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Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.1-inch Apple iPhone XR (with Apple A12 Bionic) that was released on September 12, 2018, against the Apple iPhone 12 mini, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 25 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.
- Differences
- Review
- Specs
- Benchmarks
- Battery life
- Camera
- Comments (1)
Key differences
An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XR
- Has a 0.7 inch larger screen size
- Comes with 715 mAh larger battery capacity: 2942 vs 2227 mAh
- Shows 33% longer battery life (33:02 vs 24:46 hours)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 mini
- 46% higher pixel density (476 vs 326 PPI)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- 37% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (690K versus 505K)
- Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
- Has 33% more RAM: 4GB versus 3GB
- OLED display (versus competitor's IPS LCD)
- Thinner bezels – 6.1% more screen real estate
- The phone is 2-years and 1-month newer
- Better grip in hands – the body is 11.5 mm narrower
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Display
| Type | IPS LCD | OLED |
| Size | 6.1 inches | 5.4 inches |
| Resolution | 828 x 1792 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 326 ppi | 476 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Max rated brightness | 625 nits | 625 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | - |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 79% | 85.1% |
| Display features | - | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 100% | - |
| PWM | Not detected | - |
| Response time | 32.8 ms | - |
| Contrast | 1920:1 | - |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Sources: NotebookCheck [3]
Design and build
| Height | 150.9 mm (5.94 inches) | 131.5 mm (5.18 inches) |
| Width | 75.7 mm (2.98 inches) | 64.2 mm (2.53 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.3 mm (0.33 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 194 gramm (6.84 oz) | 135 gramm (4.76 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Red, Orange, Yellow | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Performance
Tests of Apple iPhone XR and Apple iPhone 12 mini in the benchmarks
SoC| Chipset | Apple A12 Bionic | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max. clock | 2490 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Apple A12 Bionic GPU | Apple GPU |
| GPU clock | 1100 MHz | - |
| FLOPS | ~560 GFLOPS | - |
| RAM size | 3 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64, 128, 256 GB | 64, 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
| CPU | 142301 | 190074 |
| GPU | 188718 | 284641 |
| Memory | 70367 | 94157 |
| UX | 104916 | 126265 |
| Total score | 505791 | 690913 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | 68% | 69% |
| Graphics test | 31 FPS | 46 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5245 | 7687 |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16) |
| OS size | 11.1 GB | - |
Battery
Specifications| Capacity | 2942 mAh | 2227 mAh |
| Charge power | 15 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes, Qi (10 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 30 min) | Yes (60% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:43 hr | 1:29 hr |
| Web browsing | 11:16 hr | 09:23 hr |
| Watching video | 12:45 hr | 09:46 hr |
| Gaming | 05:10 hr | 04:56 hr |
| Standby | 123 hr | 78 hr |
Camera
Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Quad LED | Quad LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | - | 120° |
| Lenses | 1 (12 MP) | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Apple iSight X (BSI CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens | - | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX503 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - RAW support | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 mini from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 7 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3088 x 2316 | 4290 x 2800 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 32 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.6" |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Hotspot | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | No | No |
| USB version | 2 | - |
| USB features | - Charging - OTG | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 12 | 18 |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | September 2018 | October 2020 |
| Release date | October 2018 | November 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.99 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 12 mini is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
So, which phone would you choose?
Apple iPhone XR
125 (33.3%)
Apple iPhone 12 mini
250 (66.7%)
Total votes: 375
Related comparisons
You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
What is better iPhone 12 mini or XR?
The iPhone 12 mini has a 5.4-inch OLED display with Super Retina XDR technology and HDR support whereas the iPhone XR has a 6.1-inch LCD display with IPS technology and Liquid Retina HD. The pixel count is higher on the iPhone 12 mini with a 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution compared to 1792 x 828 resolution.
What size is the iPhone 12 mini compared to XR?
Summary (10).
Which is better iPhone XR or iPhone 12?
The iPhone 12 display is leagues ahead of its older sibling. The iPhone 12 display is a Super Retina XDR OLED, while the iPhone XR's is a Liquid Retina IPS LCD. Breaking those arcane terms down, the iPhone 12's 2532 x 1170 Super Retina is sharper than the iPhone XR's 1792 X 828 Liquid Retina – and by some margin.
Are iPhone XR and 12 the same size?
They have the same screen size, which is 6.1” measured corner to corner, but the IPhone 12 is slightly smaller and a bit lighter too.