That the iPhone 12 can shoot in Dolby Vision-meaning the camera is filming and adjusting metadata on-the-fly is a jaw-dropping flex of processing power. Older HDR standards, like HDR 10+, applies the same enhancements across an entire video. Essentially, Dolby Vision stands out from previous HDR standards in that it dynamically adjusts its visual metadata so every scene can be optimized on its own. The iPhone 12 phones are the first mobile devices in the world to shoot in Dolby Vision, a HDR (high dynamic range) tech that’s used by Hollywood studios and Microsoft’s next-gen gaming consoles. I usually cover photography first in my camera section, but I’m focusing on video first this time because this is where the 12 shines above the rest. Instead, the A14 Bionic really shines in helping the iPhone 12’s complicated camera hardware-software synergy to work. In other words, the A14 Bionic is the most powerful mobile chipset around, and this lead should remain.īut what does that bring in the real world? Apple uses all these random metrics like “the A14 Bionic launches apps at XX percentage faster” but the reality is the A13 Bionic powering the iPhone 11 are fast enough. Huawei is the only other company with a 5nm mobile chip right now, and they only have limited supplies due to U.S.

Powering all the iPhone 12s this year is the Apple A14 Bionic, a 5nm silicon that in benchmarks have easily topped Qualcomm’s best offering, the Snapdragon 865+. That, coupled with having one less camera, makes the iPhone 12 lighter at 162g to the Pro’s 184g. Stainless steel is harder so it should protect the phone from drops, but the aluminum chassis is lighter. There’s one more, hard-to-notice difference: the Pro’s chassis is crafted out of stainless steel, while the standard 12’s frame is aluminum. The latter is basically a radar to map your surroundings. Flip them around and you’ll see the differences: the non-Pro has a pair of 12-megapixel main and ultrawide cameras, while the Pro has both plus a LIDAR (light, image detection and ranging) sensor.

Pro video camera review