Apple iPhone 12 vs OnePlus 9
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Apple iPhone 12 and the OnePlus 9, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| Price | £142 | £195 |
| Our rating | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 2,815 mAh | 4,500 mAh |
| Wired charging | 20W | 65W |
| RAM (max) | — | 12 GB |
| Storage (max) | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Screen size | 6.1 in | 6.55 in |
| Refresh rate | — | 120 Hz |
| Main camera | 12 MP | 50 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 164 g | 192 g |
| Released | Oct 2020 | Mar 2021 |
Summary: Apple iPhone 12 is ahead on weight (lower is lighter). OnePlus 9 is ahead on battery, wired charging, screen size, main camera.
★ Which should you buy? OnePlus 9 is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs. If budget matters more than the extra capability, Apple iPhone 12 is the cheaper option.
Researched with AI assistance by infozme.com from manufacturer and retailer sources — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| Type | Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR | Fluid AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+ |
| Size | 6.1 inches (6.06 inches diagonally for actual viewable area) | 6.55 inches |
| Resolution | 2532 x 1170 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density) | 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~402 ppi density) |
| Protection | Ceramic Shield glass | Corning Gorilla Glass |
| Brightness | 625 nits typical, 1200 nits peak (HDR) | — |
| Features | True Tone, Wide color (P3), Haptic Touch | — |
Platform
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| OS | iOS 14.1 (upgradable to later versions) | — |
| Chipset | Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm) | Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) |
| CPU | Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm) | Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| GPU | Apple GPU (4-core graphics) | Adreno 660 |
Memory
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| RAM | 4GB | — |
| Internal Storage | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | — |
| Card Slot | No | — |
| Card slot | — | No |
| Internal | — | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM |
| Type | — | UFS 3.1 |
Main Camera
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| 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 | Hasselblad Color Calibration, Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama |
| Video | 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR with Dolby Vision (up to 30fps), stereo sound rec. | 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, Auto HDR, gyro-EIS |
| Modules | — | 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, PDAF; 48 MP, f/2.2, 14mm (ultrawide), 1/2.0", 0.8µm; 2 MP, f/2.4, (monochrome) |
Selfie Camera
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| Single | 12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide) | — |
| Features | HDR, Night mode, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 3, Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control | Auto-HDR |
| Video | 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps | 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS |
| Modules | — | 16 MP, f/2.4, (wide), 1/3.06", 1.0µm |
Battery
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| Type | Li-Ion 2815 mAh, non-removable | Li-Po 4500 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging | Fast charging 20W (50% in 30 min), USB Power Delivery 2.0 | 65W wired, 100% in 29 min (advertised); 15W wireless (Qi) |
| Wireless Charging | 15W MagSafe, 7.5W Qi wireless charging | — |
Body
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| Dimensions | 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm (5.78 x 2.82 x 0.29 inches) | 160 x 73.9 x 8.1 mm |
| Weight | 164 g (5.78 oz) | 192g (EU/NA), 183g (IN/CN) |
| Build | Glass front (Ceramic Shield), glass back, aluminum frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass), glass back (Gorilla Glass), plastic frame |
| SIM | Nano-SIM and eSIM | — |
| Water & Dust Resistance | IP68 rated (maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes) | — |
Comms
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| 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 | 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS | — |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| USB | Lightning, USB 2.0 | USB Type-C 3.1, OTG |
| Positioning | — | GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS (G1), BDS (B1I+B1c+B2a), GALILEO (E1+E5a), SBAS, A-GPS |
| Radio | — | No |
Launch
| Apple iPhone 12 | OnePlus 9 |
|---|
| Announced | October 13, 2020 | 2021, March 23 |
| Released | October 23, 2020 | — |
| Status | — | Released 2021, March 26 |
| OS | — | Android 11, upgradable to Android 13, OxygenOS 13 |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Apple iPhone 12 or OnePlus 9?
OnePlus 9 — 2,815 mAh for the Apple iPhone 12 versus 4,500 mAh for the OnePlus 9.
Which is lighter, Apple iPhone 12 or OnePlus 9?
Apple iPhone 12 — 164 g for the Apple iPhone 12 versus 192 g for the OnePlus 9.
Which is newer, Apple iPhone 12 or OnePlus 9?
OnePlus 9 — Oct 2020 for the Apple iPhone 12 versus Mar 2021 for the OnePlus 9.
Is the Apple iPhone 12 or the OnePlus 9 rated higher?
We rate the Apple iPhone 12 8/10 and the OnePlus 9 8/10.
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