Apple iPhone 12 vs Samsung Galaxy S20
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Apple iPhone 12 and the Samsung Galaxy S20, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| Price | $172 | $141 |
| Our rating | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 2,815 mAh | 4,000 mAh |
| Wired charging | 20W | 25W |
| Storage (max) | 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Screen size | 6.1 in | 6.2 in |
| Refresh rate | — | 120 Hz |
| Main camera | 12 MP | 64 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 164 g | 163 g |
| Released | Oct 2020 | Mar 2020 |
Summary: Apple iPhone 12 is ahead on storage (max). Samsung Galaxy S20 is ahead on battery, wired charging, screen size, main camera.
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S20 is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| Type | Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+ |
| Size | 6.1 inches (6.06 inches diagonally for actual viewable area) | 6.2 inches, 93.8 cm2 (~89.5% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 2532 x 1170 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density) | 1440 x 3200 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~563 ppi density) |
| Protection | Ceramic Shield glass | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 |
| Brightness | 625 nits typical, 1200 nits peak (HDR) | — |
| Features | True Tone, Wide color (P3), Haptic Touch | Always-on display, 120Hz refresh rate available at FHD resolution |
Platform
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| OS | iOS 14.1 (upgradable to later versions) | Android 10, upgradable to Android 13, One UI 5 |
| Chipset | Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm) | — |
| CPU | Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm) | — |
| GPU | Apple GPU (4-core graphics) | — |
| Chipset (Global) | — | Exynos 990 (7 nm+) |
| Chipset (USA) | — | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G (7 nm+) |
| CPU (Global) | — | Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M5 & 2x2.50 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| CPU (USA) | — | Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Cortex-A77 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A77 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| GPU (Global) | — | Mali-G77 MP11 |
| GPU (USA) | — | Adreno 650 |
Memory
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| RAM | 4GB | 8GB or 12GB LPDDR5 |
| Internal Storage | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | 128GB UFS 3.0 |
| Card Slot | No | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) |
Main Camera
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| Dual | 12 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; 12 MP, f/2.4, 120˚, 13mm (ultrawide) | — |
| Features | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama), Night mode, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 3 | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Video | 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR with Dolby Vision (up to 30fps), stereo sound rec. | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, OIS, gyro-EIS |
| Triple | — | 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76", 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; 64 MP, f/2.0, 29mm (telephoto), 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x hybrid optical zoom; 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, Super Steady video |
Selfie Camera
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| Single | 12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide) | 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF |
| Features | HDR, Night mode, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 3, Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control | Dual video call, Auto-HDR |
| Video | 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps |
Battery
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| Type | Li-Ion 2815 mAh, non-removable | Li-Po 4000 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging | Fast charging 20W (50% in 30 min), USB Power Delivery 2.0 | 25W wired (PD3.0), 15W wireless (Qi/PMA), 4.5W reverse wireless |
| Wireless Charging | 15W MagSafe, 7.5W Qi wireless charging | — |
Body
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| Dimensions | 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm (5.78 x 2.82 x 0.29 inches) | 151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9 mm (5.97 x 2.72 x 0.31 in) |
| Weight | 164 g (5.78 oz) | 163 g (5.75 oz) |
| Build | Glass front (Ceramic Shield), glass back, aluminum frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 6), glass back (Gorilla Glass 6), aluminum frame |
| SIM | Nano-SIM and eSIM | Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| Water & Dust Resistance | IP68 rated (maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes) | — |
| Protection | — | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) |
Comms
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS | — |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| USB | Lightning, USB 2.0 | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
| Positioning | — | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
| Radio | — | FM radio (Snapdragon model only) |
Launch
| Apple iPhone 12 | Samsung Galaxy S20 |
|---|
| Announced | October 13, 2020 | 2020, February 11 |
| Released | October 23, 2020 | — |
| Status | — | Available. Released 2020, March 06 |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Apple iPhone 12 or Samsung Galaxy S20?
Samsung Galaxy S20 — 2,815 mAh for the Apple iPhone 12 versus 4,000 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S20.
Which is lighter, Apple iPhone 12 or Samsung Galaxy S20?
Samsung Galaxy S20 — 164 g for the Apple iPhone 12 versus 163 g for the Samsung Galaxy S20.
Which is newer, Apple iPhone 12 or Samsung Galaxy S20?
Apple iPhone 12 — Oct 2020 for the Apple iPhone 12 versus Mar 2020 for the Samsung Galaxy S20.
Is the Apple iPhone 12 or the Samsung Galaxy S20 rated higher?
We rate the Apple iPhone 12 8/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S20 8/10.
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