Apple iPhone 12 vs Google Pixel 5 in 2021: Apples vs Robots

Introduction

Both phones were launched in October 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.

For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.

 Click here  to check who their rivals are.

Price*			vs.
Device	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
Release Date	2020, October	2020, October	0y.
OS Updates	6 years	3 years	-3y.
Security Updates	6 years	3 years	-3y.

*Reference: 100: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Which One Has The Best Performance?

Geekbench 5 (IOS)(Android) scores the iPhone 12 147% ahead of its rival in the multi-core ranking. 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 2726, this one is 66% below them.

We can classify the iPhone 12 as high-end and the Pixel 5 more like mid-range.

Performance*			vs.
Features	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
SoC	Apple A14	Snapdragon 765
Graphics	Apple GPU	Adreno 620
Geekbench 5 Score	4067	1647	-2420
OS	iOS 14.1	Android 11
Tek-Score	8.8	4.7	-4.0

*Reference: 100: Apple iPhone 12.

Which Phone Has The Best Display?

The Pixel 5 is the title-holder here, and the difference is considerable.

Do you despise big screens? Then, the Pixel 5 is the one. It really is short compared to most similarly priced phones.

If you value a clean, almost notch-free screen, there's one more reason to consider the Pixel 5.

Given the iPhone 12, 88% of its rivals can play HDR content. Plus, all have an AMOLED screen, and 96% have an Always-On display.

Concerning the Pixel 5, 88% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an Always-On display, and 96% have an AMOLED screen.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
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	2.9	8.7	5.8
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Tek-Score	7.5	7.9	0.4

*Reference: 100: Sony Xperia 1 II.

Which Phone Has The Best Cameras?

You should note that the Pixel 5 is in the neighborhood of 48% above other smartphones at about this price tag. But you can pick either one.

About the iPhone 12: DXOMARK tested this camera and gave it a score 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 and have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and 96% feature Optical Image Stabilization. Although only 8% of them feature a macro lens.

About the Pixel 5: 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, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K and have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and 92% feature Optical Image Stabilization. That said, only 19% of them feature a macro lens.

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 S10 Plus instead.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
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: 100: Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.

Extra Camera(s)	iPhone 12	Pixel 5	vs.
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	iPhone 12	Pixel 5	vs.
Megapixels	12	8	-4
Aperture	2.2	2.0	-0.2
Lens	23mm	24mm	1

	iPhone 12	Pixel 5	vs.
Tek-Score	8.2	8.1	-0.1

Who has the best frame?

None of them stands out, so there is no wrong choice here.

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" score of the iPhone 12 is 6.9, and that's another way of saying a pretty nice weight for its screen size. The Pixel 5, however, has 8.4, which suggests exceptional work from Google.  ? 

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.
Body	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
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	8.6	9.1	0.5

*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.

Which has the best battery?

The iPhone 12 features a 2815 mAh battery, while the Pixel 5 has 4080 mAh. And as claimed by GSMArena, the winner is the Pixel 5.

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.  ? 

Battery*			vs.
Features	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
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	6.9	7.2	0.3
Fast Charging	20w	18w	-2
Wireless Charging	15w	12w	-3
Reverse Charging	No	5w	5
Tek-Score	6.6	6.9	0.3

*Reference: 90: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Which has more storage?

The Pixel 5, for sure.

The iPhone 12 features 64GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM. Be aware that at this price segment, others offer more RAM and more storage. They're closer to 143Gb of storage and 8GB of RAM.

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.
Features	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
RAM (GB)	4GB	8GB	4
Internal (GB)	64GB	128GB	64
Micro SD	No	No
Tek-Score	2.8	6.0	3.3

*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).

Which is the most connectivity-friendly?

They don't stand out on any of these features.

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 Oppo Find X3 Lite can give you a headphone jack.

Both have a single network variant: (LTE and) 5G.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
Network	5G	5G
Bluetooth	5.0	5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	4.6	4.6	0.0

Which is more affordable?

Here are the best deals on some major online stores:

Reference: $880

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$689.99

$729.99

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Apple iPhone 12

Reference: $682

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$580.00

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Google Pixel 5

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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.

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:

Best smartphone deals

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 7.0, and the Pixel 5 6.9.

Verdict: Does any of them really stand out?

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	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
#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	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
#1	Always-On-Display	MicroSD Slot
#2	MicroSD Slot	3.5mm Jack
#3	3.5mm Jack	Price
#4	Price

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	iPhone 12	Pixel 5
Gaming Score	6.3	6.6	0.3
Tek-Score	6.76	6.78	0.02
Your Score

Scroll the sliders down below to get your own personalized score. Let's suppose you value performance and battery life, and you don't really care about anything else. Then, just set the "Performance" and the "Battery" sliders up to 5 (5+5=10), and then the other sliders down to 0. You'll know what's the best phone for you.

*Reference: 100: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

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