Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other Why would anyone get the iPhone 12 over the iPhone 12 Pro?
- Thread starter Rogifan
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It was a simple decision for me really, I have the 11, I think its a great phone, I do take a lot of pics (I have 3 kids), the 11 camera has been great all year, the 12 will have OLED which is the upgrade I wanted, so I went with the regular 12. I don't think I missed out on anything by not having an 11 pro.
I’m going to guess that a lot of people I know personally won’t have a clue when I get mine. Phones don’t seem to be talked about like they used to be apart from on places like this.
Totally with you on this. For some reason on Mac Rumours a lot of people don't seem to understand that the non-Pro 12 is a very god phone in its own right and is appealing for what it offers. Like yourself I could have paid just a £150 more for the 12 Pro, but I didn't need to because the 12 is good enough for what I need it for. I like the fact it has an aluminium profile and the colours it comes in make it an attractive device. Its 95% of what the Pro is and for me that extra 5% wasn't worth that little bit extra. For others who see that worth, great stuff, enjoy.
The iPhone 12 128b is $849 with ATT or Verizon. T-Mobile/Sprint and Apple Sim Free is $879
I choose the 12 because I think that the 250€ of difference is not worth it.
The 12 is a decent update coming from an iPhone X
The 12 is a decent update coming from an iPhone X
Agree with Real-Deal and Cookie18.
In EU pricing at same storage 12 Pro is over 20% more expansive. No way you get "20%" worth of extra. If you are really into photo editing or want to show off a bit and have the money sure go for the pro !
But most people should go either to the regular 12 or the 12 Pro Max if you want really to benefit from the camera.
If you can spend €200 extra to go from 12 to 12Pro you should definelty add the last €100 to get way better camera IMO.
Here on MR there is a strong portion of Tech/Apple enthusiats who go for the best and greatest no matter what, it's not a bad thing but it explains why so many are going for the Pro models, anyone should keep that in mind.
If you want to really benefit "rationnaly" (given money spent) from the Pro, you should be at least a semi-"pro" in photo which I'm a convinced will be 10% at best of 12 Pro real owners because lot of them buy it for non-rationnal reason (love the design, new extra stuff to try, just want the best if they can afford it, want to show off etc etc).
The thing is for a lot of people the more they like a type of item the harder it is to be trully rational when you purchase. It's very human
In EU pricing at same storage 12 Pro is over 20% more expansive. No way you get "20%" worth of extra. If you are really into photo editing or want to show off a bit and have the money sure go for the pro !
But most people should go either to the regular 12 or the 12 Pro Max if you want really to benefit from the camera.
If you can spend €200 extra to go from 12 to 12Pro you should definelty add the last €100 to get way better camera IMO.
Here on MR there is a strong portion of Tech/Apple enthusiats who go for the best and greatest no matter what, it's not a bad thing but it explains why so many are going for the Pro models, anyone should keep that in mind.
If you want to really benefit "rationnaly" (given money spent) from the Pro, you should be at least a semi-"pro" in photo which I'm a convinced will be 10% at best of 12 Pro real owners because lot of them buy it for non-rationnal reason (love the design, new extra stuff to try, just want the best if they can afford it, want to show off etc etc).
The thing is for a lot of people the more they like a type of item the harder it is to be trully rational when you purchase. It's very human
Absolutely. The difference in the cameras is likely low light capability. I’m an enthusiast photographer myself and will get a good result from a 12 despite it having a slightly inferior camera to the 12 Pro. A good camera however doesn’t necessarily make a good photograph which is something photographers are taught very early on in their learning. Personally I think as both phones share the same wide angle and ultra wide cameras, they’ll not give too dissimilar results for most.
For me it's the weight. The Iphone 11 was so dang heavy. I don't need a telephoto lens. So I will save myself a little dough and a little weight.
I agree that for those outside the US, the price difference between the 6.1" 12 and the 12 Pro might be greater than "$130-150" for the same-128gb, which makes a difference on the "incremental cost" side of the equation. At the end of the day, we each have our own "utility curves" in terms of how we value the additions in the 12 Pro (telephoto lens and LIDAR, 4K60fps video, 6gb ram vs 4gb), and how we value the incremental cost.
I also agree with the sentiment that the additional $100 from 12 Pro to 12 Pro Max is even "more true", with the big caveat that that's assuming you're ok with the bigger size. I think for many people (myself included), that's a deal-breaker for me. If it was the same size as the 12 Pro, then I think for sure I would pay the extra $100 to get the better camera in the 12 Pro Max.
For me it's a mixture of the weight and the fact I rarely use my telephoto lens. I also wanted a cheaper phone since I've gotten every new phone every year since the 3g and am looking to not do this and get a longer life from mine. Who know if I'll be successful and resist next year, but even if I don't I can hand this phone down to someone in the family. I also didn't find the stainless steel, telephoto, and LiDAR worth the $120-$150.
For me it’s definitely the 200€ price increase from 12 to 12 pro. I can’t justify spending 200€ for a value i never use or need. I also upgrade almost every year. The 12 has everything i want, smaller and lighter than my 11 and an Oled screen. Im taking my Phone 3-4 times per week on a run so a light phone is a big bonus.
that's an easy one... I wish to maintain my amateur status... going with the iPhone "Pro" models, I lose my amateur status in the iPhone Olympics.
although... I originally wanted to get the iPhone 12 128gb.
However, I was sitting in front of the computer, just an hour before the pre-order started last Friday, I changed my mind and ended up ordering the iPhone 12 Pro instead.
I figured that since the next round of $1200 stimulus checks will be here sooner or later, might as well try to boost Apple's profits by ordering the iPhone 12 Pro for an extra C-note plus some change. Never realized that I had so much "courage" in me.
Besides, without the extra cash from us, how else will Daddy Tim afford the new 175-foot yacht?)
although... I originally wanted to get the iPhone 12 128gb.
However, I was sitting in front of the computer, just an hour before the pre-order started last Friday, I changed my mind and ended up ordering the iPhone 12 Pro instead.
I figured that since the next round of $1200 stimulus checks will be here sooner or later, might as well try to boost Apple's profits by ordering the iPhone 12 Pro for an extra C-note plus some change. Never realized that I had so much "courage" in me.
Besides, without the extra cash from us, how else will Daddy Tim afford the new 175-foot yacht?)
Last edited:
I have similar reasoning. I keep iPhones for between 2 to 3 years; I am upgrading from ip7 (256gb) and would want 128gb of storage. In the UK the difference for that between 12 and 12P is £150 or 13.3%. Low light photo capability is an immediate gain; the telephoto is something I've missed using the ip7 in preference to my camera; 50% RAM is not to be sneezed at and that and LIDAR are investments for pay-off over the next 2 to 3 years as new apps emerge that make use of that. The extra weight is something of a gamble but I think I'll cope
But must agree that were I to opt for the 12 I'm very sure I would be wow'd, although I might have to suppress a sense of regret when the photos in low light were not quite what I had hoped and that some of those subjects of interest are just a bit too far away ...If the 12pro had the same camera as the 12pro max it would be easier to justify but if I go for the 6.1 pro I still don't have the best camera. That made me go with the regular 12 for the lighter weight but I will probably return it for the mini as 6.1 just seems too big. If the 12 pro was still 5.8 but with a smaller body again it would be the easy choice like the 11pro was.
but now you're not comparing apple to apple.
if 64GB is enough then the 12 is £200 less than the pro. To me at least (who has ordered a 12) that seems a lot if you aren't planning to use the telephoto lens, shoot in 60fps DV or particularly need more premium materials.
Unknowingly people do have premium materials with the 12 in the guise of 7075 aerospace aluminium. It’s an expensive material due to its similar mechanical properties to many steels and often more expensive per kilo than stainless steel. Clever marketing portrays it as a less premium material but the truth is it’s anything but.
All our high end calibration parts are made of Aluminum. Its such a good material but very expensive.
Why would I pay a extra $400 + including apple care, when I’m only keeping my 12 for one year, the 12 pro isn’t worth the extra money for me, we should see some big improvements next year, X60 modem, LPTO display, 120hz, smaller notch, bigger batteries due to X60 modem being smaller, more than 2.5x telephoto zoom.
Apple has left out to many features this year, which should of been in this years pro models considering it’s 2020.
The 12 is the way to go this year.
Apple has left out to many features this year, which should of been in this years pro models considering it’s 2020.
The 12 is the way to go this year.
For what it's worth, I actually think your way of thinking about it isn't comparing apples to apples. And putting both the 12 and 12 Pro at 128gb storage is comparing the 2 phones on an apples-to-apples basis. So that the true difference between the phones now are just the features, not also storage size. So you can truly state, "I think the 12 Pro benefits are worth the $120 - $150 difference".
That doesn't change the fact that I definitely agree that if you're ok with 64GB, then the difference is closer to $200. But then you're combining both the actual features difference and storage size into the mix.