPHONE 12 PRO
Price: From £999
Virtually identical to the
12 Pro Max, the 12 Pro suffers only in terms of its screen (6.1in rather than 6.7in) and battery life (up to 17 hours of wireless video playback rather than 20). For those reasons it’s cheaper, but these things are relative; it starts at £999, and tops out at £1,299 for the 512GB version.
So you still get 5G, the superfast A14 Bionic processor, the new tough Ceramic Shield protecting the screen, the triple-lens camera with its various photographic upgrades. And even though the screen is smaller, it shares the 12 Pro Max’s exceptional brightness and contrast.
Specifications
• 6.1in (2,532x1,170; 460ppi) Super Retina XDR OLED HDR10 display
• iOS 14.1 (upgradeable to 14.4)
• Apple A14 Bionic (5nm) processor
• Hexa-core (2x 3.1GHz Firestorm, 4x 1.8GHz Icestorm) CPU
• Apple (4-core graphics) GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
• Four rear-facing cameras: 12Mp, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1.4μm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; 12Mp, f/2.0, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.4in, 1.0μm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom; 12Mp, f/2.4, 120-degree, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.6in; TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth)
• Dual selfie cameras: 12Mp, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6in; SL 3D, (depth/ biometrics sensor)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
• NFC
• Lightning, USB 2.0
• Face ID
• Non-removable 2,815mAh lithium-ion battery
• Fast charging 20 watts; 50 per cent in 30 minutes (advertised)
• 146.7x71.5x7.4mm
• 189g
iPHONE 12
Price: From £799
This is the in-betweener of the new generation and therefore quite possibly the best choice.
You get the biggest feature of the late-2020 generation, 5G, so can expect radically improved away-fromhome Internet speeds where coverage is available. And unlike in previous generations, this slightly cheaper model’s screen is just as sharp as those of its costlier siblings, at an impressive 460ppi, although it isn’t quite as bright.
The main loss compared to the Pro models is the camera set-up, which is twin-lens on the rear rather than triple (you lose the telephoto, which among other things means weaker
optical zoom), and misses out in some other areas such as Night Mode portraits (because it hasn’t got a LiDAR scanner) and the new Apple ProRAW, a feature theoretically combining the processing finesse of Smart HDR with the creative control of RAW, and due to arrive in an update later this year.
Specifications
• 6.1in (2,532x1,170; 460ppi) Super Retina XDR OLED touchscreen
• iOS 14.1 (upgradeable to 14.4)
• Apple A14 Bionic (5nm) processor
• Hexa-core (2x 3.1GHz Firestorm, 4x 1.8GHz Icestorm) CPU
• Apple (4-core graphics) GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
• Two rear-facing cameras: 12Mp, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1.4μm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; 12Mp, f/2.4, 120-degree, 13mm (ultra-wide), 1/3.6in
• Dual selfie cameras: 12Mp, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6in; SL 3D, (depth/ biometrics sensor)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
• NFC
• Lightning, USB 2.0
• Face ID
• Non-removable 2,815mAh lithium-ion battery
• Fast charging 20 watts; 50 per cent in 30 minutes (advertised)
• 146.7x71.5x7.4mm
• 164g
iPHONE 12 MINI
Price: From £699
The baby of the new generation, the 12 mini arrives with a new screen size (5.4in) and a lower price tag but an impressive feature set that matches the iPhone 12 in almost every respect. You just lose out on the two truly size-dependent characteristics: screen size and battery life, which is claimed to be 15 hours.
It’s therefore the cheapest and smallest iPhone to support 5G –
indeed Apple claims it’s the smallest and lightest 5G-ready smartphone across the industry. If you want 5G and the new A14 processor, this is the most accessibly way of getting them.
Specifications
• 5.4in (2,534x1,080; 476ppi) Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10 touchscreen
• iOS 14.1 (upgradeable to 14.4)
• Apple A14 Bionic (5nm) processor
• Hexa-core (2x 3.1GHz Firestorm, 4x 1.8GHz Icestorm) CPU
• Apple (4-core graphics) GPU
• 4GB/6GB RAM
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
• Two rear-facing cameras: 12Mp, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1.4μm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; 12Mp, f/2.4, 120-degree, 13mm (ultra-wide), 1/3.6in
• Dual selfie cameras: 12Mp, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6in; SL 3D, (depth/ biometrics sensor)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
• NFC
• Lightning, USB 2.0
• Face ID
• Non-removable 2,227mAh lithium-ion battery
• Fast charging 20 watts; 50 per cent in 30 minutes (advertised)
• 131.5x64.2x7.4mm
• 133g
iPHONE 11
Price: From £599
A solid price cut makes the iPhone 11 – the only surviving member of its generation – extremely appealing.
This is the cheaper version of the 11-series range, with an LCD screen rather than the nicer OLED of the Pro range, and fewer camera lenses.
It followed on from the XR, which is still on sale, and offers a number of improvements on that handset to justify its higher price. As ever there is a processor upgrade (from A12 to A13 – although now, of course, all eyes are on the even quicker A14 of the 12-series), but mainly it’s about the cameras. The XR had a single lens on the back, whereas the 11 gets a pair (in itself impressive, but less so than the triple-lens offering on the 11 Pro and, now, 12 Pro), while the front camera has been bumped from 7Mp to 12Mp. You also get a new Night Mode and ‘next-gen’ smart HDR. Video is improved from 1080p to 4K.
Moving away from photography, the iPhone 11 has better battery
life and water resistance than the XR and the colour choices are different. Not necessarily better or worse, just different.
Specifications
• 6.1in (1,792x828; 326ppi) Liquid Retina IPS LCD
• iOS 14.1 (upgradeable to 14.4)
• Apple A13 Bionic (7nm+) processor
• Hexa-core (2x 2.65GHz Lightning; 4x 1.8GHz Thunder) CPU
• Apple (4-core graphics) GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
• Two rear-facing cameras: 12Mp f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55in, 1.4μm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; 12Mp, f/2.4, 120-degree, 13mm (ultra-wide), 1/3.6in
• Dual selfie cameras: 12Mp, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6in; SL 3D, (depth/ biometrics sensor)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
• NFC
• Lightning, USB 2.0
• Face ID
• Non-removable 3,110mAh lithium-ion battery
• Fast charging 18 watts; 50 per cent
in 30 minutes (advertised)
• 150.9x75.7x8.3mm
• 194g
iPHONE XR
Price: From £499
The iPhone XR is a real survivor, remaining in Apple’s line-up even as most of the X-series and 11-series have fallen by the wayside. It celebrates this longevity with yet another price cut for late 2020.
That price tag of £499 look more appealing than ever. Remember, this is one of Apple’s desirable notched-screen handsets we’re talking about, with a big 6.1in display and Face ID facial recognition. The A12 Bionic chip is now two years old, but it won’t let you down.
The XR does compromise by including an LCD screen rather than the OLED of the 11 Pro and entire 12-series (and on the now-discontinued XS and XS Max), but you won’t notice too much of a difference. There is also only a single camera on the back and a 7Mp lens on the front – the iPhone 11, which is the XR’s successor, upgrades to a twin-lens at the rear and 12Mp at the front.
It comes in several cheerful colours which recall the iPhone 5c from 2013. If colour is a big thing for you, check the options carefully, since the iPhone 11’s choices are slightly different – it misses out on coral and blue, for instance, which remain XR exclusives, but gains green and a very subtle purple.
Specifications
• 6.1in (1,892x828; 326ppi) Liquid Retina IPS LCD
• iOS 14.1 (upgradeable to 14.4)
• Apple A12 Bionic (7nm) processor
• Hexa-core (2x 2.5GHz Vortex, 4x 1.6GHz Tempest) CPU
• Apple (4-core graphics) GPU
• 3GB RAM
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
• Rear-facing camera: 12Mp, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55in, 1.4μm, PDAF, OIS
• Dual selfie cameras: 7Mp f/2.2, 32mm (standard); SL 3D, (depth/ biometrics sensor)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
• NFC
• Lightning, USB 2.0
• Face ID
• Non-removable 2,942mAh lithium-ion battery
• Fast charging 15 watts; 50 per cent in 30 minutes (advertised)
• 150.9x75.7x8.3mm
• 194g
iPHONE SE (2020)
Price: From £399
Apple’s cheapest iPhone is, funnily enough, relatively new, having been launched in the spring of 2020. The iPhone 11 and XR are both older, yet cost more. If you’re in the market
for one of these handsets it’s worth reading our thoughts on the question What is the cheapest iPhone?
The reason for the (by Apple’s standards) bargain-basement price tag is the number of compromises it contains. Most obviously, the fact that its chassis is virtually identical to the iPhone 8, which came out in 2017 and looked old-fashioned then.
But the innards are much more modern. The SE has a much better and quicker processor than the 8 (the A13 rather than the A11). This doesn’t just improve its ability to run demanding apps and install iOS updates far into the future (although both are true), but thanks to the built-in neural engine it should also yield improvements to photograph quality – including Portrait Mode – and longer battery life.
Specifications
• 4.7in (1,334; 326ppi) Retina IPS LCD
• iOS 14.1 (upgradeable to 14.4)
• Apple A13 Bionic (7nm+) processor
• Hexa-core (2x 2.65GHz Lightning, 4x 1.8GHz Thunder) CPU
• Apple (4-core graphics) GPU
• 3GB RAM
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
• Rear-facing camera: 12Mp, f/1.8 (wide), PDAF, OIS
• Selfie camera: 7Mp f/2.2
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO
• NFC
• Lightning, USB 2.0
• Face ID
• Non-removable 1,821mAh lithium-ion battery
• Fast charging 18 watts; 50 per cent in 30 minutes (advertised)
• 138.4x67.3x7.3mm
• 148g
BUYING AN iPHONE ON CONTRACT
The two most common ways to buy an iPhone are SIM-free from Apple itself or a third-party reseller (which is where the pricing information throughout this information fits in, because you’ll be paying upfront for the phone, you will own it, and you will then need to pay for a SIM-only contract for minutes, texts and data), or buying an iPhone on contract.
A contract usually starts with an upfront payment that will vary depending on the iPhone model you go for and also how much you’ll be paying each month. That upfront payment is followed by monthly payments, normally for a total of 24
months, after which you own the phone (in most cases). Those monthly payments also cover data, minutes and texts.
THE iPHONE UPGRADE PROGRAMME
Apple offers a scheme called the iPhone Upgrade Programme, where you make an upfront payment of £69 followed by regular monthly payments of between £38 and £64. You can then upgrade to the new iPhone each time one is announced, staying on the same or a very similar plan.
You should be cautious about the value this offers (as the phone is not yours to sell at the end of your contract so you’re effectively renting it), but in some circumstances it may be the right approach for you.
It’s also important to note that this is for a SIM-free iPhone. You will then need to get a SIM-only contract for your data, minutes and texts.
You do get AppleCare+ included in the Upgrade Programme, though, which is two-year insurance for your iPhone that will cover you for two incidents of accidental damage. You’ll still have to pay an excess fee should you need to use it, but it’ll be much cheaper than having to cough up the full price of a repair.
You can find out more about the iPhone Upgrade Programme by visiting fave.co/3kCdHEg.
SECOND-HAND iPHONES
You’ll have noticed that buying an iPhone doesn’t come cheap. However, if you’re strapped for cash you don’t have to dismiss the idea of buying an iPhone completely. You may be able to get a good deal on one of the older
handsets if someone is looking to sell their current handset. We give tips on buying a second-hand iPhone in our feature on page 29.
Bear in mind that if you want to run iOS 14 (the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system) you’ll need an iPhone 6s or later; the same was true of the previous version, iOS 13. iPhones reaching back to the iPhone 5s can run iOS 12, but that really is quite an old operating system to be running and some features such as AR won’t work properly on older models anyway.