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Both phones were launched in October of 2020.
Here you can look at the iPhone 12 and the Pixel 5, compare each other's features, and decide which one is best for you. Let us delve into the finer details.
If you have the time, click here to skip the spoilers and continue to the full comparison.
The iPhone 12 comes at a higher price, but it isn't the better device of the two considering their specs.
It gives you better performance (+147%), a glass back, and more OS updates (3 additional years). But the Pixel 5 features more internal storage (128GB vs. 64GB).
Still, you'll have to decide for yourself because they ended up with similar rates.
If you're ignoring carrier offers, you can be saving up to around $198, so think about it.
No problem. Its performance won't disappoint you for sure.
Sure. It's starting to show its age, but it is still a decent device.
The Pixel 5 definitely has the iPhone 12 beaten on price. That is something worth considering when comparing them.
Down below, there's a "Tek-Score" in every analyzed section of these models. For a quicker analysis of how far they are from each other, we'll consider all their specifications. You'll find a global score at the end, which can help you compare to other phones if you aren't sure about these two.
That score is research-based. It's from Globalwebindex.com about the most desired smartphone features by consumers.
For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.
Some features are underlined with a red or green progress bar. It's there for you to better understand how they compare with other smartphones with similar prices.
Here is their competitors' full list: but basically, we've excluded every smartphone that's not within a 20% (above or below) price range.
Feel free to click any feature title to check out several top 10 tables for every budget.
Price* | vs. | ||
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Device | ![]() |
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|
Release Date | 2020, October | 2020, October | 0y. |
OS Updates | 6 years | 3 years | -3y. |
Security Updates | 6 years | 3 years | -3y. |
*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
The Google Pixel 5 is available with the Snapdragon 765 processor, while the Apple iPhone 12 brings the Apple A14 processor.
Regarding the graphics chipset, the former features an Adreno 620, and the latter has a proprietary Apple GPU.
In terms of performance, Geekbench 5 (IOS)(Android) scores the iPhone 12 147% ahead of its rival on the multi-core rankings. Do keep this number in mind, so you don't regret it later. Since iPhones run on their own operating system, apps do run quicker because Apple did their work to keep it fit.
When it comes to performance, the Pixel 5 is way under the average against similarly priced phones. While the average sits at 2742, this one is 66% below them.
We can classify the iPhone 12 as high-end and the Pixel 5 as more like mid-range.
The iPhone 12 features the iOS 14.1 OS, and the Pixel 5 got the Android 11.
Performance* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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|
SoC | Apple A14 | Snapdragon 765 | |
Graphics | Apple GPU | Adreno 620 | |
Geekbench 5 Score | 4067 | 1647 | -2420 |
OS | iOS 14.1 | Android 11 | |
Tek-Score | -4.0 |
*Reference: Apple iPhone 12.
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Would you prefer the 6.0" AMOLED display of the Pixel 5 or the larger 6.1" AMOLED panel of the iPhone 12? Which one would you choose? AMOLED has perfect contrast and viewing angles, but its whites do hurt the battery life.
Do you despise big screens? Then, the Pixel 5 is the one. It really is short compared to most similarly priced phones.
If you're looking for the most high-resolution display, the iPhone 12 is a winner here. If you value a clean, almost notch-free screen, there's one more reason to consider the Pixel 5.
Screens seem to get bigger each year, so let's get the elephant out of the room. The Pixel 5 has a Corning Gorilla Glass 6 display. The iPhone 12, in its turn, has a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.
To me, the Google Pixel 5 has one significant advantage here, which is the Always-On-Display.
If you set your brightness to auto, you can count on the iPhone 12 to go up to 639 nits, while the Pixel 5 goes up to 699 nits.
The iPhone 12 does HDR10 video, and the Pixel 5 has an HDR10+ screen.
If high refresh rates are your thing, the Pixel 5, with its 90hz screen, is clearly the winner here.
Given the iPhone 12, 95% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an Always-On display. Plus, all of them have an AMOLED screen, and 81% have Gorilla Glass 6 or better.
Concerning the Pixel 5, 89% of its rivals can play HDR content, 96% have an AMOLED screen, and 93% of them have an Always-On display.
Display Density (DPIs)* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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|
Size | 6.1 | 6.0 | -0.1 |
Screen Type | AMOLED | AMOLED | |
Resolution (px) | 1170x2532 | 1080x2340 | -435240 |
Refresh Rate | 60hz | 90hz | 30 |
Dots per Inch | 457.25 | 429.53 | -27.72 |
Always-On-Display | No | Yes | |
Notch | Wedge | Hole | |
Peak Brightness | 639 nits | 699 nits | 60 |
HDR | HDR10 | HDR10+ | |
Sub Tek-Score | 5.8 | ||
Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | |
Tek-Score | 0.4 |
*Reference: Sony Xperia 1.
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Flip the phones over, let's start the cameras' battle. Apple's iPhone 12 can record videos at up to 2160p. It also has a shooter with 12 MP, an aperture of f/1.6, a 26mm wide-angle lens, four flash LEDs, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization.
It also has a secondary 12 MP camera with an aperture of f/2.4 plus a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens.
Its selfie camera features a 12 MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and a 23 mm wide-angle lens.
DxOMark tested this camera and gave it a rate of 132. Then, if you consider its wide-angle lens, that will go up to 139. You can check their review if you click here.
PS: you'd probably like to know that all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Though none of them feature a macro lens.
The Google Pixel 5, in its turn, features a 12 MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture and a 27mm, wide-angle lens. Then it has one flash LED, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization. It records videos at up to 2160p. Besides its primary camera, the Pixel 5 also features a 16 MP f/2.2 plus a 17mm ultra-wide-angle lens.
On the front, there's an f/2.0 8 MP camera and a 24 mm wide-angle lens.
On DxOMark's reviewing article, they gave this shooter 129 points. And by adding its wide-angle lens, we get a score of 138 points. You can click here to check it out.
Furthermore, just so you know, just like the other device, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. That said, only 15% of them feature a macro lens.
You should note that the Pixel 5 is in the neighborhood of 56% above other smartphones at about this price-tag. But you can pick either one.
If you're not a numbers person, we can tag these two as high-end.
A telephoto lens would've been a great addition. If you agree with me, none of these will help you. Just pick something like the Samsung Galaxy S10 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 instead.
Picture Quality* | vs. | ||
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Primary Camera | ![]() |
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|
Megapixels | 12 | 12 | 0 |
Aperture | 1.6 | 1.7 | 0.1 |
Lens | 26mm | 27mm | 1 |
Lens Type | Wide-Angle | Wide-Angle | |
Flash | 4 | 1 | -3 |
HDR | Yes | Yes | |
OIS | Yes | Yes | |
Video | 2160 | 2160 | 0 |
Score | 139 | 138 | -1 |
*Reference: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.
Extra Camera(s) | ![]() |
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vs. |
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Megapixels | 12 | 16 | 4 |
Aperture | 2.4 | 2.2 | -0.2 |
Lens | 13mm | 17mm | 4 |
Lens Type | Ultra-wide-Angle | Wide-Angle | |
Score | 7 | 9 | 2 |
Selfie Camera | ![]() |
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vs. |
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Megapixels | 12 | 8 | -4 |
Aperture | 2.2 | 2.0 | -0.2 |
Lens | 23mm | 24mm | 1 |
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vs. | |
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Tek-Score | -0.1 |
The iPhone 12 has a height of 5.75 inches (146 mm) and a width of 2.80 inches (71 mm). The Pixel 5, on the other hand, is 2 mm smaller and 1 mm narrower (about 0.08 inches by 0.04 inches).
They have about the same depth: 7 mm (0.28 inches) vs. 8 mm (0.32 inches). In addition to that, the Pixel 5 is (about 12%) also smaller than most similarly priced devices.
Out of curiosity, while the iPhone 12 has a full glass body, you can get the Pixel 5 with an aluminum back. The iPhone 12 is 13 g. (0.46 oz) heavier than its rival, which sits at 151 g. (5.33 oz). If you're looking for a lightweight device, the "weight to display size" rate of the iPhone 12 is 6.9, and that's another way of saying it has a pretty nice weight for its screen size. The Pixel 5, however, has 8.4, which suggests exceptional work from Google.
You'll also get some color options here. The Google Pixel 5 comes in Just Black and Sorta Sage. The Apple iPhone 12, in its turn, comes in Black, Red, White, Green, and Blue.
You're out of options in the size domain, so there's not much to choose from.
What about a fingerprint scanner? There's one on the back of the Pixel 5 but not on the iPhone 12.
That doesn't mean you're out of security options on the iPhone 12. Wisely, Apple included a Face ID scanner.
The iPhone 12 truly is water-resistant. It can be submerged 1 to 3 meters deep, on par with the Pixel 5. That should be for up to 30 minutes, in standby and freshwater only, so no saltwater or pools here.
Looks* | vs. | ||
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Body | ![]() |
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|
Size | 146 x 71 x 7 mm (5.15 x 2.50 x 0.25 in) |
144 x 70 x 8 mm (5.08 x 2.47 x 0.28 in) |
8078 |
Weight | 164 g. (5.78 oz) | 151 g. (5.33 oz) | -13 |
Build | Front and back glass | Front glass and aluminum back | |
Colors | Black, Red, White, Green, and Blue | Just Black and Sorta Sage | |
Screen To Body Ratio | 88.18% | 87.67% | -0.51 |
Disp.Size To Weight Score | 6.9 | 8.4 | 1.6 |
Looks | 10.0/10 | 9.1/10 | -0.8 |
Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 | |
Biometrics | Face ID | Fingerprint | |
Tek-Score | 0.5 |
*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.
In theory, the 4080 mAh of the Google Pixel 5's battery will crush the Apple iPhone 12 with only 2815 mAh of battery capacity. But how would both perform in a real-world scenario? If you charge them up and run some tests, this is what the iPhone 12 delivers:
And this is how the Pixel 5 handles these tests:
It may come as no surprise here, but the Pixel 5 wins, hands down.
There's a reason it has this battery life. Google just showed us how good they can be. That's what a "battery to smartphone size" rate of 7.9 shows.
Quickly charging any of them won't be an issue. The iPhone 12 supports up to 20w and the Pixel 5 up to 18.
They all include wireless charging, and they charge at 15w vs. 12w. That's nice. On any of the new iPhone 12 siblings, wireless charging is also magnetic. It's nice but not as good as USB-C charging.
A nice add-on to the Pixel 5 is the ability to charge any Qi-enabled gadgets at 5w.
Battery* | vs. | ||
---|---|---|---|
Features | ![]() |
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|
Capacity (mAh) | 2815 | 4080 | 1265 |
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video | 79% left | 82% left | 3 |
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video | 64% left | 66% left | 2 |
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video | 64% left | 69% left | 5 |
Bat. To Phone Size Score | 6.4 | 7.9 | 1.5 |
Sub Tek-Score | 0.3 | ||
Fast Charging | 20w | 18w | -2 |
Wireless Charging | 15w | 12w | -3 |
Reverse Charging | No | 5w | 5 |
Tek-Score | 0.3 |
*Reference: Samsung Galaxy A31.
The iPhone 12 features 64GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM. There's no MicroSD slot. This shouldn't be an issue for most of us. Be aware that at this price segment, others offer more RAM and more storage. They're closer to 143Gb of storage and 9GB of RAM.
In its turn, the Pixel 5 features 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. There's also no extra storage here, but I believe 128GB is enough.
Storage shouldn't be an issue on any of these phones. However, if you plan to store some movies or record tons of videos, 64 GB alone won't get you there.
Storage* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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|
RAM (GB) | 4GB | 8GB | 4 |
Internal (GB) | 64GB | 128GB | 64 |
Micro SD | No | No | |
Tek-Score | 3.3 |
*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).
Both phones have Bluetooth 5.0, so nothing special here. You can also find NFC on both of them.
If you got used to counting on the good-old 3.5mm headphone jack, forget about it. You can buy an adapter, but the wireless buds are your only option. There also are other options out there if you just ignore these two. Either the Samsung Galaxy S10 or the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus can give you a headphone jack.
Both have a single network variant: (LTE and) 5G.
Connectivity | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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|
Network | 5G | 5G | |
Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 | |
NFC | Yes | Yes | |
3.5mm jack | No | No | |
Tek-Score | 0.0 |
The Google Pixel 5 surely wins over its competitor in this round. But do search for any deals or price drops before making up your mind. The Apple iPhone 12, in its turn, isn't that cheap, but I think that you can find some additional value in it. Also, don't forget that, with time, iPhones do hold some of their value.
Don't worry, because the following tables will help you make up your mind.
Here are the best deals on some major online stores:
Reference: $880
Apple iPhone 12
Reference: $682
Google Pixel 5
I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay nor my opinions, but it will mean a lot if you click on one of these buttons before purchasing your next phone. You'll be helping to take this to the next level.
Prices on eBay are in $US but Europe-based. You can click to check the prices in your country.
Prices marked with ! are from renewed/refurbished/carrier-locked phones (except eBay prices that, as a last resort, can be from bids or used devices).
How much of a "phone" can your money buy?
That's how much "score" you can get with $100 based on the global score that you'll see in the next section (higher is better).
Have you found better prices elsewhere? The formula is simple: score/price*100.
Value for money | iPhone 12 | Pixel 5 | VS |
---|---|---|---|
Amazon | - ! | 0.97 | - |
eBay | 0.79 | 0.85 | 0.06 |
Best Buy | 0.85 | - | - |
Walmart | - | - | - |
Also, don't forget to check the latest deals from these four stores, and the state of the art on mobile technology, if you don't want to overpay on your next smartphone.
Related articles:
The Best Unbiased Smartphones For All Budgets
Smartphone Specs Statistics: The State Of The Art (Q1 2021)
Are you ready for that final score? We're almost there. Just so you have an idea, take a look at where its adversaries average. The iPhone 12 class is at 7.3, and the Pixel 5 6.9.
That's tough.
If someone told me: "Here, pick one. It's yours."
I'd be having a hard time picking between any of these.
On the one hand, I'd have performance, lots of it.
On the other hand, I'd get higher refresh rates in an Always-on display (that I do fancy), reverse charging (that can be handy at times), lots of internal storage, and lots of RAM.
And I'm not even considering size, user experience, looks, years of updates, resell value, and all those subjective things.
I guess I'd go for the iPhone 12 because that performance is just insane. What about you?
Pros | ![]() |
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#1 | Performance | AMOLED |
#2 | AMOLED | Always-On-Display |
#3 | Cameras | Cameras |
#4 | Fast Charging | Fast Charging |
#5 | Wireless Charging | Wireless Charging |
#6 | Glass Protection | Glass Protection |
Cons | ![]() |
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---|---|---|
#1 | Always-On-Display | MicroSD Slot |
#2 | MicroSD Slot | 3.5mm Jack |
#3 | 3.5mm Jack | Price |
#4 | Price |
Relative Score* | vs. | ||
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Global Score | ![]() |
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|
Gaming Score | 0.3 | ||
Tek-Score | 0.02 |
*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
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I'm Luis Silva, and this is the place where I nerd out about technology. I've been a tech enthusiast for 25 years, and I have a degree in computer management.
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