Apple

Which iPhone 12 camera is better? This YouTuber breaks them both down in one simple video

The video also looks at the iPhone 11 Pro.

by
Joe Rice-Jones
October 23, 2020

Image: Apple

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If you’re deciding on your next smartphone purchase, and are confused about the differences between the iPhone 12 range, you’re not alone. Even the reviewers can’t really decide which is the better device, or why the Pro model is $300 more than the base iPhone 12. That’s okay though, they’re all on a common core of hardware so the differences are pretty minimal.

That said, some users might benefit from the differences brought with the iPhone 12 Pro model, or the upcoming iPhone 12 Pro Max. YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss has a really deep dive into the differences between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro cameras, while comparing with the best of last year’s iPhones, the iPhone 11 Pro.

You can watch the whole thing below, but the really interesting thing is that most of the improvements are in the Deep Fusion machine learning routines that blend the multiple shots the cameras take and select the best parts to create the final image. The cameras themselves haven’t changed that much, apart from the slightly larger sensor on the wide camera that can let in more light. The other notable change is the LiDAR on the iPhone 12 Pro models, which is absolutely necessary for clear images in low-light conditions.

What’s interesting to me is that this is the situation that Google was in when the first Pixel devices were released, and are still in today. They’re still using the same 12MP sensor in the Pixel 5 that they used in the Pixel 1. All of the improvements in image quality since then have come from advances in computational photography and machine learning. That’s impressive, and shows that the previous trend for mobile phone manufacturers to chase pixel count has come to an end.

Oh the other thing, Mrwhosetheboss can’t figure out why the iPhone 11 Pro doesn’t have the same improvements. Maybe it will, although with Apple putting the iPhone 11 Pro range into retirement, it’s more a hope than a given.

What do you think? What iPhone are you most interested in? Is the camera important? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.